dunroving

Pride of Britaiin Awards just finished, very heartening as always. I won't spoil it for anyone who will watch it later, but one of the winners commented on how the media seems to focus on the few bad apples and doesn't pay enough attention to all the positive things that people are doing in Britain every day. He got the biggest applause of the evening.

Lothianlad

Unfortunately it is part of the British character to focus on the negative side of life in Britain or any other aspect of what makes this country of ours what it is - the most prominent culprits in the publicising the bad and ignoring the good are those organisations that comprise the UK media. For example wholesale attention was given to all those hooligans and criminals and a range of other deadbeat losers who ran riot through the streets of urban England a couple of weeks ago causing massive damage and disruption. But absolutely diddly squat of publicity was given to the many thousands of people, volunteers both young and elderly in all the various local communities involved, as well as members of all the various professional organisations who combined together to restore order and reparation and help to those people - shop keepers and local business owners etc - so badly affected and whose livelihoods were all but destroyed in the rioting in some cases.

Very little mention, if any at all, was made of the astonishing swiftness and efficiency in which all of these people worked so hard to help others and to bring daily life back to normal in such a remarkably short space of time.

Very little evidence of the riotous damage remained after just a couple of days or so in many affected areas of London and other parts of urban England. But the media ignored all that - the riots were over so they lost interest in anything else.

Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" Act III Sc II:

"The evil that men do lives after them....the good is oft interred with their bones".

bandrui

Well said. Something wrong with a premise that depends upon people buying, buying, buying stuff they don't really need and spending beyond their means. I'm glad. Maybe we can now build a life based upon a different premise.

Returnee

The British Prime Minister urged Squeezed voters to show a bulldog spirit as he admitted the threat to the economy from the eurozone debt crisis is now as serious as the banking meltdown of 2008.

The cost of living squeeze has seen Tesco post its worst sales figures in 20 years. Yesterday’s figures from Britain’s biggest retailer provide grim evidence of a nation struggling to cope with the greatest fall in spending power since the Second World War.

RChappo

Again...it's not just the UK that is seeing a troubled economy:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/149930/Am...September.aspx

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...79325F20111005

bandrui

Good. It's always darkest before the dawn and CHANGE is what we need... worldwide!

Lothianlad

Unlike the USA there is no evidence here in the UK of homeless people, formerly part of the well-off middle classes, resorting to some kind of time restricted social welfare and now living in "tent cities" or even under highway bridges, and making use of soup kitchens or suffering acutely or even dying from the lack of urgent medical attention because of non affordability due to lack of adequate healthcare insurance in spite of the apparent (or so I believe) availablity of third rate healthcare services provided for the poor and dispossessed in the so called (by Americans) "Greatest Nation on Earth under God's clear Blue Skies".

At least, not yet here in the UK anyway, and it's very doubtful that there ever will be in spite of the dark clouds of economic restraint currently lurking up above Albion's fair land.

At the present time here in the UK, almost 18 months after the last General Election, the Prime Minister - David Cameron - leads the field in the popularity stakes among the three main political leaders, ahead of Red Ed and liberal Clegg, as is the Conservative party in the latest public opinion polls. So something must be heading in the right direction, however that may be difficult to comprehend right now. The Labour party's economic profligacy is going to take quite some time to rectify.

Bevm

Yes, but it's because many "prosperous countries" went hog-wild. If we imagine a family that decides it's fine to spend twice their income and have a great time, and then has to return to reality and live on less than their income because they have huge debts to pay off, it's horrible for everyone. But it's a return to a level that we can afford. People keep complaining that it's not fair if their standard of living goes down, but if their standard of living is being paid for by borrowing from the Chinese, what's the solution?

Taxing the bankers would be sweet revenge, but it's not going to dig anyone out of holes counted in trillions.

So what does a trillion look like?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...ss/6625545.stm

"It is estimated you can get 50,000 pennies into a cubic foot - a trillion pennies would fill two St Paul's Cathedrals."

Alternatively you may want to compare a million to a trillion by placing a credit card next to Ben Nevis.

Then again you can illustrate the scale of this number by comparing the fact that a million seconds equals 11.5 days, a billion seconds is 32 years and a trillion is 32,000 years.

Or, if your brain has not exploded already, there is another calculation you can make, according to Michael.

"If you take the typical annual salary as £25,000 a year - how long would it take you to spend a trillion pounds if you spent £25,000 a day.

"The answer is 109,000 years."

Bev

sallysimmons

And there ends the party political broadcast on behalf of the conservative party

BristolUK

Are you saying therre are no homeless people anymore or no homeless people who were previously well off.

Mallory

HELP!! We are down and out here in the USA. Send money quick!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-benefits.html

Returnee

Oh dear. More unhappy news:
'The fragile finances of families, savers and pensioners suffered a huge blow yesterday when the Bank of England launched a desperate new bid to stave off recession. The Bank’s governor pumped £75billion of new money into the flatlining economy, saying The Worst Financial Crisis In Modern History demanded it. But Sir Mervyn King admitted there could be a severe price to pay. The move could: Force another spike in inflation, with retail prices predicted to hit 5 per cent within weeks; Further reduce annuity rates for pensioners; Hammer savers, offering them little hope of a return on their investments.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-recovery.html

Grayling

Why do you keep posting this stuff

Tell us where you live and I will dredge up some articles which show how crap it is.

Returnee

The reason I post news about the problems in Britain is because this thread is entitled 'Article about UNHAPPY Britain.' It is obvious that Britain, like other countries is going through a really bad social and economic period. It would be interesting to know what people think and how the situation is affecting them and those around them. It would be particularly interesting for those thinking of returning to the U.K; especially those close to or at retirement age, especially when: 'The fragile finances of families, savers and pensioners suffered a huge blow yesterday when the Bank of England launched a desperate new bid to stave off recession.'

Grayling

I will be returning to Britain when I retire (I am in my 60's) and none of this will have any effect on me.

All of my family in the UK are doing well and have probably never been better off including those of my brothers and sisters who have retired and are now probably wealthier than ever.

I would ask my FIL who is retired but he seems to spend most of his time on holidays abroad.

Do you really think that those planning to return have no idea what to expect?

Much of it is scaremongering.

You started off on this forum by saying you planned to return to the UK....since then you have done nothing but post articles about how awful it is in the UK.

I will say it again...you are simply trolling