'I swear I posted it'

cantdecide

For the first time in forever I trusted the national postal system to deliver some car insurance documents without registering them and guess what... they went for a Burton.

I always thought the 'I swear I sent them' was just made up, spurious excuse but here I am with an hour of form-filling and requesting all kinds of stuff from my other insurers all over again.

And they wonder why I have trust issues...

Maximus Alexander

The post works perfectly for everyone else, they just have a vendetta against you.

Are you one of those people who keeps your dog in your front garden?

Mr Benevolent

What's a Burton? Some English slang?

Howard Juneau

Mr Benevolent wrote: »

What's a Burton? Some English slang?

Yes, yes it is.

cantdecide

Mr Benevolent wrote: »

What's a Burton? Some English slang?

"Gone for a Burton"? Have you been living under a rock?

WeHaveToGoBack

An Post can be a joke. I've had several things go "missing." I even had something removed from an envelope and the empty envelope still sent to me!

cantdecide

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Are you one of those people who keeps your dog in your front garden?

Yes. I had him chained to a post but he ran away. Another post I couldn't rely on

mikemac1

Did you not tip the postman at Christmas?

You have to, it's the done thing

Tenner and a tin of roses is enough

No wonder An Post hate you!

AnonoBoy

cantdecide wrote: »

"Gone for a Burton"? Have you been living under a rock?

I must be living in Rock House, Rock Estate, Rock Town too because I've never heard this expression.

Gone for a Burton? A Richard Burton? Gone for a Richard? Gone for a Dick? The letter has turned gay? Wha? I don't get it.

danniemcq

Maybe a dog attacked the postman and ate the letter when he was delivering?

gramar

cantdecide wrote: »

"Gone for a Burton"? Have you been living under a rock?

Have you been living in England?

blackraspberry

Happened to me once when I posted a bank draft! Never turned up at all.

SolitaireX

mikemac1 wrote: »

Did you not tip the postman at Christmas?

Do people actually tip the postman?

cantdecide

gramar wrote: »

Have you been living in England?

Why does that sound like an accusation

Mr Benevolent

cantdecide wrote: »

"Gone for a Burton"? Have you been living under a rock?

This is Ireland. You used obscure UK slang. That's the equivalent of a Wexford person walking into the Ritz and asking for a warm blaa.

gugleguy

Many moons ago when i was in secondary school the CAO rep said we should send our college course acceptance by REGISTERED post. The second significant statement the same rep made was that if this still got lost in the post by the postal service there was still little enough legal recourse. So maybe consider another postal service - they do exist ib duiblin at any rate can'nt rememnber the name tho.

Maximus Alexander

blackraspberry wrote: »

Happened to me once when I posted a bank draft! Never turned up at all.

I had to post off a driver's license application with a bank draft a few weeks ago. There's a backlog with the licenses at the moment so for three weeks I was worried that it never got there.

It would be great if they would just pop you an email when they receive the application but I suppose that's too much to ask.

What in gods name is "gone for a burton"

whitewave

Damn it someone explain what going for a Burton means, I can't work it out

Maximus Alexander

whitewave wrote: »

Damn it someone explain what going for a Burton means, I can't work it out

Really?

maximoose

whitewave wrote: »

Damn it someone explain what going for a Burton means, I can't work it out

From Yahoo answers

It was RAF slang in world war two, and was taken from a series of adverts for Burton Ale - there would always be someone obviously missing from the scene, ie an empty chair or something, and the catch phrase was 'He's gone for a Burton'
RAF crews used it as a euphemism for people killed or missing in action

1. Gone for a Burton
22 up, 20 down
To shamefully fall over in an embarrassing fashion whilst sprinting to glory.

A traditional British phrase of obscure origin, possibly from the armed forces, Burton On Trent or the tailors Montague Burton
Stefan never got his bus, he's gone for a burton.


The letter fell over?
...okay

Diddy Kong

Gone for a Burton is a euphemistic phrase meaning to die. It was used in World War II especially in the Royal Air Force when referring to aircrew who had crashed or been killed in action.

In the modern day, the phrase can mean numerous things other than death. A thing can be said to have 'gone for a Burton' if it is broken or lost. A person who has been said to have 'gone for a Burton' can also have gone missing or failed, rather than died.

Link to wiki.

AnonoBoy

maximoose wrote: »

From Yahoo answers

I like my explanation better.

jester77

whitewave wrote: »

Damn it someone explain what going for a Burton means, I can't work it out

Never heard it either, probably a local colloquialism from the sticks.

Lisha

Ok so gone for a burton means gone to die

But your letter is not a living object so expression still does not make sense.

hardCopy

bluewolf wrote: »

What in gods name is "gone for a burton"

whitewave wrote: »

Damn it someone explain what going for a Burton means, I can't work it out

WWII RAF Flyboy slang for going missing or being killed in action.

Grayson

hardCopy wrote: »

WWII RAF Flyboy slang for going missing or being killed in action.

It's a phrase my whole family used. Then again my dad was in the british army. maybe that's where he picked it up.

Links234

I entered a thread griping about the post and learn a little something about WWII slang, thanks AH, you've been fantastic

cantdecide

bluewolf wrote: »

What in gods name is "gone for a burton"

My insurance docs :pac:



Gone for a Burton means missing in action.

MrFrisp

bluewolf wrote: »

What in gods name is "gone for a burton"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_for_a_Burton
.

dr.bollocko

Hitler.

AnonoBoy

You guys are mad.

Everyone knows that "Gone for a Burton" means turned gay.

stefan idiot jones

bluewolf wrote: »

1. Gone for a Burton
22 up, 20 down
To shamefully fall over in an embarrassing fashion whilst sprinting to glory.
I
A traditional British phrase of obscure origin, possibly from the armed forces, Burton On Trent or the tailors Montague Burton
Stefan never got his bus, he's gone for a burton.


The letter fell over?
...okay

Hey, don't involve me in all this. I'm all shipshape and Bristol fashion.

danniemcq

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Hitler.

Don't you start!

Plazaman

Thought is was something to do with Joan...... *shudder

cantdecide

Plazaman wrote: »

Thought is was something to do with Joan...... *shudder

That was my first thought too but I can't figure out why she'd be interested in my insurance documents or her involvement with An Post. On thing is for sure- there's something very fishy going on :cool:

stefan idiot jones

On the subject of Burtons, Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins were born just a few miles from each other and if you get the chance to hear both of them talking (War of the Worlds for Burton) they sound uncannily similar.

Interbreeding ?

danniemcq

Are you trying to say that 2 men that were born near other so would probably have the same kinda accent sound alike?

get out of here!

anncoates

Would never send anything important without registering, or even at least getting receipt of posting, it.

stefan idiot jones

danniemcq wrote: »

Are you trying to say that 2 men that were born near other so would probably have the same kinda accent sound alike?

get out of here!

Rob Brydon and Martin Sheen sound nothing like those two and they're all from the same area.

Links234

stefan idiot jones wrote: »

Rob Brydon and Martin Sheen sound nothing like those two and they're all from the same area.

...eh?

AnonoBoy

stefan idiot jones wrote: »

Rob Brydon and Martin Sheen sound nothing like those two and they're all from the same area.

Rob Brydon sounds exactly like Anthony Hopkins. Have you not seen The Trip?

stefan idiot jones

Links234 wrote: »

...eh?

Sorry, I meant Michael.

Yellowblackbird

Bally tenpenny ones. Dropping in the custard.

AnonoBoy

Links234 wrote: »

...eh?

I think he meant Michael Sheen.

stefan idiot jones

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Rob Brydon sounds exactly like Anthony Hopkins. Have you not seen The Trip?

And Steve Coogan sounds like Neil Kinnock.

Canis Lupus

Unregistered post... it's a nice handy way of someone at the insurance company of dumping them/losing them and then simply claiming they never got it in the first place.

Femme_Fatale

Totally thought "gone for a Burton" was to do with Joan and some excuse she made recently. But it's esoteric RAF slang? Silly me, I really should have known. :pac:

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

It would be great if they would just pop you an email when they receive the application but I suppose that's too much to ask.

An individual, non automated (because it can't be) email for each postal item received? That would require hiring another parasite civil servant. An automated response for anything sent by email should be standard (and it is) but imagine the volume of stuff they receive in the post? Back-logs are just the way things go - even in the private sector.

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Unregistered post... it's a nice handy way of someone at the insurance company of dumping them/losing them and then simply claiming they never got it in the first place.

Why would they dump/lose them so easily, seeing as it's essential to their purpose? The conspiracy theories from people who have never worked in any service are hilarious.
Sometimes things get lost in the post, no matter how much you'd like to blame the wrong people.

Howard Juneau

Mr Benevolent wrote: »

This is Ireland. You used obscure UK slang. That's the equivalent of a Wexford person walking into the Ritz and asking for a warm blaa.

It isnt obscure, it's quite well known actually.

the keen edge

Mr Benevolent wrote: »

This is Ireland. You used obscure UK slang. That's the equivalent of a Wexford person walking into the Ritz and asking for a warm blaa.

Blas are associated with Waterford not Wexford.