M22. I only ever hear negativity from brits on what life is like here. I'm welsh and have spent time in pembrokeshire, cardiff, norwich, chichester and I love it here.

Idk if all this negativity is fair or not. I know a lot of people are struggling (myself included financially). However, this country has so much more going for it than 95% of the world and i personally love it here more than any of the other 40 countries i have visited. The countryside, architecture, cities, music, history, culture, and entertainment are all elite.

The only thing issue i really do feel is how everything is so expensive (driving, public transport, rent etc) , though we have loads of great free things as well (NHS, countryside)

Had to get this out as its been on my mind, id love to hear why people disagree or why people may feel the same as i do.

Could I theoretically use this in a Tesco's?

I live in the south east of England

I'm turning 31 in just over two weeks, and apart from a few people I do a niche sport with, I'm basically a complete larry. I've drifted apart from my college/uni mates over the years as our lives have gone in different directions, and last year I spent about four months after my birthday in a profound depression. Since I'd like to give myself the best chance possible of avoiding that this year, and my birthday comes right after payday:

How would you spend a 31st birthday on your todd?

31, M, size 9.5 shoes, and the most interesting thing about me is that I once got paid to have malaria for two weeks.

Throughout my life, I (28m) have met people who don't mind, as their relationship is more like roommates, as opposed to a parents/son.

Meanwhile, I've also met others who genunally can't wait to kick them out as soon as they turn 18, unable to understand that life is more expensive, but do it anyway because "That's what we did".

I'd personally like to imagine that most wouldn't mind, but who knows?

As long as your son/daughter wasn't a useless layabout and actually contributed to the household in a meaningful way, would you mind if they still lived at home in this day and age?

EDIT: Much more engagement than I thought, but it seems like most don't mind.

For context, I have no siblings and both myself and my parents get along really well. I do pay board (£80 per week), do my own chores as you would expect, and also work with my dad.

I'm talking about the stuff you wouldn't admit on a first or second date

Feel like lots of the current advice is outdated or not aimed at a UK specific audience and I'm looking for ideas

Genuine non judgmental question, I completely forgot it existed until I remembered skin so soft.

Hi! So I’ve been dealing with severe pains when I am on my period for almost two years now. Everytime I go to my GP they pawn me off, they’ve tried giving me painkillers, putting me on different types of birth control methods to see if it will calm it down but nothing has helped, does anyone know if I went to the hospital and basically demanded for them to do tests on me, do you think they would help me? I can’t go on like this I miss work etc because of the pain when it’s day 1 & 2

What I mean is: shows that, even by kids' TV standards, were almost unbearable.

I think every parent has secretly found at least a few of their kids' programmes fairly watchable. But there were two things my kids loved that I really, really wish they'd never discovered.

1. Peppa Pig

Honestly, I used to fantasise about an episode where Daddy Pig announced that the family were going on a fun day trip to an abattoir... sorry. 😂

Even when I only half-listened to it from the next room, all I could think was, "She's actually a bully."

1. Ryan's World

I know it wasn't technically a TV show, but my goodness it was awful.

For those parents who aren't familiar with it, I'm genuinely jealous. It was a YouTube channel centred around a kid called Ryan unboxing toys and doing various challenges.

The constant bad acting (mostly by the parents), the blatant toy marketing, and the endless stream of sponsored-looking content drove me up the wall. Fair play to them for making a fortune, but I do wish they'd quietly retire and enjoy it.

Ryan's World also led to one of my worst Christmas shopping experiences.

When my son was 6 and still believed in Santa, he desperately wanted one of those Ryan's World mystery eggs. They were about £50 and seemed to contain roughly the same value as a Kinder Egg. We searched online daily and couldn't find one anywhere in the UK.

Then, about a week before Christmas, we took the kids to see Santa at the Manchester Arndale. As we were leaving, Santa told them:

"Make a wish, and whatever you wish for, you'll wake up to on Christmas morning."

I actually turned to the elf and said, "I really wish he hadn't said that."

Fortunately, we managed to find one and it arrived on Christmas Eve. My son was absolutely thrilled when he opened it on Christmas morning.

And when I saw what was actually inside it, I was absolutely correct about the worthless tat.

So, parents of AskUK: what kids' shows did you endure purely because your children loved them?

Typical. We book a summery date for the wedding and now the forecast is looking like rain 50% chance as well as lower temperatures.

The wife (to be) is devastated. I keep trying to cheer her up by saying we will still have an amazing day and use the contingency plan. It’s not even happened yet but she’s already upset as she had a picture in her head of everyone outside enjoying the canapés, drinking pimms and champagne as well as our wedding photos in the grounds garden.

Has anyone ever had this and if so how did you deal with it? Was it still a great day, did the missus or fella still enjoy themselves?

I (mid-forties, former Indie type) lived in north London in the mid 2000s. Currently feeling nostalgic about my bus commute and the music I used to listen to on my Creative Zen. Happy bloody days! Unfortunately I no longer have the WMP library I used for stocking up that player and I can only remember a few songs from my playlists. Can anyone suggest what the heck else I might have been listening to in that period, based on my vague memories below?!

Stephen Fretwell - Run, Emily

José Gonzalez - Heartbeats

The Brazilian guy who did the Steve Zizou soundtrack

Guillemots - Get Over It

The Kooks - She Moves in Her Own Way

Kanyé West - Golddigger

Pigeon Detectives (??) - Moving to New York

That song that went "What's that coming over the hill is it a MONSTER"

The warbly woman who did the song for the Orange advert with the balloons (Joanna Newsome?)

Röyksopp, Zero 7, Air etc

(My musical background prior to this was broadly Massive Attack, 90s Britpop etc, but I remember in the mid-2000s I was pretty proud of myself for listening to more current music 😁)

Any suggestions welcome!

UPDATE: This has been a real trip down memory lane, THANK YOU for all contributions - I have plenty of new-to-me stuff to look up here as well as plenty of right answers. Off to start a new playlist 😀

An uncle of mine jokingly called me an Essex boy cause from what he knew in the 90s they were heavily groomed (the appearance type) with lots gel and hairspray and whatnot. Is that a real stereotype? I know for Essex girls it's fake tan but I've never heard of it for blokes

For starters, anything above 25 degrees makes me want to move country. I don't know what's wrong with me but I don't do heat well. So sorry for my moaning tone.

I have the standard south Asian wavy/borderline curly hair. It looks fine usually. I do absolutely fuck all to it - I haven't owned straighteners or curlers for 3 years. Tried lots of wavy/curly hair products they make it look awful. I haven't dyed or bleached it. Occasionally I will get highlights without bleach.

I get an expensive haircut every 6 to 12 months with all the works - feathers, layers and a good fringe. And then I just leave it as it is to wave as it wants and it looks completely fine. Great even.

Except now!! I don't know if it's the heat, the humidity, the car A/C (I've been driving more than I ever have), having the windows down or something else or that I'm showering in cold water up to three times a day (hair wash once a day max) and my Desi hair is used to being washed every two or three days, but it's just frizzy and flat now with no curl whatsoever. I oiled some of the frizz out and it just looks flat. Without oil I look like a homeless lady gone crazy, it's so frizzy. I've attached a photo of what I feel like - imagine that but like armpit length hair. What do I do?

We watch a lot of travel shows and we were joking that every travel host no matter where they go will point out that wherever they are is a “land of contradictions” (cue poignant establishing shot)

So what would they find here to satisfy the obligatory travel show narrative? What are our British contradictions?

Job market and life in general is tough in many places. For example europe has high unemployment too. Yet some always go on about how poor UK is doing in comparison but the issues are the same.

During British colonization, Malaysia and Singapore received a large influx of Chinese and Indian settlers rather than British ones, which were usual for several other British colonies. Can someone explain why that was the case?

I like a bit of cheese on toast. Lately, I've been finding that Cathedral cheese has been getting rather rubbery and disappointing when grilled for a cheese on toast. I can remember it being lovely and liquid, fatty and and satisfying, but now it's dry and shite.

Has anyone else noticed this, or can offer a better alternative?

i see a lot of pigeons with injured feet in my city. sometimes they have stringfoot or gum stuck to their feet. other times they have their beaks open presumably due to thirst, and i want to care for them, but i don’t know how to approach them without frightening them away. i’d be happy to handle them if they’d let me, but i don’t want to do more harm than good without realising. does anybody have experience with things like this? is there anything i should look out for, or even carry around in my bag just in case? thank you!!

Stats say that 75% of the adult UK population can drive a car. Out of these about 5% have an auto only license as well.

I have an auto only license. In my circle, I know of 1 other that does, the rest have a manual license but I also know many who don't drive at all.

What is it like in your social circle?

Are there any products that you have stopped totally buying due to increase in prices? Could be something essential or even something you used to buy as a treat but have stopped.

We live in an era where we can travel almost anywhere in the world at the click of a button. We can go down to the food store and buy food without needing to hunt or work hard to get our daily meal/s. We live better than pretty much any royal person in previous eras, even those from as recent as 100-200 years ago. We have modern medicine which is absolutely massive, and has been a game changer globally.

We have a myriad of transport to get places domestically without the need for a horse or walking. We now get to experience so much more of even this country, rather than being limited to one area like many would have before modern transport. We can meet strangers online or via apps, even people from other countries.

Via YouTube we get to see other countries and places. We get to learn almost anything we want to from the Internet. We have mobile phones so contact with others is easy. The list goes on. Do we often take what we have in our current times for granted?

Long story short: I went to uni and studied to work in pharmaceutical research, got a job and realized I much prefer working with people. Currently trying to get into paramedic science/cardiac physiology but NHS jobs (or moreso funding) are few and far between atm.

I've just started as a social care assistant in a nursing home. Personal care did initially shock me, but 3 shifts in and I'm not really bothered anymore. I do still feel a bit awkward and intrusive/guilty doing it. I don't dwell on it but find it extremely upsetting that some people are in such late stages of disease and there's photos of them on the wall smiling with their families. Life can be so cruel.

I am really enjoying the job. Especially finding ways in which I can connect with residents or find out what they done when they were younger and talk about that.

How can I be better at this job?

Dignity and respect is really important and I've noticed a lot of care workers will talk about residents right in front of them as if they are not there. I understand some don't have much capacity, but it's so wrong to speak about them as if they can't hear, or even just in that condescending baby talk tone. They're adults!

I have been helping with personal care when staff kept laughing and joking and flirting with each other and coming in and out of the woman's room while she was in a toileting sling. The door should have been shut as it would be for any other person going to the toilet. I regret not saying anything at the time.

I'm looking for advice on how to connect better with residents, activities to do with the kind of restless/bored residents, how to not feel guilty/awkward with personal care and what to do in situations where I feel other staff are being inappropriate. I don't want to cause drama/friction and it is a bit big-headed and bold saying something when I'm so new but at the same time I'm in my late 20s and they are mostly early 20s so I do feel like I could pull the maturity card.

(This may be making me come across as a cunt, I'm laid back asf and always up for a joke - but when it comes to certain things like this I'm happy to put a foot down)

I (23F) am a stay at home parent to my 1 year old, and I’m a part-time student. Today my partner and I decided to end our relationship. We live together, but I will now have to move out. We claim Universal Credit but I am aware I will need to open a new claim when I move out and the amount I get will change, so I have no idea how much money I will have.

I have no idea how I’m going to do it and how I’ll manage once I’ve moved out. My now-ex is okay with me and our daughter continuing to live here while I look for a new place, and he has said we will save as much money as we can in the meantime so that I can at least afford a deposit. When our tenancy ends in October, he plans on finding a smaller and more affordable place for himself, but I will not be able to afford to continue living in our current flat. So basically, I have until October to work things out, but the sooner the better.

Living with my family is probably not an option as they live very far away and there is not enough space in their home for me and my daughter (I have 6 younger siblings who live at home).

The most affordable homes near me are usually 800-900 per month. I’m not sure how much I will get from Universal Credit, but I doubt it will be enough for rent, bills, food etc. My daughter starts (free) childcare two days a week in September, her grandmother typically has her once every week or two, and I’m sure my ex will (hopefully) have her on his days off work. I will hopefully find a job that allows me to work on the days I don’t have my daughter, but I know that’s easier said than done.

I don’t know, I’m stressing and I can’t think straight. I just wonder if anyone else here has been in my position and how you went about things, and if things worked out okay for you. TIA

Organised one last year and I'm still recovering. Booking stuff was fine, that was almost the fun bit. The nightmare was everything around it - chasing 9 grown men for money for weeks, the group chat with 200 unread messages and no decisions, half of them not confirming until the last minute.

For those of you who've organised one: what was the bit that actually did your head in? Was it the money, getting people to commit, picking what to do, or something else entirely?

Genuinely curious whether it was just my group or if this is universal.

I have tried pretty much every OTC HayFever treatment out there, and the 'least bad' is Fexofenadine (plus a Benadryl nasal spray). Even with these though, I find myself becoming a virtual hermit for the majority of June each year as my symptoms are too bad.

As a result I am considering seeing my GP to ask if there is anything they can prescribe which might be more effective. Just wondered what other people's experiences with prescription HayFever treatments.

I'm about to finish an on call shift and am dying for a milkshake from this one place opposite a big asda. Theres no parking but the supermarket car park is free for customers. Obviously it's a Sunday so it's shut now so will I be fined if I park in the car park after hours?