Spongebob

This was in our local paper today. One of the reasons why we are glad we left the UK.

http://www.canada.com/victoria/times...5-070be9dfa0b8

ray1968

Agree - Leicester wher I am from had it fair share of problems..it seems its almost an ingrained part of culture ...its a real shame!

indybrit

Hey Ray, I'm from Leicester too. Moved to Canada in 1995 and then to Indiana in 2003.
My Sister-in-law and her boyfriend were visiting from England a few weeks back and asked me if I still missed anything about England.
I said that I missed going down town with the lads from work on a Friday night for the occasional pub crawl.
She was quick to answer back by saying that those days ended a few years back.
She went on to say that she too can remember a few years back when the town centre was packed on Firdays and Saturdays with people milling around walking from pub to pub with little or no trouble.
That's all changed apparently. Very few people go into town anymore.

wizzard

I grew up in Blackpool and spent several years in Manchester whilst at University and I have to say that going to downtown Toronto at night is a million miles away from going to Blackpool or Manchester city centre on a weekend. Obviously there are certain areas of Toronto you wouldn't want to go to at night but they are fairly self contained and avoidable. The problem with UK town and city centres is that it is universal because of the general youth culture and the lisencing laws that force all bars and pubs to empty at 11pm and then all clubs to empty at 2-3am so that everybody is forced out into the street universally across the entire town/city. So it becomes a gauntlet of hoping you can get from the pub to a taxi/car/bus etc. without running into the wrong group of inebraited yobs etc.

Drew

simonhouse

Typical newspaper junk.

My wife and I went to England for a holiday in May this year, and it's exactly the same as it's always been - great. We loved every minute of it, and just because people enjoy drinking, it does not make them yobs. We spent nights out in Bournemouth, Winchester, Weymouth and London. All damn fun and all free of any trouble. Of course a couple of people get out of hand and bad stuff happens, but that happens in Calgary too (yes it does) - it happens anywhere.

I'm just happy I can see things how they are and don't have to rely on everything I read in a rag. Maybe some towns have issues, but it's wrong to brand the entire country as dangerous!

liftman

Try coming down south to the "Family" resort of Torquay.

The harbourside and lower end of the town has become a virtual no go area for local residents because of the appaling behaviour that occurs every Friday and saturday night.

Fights, a recent murder, stabbings, bottlings, sexual immorality, vomiting, urinating, abuse, foul language and more.

This is in a town that advertises itself as a place you can bring your kids to for a fun time.

If "all you can drink for a tenner" pubs is your idea of a good time, come on down, because we have it here.

I am not an old prude, I am 40!

Spongebob

Theres a difference between drinking and having a good time, going home and not causing any trouble and getting pissed on cheap alcopops drinks and causing grief.

Maybe try going to birkenhead or liverpool town centre on a Saturday night and you will see what he is going on about.

And by the way I dont need to rely on the local rags to get my info, I lived in the Uk for 30 years.

And yes you are correct to point out that not every town. city has that problem, but it is certainly a growing and worrying trend.

ray1968

You know Spongebob I would hazard a guess and say of all the cities in the UK with populations of over 100,000, the vast majority would have these problems., every city i visited in the Midlands had the same problem ...Birmingham, Notts, Coventry, Derby, Leicester

Spongebob

I would agree with you there Ray1968. Its funny how people like to say it never happens, if the papers even suggest that it may be a problem then then it is discounted as being crap straight off the bat.

Well this article didnt come from the English tabloids and it had no links to the daily mail (which has a habit of putting the Uk down), just a local rag that picked up on an issue that a non brit experienced while he vacationed in the UK

Maybe they dont get out enough, or only visit the quaint country pub once a week on a Sunday.

wensamjam

I'm sure if simonhouse lived back in the uk long another he would experience the behaviour that is reported in the paper.
Try having a night out down in northern Burnley, or our little town Padiham, i wouldn't dare go out at night down there, the voilence that goes on on a weekend basis due to drink. My father-in-law owns a corner shop, traditional sweet shop oppposite a park, and everynight has under age kids asking if he sells beer.
Recently there was a big crack down on under age drinkers, we now have alcohol free zones, but you see kids drinking around the parks all the time. I think it must happen in every city and in alot of rural places aswell.

99taylorb

My fiancee and I are Canadians and we've had troubles with a group of yobs here in Essex (she's a teacher at the local high school - so a lot of the teens know her) who've thrown beer bottles and rocks at cars driving down the high street on Friday nights.

We're moving home to Ontario next week, and one of the things we'll miss the least is the yob culture. I read this week that the government has proposed a crackdown - I'll believe it's working when I don't see gangs of 15 year old kids drinking freely and intimidating passersby.

-b-

tonster

Maidstone now brings out portable urinals in the street at closing time!

Fill

Well I live in North Wales. I went to university in Liverpool and still have friends living there. The only time I've ever been in a scuffle was in Liverpool when a lad walked past and hit me and a mate for no reason at all and I still feel much safer in Liverpool than in any of the 'quaint' small towns round here.

Small towns, big egos.

The Duke of Westminster even said he would rather his girls go out in Liverpool than Chester or Ellesmere Port.

Most people are out for a good time, you can tell the people that aren't and you give them a wide berth.

simonhouse

My point is this problem is not limited to England - bad stuff happens here too.

I buy beer from my local liquor store every weekend, and there is always a different group of kids hanging outside asking me if I'll buy them some drink and they get abusive when I say no. Same with cigarettes.

Then head down to 17th Avenue on a weekend - there are no minor scuffles here - they are busy stamping on each others heads and stabbing each other. It has been featured on TV here several times and I've witnessed it myself. Amazing how short people's memories are when it comes to problems in Canada.

Perhaps it is a problem in England, but Canadians should try sorting out their own issues before trying to brand an entire country as dangerous.

I for one look forward to visiting my favourite haunts in England as soon as possible. I was brought up in England, and have alot of friends there. They don't complain about what seems obvious to you guys!

oceanMDX

I'm one of the very few native Canadians who writes to this forum. I have never criticized the UK. Nearly 100% of those who do criticize life in the UK are Brits who have moved to Canada or those who want to. Most of these ex-pat Brits have lived in both countries long enough to have an informed opinion on this topic. My observation is that most are saying that the UK has a "yob culture" and that Canada does not.