Are you a Gladys?

I agree flicketyb patronising and unpleasant tone to this.
I had a great aunt Gladys. She worked in an office job relating to MOD in WW1 ("happiest days of my life" ) had a marriage breakup between the wars. Brought up 2 clever children on her own and worked as a barristers clerk in a large chambers (for a pittance of course - and rather a lonely colleague-less life). She took her husband back after about 30 years of separation and nursed him in his final illness. Her daughter became an eminent academic. In her 90s Glad was still tackling difficult books like The Golden Bowl and Roy Hattersley's political memoirs. Her daughter tells a story about a snooty Oxbridge type who announced that he'd never met anyone who was educationally disadvantaged because of gender. To which she replied "Well I grew up holding hands with one."
So enough of this stereotyping older women!

I'm a Doris (Tegan will know what I mean!) When I place a bet it seldom has anything to do with the form of the horse or the stable.
What is really of importance to me is:
The colour of the jockey's silks,
The number allocated to the horse,
The sound of the horse's name and whether it has any significance!
These are known as Doris bets... the funny thing is they often succeed!

I used to teach a young Chinese girl who had given herself the English name of Gladys. When I asked the Music teacher if he had seen her he immediately assumed I was referring to the elderly cleaner !

My mum was Gladys. She didn't like it either, but everyone called her Glad, which suited her.
It makes me sad that the name is used as a perjorative label in this way.

and P.S. the name always reminds me of 'Gladys Emmanuel' from 'Open all hours'....who was nobody's fool and a great role model!

OH and I have a rule and quite honestly we have never broken it for anything of any great importance. WE will never buy anything that we have not researched first ourselves. It gives us a polite way out of any such approaches......'we need to look into this ourselves first' and this also means we do not do anything on the spur of the moment. If anyone goes on to say something along the lines of it being a special offer on that day only, then we just instantly know its a typical 'too good to be true' thing and I have developed a wry smile for such occasions. The odd exception is when someone is offering tastes of something scrummy at a food fair/ Waitrose etc - I have been known to then buy a whole one be it packet of biscuits or jar of jam.
As for M&S going down this route....well am not surprised but am rather disappointed that they too feel the need to go down this route. I rarely have much to do with their staff nowadays as I'm a 'click and collect' on the odd thing I still buy with them. I find their well worn scripts a tad annoying. Their 'sorry I kept you waiting' when you are the first in the cue has really worn thin!

My Nan was Gladys.

My MiL was a Gladys as well. She hated it so we had to call her Irene

My MiL was called Gladys

I once was Gladysed! However after a year or so I saw a better grren energy deal and switched again! Was i mis-sold???

Crikey! I think I'm a Gladys! . I was in M/S in Plymouth last year and was approached by a nice man sellling energy. I caved in completely, partly due to his charm and party due to being fed up with my previous energy supplier who I had a lot of trouble with.

But, Gladys or not, it has worked out fine and I am glad I switched.
My energy bills do seem cheaper, and I get nice M/S vouchers sent to me from time to time.

Have I been mis-sold something though???? Oh dear.