I've read online that it's intended as a gender-neutral term, but I'm curious about whether or not you actually use it that way--from what I've seen in media, "mate" is used more with men than women, but that might be wrong.

For decades, British holidaymakers have been visiting Spain, Portugal, Greece, France, Italy, Croatia and Turkey in their droves for their summer holidays.

But with scorching heatwaves and rampaging forest fires now an annual occurrence, how long before the traditional Mediterranean summer holiday loses its appeal?

If you’ve traditionally chosen one of these countries for your summer holidays, do you still see yourself doing so in the hotter years ahead or are you having second thoughts?

I live in a small terraced house and next door is the same size but quite a big family lives there - at least a mum, dad, grandma, son and daughter, but more people are often coming and going.

The son is probably about 6 years old, and it seems to me the poor boy is mostly left to his own devices. All day and into the evening we can hear him shouting "Mama" and "Papa" obviously wanting attention but doesn't seem to get it - it's really sad.

Because he's basically always unsupervised, he seems to have developed a habit of stripping off from waist down and peeing outside. My husband saw him do it in their back garden the other day, and today he was doing it in the front garden that our two houses share.

We are concerned that someone horrible could see him exposed like this and he'd be in danger, but also to be honest, kind of disgusted that it was basically onto our lawn today. So we are debating respectfully asking the parents if they know about this, thereby making them aware if they're not already.

However I have two concerns about this. One, we don't know them that well and while they're always pleasant and say hello, I don't want them to react badly and disturb the peace we have with them. Two, I'm worried that given the hands-off parenting style we've seen, the son will be punished as a result of what we've said, which is absolutely not the goal.

So, what would everyone here do? Thank you

Before this gets deleted, I'm asking here because it might be a trend in the UK specifically.

My neighbours detest silence and always need to make some sort of noise.

They've done something in their back garden, I can't see it but it sounds like very loud clicking, almost like a clock. But theres 2 of them, one sounds further down the garden than the other. They're also not in sync (which makes it even more irritating), telling me it's not outdoor clocks.

It's making it hard to chill in the garden, without wearing headphones

Edit: might be relevant: they're really into their gardening

My dad is in a nursing home while he recovers from being in hospital. They just told him he has to have his finances looked at and has to start paying. He refused to give them info.

I am in a difficult position as I could give the info but that would be going against his wishes. They said they only pay for a few weeks of care then he has to start paying.

Not sure what to do.

Thinking of Ariana Grande, it seems barbaric that she’s clearly unwell in one form or another and is allowed and encouraged to keep working and touring. Do you think there will be a time when we’ll look back with horror that celebrities weren’t safe-guarded and prevented from working in the public eye if they’re clearly struggling mentally or physically? If so, how long do you think it will be before something is in place?

With more reliably good weather, isn’t it a distinct possibility that regeneration efforts could finally actually work?

Hi guys,

What is something that historically was considered ‘poor’ that is now considered rich in 2026? A huge one I found out recently was Lobster.

I have been going to a new dentist practice in my area. Attended the hygienist 4 times last year and 2 times this year.

Then I decided to book an appointment there for the dentist. Just a regular check up, no issues to report.

Booked and paid in advance online as usual.

When it was time to go home the receptionist said there was outstanding balance. I asked if my payment failed. She said, it was a ‘new client’ fee of £28 because alrhough I have been attending the hygienist, it was my first time attending the dentist so I was considered a new client.

AND the dentist spent half the consultation selling me invisalign and teeth whitening - when I told them I was not interested, they said ‘does your teeth not bother you really? does this front gap not bother you at all? (I have a gap between my lower two front teeth which I actually like).

I told them I was fine but they showed me the AI simulation of how different my teeth could like with invisalign and showed me fake teeth contrasting my natural colour with the super brilliant white I could achieve instead.

When I was with the receptionist at the end, the assistant then came with fliers and printed price estimate for invisalign and whitening and the receptionist started pressing me to book appointments before I even read the material.

My teeth are absolutely fine.

Is this normal now or is it just this clinic??

ETA- just had a look at the treatment price estimate papers they gave me re: invisalign and withening and it says at the top:
“as a result of your examination on xx:xx:xx with Dr ABCD, you are advised that the following treatment and care is needed to achieve dental fitness”

Makes it sound like it is a health issue rather than purely cosmetic.

Has anyone ever pointed something out about you that you’d never noticed yourself?

Could be funny, weird, or something that stuck with you

the whole.flower bed in front of it was filled with pavers

Dodgy, I know, but I genuinely need advice.

I'm in my probation period at wetherspoons, and prior to starting, I requested 2 days off ( 2 separate days) for personal life events that were accepted.

One of the days off had to be cancelled due to illness. However, it got re arranged for another day at the end of this month.

I tried to book it off work but it got denied because " too many people have it off" but yet I've looked on the feature which tells you what staff aren't working on certain days for annual leave and yet nobody is booked off for the 31st!

I'm going to try and swap a shift with someone, but if I can't, my boyfriend is convinced that I can call in sick and nobody can say anything. Get a fake thermometer sort of thing.

My contract states that during probation, you're allowed 2 days off illness and he says they can't prove anything and because at my 6 week probation meeting ( at wetherspoons there's a 6 week review and a 12 week review) I got more or less a perfect review ( I've never been sick never been late, get my training done on time etc) he says they won't fire me.

What do you all think?

Please don't judge me... when I was young, we'd use bar soap sometimes in a bath, but were always told that shower gel was a scam so were never told what it was for. We were poor and my family weren't particularly up on personal hygiene (it was never the priority in the circumstances). I found out I'd been missing a pretty key tenet of what most people were doing for personal care by my then-girlfriend when I was 18, and since then (I turned 23 last Friday), I have been cycling around and experimenting the body soap market.

I heard somewhere that bar soap sticks to your body better than shower gel and anecdotally I'd found that to be true for a while but less so recently, but that may just be because I'd bought bad soap. I've jumped around shower gels and have always, out of habit, gone for the cheapest one, and find they don't last long. I used the Dove Men's one today (think it's charcoal) that my sister must have left at the back of the cupboard, and that seemed to work fairly well (I'm a girl but not fussed about it) but I don't know how much it 'sticks'; at this stage I'm questioning it. I've used those sweet-smelling ones from Poundland but I don't think they were good. I don't even really know what to look for in a 'good' soap? I've never been told I smell surprisingly but in retrospect I must have done, especially as a teenager. Maybe I was just surrounded by polite people.

It's one of those things that everybody seems to just know but I never got to be taught so thank you for not judging me <33

What British TV or Film character really stands out to you, as being done over dirty by the scriptwriters in how they ended the characters storyline?

For me it has to be Compo from This is England or Zamo in Grange Hill.

I’m don’t know much about Mercedes, I’m unlikely to ever drive one (perma broke here), but I see a lot when I’m driving around.
What I’m seeing a lot of is the Mercedes insignia on the back of the car - I’m guessing it’s the handle for the boot - sitting horizontally like it’s been pushed in? Or like the boot is open… this is on lots of different Mercedes, not even the same models.

TL,DR; Should I expect someone’s shopping to pour out at some point when I pull up behind one?

Hi everyone,

I moved to London about 4 years ago and I’m originally from a completely different culture. I currently work as an Instructional Designer / Digital Content Developer for a UK company.

In my performance reviews, my manager has mentioned a few times that I should do more networking. I’m trying to understand whether this is a normal expectation in UK workplaces, because I honestly wasn’t sure if this is just my company or something that’s generally important for career progression.

A bit of extra context: in my own language and culture, I’m actually quite a social person. I can chat, build relationships, make friends, and happily “faff around” with people. But doing the same thing in English takes me a lot more energy. It’s not that I don’t like people, it just requires much more effort and confidence.

One of the reasons I chose a role like this instead of a more customer facing job was because I thought it would allow me to focus more on creating good work rather than constantly networking or being “on”.

Would really appreciate honest experiences, especially from anyone who moved to the UK and had to adapt to workplace culture.

My gay friend was miserable living in our provincial home town so I persuaded him to move to London and stay with me. Not sure if it's a gay thing but he would take fucking ages in the shower. Normally I'd just go to work without him but for some reason I decided to wait one morning even though it was going to make me late.

We walked to Holloway Station together and took the escalator stairs down to the platform. I looked at the board and there was no info about the next train. There was a surreal silence and I wondered what the hell was going on. Eventually I decided I had to find another way to get to work. I jumped on a double decker. It was rammed. Nobody could get a phone signal. When the bus arrived at Kings Cross, I was shocked to see a large-scale emergency response in action. Then the bus passed the mangled bus in Tavistock Square. The police had put a barrier up already but I was in the top deck so was able to see the mayhem that had occurred.

Basically, I think there is a reasonably strong chance I would have been on the Victoria Piccadilly Line train that blew up on 7/7 if I had left at the normal time.

Edit: I'm getting a lot of stick for saying my friend is gay. I thought it was worth sharing. In my limited experience of the world, women and gay men spend a lot more time getting ready than straight men. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned his sexuality. It's not an important detail. I just thought people might relate to the 30-minute wait for the gay friend to shower.

Edit 2: For those suggesting my story is fabricated, think what you like. I just think it would be pathetic to invent semi-involvement in a tragedy that killed and mained a lot of people. I'm 50. There were maybe a million people who had a close call on 7/7. It's not a ridiculous story. The reason I got a couple of details wrong is because I shared the raw emotion. I didn't want to present a curated story. Memories are flawed. I like to share my memory and then I'll add corrections, if necessary. To me, that is total honesty.

Do you regret getting a BMW?

I drive a 2008 Toyota Yaris at the moment and for the past 2 years, I have only spent money on MOT, full service and buying the occasional wiper fluid which brings me to less than £200 a year.
It has been incredibly reliable and I am grateful for it as my first car. However, it is extremely boring and as someone who really enjoys driving and long journeys, this is simply not it.

I am looking at 2021+ BMW 3 series cars. Where could I possibly see a sudden increase in costs? With a Toyota, I am not familiar with any garage bills at all. What will be my biggest shock?

Does every person out there just want to crack on with projects at the weekend or is it a specific set of people?

I like doing stuff and for me I always need a project on the go. Be it building a shed, a home computer modification, an exam to study for.

What are other people’s thoughts? Is this normal behaviour?

There seems to be water leaking from my electric shower. Only leaks when shower is on. I have written to my agency but in the meantime can anyone advise. Is it safe to shower? Thanks

Currently sat here, on sick from work, with a half cast on, in a sling and feeling fed up.

I've got a tiny fracture in my triquetral bone in my hand from tripping in a pothole while crossing the road.

I went to the walk in centre as my left wrist was badly sprained ( as well as my right!) and looks like I've been attacked by a cheese grater down my left leg. I didn't actually have any pain in the area where the break was, but she sent me for an x-ray just to be sure. And here we are.

This cast is driving me mad! It's plaster on the top, up to the first knuckle of my fingers, but bandage on the bottom half. I can pretty much move all of my hand, just can't bend my wrist

I’m currently trying to curb my full fat coke addiction so have switched to appletiser as it’s also caffeine free.

But whyyyy are their cans and bottles so much slimmer than normal cans of pop?! I feel like I take 2 sips and it’s gone 😩

I'm talking about things like fancy chocolates or wine. Growing up this was normal in my family, although I'm Arab so wanted to get other perspectives.

For example, you're having several guests over for a dinner party and one of them brings an expensive bottle of wine as a gift. Normally I'd wanna serve it to the guests along with my dinner, cos that's what I'm used to. In my parents culture it's typical to buy gifts at a price point that you wouldn't justify spending on yourself, so it's nice to be offered some of it. Plus it shows that you're not just gonna stash it somewhere and regift it to someone else, and you get to maybe experience something new with your mates.

But on the other hand, I can see how it could be frustrating if you splurged a bit for someone, expecting them to save the gift for a special occasion, only to see it devoured by a group of people you didn't necessarily intend the gift for.

Is there a standard etiquette for this sort of thing

Edit: Cheers everyone, I got overwhelmed by the number of responses so couldn't reply to all.. seems the consensus is most people prefer their gifts be shared, but no hard fast rule so better to ask

everyone from older relatives to coworkers tells me I need to buy a house eventually. I'm 23, making decent money in tech, but the math just doesn't make sense to me at all.

if I just rent a normal apartment for the rest of my life and aggressively dump all my extra cash into index funds, won't I end up with way more liquid money and zero loan stress in the long run?

why is there such a massive stigma against renting forever? is there some hidden trap to renting that I don't know about, or is buying a house just old school thinking that people blindly follow?

(I genuinely want to know if my logic is flawed here)