Slight rant at the pensioner generation (my 84 year old father who is blind and still lives in his own house and relies 100% on me for everything) so I am am off into hospital next week for angioplasty at best bypass at worst and have been arranging care; Ocado direct debits and Christ knows what to make sure he is ok as I might be out of circulation for a while – so I am sat pre ordering food for the next 6 weeks and I get a phone call from him shouting to tell me he does not want the f**king carers dropping in each day and he ran out of cigarettes two days ago and what was i going to do about it – it is difficult not to be bitter as he retired at 63 and has sat on his arse Sent himself blind with macula degeneration via smoking for the last 21 years without a thought about his long term care – benefits of being a only child – rant over just needed to let off steam

Patio?

Have an awkward hug:

sounds like your dad needs some carers. he might not want it, but if you are having heart treatment, you wont be able to look after him.

Beats mine in fairness!

All I’ve had to deal with today is severe depression because my business is going down the pan because of Brexit (well more precisely cos they **** the currency up and nobody has any confidence to spend any money), and the fact it’s my birthday and my GF has just finally seen sense and walked out!

I f**king despair….. he said that I would be up and zbout on a couple of days so what’s the problem? Can’t dig a hole at the moment so the patio option is out

Mboy i think you win….

Video cheered me up

You’ve both just put my day in perspective. Hang in there

Only got 2 hrs kip last night, then spent all day in a training course for something I have no interest in, I had to park the van a mile from the training centre and carry all my PPE there, WHO builds a flipping training centre with no client parking FFS. The Instructor was an hour late and didn’t apologise (if we’re 10 mins late you’re off the course, no excuses). It could’ve finished at 1300 but she pointlessly strung it out till 1545 meaning I had to do battle with the rush hour A21.

Not on a par with other people’s issues but has made me very grumpy.

Noo, Mboy, I have been worrying about you! I read your post on the EU thread and hoped that it was only a blip. It’s no fun being in retail when the chips are down (and particularly no fun in these circumstances). If you can have a massive sale, just do it. If you can get something random like a brewery in to do a tasting in your shop, do it. Invite the trouser people to do a try on session. I spent the last recession doing all sorts of bonkers things (completely different business) but they take your mind off it, get some good energy in and cross fertilise. Hopefully this one will be over by Christmas.

(and sorry about the relationship too, but I can only manage one lot of practical suggestions at once, apart from the eternal ‘go and ride your bike and everything will be better’)

I will never put my kids in this position, I would give him more leeway but comments like “what did I do to deserve being blind” err you smoked 20 Fags a day for 70 years it’s f**king obvious and the fact that he has never looked after another human being in his life (other than me not starving as a kid – although we had a roof over our heads there were plenty of bloody cold winters)

Cheers Clover. Back to work tomorrow, and next step is to formulate a plan along the lines of what you’ve outlined. Got to drive sales somehow, and if the £ and public confidence doesn’t pickup drastically any time soon, then I’ve got to think outside the box for sure.

As for the GF? Been on the cards for a long time probably. Think we’ve both been stringing it out way too long. The catalyst here was that I really didn’t want to do anything today, but she’d already taken the day off work (despite me telling her not to) to do things with me. Monday’s are my day off, and being my birthday (I had a good 6hrs in the saddle yesterday to be fair) I wanted nothing more than to lounge around in my pants, watch the TDF, and just about get dressed in time for tea maybe… She doesn’t understand depression at all and that I just need to be left alone to my own devices at times like these, and after a few hours or a day or so I usually snap out of it a bit. Push came to shove, she packed her bags and left!

With every problem comes a new opportunity. Australia’s looking pretty good right about now (to be fair had been thinking the same thing a few years ago), I’ve got several mates out there already, and it looks like I’d be carrying a lot less baggage from now on…

oldmanmtb, Saturday night I was in a bed in a ward of four waiting for an op. I was a stop over, ready for a small op. The other guys in there looked like they were already dead.

I’m not sure I can tell their ages, but one looked in his mid 60s with some kid of necrosis going on with his feet, rotting from the bottom up, the late 60s chap was like a big marshmallow of pasty white flesh blancmanging around waiting for god-knows-what operation to hold off the inevitable heart explosion, and the third was probably late 70s who could hardly breathe, limbs held on with plastic sheathing, pipes on all his bits and a ratchet cough that could lift the wall tiles.

They all had dead eyes.

The way they had lived their lives, through the 40’s, 50’s 60’s and 70’s had taken their toll. They knew, now, that 60 a day and a full english every morning had destroyed them. One tried to take it out on his visiting daughter. The fear and anger often finds an outlet.

Initially I thought: “christ, I dont want to die old like this, literally rotting in a hospital bed”. But then I thought I have the upper hand now, Im not overweight, Im still fit, active and healthy and by my bollocks Im going to keep an eye on it. I can still do what I can to be more like my extraordinarily nimble 4′ tall, 78 yr old great aunt. She wont rot away: She’ll go off in a fizz of bright light one day with a pair of trainers on her feet.

I was having a bad day, having played cards with engineering and lost, but it wasnt the worst day I could have had.

I wanted nothing more than to lounge around in my pants, watch the TDF, and just about get dressed in time for tea maybe

fwiw, I like your style

Cheers gentlemen- mboy utilise STW to support your business – just post and ask for a little help – what do you sell?

i have been in that ward too stoner………not by choice. i made a promise to my self, that i would rather die dragging my self and my bike up a huge great hill whilst suffering, than laid in a ward like that, rotting away.

fingers crossed.

I think having read your posts on here the last x years, ton, we all know you wont be shuffling off quietly anytime soon 🙂 More fist pie for everyone!

But then I thought I have the upper hand now

Four-fifths of it!

bdum, ti

i would rather die dragging my self and my bike up a huge great hill whilst suffering, than laid in a ward like that

Ain’t that the truth.

All I’ve had to deal with today is severe depression because my business is going down the pan because of Brexit (well more precisely cos they **** the currency up and nobody has any confidence to spend any money), and the fact it’s my birthday and my GF has just finally seen sense and walked out!

You have my sympathies. Same happened to me in 1991, nowt to do with brexit though. & I was married with 2 kids.
It gets better believe me!

When I get to 70 I’m going to get a BIG motorbike. I’m not going to die with my teeth in a jar and smelling of my own p**s.

Ye, mboy, what are you selling?

I’ve had a really shit day.

However, last week my friends 13yo was in hospital in a coma, someone elses kid is in GOSH with a heart related issue, another friend & her 2yo was homeless due to a house-move gazump, my dad has pneumonia, and my daughters hypoglycaemia has been triggered by her cold – on this last one its going to be a long night awake.

I’m the least of anyones problems, including my own if that makes sense.

Mboy, keep believing it will get better and enjoy the simple pleasures that life presents each day if you look for them.

Like others have said tell us a bit more about your business, you never know what ideas the STW hive mind will come up with.

i am sure he sells bikes .

Well, my mum died on Saturday morning, my old dad couldn’t cope (he found her collapsed in the house) and he’s not well himself couldn’t help her and called the ambulance (she died en route to A&E as had a signed DNR). I’d an early morning call (I was awake but still in bed) and had to get in to town sharpish. After having to take control of the situation on the ground I took the call from A&E informing that my mum didn’t ‘make it’ to hospital. I then had to inform my dad…

Got my dad sorted out then us off to A&E, phone my brother and sister and console my dad through the ‘viewing’/visit. Meet my brother (& family), console my niece, arrange a visit to the mortuary for my sister (she was out of town) in the evening.

Assumed responsible adult role and take the reigns. Had to stay over with my dad.

So despite today starting badly (needed to get the death certificate but both GP and hospital main phone lines were down and I couldn’t get hold of anybody (there’s not much you can do without a death cert) I achieved most of what set out to do today (with the bonus of contacting social work and the minister phoning in from his scout camp).

So, really, a fair bit better than Saturday. But I’d rather not have to repeat it though.

bloody hell – thoughts are with you all

Well the shitness of my monday started on sunday. Quick spin on motorbike all went well but didnt have the time to change cleats on roadbike after changing pedals..what could possibly go wrong, fast forward to an hour later pulling away on a hill foot slips off pedal leg goes into rings, hand goes over hole and holy **** jesus I’m going to bleed to death at the side of road! Luckily I missed arteries but have a really big **** hole in my leg. Phone ambo while assuming the fetal position using speaker phone. Some people arrive and you can tell its bad as the dont wont to get too close. Someone gives me a towel to wrap it up thats good we dont have to look at it anymore! We wait, then wait some more we keep waiting. Ambulance serviced called again they confirm ambos notified. After about 30 mins a police dog handler arrives!! Not quite what I was hoping for. He has a quick look and gets on the radio withvwords along the lines of wheres this **** ambulance? We dont have any he’s told. So bless him he gets out his first aid kit wraps it up and puts me in his car. Blue lights ago, I get literally dozens of KOM’s!!!
Arrive at A&E and its a but busy wait on a wheel chair bleeding watching people I want to kill check in with sore gums, shivering and sweating the triage nurse looks to “see if you need stitching” “pretty **** sure I do” “er yes”.
Finally see practise nurse and get sone oromorph. “Well it doesnt look good” “I can see your achillies tendon from here”. Have xray no bones broken. See member of ortho team, needcsurgery to check achillies not damaged and clean and stitch. Nurse washes it out I chew pillow. Sent up to a ward to wait, meet lovely ex pupil who is now a nurse. I am covered in blood and lay face down on a trolley in full lycra! Few hours later another member of ortho team comesxalongva pulls bandage off roughly and prods it with a hot poker or at least thats what I think he does I was face down chewing the pillow! 10am this morning aneathatist arrives. I recount my 6 other leg ops, I can see hevis impressed with my utter **** numptyness. Have op, achillies looks ok but ankle in plaster now for 10 days. Infection the biggest worry so have had industrial quantities of IV antibiotics. Had to inject myself in stomack daily with anti blood clot stuff. This hurts. My Mrs is a bit pissed off to say the least. Mother in law here to “help”… shoot me now!!

shoot me now!!

lets go out back, ol’ yeller.

i am sure he sells bikes .

LOL

For my sins, yeah! 😆

With the £ suffering as it is, and consumer confidence through the floor, turnover is down 70-75% on only 4 weeks ago and the same period this time last year. It’s like somebody switched the lights off, but didn’t warn us they were going to do so! With reports of 2017 bikes costing on average 10-15% more than 2016 bikes, this could hurt for some time as people decide they will now wait til prices come back down (and half the shops have gone bust) to buy their new bikes! 🙁

Reading the other responses so far though, I’m aware I still have my health (of sorts) and a roof over my head though, so thank goodness for small mercies. The trails were bloody good yesterday too after summer finally decided to rear its head!

Still fair to say my 36th Birthday won’t be remembered as one of my best… But tomorrow is another day!

Perfect place to get help then… What bikes?

turnover is down 70-75% on only 4 weeks ago and the same period this time last year.

Wow, I didn’t think it was that bad yet….

You have my sympathies.

And where are you? There’s always stuff that needs replacing…

As for shit birthdays, mine last year was taken up mainly with waiting in hospital whilst the consultant told me that the foetal sac had lost integrity and that our 17 week old baby was unlikely to survive.

He was right. That was our third failure at the start of the second trimester.

This year’s birthday was mainly spent organising the divorce and being ignored. Still, another couple of months and it should be all over.

Anyway, A_A, good work! If you are going to mess yourself up on a bike, do it well. Heal quickly and well.

Metalheart, my sympathies. It’s a shit time for you, but we’re here if you need us.

Anyway, A_A, good work! If you are going to mess yourself up on a bike, do it well. Heal quickly and well.

Cheers, I posted mine as a bit of light relief! What a **** I am!!
Read a thread like this and I realise how lucky I am!
Good luck to you in what will be an awful time and to others going throgh tough times.

Still jobless.

Then saw another STWers news on Facebook last night which put it back in perspective 🙁

yep, saw that too… 🙁

Still jobless

Sorry to hear that mate! It sucks, been there more times than I’d care to remember…

Good luck getting it sorted!

Mboy have you got a FB page? We can like and share it to spread the word. Also FB does cheap targeted ads so you can set it to £1 a day to target people who like cycling in your area. And Twitter, have you got that?

Whereabouts are you? Have a sale, be loud and tell people things are going to be more expensive next year – there will be people who will buy. It’s hard to be optimistic but there will still he those who can justify the purchase!

Makes my day look good TBF. I had an xray of my shoulder today for the injury I sustained on June 12th this year, looks like I have a bent clavicle (no idea that this was possible) and an AC joint that “looks wrong”. Eventually got to work and had a really dull day.

Compared to OP and Mboy seems like mine was a near perfect day.

Hope it improves for you both.