Random musings and general banter.

The walking canes seems to have gone up in price, they always used to be 17.99. And they are giving away a pack of batteries with each cane. How generous, probably the Philips batteries that they always seem to have.

Gooner1963 said:

Hope she had a fit of non stop sneezing as well lol

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Probably spray tanned anyone standing close by.

galesgal57 said:

The walking canes seems to have gone up in price, they always used to be 17.99. And they are giving away a pack of batteries with each cane. How generous, probably the Philips batteries that they always seem to have.

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Can't fault Ideal World for that. Their charity knows not only no start but also not only no end.

First a free tea spoon of cornflakes for the kiddies before school, now a free pack of batteries for the elderly.

It says a lot about a company that they're willing to give away a product that's been "flying out" whenever they bring it to air. People were going mad for those batteries last time: stocking up, buying 2s and 3s, multi-buying. I heard a Shearings coach was booked by one group of pensioners hoping to get to the studio before they sold out. They wanted to full up their shopping trolley and check out!

Now IW has decided to give them away

I'm sure cynics will say IW has just raised the price of the cane by a few quid to cover the wholesale cost of the batteries (plus a small profit) they're now 'throwing in for free' because viewers were NOT going mad for them at all…

But… I mean… haters gonna hate, right?

Non-Working Samples Extravaganza…

Even by their unpalatable moral standards- a particularly watch television instead of sticking both fingers down your throat for a quicker result evening’s broadcasting. ‘Free’ batteries built into the huge profit margin on the cane..

This is actually painful emotionally and psychologically to watch. The antithesis of everything disabled people have fought for decades for to be respected, make their own choices, and be listened to by society.

Buy a plastic cane for a disabled person. Don’t involve them in the process whatsoever other than dumping the wretched thing on them and walking off. God…it stinks. Thankfully these awful people on this channel will never have any direct or positive influence on genuinely empowering a disabled customer to make a correct or an informed choice for them.

The more you watch of this presentation, the worse it gets.. How to treat disabled people circa 1975.

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Battiola73 said:

I know what I’m going to ask for my. Christmas present, the 4 bars of Opatra 24K gold gentle care soap. Only works out at £5.75 per bar (incl p&p). You could of course buy the 4x 100 grams of Pears clear soap for £3.70 from Tesco.

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If Ideal World runs out of stock before your significant other takes advantage you could hot-foot it to the Trafford Centre in Manchester where last weekend I discovered that they have an Opatra stand. I didn't stick around long enough to discover their prices!

Worldie04 said:

If Ideal World runs out of stock before you take advantage you could hot-foot it to the Trafford Centre in Manchester where last weekend I discovered that they have an Opatra stand. I didn't stick around long enough to discover their prices!

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Yeah, the Opatra stands are pretty infamous. I linked to bunch of complaints about them a while back. Predatory. "Would you like to try a free cream, madame?" then …hard sell to buy some cheap far-east red light tat at exorbitant RRP, when person says no, magically they make a phone call and they can get the price down substantially - but only if they buy right now… etc

Herring said:

Yeah, the Opatra stands are pretty infamous. I linked to bunch of complaints about them a while back. Predatory. "Would you like to try a free cream, madame?" then …hard sell to buy some cheap far-east red light tat at exorbitant RRP, when person says no, magically they make a phone call and they can get the price down substantially - but only if they buy right now… etc

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I put ear buds in (even if I'm not listening to music). When I'm approached for a probable hard sell I just point to my ears, indicating that I can't hear them, and continue walking. Or I put on a posh voice and say "I'm terribly sorry but I don't speak English". That usually confuses them!

Muttley said:

More of the Dubai air fresheners. Either the great British public aren't interested or IW3 have imported 2 million cans. You decide.

He's managed to negotiate a special price for us (he's good like that), then said that we could smell "what people in palatial lives smell" (making as much sense as Dirty Pete). Yeah, I bet all the British aristocracy get all their air fresheners from Dubai...

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Surely the British aristocracy buy their air fresheners from IW3

Worldie04 said:

If Ideal World runs out of stock before your significant other takes advantage you could hot-foot it to the Trafford Centre in Manchester where last weekend I discovered that they have an Opatra stand. I didn't stick around long enough to discover their prices!

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Was the fish lipped gargoyle from IW3 the sales woman? You’d know if she was because anyone in her near vicinity would be wearing dark glasses to reduce the glare from her shiny face

Worldie04 said:

If Ideal World runs out of stock before your significant other takes advantage you could hot-foot it to the Trafford Centre in Manchester where last weekend I discovered that they have an Opatra stand. I didn't stick around long enough to discover their prices!

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Your partner doesn't love you if their shopping list is from Ideal World

Joanne proudly states her daughter has vegetables for breakfast. She has no spots because she has vegetables for breakfast. I don't think vegetables alone are a nutritious breakfast, they lack the balance needed for the first meal of the day. I know fruit can count as a breakfast but it just sounds odd to say it that way. I mean cereal is good for you too, just not Frosties everyday. I have shreddies or Weetabix, porridge, that kind of thing

Herring said:

Considering that Michelin stars only go up to 3, not 4… he's probably not the sharpest tool in the Pirhana Peeler set.

Maybe it was more like this:

View attachment 29778

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Lol. I might give 'em the benefit of the doubt and say it was a Michelin -rated restaurant in a 4* hotel.
As to what 'the flaming chef' did there... who knows?!

Still recovering from watching that dreadful cane presentation last night - dreadful in both senses. All their presenters and production staff could urgently do with some sort of disability awareness training. I worked for an organisation of disabled people for several years in the early to mid-2000s running an Internet accessibility project. That broadcast last night could have been used as part of our own training for external employers etc. Used to illustrate how NOT to try to sell products to a disabled targeted customer base. You don’t buy an aid like a cane for mobility without a proper on-site assessment to establish its suitability for your needs by a qualified professional like an OT, for example. You also directly involve the user in the selection process - letting them take control whenever possible. Not dumping one on them on a visit saying: “There’s yer bleedin’ stick - get on with it…I’m off down the boozer.”You also don’t want it presented on air solo, by some cockney bloke with terrible analogies (treatable with creams) feigning a limp as part of the demonstration. At least the previous version got a dedicated disabled products retailer in to co-present the items.

My mum used a stick the last few years of her life. She wasn't disabled, in fact she was pretty active for her late late 70s but she had a fear of falling so it gave her a bit of stability and helped her confidence which meant she didn't stop going out.

She bought it off a stall in an indoor market, the stall specialised in mobility aids for elderly. It was brightly patterned and only cost around £15. She was able to test it beforehand to make sure she was happy with it. My point is that she didn't need a proper assessment, she only needed it for confidence (and it helped massively with that). If she did I can't see her wanting to get one from a shopping channel, she would have sought proper advice (I would have made sure she did). And she was totally involved in the whole process, she didn't leave me to sort it out for her.

I still can't get over the 'feigning a limp', that's totally unacceptable. Perhaps the crew members who read this would like to pass this on. Unless they're too scared to challenge the Cockney Geezer or any other presenter who does this.

Mr. Slime for four hours. It's true. I NEVER LIE TO YOU...

Muttley said:

My mum used a stick the last few years of her life. She wasn't disabled, in fact she was pretty active for her late late 70s but she had a fear of falling so it gave her a bit of stability and helped her confidence which meant she didn't stop going out.

She bought it off a stall in an indoor market, the stall specialised in mobility aids for elderly. It was brightly patterned and only cost around £15. She was able to test it beforehand to make sure she was happy with it. My point is that she didn't need a proper assessment, she only needed it for confidence (and it helped massively with that). If she did I can't see her wanting to get one from a shopping channel, she would have sought proper advice (I would have made sure she did). And she was totally involved in the whole process, she didn't leave me to sort it out for her.

I still can't get over the 'feigning a limp', that's totally unacceptable. Perhaps the crew members who read this would like to pass this on. Unless they're too scared to challenge the Cockney Geezer or any other presenter who does this.

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Spot on, Muttley. No, not everybody needs to have a professional assessment of need. But you made the key point that your mum played a main role in the process and actually got to try the stick before it was bought, which is what you're looking for and not what this channel is providing. Their Home Visits Service would have just sent a representative with a false limp around to her house, dumped the stick on the table and said they were going down the pub.

Duke of Cheese said:

Mr. Slime for four hours. It's true. I NEVER LIE TO YOU...

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Ooh magic sponges, so exciting! (Sarcasm in case you hadn't realised it).

It's his wide eyed, slow way of speaking that I find patronising.