Britain - The Official Thread

[PeterJB]

If your definition of good is getting stabbed, then yes, it's excellent.

 

[TheCracker]

Birmingham is big city, so has all the pros and cons that come with that. Although i'm sure it's not somewhere that tops anyone's tourist destination list.

 

[Nessy]

This^.
I personally love Brum (born and bread biased opinion, i know), every time i go back to visit my mom, it sinks in how much i miss the place. Birmingham does have a lot to offer, it's a great city, although it's not without its faults.

 

[axletramp]

I've spent a lot of time in the Midlands, most specifically Birmingham. Personally I find it quite a depressing place with a strange atmosphere. There aren't many places in the UK that I feel out of place (I spent years in places in London like Harlesden, New Cross and Lewisham without feeling threatened), but Birmingham definitely feels wrong to me.

 

[Nessy]

Go away Brummie hater ^.

Like i said: i have a biased opinion.. Coventry i find is a far more depressing place (imo), but have never really found Brum to be depressing, and i've never felt really threatened by the place.
I'd have to say that living in Luton felt strange for me (have lived in London also), and not because of the cultural divides found in Luton... the place just had a strange feel to it. I only lived in Luton for a year, but witnessed more violent acts in the city center than iv'e witnessed in 20yrs of growing up in Brum.

 

[axletramp]

Go away Brummie hater ^.

I never forgave you lot for Jasper Carrott... or Lenny Henry*!

*Dudley is close enough.

 

[Nessy]

I never forgave you lot for Jasper Carrott... or Lenny Henry*!

*Dudley is close enough.

Fair enough, you do have a point there.

Ahh Dudlaye... have fond memories of visiting Dudley zoo as a nipper.

 

[homeforsummer]

I've visited Brum a few times and there are nice bits of it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go there. Like most big cities in the UK it's good for shopping, restaurants and gigs, but beyond that...

I think the trouble with most cities in England is that they've not yet hit the critical mass to be genuinely interesting places to visit. London has, but even that isn't the 24-hour metropolis that places like New York, Hong Kong or Tokyo are.

Exceptions to the critical mass line of thinking are places like York or Oxford which are historic and therefore worth visiting for the history and architecture alone, or places like Newcastle where the topography and culture is different enough to be worthy of a visit.

Most of the time though I'd suggest that the towns, villages and countryside are more worthy of inspection than the concrete jungles.

 

[Nessy]

Most of the time though I'd suggest that the towns, villages and countryside are more worthy of inspection than the concrete jungles.

I was quite lucky in the part of Brum that i lived (south west), it was literally on the border of Hereford and Worcestershire, places like the 'Lickey's', 'Klent hills' and the 'Malverns' were never far away (okay granted, it's no 'Peak district' but still..), the lickey hills in particular was only a 20min bicycle ride away.

I think one of the things that Birmingham has going for it is, it makes for a good central hub.

 

[kikie]

I have decided. Birmingham is on my list when/if I decide to visit the UK.

 

[axletramp]

Seriously? What are you on, a hideous 1960s architecture spotting holiday? That whole part of the West Midlands looks like someone has badly laid a patio over the countryside and then decided to use it for fly-tipping!

 

[kikie]

Seriously? What are you on, a hideous 1960s architecture spotting holiday? That whole part of the West Midlands looks like someone has badly laid a patio over the countryside and then decided to use it for fly-tipping!

Not really.

Brain meds

 

[JacksHerer]

Lancashire police taser a blind man: he’s lucky to be alive. Others will not be so fortunate.

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/alex-m...-to-be-alive-others-will-not-be-so-fortunate/

 

[BobK]

Err, lucky to be alive?

Tasering the blind man is pretty much inexcusable, but lucky to be alive?

 

[Maccer_42]

You do know people have been killed from tasers before right? I don't think he's lucky to be alive in the sence he survived the electric shock from the taser, more the fact that hes a 61 year old blind man who most likely isn't very nimble on his feet, he could have very likely died from when he lost control of his motor skills due to the taser shot and hit his head on the pavement at full force.

I think the eye sight of the police officer who fired the taser needs questioned if he can't tell the difference between a blind mans walking cane and a samurai sword.

 

[BobK]

You do know people have been killed from tasers before right?

Yes, of course I know that. But it's an extremely rare occurrence. Rare enough that I think the "others might not be so lucky" comment is a bit out of place.

But I do agree that serious questions need to be asked (and answered) about this incident.

 

[Lizard]

I would have thought better from Mr Osborne.

http://news.uk.msn.com//blog/trendi...=077c05b6-8d6c-42a2-b8f6-86dba78a8cd6&_nwpt=1

 

[Highlandor]

I would have thought better from Mr Osborne.

You must be living in a dreamworld then - most people wouldn't expect anything less...

This is they guy who stands up before the nation saying everyone must pay together...how tax avoiders must be stopped (the little guys putting a few hundred £ in their back pockets)

BUT

Osborne himself has saved himself hundreds of thousands of ££'s of inheritence tax by using 'loopholes' .

He was investigated, he's due to inherit a few million, not billions, but because his family employed an accountant and they used 'loopholes', he saved around £800,000 in tax..

Let's not forget the PUBLIC allegations he snorted cocaine when he was younger - surely in the world we live in he'd sue to clear his name - but he didn't?

Oh I wonder why...... sniff sniff...

 

[Lizard]

You must be living in a dreamworld then - most people wouldn't expect anything less...

Sorry I should have said I was being a bit sarcastic there.

I then said I can't believe he did that because I would not expect him to do something like that in public. It is usually behind closed doors.

 

[Callum B]

Seriously? What are you on, a hideous 1960s architecture spotting holiday? That whole part of the West Midlands looks like someone has badly laid a patio over the countryside and then decided to use it for fly-tipping!

Gave me a good laugh that XD
However I can think of somewhere much worse, a place that I daren't say it's name... Hull.

 

[Touring Mars]

However I can think of somewhere much worse, a place that I daren't say it's name... Hull.

I've been there... and back. It was Hull.

 

[Lizard]

Gave me a good laugh that XD
However I can think of somewhere much worse, a place that I daren't say it's name... Hull.

Come to Lincoln or Gainsborough the last place I lived in.

Hull is good compared.

Not in terms of looks as we have none of those old flat blocks but Lincoln in my opinion is quite boring. Apart from Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Castle and some shops there isn't a great deal to do.
But then that could just be me being easily bored. I suppose there are a few night clubs and pubs. Night clubs aren't my thing though really if I want a drink I go to a pub.
*Waits for glory hole sign to show up again.* It's the name of the tunnel under the high street.


Although the college is pretty good.


In Gainsborough there is nothing at all though.

 

[Ardius]

Eh, everyone says their local town is the dullest/grayest/most depressing. Maybe Manchester ain't so bad, or I'm just more positive than most people, I can't really decide - but I don't think its so bad. Yes there are the horrible buildings from the 60s and 70s but there are plenty of buildings from other decades/centuries too. I don't really see architecture as the be all and end all of a city, especially not when going on holiday.

Maybe our country is full of so many concrete buildings we just think that going on holiday is going some place that has nice buildings.

Difficult to really think of it from an outside point of view, but like any holiday (at least to me) its about finding things to do more than what anything looks like or the weather.

Most towns in the UK have things to do, depends really on interests. There are of course plenty of museums, parks, football stadiums/sports arenas, nightclubs, bars, concert halls, etc like anywhere else in Europe.
Same goes for countryside places - same stuff as the rest of Europe except more rain and mud!

Plenty of people have said to me that Belgium ain't so great but I've been in the past and I enjoyed myself. I'm sure there are some Belgians who don't think they live in the greatest place and wonder why people bother visiting.

I think basically what I'm trying to say is that generally speaking a great holiday is based on what you make of it rather than where it takes place (within reason - obviously Syria isn't the greatest destination right now).

 

[TyrrellRacing]

My nearest city has a transporter bridge. What more could you want ?

 

[Callum B]

See I like Leeds but I've got that natural 'British urge' to rip the hell out of it XD And I've just realised a place worse than Hull... Blackpool, discuss

 

[Liquid]

I have forests, castles and mountains in my backgarden.
Roman fortress, ampitheatre and Georgian rows in Chester.
Beautiful coastline across North Wales.
Historic and mainline railways.
Oulton Park is an hour away.
National Cycle Route 5.

I'm proud of my area, and I've always missed it when I've gone abroad. That said, there is an equal amount of scummy holes about too. But that's probably the same with everybody else. Some parts you like, others you don't.

---

John McCririck axed from Channel Four.

Like him or not, he's become a longstanding fixture on our televisions. He claims ageism, but that's rich coming from a misogynistic egomaniac like him.

 

[Liquid]

Double post, but Project Horizon, which concerns Wylfa, one of two nuclear power stations in North West Wales, has been taken over by Hitachi and there are now renewed plans for a new station and/or reactor on the site of the current station. Great news for the local economy, bad news for sheep only just getting over Trawsfynydd being decommissioned. And the PAWB campaign group. (People Against Wylfa B; in a humourous twist, 'pawb' is Welsh for people.)

Thoughts on nuclear power? Love the process, hate the byproduct.

Incidentally, this is the second large-scale project project that Hitachi has picked up in recent years. They also won the juicy railways contract to build the new generation of HSTs for High Speed 1, the Javelin class 395s.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Double post, but Project Horizon, which concerns Wylfa, one of two nuclear power stations in North West Wales, has been taken over by Hitachi and there are now renewed plans for a new station and/or reactor on the site of the current station. Great news for the local economy, bad news for sheep only just getting over Trawsfynydd being decommissioned. And the PAWB campaign group. (People Against Wylfa B; in a humourous twist, 'pawb' is Welsh for people.)

Thoughts on nuclear power? Love the process, hate the byproduct.

Incidentally, this is the second large-scale project project that Hitachi has picked up in recent years. They also won the juicy railways contract to build the new generation of HSTs for High Speed 1, the Javelin class 395s.

We have no alternative.

Our oil, gas and coal reserves are dwindling, making us dependant on importing. Solar is a joke (In the UK climate) only made economically viable with government subsidies. Wind is a nice supplement but worthless for the baseline. Tidal faces too many environmental issues let alone the financial barrier (Severn estuary). We probably have enough rubbish to burn but it's hardly sustainable in even the medium term.

I'd be interested to see how fracking or coal gassification can help but I fear that they face too many unknowns in the UK (where we don't have enough (if any) wilderness suitable for isolated extraction.

Which leaves only nuclear. It can form the base line of our energy needs that can then be easily supplemented by renewable energy. Without it we are very much up a **** creek without so much as a spoon to paddle.

 

[Liquid]

I've said before that tidal power should be implemented. Put the Severn's monsterous power to good use. But as you say, the environmentalists aren't so keen on it.

Coal is okay, we have a decent supply of that for now, but there are the obvious concerns about the greenhouse gases, which I think are also a problem with burning waste which would otherwise kill two birds with one stone.

I'd be interested to see how fracking or coal gassification can help but I fear that they face too many unknowns in the UK (where we don't have enough (if any) wilderness suitable for isolated extraction

Would you mind explaining these two processes?

 

[ExigeEvan]

Would you mind explaining these two processes?

Fracking, which is currently driving the US towards energy independence is the process of opening fissures in the bed rock in order to extract the gas locked inside. Usually involves pumping water in to raise the pressure and drive the gas up.

With prime sites located in Lancashire it could provide cheap(er) energy for an increase in heavy industry.

Coal Gasification is the process of 'igniting' coal under the ground so to be able to extract potentially useful gasses. It's not actually ignition but a control of the gasses and temperature that allow thermal decay of the coal safely. It's being investigated in places like Port Talbot where there's a high demand for cheaper energy (TATA Steel works) and a known reserve of coal under the ground that is inaccessible (Under the town and Margam Country Park).

The idea of igniting the land under peoples' homes doesn't do much to build confidence, but it's not much different to the hollow land any many communities (such as my own) where people have long forgotten about the network of mines that criss-crossed their communities.