Friday 17 February 2023

The Cauldron of Moans

 

Welcome to The Cauldron of Moans

Are you a Moaner Lisa? Do you find life offers you more moans than grins or smiles even? Well, you're not alone. There are too many things going wrong in the world right now which gives us cause to frown, tut-tut, to groan or moan even.

So feel free to add your moans in the Comments Box and join The Cauldron of Moans.

I am fed up with the number of traffic lights which are cropping up everywhere like wild mushrooms these days. It seems like the Local Authorities have spare money to spend/waste and they've decided that traffic lights are the way to do it. They not only slow the traffic down but they are hardly conducive to saving the planet, are they? You drive a few yards and stop, and drive and stop, and all the time yours and other cars' fumes are chocking the planet, and making the birds cough their hearts out. In a stretch of road about a mile long you can be stopped at least six times if not more. That and with lower speed limits (20mph in some areas) it's taking you longer to get where you want to be and you're using more gas and producing more exhaust fumes as well. 

This morning they put a traffic light in my front garden, another in the lounge, one half-way up the stairs and one outside the bathroom door. 

Another moan. There's a new word in town: shrinkflation. Because prices are going up everywhere, a trick by producers is to sell you less weight/capacity instead. What used to be 500 grams of rice or pasta is now 450 grams. It's the same for other products too. There's a biscuit which advertises the virtue that it is ultra-thin. Why not just sell the packaging and leave us to imagine the taste?

And another moan. Confusing news. You get a headline in a newspaper or on TV and when you get to read the story it is a waste of time on a non-story. Like when they mention a celebrity name involved in an incident/accident; you read the story and you find it is the partner of his/her cousin who got the accident and the involvement is merely one of being related to someone else. 

Another headline: New Male Contraceptive. Apparently it is a pill that a man takes to avoid pregnancy. Well, what's the use? Apart from Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Junior I have not known any other man get pregnant.

What else do I find irritating? Oh yes ... choice. We're trying to save the planet, right? Although I'm not sure what we're saving it from or whether she asked to be saved. Well, if we truly mean this saving thing, then we should reduce waste. And nothing creates waste more than choice. Go to any supermarket to find out. There's at least a million different kinds of toothpaste, and hair shampoo, and washing up liquid, and soap powder ... and even foods like pasta for instance. Why so many different kinds and shapes of pasta? They're all made with the same ingredients, aren't they?

And with choice you get a variety of packaging. Different packets for different kinds of toothpaste and so on. And all those plastic bottles we throw away. They're not all recyclable you know? Let's face it, how can you make a cycle out of a plastic bottle?

Years ago we used to return the lemonade bottles and get a few pence in return. Milk was delivered on our doorstep in glass bottles which we rinsed and left on our doorstep for the milkman to collect and refill. 

Not many tin cans like beer and lemonades in those days. Now they ask us to take them to the recycling centre miles away and waste gas and pollute the planet whilst we drive there.

And also new models ... what a waste. Every few weeks there's a new make or model of cell-phone, or car or electronic gadget. People change their cell-phones every nine months on average. Over here clothes are thrown away after about ten washes. In order to save the planet I now keep my clothes on and wash them every six months or so whether they need it or not. Our clothes are so old that the moths have started a charitable collection to buy us some new ones.

Oh, I'm tired being a Moaner Lisa. Why don't you take over for a while. Place your moans in the Comments Box below.

17 comments:

  1. ...moaners and whiners need to learn what others are experiencing in life. There are plenty disasters around the world to learn from.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True ... but planting traffic lights every few yards (or the other examples mentioned) does not alleviate world disasters. If we're serious about saving the planet there's a lot we can do nearer to home, like reducing waste for instance.

      Here in the UK we spend fortunes on home-deliveries of fast foods like pizzas, burgers and ready meals. Can you imagine the waste in throw-away packaging, not to mention all those vans and motorcycles driving everywhere on deliveries.

      God bless.

      Delete
  2. There is tons of waste in the world and the poorer countries pay the price for the waste. Recycling gets deposited in other countries, we don't see it but they live right beside it. Humans just don't give a hoot as long as they get what they want.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right Bill. We create too much waste these days.

      God bless.

      Delete
  3. I'm over here grinning and nodding like one of those bobble-head dolls. I have to admit, televised marketing is a mighty siren. I need a new cell phone like I need another hole in my head -- but the commercials for the new Pixel 7 leave me thinking I do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true; the TV adverts are such that they make you want what is advertised even if you don't need it.

      God bless you, Mevely.

      Delete
  4. I'm so tired of all the complainers and whiners out there, Victor. Especially if they are living in a 1st world country, people have it too good to waste time moaning.
    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dearest Victor,
    You are absolutely right about the traffic lights—we got lots of new ones here as well. One friend just posted about the longest red light in town (traffic!) for 2 minutes + 3 seconds and only 10 seconds on green. Doesn't make any sense.
    WHO really cares about pollution?! It is all a conversation piece nothing else.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I so agree with you about the traffic lights, Mariette. Near us there is one that stays green for only a few seconds. By the time my wife wakes me up it has gone to red again. As for pollution, all this start stop, and one way systems meaning you have to drive a long way for a short distance it all adds to pollution.

      God bless you and Pieter.

      Delete
  6. I find myself nodding/agreeing with your list here...
    However, I do my best not to moan, and in my own way make each day as pleasant as possible.

    Wishing you a happy weekend.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Moaning is a favourite pass-time of mine, Jan. That and sitting down.

      Best wishes always. God bless.

      Delete
  7. No moans, i've take the Pickle Pledge(TM)! I won't be a pickle, i will turn every complaint into either a gratitude or a constructive criticism.

    Yes, there are too many traffic lights, i am grateful to have a car and be able to get where i need to go at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They have now invented portable traffic lights that people carry tied to their back.

      God bless, Mimi.

      Delete

I PRAY FOR ALL WHO COMMENT HERE.

God bless you.