So I finally did it today. Been meaning to give blood since I was about 19, always had an excuse. Too busy, too squeamish, "someone else will do it". Then last month my mate's dad needed a transfusion after an operation and I thought, right, you absolute coward, book the bloody appointment. Turned up at the church hall in my town 10 mins early, sat there clutching my little donor form like I was waiting for a driving test. Everyone else in the room looked totally relaxed, chatting about the football and the price of everything. Meanwhile I'm sweating through my shirt because a nice lady is about to put a needle in me.

The actual donation was fine honestly. Didnt look at the needle, stared at a poster about iron levels the whole time and counted the tiles on the ceiling. Took about 10 minutes. The nurse, lovely woman called Maureen, kept chatting to me about her allotment which helped loads. Then I stood up, said "right, that wasnt so bad" very smugly, walked about 6 steps towards the door and the entire room went grey and fuzzy at the edges. I grabbed a stacking chair and just sort of folded onto it. Maureen was beside me before I even sat properly, like she had a sixth sense for idiots. She put a Rich Tea biscuit in one hand and a cup of squash in the other and said "sit there, good lad, nobody ever listens when we say take it slow". I sat there for 20 mins feeling like a right muppet while an elderly bloke who has apparently given 87 times (EIGHTY SEVEN) nodded at me like a proud grandad.

Anyway, I went home, had a massive bacon sandwich, and then booked my next appointment before I could talk myself out of it. Not really sure why I'm posting this. I think I just feel oddly proud and a bit daft at the same time. If you've been putting it off like I did, just go. Its an hour out of your day, you get free biscuits, and apparently one donation can help up to three people. Eat something beforehand and drink loads of water, and for the love of god dont do what I did and stand up like a hero. Anyway, cheers Maureen, see you in 16 weeks.

TL;DR: Man collapsed outside the pub. Maybe dead. It could happen to any of us. So - seize the day, boys. DO IT NOW. Life is brief. DO THINGS. NOW.

Apologies if I rant, but I am freaking out right now, with delayed adrenaline.

But I need to talk.

As I left Sainsburys, across the road I saw an old man fall down into the gutter. He came out of Wetherspoons. He was heading for his uber.

At least 20 people closer than me ignored him.

I ran across.

[Oh wait, shit, now this sounds like I am boasting? I'm not. I will continue...]

I checked him over. Nothing obviously broken. But he wasn't breathing, and had no pulse (that I could detect).

So I screamed at a nearby person to call 999, then I started CPR.

[I am a qualified "EFR instructor - from years ago, when I taught SCUBA diving.]

So.

I think I might have broken one or two ribs. He was fragile. But eh - as an EFR instructor, that is not my problem. If someone is breathing... it's somebody else's problem.

After about 2 mins of doing CPR, he coughed.

Then the ambo arrived.

IDK what happened after that.

AT THE TIME, I just flicked in to my "EFR mode" and went through my mental checklists - "ABC" and so on. I did not panic.

Now - about 2 hours later - I am totally freaking out about it. But that's OK. I'll be fine.

My message to you, dear reader:

1. If someone is not breathing and has no pulse - they are dead. So DO SOMETHING. Anything. I don't care if you do "one rescue breath and 15 pumps" or 2 breaths and 20 pumps... that doesn't matter. Just DO SOMETHING.

2. ➡️Carpe diem⬅️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi0Lbjs5ECI

"Carpe diem. Seize the day." - Dead Poets Society

We are food for worms. You have only a little time here, so make use of it.

Was cut up by a taxi driver this afternoon, who changed lanes suddenly, without indicating. Ended up behind him down a long road whereupon he intermittently drifted over the lane markings and changed lanes several times without indicating (or, it seems, checking his blind spot).

Imagine my delight when he pulled into the retail park I was headed to, and stopped at the pick up point! I drew up alongside and signalled for him to wind his window down, and gave a very chirpy “Sorry to bother you, just wanted to let you know to check your indicators, they don’t seem to be working” followed by a thumbs up and driving off before he realised I was being passive aggressive. He actually thanked me lol.

Just sauntered over to a claw machine at a pier arcade because I saw colourful round objects (intriguing), and realised they were plush dumplings. Shrugged, put in a pound coin, went for a pink dumpling. It picked it up, it went straight in.

Loudly exclaimed 'fuck off, really?!', despite being alone, having just left my husband behind playing pachinko for a second. What a treat. £1 for a small plush object - my favourite

I had to go through a shitty job centre employment course but I'm starting a new job as a croupier on Monday!

Let me state clearly an unpopular opinion. A storm in late october on a dark night when you are home is a beautiful thing. Listening to the wind, listening to the rain lashing your windows. It's like living in Bronte times, just with WIFI, the Internet and better food.

Driving to pick my daughter up on Saturday night from the cinema, I encountered fallen trees, flooding, high winds that shook my 2022 nissan micra like it was the legendary bonnie blue bang bus. In short it was exciting!

You spend all day dodging the rain, running to shelter in your car or home. Then night comes. You climb into bed listening to the wind howl. You pull the duvet up cosy inside.

A British storm can be wonderful*

*as long as you arent homeless, have your property damaged, work outside...

Never thought that I'd have something to post in this sub, but Ovo Energy have put my dual fuel direct debit payment down. It's gone down from £115 to £107 per month.

(This is in the same house that Octopus thought needed £222 per month AND tried to charge me twice for on several occasions, but let's gloss over that and celebrate this small win!)

Was walking back from the shops this morning when I saw the number 14 pulling in about 100 metres ahead. Next one wasnt for another 35 minutes and I had a doctors appointment, so I did what I haven't done since school and actually ran. Carrier bag swinging, coat flapping, absolutely no dignity. About halfway I realised I wasnt going to make it and slowed to that sad half jog people do when they want to look like they never tried.

Then the driver looked in his mirror, clocked me, and just sat there with the doors open. Didnt beep, didnt make a show of it. I got on completely out of breath, managed to wheeze "cheers mate" and tapped my card on the third attempt. He nodded and said "no rush" like I hadnt just nearly died on the pavement. A woman near the front gave me a tiny smile that I'm choosing to read as respect.

If only this was a daily occurrence rather than the usual 6am wake up 😭

Popped into the Oxfam on my lunch break on saturday and found a decent waxed jacket for £8, as my old one finally gave up. Stuck my hands in the pockets in the changing area and the left one had a folded £20 and a little bit of paper that said "for luck, pass it on" in really neat handwriting.

Thought about handing it in at the till but the woman was dealing with a queue of six people and a man haggling over a teapot, so I kept it. Decided to do what the note said though. Went to the bakery next door, bought a steak and ale pie for myself and a second one for the bloke who sits outside the Co-op most mornings.

Was waiting in the Doctor's today and an older woman wear playing a video aloud on her phone.

I turned round and used my, so far, foolproof line.

"Excuse me, do you know your volume is up?"

Turned off immediately, with an apology!

Oh the look of smugness on my face as I turned back round!!

Whenever inheritance comes up on Reddit, I often see people talk as if wealth is always something that has been accumulated over many generations.

In my family's case, that's not really true.

My parents immigrated to the UK with very little, essentially starting from scratch. They both went on to earn PhDs, became university lecturers, and later moved into professional/managerial roles in higher education.

A few years ago, one of our relatives passed away and left money to my parents. Rather than keeping it for themselves, my parents gave around £100k of it to me.

So technically it wasn't money that my parents earned directly, but it was money that passed through them to me, and without their decision I wouldn't have received it.

What I find interesting is that discussions about inheritance often focus on people receiving money, but less on the fact that many parents actively choose to pass wealth on rather than keep it for their own retirement, lifestyle, or spending.

I'm curious how common this is:

• Have your parents already given you money during their lifetime rather than waiting until they pass away?
• If you've received a large gift or inheritance, how has it affected your life?
• If you're a parent, would you rather help your children while you're alive or leave it all as an inheritance later?

Interested to hear different perspectives, especially from other children of immigrants whose families experienced significant upward mobility in one generation.

I want to be precise about what happened because I think the details matter. Six items. Two of them were loose items I had to find on the produce list - a butternut squash and some loose carrots. One item had a security tag. I had a Clubcard. I was paying by card. Every single one of those things has, at some point in my life, caused the machine to either freeze, summon a member of staff, or emit that specific sound that means you've done something wrong without telling you what. On one memorable occasion last November all four happened in sequence during a single transaction involving a meal deal. Yesterday, nothing. The butternut squash was in the system immediately, first attempt, correct weight accepted without drama. The carrots found on the second scroll. The security tag deactivated when I paid without requiring the intervention of a human being. The Clubcard scanned. The contactless worked first tap. The receipt printed. I collected my bag and walked toward the exit and then stopped for a moment just outside the doors because I wasn't entirely sure what had just happened. A woman asked if I was alright. I said yes, I'd just had a good experience at the self-checkout. She looked at me the way you look at someone who has said something you understand individually but cannot parse as a sentence. I've been to that Tesco probably 200 times. I don't know what was different yesterday. I'm not going to question it. I'm simply going to be grateful and move on.

During the second leg of a long train journey I received a message that my next train was cancelled. Which it was, but it turned out the previous train was late enough that I was able to catch it and get home earlier than expected. Not sure whether to complain or not.

Nick, my builder, replaced a conservatory tile roof and felt, did some extra bits like to sills and hanging a mirror.
Stayed on a bit to finish and only left when all was complete as we have storms coming in tonight.
And he charged what he quoted.
Job done by a local man 👍

Got triggered by seagulls so decided to make an app to see why they enjoy plaguing us so much. It’s a daft little game where you’re a seagull nicking chips and bombing people on a seaside town. Never thought I’d actually finish it, but it’s live and people I don’t know have played it.

Gull Bomber, if anyone fancies a go: Gull Bomber: Seagull Arcade - Apps on Google Play

Wish I’d done it with my eldest. Cutest thing ever seeing her sign ‘eat’, ‘no’, ‘open’

I read up about babies can learn to sign before speaking. But, seeing it for myself is so surreal.

Had an unwanted AI update for my Samsung Galaxy phone. If you go into settings you can turn everything installed off.

I got rid of the search bar that I don't want on my home screen by using it to ask how to get rid of it.

Every time we tell AI to fuck off we are sending a message, we don't need it.

I love Rick Stein. His television is gentle, easy, and comforting Here's an essay on why things like Seafood Odyssey and Taste of the Sea are so wonderful.

https://bogstandards.substack.com/p/ulysstein-why-rick-steins-early-television

Since the bombing of the Russian bot farm my daily two rings and cut off mobile calls have stopped!

I had some old make up sets that I'd never used, my daughter asked of she could list them on vinted. I agreed thinking she may get a couple of quid for them. A stranger messaged me to say the price was too low and similar sets go on ebay for £100. My daughter relisted and we got £40. Planning on using it to take daughter out for lunch! Was over the moon by the strangers kindness!

Sometimes strangers are just nice people.

Yesterday my wife and I popped out to Home Bargains and Tesco.

Parked up in Home Bargains and when I came out the car 2 away from my bay needed a jump start, I happen have jump cables in the back so more happily provided a jump, they weren't sure on how to jump start so I explained, car started and they were happy people, they even offered to pay for the jump (I of course declined and just said to pay it forward).

I then foolishly drove 5 mins down the road to Tesco, turned off my engine and guess what I then needed 😂

So after leaving the car with my windows down while we went round Tesco to do the shop, I came back out, saw a 4x4 parked up and about to leave, I tapped the window and asked any chance of a jump start. His response "No problem pal, I've cables and a jump pack in the back, which would you prefer?"

So faith in strangers restored, maybe proof of what goes around comes around?

Or simply, "Just help others and be kind to each other" which makes this country (and the world) a better place.

In late 2024, I picked up a promotional eSIM from Slice for a fiver, fully expecting the standard monthly billing to kick in after month one.

It never did. For two solid years, through sheer billing oversight, they gave me unthrottled, unlimited data for a grand total of £5.00 flat. The ultimate "don't pay as you go." To add insult to injury, they even sent me free merch hence the hat in the photo.

All good things have to end. I’ve just upgraded to a Galaxy S25, and because it’s an eSIM, there's no way to quietly move it across without an account swap waking up their systems. Rather than push my luck any further, I’m pulling the pin and requesting my PAC code.

If their system suddenly flags a two-year discrepancy when that request lands, fair play. But Slice, genuinely, thank you ever so much. You unknowingly saved me the best part of a grand over the last 24 months. I’ll wear the hat with pride.