... The Queen's once-proud subjects now lead Europe in illiteracy, unemployment, teen pregnancy, divorce, drug use, obesity, alcoholism, crime and STDs'

...screams the cover of the latest Maclean's magazine. Any else read it yet?

Nope, didnt read it, but can believe it.

You may want to think about adding a link if you have one to the magazine before you start getting a load of abuse from those that disagree.

Nope, just have a copy of my weekly delivered. Got it today, so it might be on newstands tomorrow, I think.

I don't mind people adding their tuppence (or two cents) worth; that's what this site is good for, eh?

Lousid

I can believe that, I live in a nice quiet area, quite friendly and most people know each other. 2 weeks ago an old lady down the road was robbed for £80, they posed as water board officials and ransacked her home whilst she was in and her elderly son was out.

A 10 year old boy drowned saving his 8 year old sister, they were playing in a flooded mining pit over the back from our house, unsupervised by adults, at least a couple of miles away from their home. The oldest child with them was 10.

Those were within a week. I work with kids with mental health problems and we get a huge amout of referrals from GP's asking us to see 'probem kids' when it is obvious from the referrals or meeting the families, that all the need is parenting and some boundaries. But when you suggest this the attitude is 'it's the child thats faulty not us fix it, have you got any tablets that will make em better.' :curse:

I'm not expecting Canada to be crime and problem free, but after speaking to friends over there it sounds a lot better that the UK. I love the UK (parts of it) but I'm not keen on the way the UK is heading. Plus I love Canada and feel like it's home.

Sharon

I saw it in Chapters on Saturday, so it's been out a few days at least. I flipped to the article and read the highlighted parts - about the UK leading Europe in drinking rates, London having a higher violent crime rate than anywhere in Europe or New York, and 1 child a week under the age of 5 being expelled from school.

Dont worry it will all be ruined by drawing 0-0 will Estonia on Wednesday.

Here's their website, http://www.macleans.ca/ but it all seems to be about local news; Conrad Black, the Khadrs, the Air India crash, uppity Injuns, the usual Canadian stuff.

Still, I think we've always led in teen pregnancy and alcoholism, that's part of our charm. Has some nation been catching up with us in boozing and bonking?

Sorry...I too thought this was another Footy thread...



Why would we want to read it? A, its in macleans...a magazine fit only for waiting rooms, and B: Why should we care, depending on your point of view its old news and why we left/are leaving, or else its sensationalist writing designed to boost circulation?


While in the hospital last week I stumbled upon a National Geographic from 1979 that was saying much the same thing about England way back then in an article called "Two Englands". plus ça change...

I don't think the USA is far behind the UK in drinking problems and teen pregnancies...
The first thing I noticed here was no young girls pushing babies in the Mall...if you look deeper its because a lot give their babies up for adoption...
Drinking is a big problem here...I like my kids off the road late evening...when all the drunks are driving..

Macleans really is the most awful magazine. One year Amex sent me a free subscription, some sort of tie in promotion, and it was all about Conrad Black and his first blow job. That the blow job was from Barbara Amiel and not Peter C. Newman came as something of a surprise.

By an odd coincidence, 1979 was the last time that a Labour government was thrown out of power.

Though this time we don't have anyone with any balls to replace it with.

I love to see what reaction you'd get if you posted this on the returning to the UK forum....

As they are the ones who know what its like else where and quite cleary don't see the UK as all that bad.

No thank you, they're all way too depressing in there for me

Not sure how they work out that the UK has the highest unemployment in Europe. Sure there are pockets of unemployment but the UK is operating at practically full employment (esp. compared to 80s and early 90s). London and other big cities would grind to a halt if it wasn't for immigrant workers filling vacancies.

You hear this said on TV about the country grinding to a halt without the Eastern Euros, and apparently the unemployed Brits are too lazy to pick fruit.
The thing which baffles me is, i've never seen a TV news reporter asking a British citizen on the dole if they'd mind picking fruit or any other humdrum work for that matter. When I was unemployed earlier this year, the Jobcentre interviewer never asked me if i'd like to go and work in a green-house for peanuts.