A free-for-all thread

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

Definitely go for the whiskey. You don't know how he'll react to being given extra cash, but a gift will always be appreciated without the risk of being offensive.

If you need any tips on Irish whiskey to buy I can give you some pointers

(Just don't ask me about whisky)

[Nantha]

I know fuck all about Whiskey, just noticed the expensive scotch stuff my dad likes.
The bloke's polish anyway so i'm not sure if it's his tipple, but it's not as if I can buy him Vodka without seriously offending so it'll probably have to be whiskey.

[peypea]

Get him some spiritus he'll appreciate that. And be hella drunk.

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

Poles, Slavs and Baltics all love Irish whiskey!

I'll never forget the day the hotel I worked in had a whiskey tasting for some dignitaries during the G8 summit. There was a few bottle left over which one of the Slovak boys brought into the staff room because the day manager said anyone who wanted a bottle could take it home. I quickly grabbed the last bottle of Middleton and stuck it in my bag in the locker room before anyone copped on that it was worth £120, and when I got back one of the Slovak KPs had cracked open a bottle of Jameson Reserve and was pouring it into a teacup

If you decide to go for whiskey you've got basically 3 choices basically at around the £50 price bracket.

Single malts. Knappogue, Wild Geese and Teeling are fantastic brands for this. Really rich, complex flavours from all the sherry and wine casks they age them in. Teeling would probably be the easiest to find in London as it's new and has won a load of awards.

Single Pot Stills. These are more traditional pale and mellow Irish whiskies. Redbreast is good but a little on the spicy side. Green Spot would be the safest bet of all for someone whose taste you don't know. Very easy going. Tyrconnell is similar but cheaper (around £30 usually.)

Jameson 12 Year/Black Barrel/Special Reserve etc. Good, reliable and easy to find stuff but predictable because everyone has heard of Jameson. They own a lot of the smaller brands, but the less well known labels make you look like you know your shit and have made more of an effort. Most of the others have much nicer bottles too.


I'd also recommend avoiding Connemara. Peated single malts are an acquired taste, it's like eating a piece of flaming turf.

[Tet]

Get him some spiritus he'll appreciate that. And be hella drunk.

Heh. Someone with whom I went to university was trying to show off and got seriously drunk on that. The following day he was in a real mess and swore he'd never drink again. He's the only person I've ever seen say that and stick to it. To the best of my knowledge, he's been teetotal ever since.

[Nantha]

Cheers Matty!

[Gandalf the Red]

Poles, Slavs and Baltics all love Irish whiskey!

Most of whom will also drink toilet duck if nothing else is available.

Seriously though, I've heard good things about Welsh whisky recently. Just not come across it anywhere.

More of a Knob Creek man myself.

[NeglectedField]

Job interview on Wednesday. Have one on Thursday as well. Think I'll prefer the second place based on the sounds of the work environment and Glassdoor reviews. Blatantly gonna get offered the first one before I hear the outcome of the second. Or neither, never know. Just hope I can be upfront and say that I'm waiting on both outcomes and need to decide.

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

Get him some spiritus he'll appreciate that. And be hella drunk.

Heh. Someone with whom I went to university was trying to show off and got seriously drunk on that. The following day he was in a real mess and swore he'd never drink again. He's the only person I've ever seen say that and stick to it. To the best of my knowledge, he's been teetotal ever since.

The only time I drank potín I nearly made a similar vow. Instead I've not touched anything stronger than a 45% whiskey since then. In fact whiskey has become a rare treat and I've barely drank anything stronger than 15% wine in the last few years.

[NeglectedField]

So much shit going on today, unbelievable.

Second nephew was born today. Still not used to the idea of being an uncle for some reason.

[peypea]

Get him some spiritus he'll appreciate that. And be hella drunk.

Heh. Someone with whom I went to university was trying to show off and got seriously drunk on that. The following day he was in a real mess and swore he'd never drink again. He's the only person I've ever seen say that and stick to it. To the best of my knowledge, he's been teetotal ever since.

Yeah, I'll be perfectly honest, I wouldn't ever touch the stuff. We've had a bottle at my parents for my whole life and it's just remained unopened.

[NeglectedField]

Been offered a temp-to-perm job for pretty sick money but it was only off the back of a phone call with an agency. If you were offered a job, like a proper office job, without a face-to-face interview with the company itself, would that ring alarm bells? When I probed the agency guy as to why not, he was weaseled around it like "well they know from your CV that you'd be great and at that pay banding, they don't need to interview people". If it's gonna be that easy to get work there, how easily do they fire people?

[Fjar]

Been offered a temp-to-perm job for pretty sick money but it was only off the back of a phone call with an agency. If you were offered a job, like a proper office job, without a face-to-face interview with the company itself, would that ring alarm bells? When I probed the agency guy as to why not, he was weaseled around it like "well they know from your CV that you'd be great and at that pay banding, they don't need to interview people". If it's gonna be that easy to get work there, how easily do they fire people?

Yes, absolutely yes. Don't accept an offer if you don't know who the company is (duh) and if you know who the company is, phone up and get the answers you want.

[NeglectedField]

Yeah I know who the company is. I dunno how easy it will be to get in touch with the right department to probe or if they'd be able to speak to me once an agency is involved. I'll give it a shot, and/or walk into the agency office in case the people I've spoken to are based at that branch and see if I can get some answers.

My main gripe about the lack of interview is I don't get to visit the place, get an impression of the working environment, directly ask the company questions about what a typical day involves (not even had a job spec from the agency, only a general description of what's involved), how performance is measured, opportunities for progression. And the company don't get to see how I comport myself or check I'm not some kind of weirdo.

Think the agency just wanna stuff people through the door, fuck what happens to them from that point on.

[keera_envenomed]

Yeah I know who the company is. I dunno how easy it will be to get in touch with the right department to probe or if they'd be able to speak to me once an agency is involved. I'll give it a shot, and/or walk into the agency office in case the people I've spoken to are based at that branch and see if I can get some answers.

My main gripe about the lack of interview is I don't get to visit the place, get an impression of the working environment, directly ask the company questions about what a typical day involves (not even had a job spec from the agency, only a general description of what's involved), how performance is measured, opportunities for progression. And the company don't get to see how I comport myself or check I'm not some kind of weirdo.

Think the agency just wanna stuff people through the door, fuck what happens to them from that point on.

I've never had an interview for a temp job - it's pretty rare that you do. They just ring you and tell you to turn up at a certain place at a certain time. You are spot on about the stuffing people through the door part. It's why you get some utterly dreadful people as temps!

You should get a job spec at the very least though.