meauxna

Well, it keeps the workers on their toes..

Jeez.. he didn't buy THAT too, did he?

Just get some Miracle Whip when you get over here; you'll never tell the difference.

niksha

"Anyway I just read in the Daily Mail that the Cat Bin Woman has apologised for her actions, which were completely out of character. This reassures me that some things are right about the old country"

Just want to reassure everyone that not EVERYONE from coventry is like the cat bin woman!!!!!

chrisbeale

WARNING: This rant is not judging all young/old people, but I'd wear out my S, O, M and E keys on my laptop if I was being fair.

I'm a staunch Conservative but I'm not sure you can blame the lack of manners of younger people on Labour. I'm not sure you can really say that young people are worse now than ever before. Mods and rockers going to a beach just for a fight? I personally think older people are more dangerous drivers than younger people, or at least younger people are mainly dangerous to themselves, whereas older people muck it up for all. Although they more than 50% of older people in the UK insure and tax their cars which cannot be said for younger people.

I find a lot of old people bigotted and rude, rarely acknowledging my holding of a door or moving out the way for their mobility scooters, which by the way are too fast and bloody dangerous. The reasons (mainly upbringing) that you can blame my grandparents for dashes of racism are the same reasons why you can cast a shadow over the manners and etiquette of younger people.

And what I have said is nearly all prejudiced, none of us are much better than others, just when and where we are bad has changed. I shan't comment on how good or bad young or old people are in the US, what I'm trying to say through my moronic rant is that a swathing attack on people of a different generation, political outlook or country is short sighted.

PS Middle aged people ruined our economy, thanks. Everyone covered? O babies cry on buses.

aernor

If you want to compare the cost of living then you need to find a common denominator. Historians have the same problem when trying to work out the cost of living in Ancient Rome compared with the U.S.A. and they use a loaf of bread.
I may just be a grumpy old Englishman but looking round the stores here in Florida the price of food here is comparable to the U.K. Some things are cheaper, others more expensive.
Attitudes very, just like the U.K. there's probably the same percentage of helpful/unhelpful people in both countries.
Moral: Don't come to Florida if you like hill walking!

robin1234

Yeah I remember when I used to visit Florida, there was one huge hill with trucks driving up & down it, and thousands of vultures hanging out (the landfill.)

VivDee

Love it Robin.

Lothianlad

So, Mary Bale, the (in)famous Cat Woman of Coventry, has offered her "heartfelt apology" for what she did to a helpless, hapless moggy. Great, I suppose that makes it all fine then! It's really amazing how people who are revealed as being guilty of some offence or misdeed or other suddenly come over all apologetic and repentant - once they are found out!

If, as she later claimed, to love cats and had even a merest smidgeon of such feelings of care and concern for that animal, or any regretful thought later on what she had done, she would have made an effort to return to that wheelie bin to check on its welfare. But did she? As they say in Corrie: "Did she 'eck as like!"

Now she is receiving police protection for fear of reprisals against her. What a complete waste of precious, and expensive, police time. They really do have more urgent things to do in this hard pressed country.

The fact that this particular homeowner, also the cat owner, felt it necessary to instal a CCTV camera on the exterior of his property in the first instance, pretty much speaks volumes about the social situation in the UK at the present time. And Coventry is not alone in that respect by any means.

Lothianlad

Spot on! Hopefully, that is all going to change....on going social welfare for the undeserving and the feckless, as provided by Labour, is now set to become very much more difficult to achieve - so long as the present Government sticks to all its promises.

robin1234

Maybe my political memory is longer than yours, but the undeserving & feckless have been afforded significant ongoing subsidies by a every government since I was born, & most of those were Conservative. But, look on the bright side; all those same governments have also provided a much-needed safety net to the deserving poor and the needy.

Hang on..

robin1234

As a life-long Socialist, I've always assumed that Cuba was not only a workers' paradise but also provided a good standard of living for the elderly and less fortunate. Image my shock when I read this on the BBC site.

"...Angela Jimenez, a 64-year-old who receives a monthly pension of about $10 (£6.50)." Bloody hell, that is even less than the UK State Pension!!

VivDee

Being an anmal lover,I am happy she got caught.
What a sicko.

Not much crime in my neighbourhood but I have thought have about having a CCTV installed in our home,in case anyone came in and my dogs were hurt lost in any way.(They are never out alone)

The rest is replaceable but not my Dogs!!

elfman

oh do me a ****ing favour - like that particular piece of legislation wasn't popular among the general population and campaigned for by loads of people at the time banging on about restricted drinking hours being symptomatic of the whole "nanny state" crap.

As for the initial premise of this thread: I sometimes wonder if some people are visiting a different country to the one I visit every two years or so. We spent July 14-31 in Britain and loved it. Had no problems with customer service and pretty much everyone was a pleasure to deal with. As for the expense I don't agree with sweeping statements about extortionate prices in Britain. We found food in supermarkets to be good value and in outdoor shops they were practically giving stuff away (eg fleeces and rain jackets). Traffic was no problem at all and the weather was mostly helpful - out of two and a half weeks we only had two days in which the weather put a dampener on our activities. We spent those two and a half weeks in southern Scotland, Northumberland, the Lake District (and briefly Stockport, just to complete the tour of the UK's primary beauty spots).

robin1234

That is a good thought --- I remember there was a case a few years ago (in the US I believe) where a dog owner had a web cam at home, just so that she could check up on her dogs every so often, while she was at work. Imagine her surprise when she surveyed her living room, only to see a gang of burglars carrying out her valuables to a van outside. The dogs were walking around wagging their tails and watching the burglars. Next thing, you see the police arrive & arrest the guys. The video was posted on YouTube at the time.. very funny.

VivDee

I will have to look for it!!

robin1234

That's true .. we were in Torquay for a while and looked in a couple of outdoor equipment shops. I was amazed at the low prices and good quality of the clothing, tents, sleeping bags etc. we looked at. One was a cheaper chain store (not Milletts, but similar) the other was a specialist locally-owned shop in Exeter. I would say most things were about half the price you would have paid in the US.