glad 2 b back

oh no way, whereabouts do you live?

rachelk

In Britain (both England and Scotland)

Boring predictable over-with-several-games-to-go league championships.

In Spain - La liga.

chrisw

Hi Glad 2 b back! Just wanted to clarify few points I made previosly and provide the reasons why I made them. (Maybe I should have posted this on Martha's moan groan thread! Lol!)

Originally Posted by chrisw
Hi all! I agree with all the above statements re thing to hate, ESPECIALLY the "Nanny State" and "Political correctness"!
Quote: "I see this as something good at least there are laws in place to stop racial abuse and prejudism."
I agree that we need laws to protect us, but they just go over the top every time. Being a law graduate, I have studied the injustices which REGULARLY occur because of the way our legal system operates. It is archaic, fragmented, and totally ineffective in upholding JUSTICE. Believe me, there is a huge difference between LAW and JUSTCE in this country. Our legal system is based on hundreds of years of caselaw and is completely inadequate for modern day society. The first time the word FAIR was used in a statute under English law was in The Sale of Goods Ammendment Act 1994, and which was introduced incidentally, as a result of a European Directive. Equal Opportunities - European Directive, Equal pay - European Directive, and so the list goes on. Justice I’m all for, pedantry- no. Our laws are restrictive rather than protective.
Sorry Glad 2 b back, you got me on me soap box again!

Quote: “Teenagers have drunk for years nothing new, and also Spanish kids do too and smoke dope, and take drugs I hear cocaine is rather a popular choice, guess what they even have sex out of marriage, I hear 13 is the age of consent in Spain.”

Agreed that youngsters have drunk for years, nothing new there, it is this new binge drinking culture which I am concerned about, not just for my safety but there own. Drugs, is a global problem now and I don’t see any solution to it either. I think we would all like to wave a magic wand and make that one go away! But with regard to the drinking comment, it was made in direct response to a comment posted earlier by Rosemary (oddities) #13.

With regard to Spanish men “wippin’ it out” anywhere, I will go along with you on that one, Glad 2 b back! YUK!

Agreed that there are traffic jams in any built up area, but the town planners (at least around here) seem obsessed with fitting traffic lights everywhere which in most cases cause longer traffic queues that if they would simply fit a roundabout. It seems that everything they do, has to be made as complex as possible. Just had a thought, just think how environmentally friendly it would be, if they changed at least some of the lights to roundabouts, the wouldn’t have to pay so much on their leccy bills! Sorted!
And potholes, if you fell down one, you would need a ladder to get out again! (OK, so I used a bit of poetic license on this one! But not by much!) Lol!

glad 2 b back

Cool post I know what you been about pc being ott!

And yeah about them whippin it double yuk! and I saw worse on a couple of occasions in broad daylight....don't think I can say on here

but think of car rocking back and forth, two in front seat 2.30pm and covering 10 year olds eyes.....

chrisw

OOPS! OMG! Say no more!

glad 2 b back

and another one at 4.00pm a bloke outside a car a woman inside, him trousers around his ankles ehem another very embarrasing moment....all this on the bloody doorstep...in rural andalucia

chrisw

The mind boggles!

lynnxa

I heard that too.....is it true?



a worried parent of 2 girls

anabella

Our "rudeness" has been mentioned several times in this thread and I just wanted to say that it is just a cultural difference. When I first moved to England I realised that if I tried to get say a coffee and I walked into a coffee shop and said "a coffee" just like I would in Spain (where ordering that way is perfectly normal/acceptable) I would not get served I was expected to say "I would like a coffee please" I wasn't sure why I had to use please/may I/can I/I would like/thanks so much but I noticed that it was very important to do so. I always felt that it is just related to the language/habit/culture to use all these polite words and not to "politeness" necessarily. Just my two cents...

MnM

Hi Anabella,

I have to agree with you on this point.

I too noticed that in the UK too many words like "please, thank you, sorry, pardon" were all used without too much meaning behind them. As if they were just parrot words that were grinded into everyone's brain and attached to sentences without feeling and real emotion by most people. Now folks remember I said most people, not all.

Very similar to the phrase Americans use..."have a nice day, next please"!

When I go to a supermarket, cafe, restaurant, ferreteria, etc., I like it when people smile and most times they do and usually have a friendly Hola ready on their lips to greet you. That is my experience anyway.

poollounger

Yet more interesting responses. I was expecting more responses to differences in the landscapes, quality of food, tangible things. It seems that people are more concerned by behaviour and attitudes. Australians in London, and I have had quite a few as friends, always seem uncouth... some have admitted they felt uncouth. Some are but many have a directness which seems harsh in British society. I remember a friend telling me about a smart dinner party he went to shortly after he arrived in London. Talking about jobs, he asked the woman next to him how much she earned...there was a stunned silence...this was normal conversation in Australia . Some of them say that beneath the veneer of politeness they feel British society is rather two faced.
Traffic in cities is a problem, but it will get worse in Spain in time. I drive in London, and driving in Seville or Jerez is no different.. less jams perhaps. Chiclana is sprouting traffic lights and roundabouts.

I am starting a related thread.....hope you all chip in again. Manners and Etiquette.. Spain vs Britain

Lochy

I must say, I prefer the way people serve in shope over here. People generally seem more professional and competent, without the need to be overly smiley or to say thank you all the time. Agree totally on the "have a nice day" crap. Meaningless words, mostly with no substance behind them.

But, I do get annoyed when you hold the door open for someone, or wait to allow someone to pass in a narrow street or let someone out in their car, that you never get a thanks. Normally there's no recognition whatsoever that you've done something polite whoich you didn't have to do.

poollounger

Hear hear hear.... when will people stop serving Nescafe as coffee ??? It is not and never will be...... makes me so angry when I find an otherwise decent restaurant serving instant coffee. Even friends....I always ask if it's instant, and if it is I have tea instead. When there are so many diferent and easy methods of making the real thing, and it doesn't cost much more, if at all, to serve up this tasteless brown muck called coffee which is instant s**te makes me boil !!

As to Glad to be's comments about alfresco sex... I think this is common everywhere in warm latin countries where young people often live at home until they are much older. And just be careful as to where you take your kids walking near Maidstone, as there are several notorious 'dogging sites' all over Kent, indeed all over the country. And talk to the residnets of certain very smart areas of south London, usually situated by commons and parks, where the ladies are often to be found doing their business on their doorsteps. Ditto Hampsted Heath etc for very different reasons !!
I know this is embarrassing when one has children with you...but would we feel the same if two horses in a field or the bulls or rabbits were at it as we walked by ??

Lochy

I was specifically thinking of the chains of coffee shops which serve you enormous tubs of the stuff and where you won't get much change out of a fiver if you buy two mugs.

Get irritated by all the marketing hype which surrounds it also where they talk of the careful selection of beans, only the finest, freshest, made by experts, blah, blah, blah. Lot of rubbish and certainly doesn't stop the coffee tasting crap.

Britain does tend to get swept along by the latest craze. What's fashionable this week = whose got the biggest marketing budget this week. Latest is organic food. When Brits realised that the supermarkets have been selling us unhealthy processed food with fat margins and complained, the supermarkets reacted by selling us the stuff they stopped selling 20 years ago, but repackaged at 10x the price. And we’re all banging on about how we only eat organic…

Haven’t seen any of this al fresco sex. Need to get out more…

rugbymatt

I agree with you PL, the vast majority of my friends are Kiwis or Aussies, and it rubs off on you. If I don't agree with someone now I can be quite abrasive, and will happily tell someone they are talking crap in the pub, at work or anywhere really.

Has this made me rude? Nope, I am still polite and very much a gentleman I'm told, but I do say what I think and wont just sit there and take things like I used to. One thing I have noticed is how this takes so many people a back, and the amount of times I get called arrogant, is not sitting there and having someone run off at the mouth arrogant?

Is accepting that someone will just walk into the pub and stand between you and a few mates because you are in work clothes and they are quite obviously wealthy (as happened this weekend) a good thing?