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    (Small) Signs Of The Times

    In my local park in Tunbridge Wells, the only football graffiti these days is a foot high Wisla Krakow, painted on the side of a bridge.

    At a Sunday morning boot fair outside Eastbourne last summer, I twice caught the unmistakeable aroma of, and then spotted, a couple of people openly smoking joints as they wandered between the stalls.

    In Pret A Manger last Saturday, my wife and I were bemused by a 30-something husband and wife, sat at an adjacent table with their heads bent in concentration over their smartphones, checking texts, Facebook, Twitter or somesuch and completely oblivious to the efforts of their two young children to engage them in conversation.

    #2
    (Small) Signs Of The Times

    When typing on a proper keyboard, I keep hitting the space bar twice in an attempt to insert a full stop.

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      #3
      (Small) Signs Of The Times

      One can now masturbate lying comfortably on one's back holding one's smartphone or tablet in one hand, rather than on a chair hunched over the screen of a laptop.
      So I'm told, like.

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        #4
        (Small) Signs Of The Times

        Posh-o. In my day, you'd have to take your whole desktop setup to bed with you. You'd have your leg braced against the tower to keep it from tipping over, with the CRT monitor sitting atop your stomach and the mousepad next to you, resting on a firm pillow.

        And god forbid your misses came home early...

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          #5
          (Small) Signs Of The Times

          Sorry. Left-hand typing.

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            #6
            (Small) Signs Of The Times

            Confirmation that you are a right wanker, then.

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              #7
              (Small) Signs Of The Times

              Anyway, back to the signs o' the times: having to play music on earphones whilst on public transport to drown out the tinny racket from other people's (usually ill-fitting) earphones.

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                #8
                (Small) Signs Of The Times

                Get some open backed headphones.
                Listen to a recording of someone saying "kill them. Kill them all" over and over again.

                You'll not have to listen to anyone else's leaky cans any more. You'll probably have a whole bus to yourself.

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                  #9
                  (Small) Signs Of The Times

                  gjw100 wrote:
                  At a Sunday morning boot fair outside Eastbourne last summer, I twice caught the unmistakeable aroma of, and then spotted, a couple of people openly smoking joints as they wandered between the stalls.
                  I regularly find I'm following someone smoking weed as I'm walking along a street. It does seem more common that people will openly smoke joints. I've even seen people rolling them as they walk along.

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                    #10
                    (Small) Signs Of The Times

                    hobbes wrote: Get some open backed headphones.
                    Listen to a recording of someone saying "kill them. Kill them all" over and over again.

                    You'll not have to listen to anyone else's leaky cans any more. You'll probably have a whole bus to yourself.
                    I live in Lewisham. I'd probably still only be the 9th weirdest person on the bus.

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                      #11
                      (Small) Signs Of The Times

                      Toby Gymshorts wrote:
                      Originally posted by hobbes
                      Get some open backed headphones.
                      Listen to a recording of someone saying "kill them. Kill them all" over and over again.

                      You'll not have to listen to anyone else's leaky cans any more. You'll probably have a whole bus to yourself.
                      I live in Lewisham. I'd probably still only be the 9th weirdest person on the bus.
                      I was getting the 54 out of Lewisham a few weeks back. The driver switched all the inside lights off as we drove off, and the other 5 or so people on the top deck with me promptly went to sleep and started snoring extravagantly. It was 3.30pm or so. It just seemed a bit surreal, but then Lewisham can be a bit like that.

                      There was a guy skinning up on the District Line into work yesterday. It's definitely much more common these days just out and about.

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                        #12
                        (Small) Signs Of The Times

                        Back when I lived in Brockley, then Honor Oak, I didn't like Lewisham. It's grimy, ALWAYS heaving with people and it's not exactly picturesque.

                        Having lived here a few months, I'm growing to appreciate it. I mean, I still spend my free time in Blackheath / Greenwich, but whenever I'm in Lewisham proper I always feel a weird sense of pride.

                        I think they call it Cabin Fever.

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                          #13
                          (Small) Signs Of The Times

                          I'd like Lewisham more, if it had anything handy in it, but the shopping centre is really rubbish. Blackheath and Greenwich don't have much to offer in terms of 'high street' stores either, but they are prettier (and Greenwich has the Maritime Museum, and the market with all the nice food to stuff yerself with).

                          Do you ever get used to the slightly surreal juxtaposition you get as you leave Blackheath and then arrive at the bottom of Belmont Hill in Lewisham? It's like going through a weird Silent Hill-style transformation if you're on a quick enough bus.

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                            #14
                            (Small) Signs Of The Times

                            Jongudmund wrote: I've even seen people rolling them as they walk along.
                            I've been a passenger in a moving car (a convertible no less) whilst the driver rolled one. Before I learnt to skin up like. Hash as well, not weed. I was incredibly impressed at the time.

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                              #15
                              (Small) Signs Of The Times

                              via vicaria wrote: I'd like Lewisham more, if it had anything handy in it, but the shopping centre is really rubbish. Blackheath and Greenwich don't have much to offer in terms of 'high street' stores either, but they are prettier (and Greenwich has the Maritime Museum, and the market with all the nice food to stuff yerself with).

                              Do you ever get used to the slightly surreal juxtaposition you get as you leave Blackheath and then arrive at the bottom of Belmont Hill in Lewisham? It's like going through a weird Silent Hill-style transformation if you're on a quick enough bus.
                              Well, I don't really do shopping as a leisure activity, so Blackheath and Greenwich are ideal in that eating and drinking is pretty good. Lewisham shopping centre is fine for me as it has a Sainsburys.

                              And yes, the ride down past The Squirrels into Lewisham is an odd one.

                              Comment


                                #16
                                (Small) Signs Of The Times

                                gjw100 wrote: In Pret A Manger last Saturday, my wife and I were bemused by a 30-something husband and wife, sat at an adjacent table with their heads bent in concentration over their smartphones, checking texts, Facebook, Twitter or somesuch and completely oblivious to the efforts of their two young children to engage them in conversation.
                                If we're talking "Signs of the times" and "pret a manger" at the same time, then surely the phrase "Fucking how much???? For a fucking sandwich???" has to make an appearance.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  (Small) Signs Of The Times

                                  Toby Gymshorts wrote: Anyway, back to the signs o' the times: having to play music on earphones whilst on public transport to drown out the tinny racket from other people's (usually ill-fitting) earphones.
                                  apropos of tinny racket, I was having an idle wonder about whether (or how much) the prevalence of people playing music through their phone speakers has affected trends in production. lot of hi-hat rolls in modern hip-hop, like.

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    (Small) Signs Of The Times

                                    apropos of smoking weed at flea markets, I remember reaching an absolute psychic nadir around a decade ago, having woke up early to go to a car boot in trafford somewhere. I didn't buy anything and then sat in my car smoking a joint, crying.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      (Small) Signs Of The Times

                                      pebblethefish wrote:
                                      Originally posted by gjw100
                                      In Pret A Manger last Saturday, my wife and I were bemused by a 30-something husband and wife, sat at an adjacent table with their heads bent in concentration over their smartphones, checking texts, Facebook, Twitter or somesuch and completely oblivious to the efforts of their two young children to engage them in conversation.
                                      If we're talking "Signs of the times" and "pret a manger" at the same time, then surely the phrase "Fucking how much???? For a fucking sandwich???" has to make an appearance.
                                      Clearly the ubiquity of pre-made sandwiches, rolls, wraps etc in supermarkets, garages and Pret-style outlets has been a gradual process, but when did it start? For a viable market to be established, at what point were there sufficient people who couldn't be arsed with making their own sandwiches and who didn't mind paying comparitively silly money for someone else to do it? I can remember a time when they didn't exist, but couldn't say with any certainty when they began to appear or where.

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                                        #20
                                        (Small) Signs Of The Times

                                        A couple of times while reading a book recently I've caught myself running my index finger up the page in an attempt to make the text scroll upwards.
                                        Ha! I've got the reading-a-foreign-book-on-kindle version of that: I found myself pressing a word I didn't know in a paperback, cos the kindle takes you to a dictionary wen you do that.

                                        Comment


                                          #21
                                          (Small) Signs Of The Times

                                          beak wrote: apropos of smoking weed at flea markets, I remember reaching an absolute psychic nadir around a decade ago, having woke up early to go to a car boot in trafford somewhere. I didn't buy anything and then sat in my car smoking a joint, crying.
                                          Once smoked one before I had to start a contract on a new site, spent the first hour and half in toilet pretending to be physically sick. Wasn't though, I was holding my head between my knees and crying. I don't miss that kind of paranoia.

                                          Comment


                                            #22
                                            (Small) Signs Of The Times

                                            Luke R wrote:
                                            Originally posted by beak
                                            apropos of smoking weed at flea markets, I remember reaching an absolute psychic nadir around a decade ago, having woke up early to go to a car boot in trafford somewhere. I didn't buy anything and then sat in my car smoking a joint, crying.
                                            Once smoked one before I had to start a contract on a new site, spent the first hour and half in toilet pretending to be physically sick. Wasn't though, I was holding my head between my knees and crying. I don't miss that kind of paranoia.
                                            I have never got the concept of smoking weed, for kids trying to look cool or going through a rebellious stage its ok, but doing that above the age of 25 is really pathetic and its wierd that not only is it becoming so socially acceptable.

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                                              #23
                                              (Small) Signs Of The Times

                                              I think I might (in a roundabout way) agree with you. I do I get the concept though. It can get you high and groovy and it can feel really really nice. I'm not sure it's great for society on the whole though.

                                              Comment


                                                #24
                                                (Small) Signs Of The Times

                                                I used to really love getting baked.
                                                Then one day, I just really didn't' enjoy it at all.

                                                it's quite a social thing I think.

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                                                  #25
                                                  (Small) Signs Of The Times

                                                  Lewisham Centre is rubbish but it has the Sausage Man so it all works out in the end.

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