The country's gone mad

[MarkW]

Just before I went to Brazil last month I phoned my GPs surgery to find out which vaccinations I needed. They couldn't tell me over the phone (they don't do this anymore, apparently), but did offer to print my records out for £5 so I could check for myself what I'd had and what I still needed. They did confirm though that if I came back to the UK with typhoid, rabies or dengue fever I'd get free treatment on the NHS for as long as necessary. However, if I wanted to avoid burdening an already cash-strapped health service with my care by being proactive, they'd charge me a fiver for the privilege. I said "Sod it then - I'll take my chances".

Then on Friday I took half a dozen plasterboard ceiling tiles to my local council tip and was told that there's now a £6 charge for 'building waste'. So I took them back home and phoned the council to ask how quickly they could clean up a pile of plasterboard dumped on my street and whether there was a charge. "We can send someone round on Monday morning, and absolutely no charge for reporting fly tipping." So there you have it: take it to the tip like a responsible citizen and get charged, or wait until the middle of the night and wang it over the fence.

And earlier in the week one of my neighbours had his car wheel clamped for "causing a dangerous obstruction". Had they left it alone he'd have moved it himself in under 20 minutes, but as it was it had to sit there being a "dangerous obstruction" for nearly five hours until they released it.

The country's gone mad, I tell you...

[Guest]

Our local council run 'recycling centre' started charging £3 per 20kg building waste. Currently the council are trying to figure out why there is so much fly tipping going...

[Joeman]

It's free to dump building waste at my local tip so long as it arrives in a domestic vehicle (not a van or pickup truck)

[Oasis]

We have to apply for a permit and then it's limited to three visits a year.

[Guest]

We have to apply for a permit and then it's limited to three visits a year.

It will close soon, lack of usage...

[Guest]

They're taking the country back obviously!

As for the NHS it appears that their objective is to take it back to Victorian times apparently.

[Mr Fro]

I had the same thing recently at the tip here - I had a few small pieces of plasterboard and was told there'd be a charge for each.

Have you seen the new "life long ISA"? Gubberment talk for "You ain't gettin' no pension bitch".

[JRH]

I went to our local tip with the (unbraked trailer) with the best part of half a ton of spoil from levelling the patio. Stopped at the relevant area and started to unload.

A recycling operative wanders over and said "there's a 75kg limit" . So I looked at him then at the trailer and said "yep that's about right" and carried on. He walked off and left me to it.