Lion in Winter

I go every year. In fact, I'm going in a couple of weeks To my knowledge, speed cameras in the UK are not hidden. There are warning signs well ahead - they want you to slow down, not pay a fine (this has the added benefit of not running over small children or hedgehogs). If you are going so fast that you can't read the signs in time, then you are probably going too fast - and Brits do drive very fast, compared to Americans, even on tiny roads.

Lion in Winter

Yeah, speed cameras are up high - probably to keep them out of the long grass

Lion in Winter

There are categories of grass, you see.

There are lawns, which have to be mown and rolled within an inch of their lives (actually about 1/4 inch I think), preferably in stripes, and are lovingly watered in one of the most rainy climates in northern Europe.

And then there is grass, which can be left to grow in great clumps and tussocks and is full of all sorts, including dandelions and nettles.

In the US, both of these categories produce anxiety.

SultanOfSwing

Not an exhaustive search, but a cursory glance at Google tells me that a common British grass is alopecurus pratensis, or 'meadow foxtail', which has a mature height of 43". Ain't no road sign, or speed camera going to be hampered or obscured by 4 feet of grass, if the local wildlife even allows it to get that high in the first place. Such a strange hill to die on, innit?

Don't forget about all my clover, which gets mowed to whatever height my lawnmower is set to.

dj6372

I have just moved back to the regressive nation after living in the USA for 5 years, I'm enjoying it very much, homeless people, yup there are, but nothing like the I saw during my time in LA and Atlanta!

I spent the last 2 weekends visiting NT properties, didn't realise how much I missed them!

Also nice to drive on motorways without spine crumbling potholes, and drivers who let you in!1

Spent 20 mins in EE came out with 2 contract phones, at half the cost of USA, very helpful, even without UK credit.

As for speed cameras, yup there are a few, but I found if you drive at the posted speed limit they don't go off......... PS they are bright yellow and easy to see.

Hey ho, Rose tinted glasses I guess.

Pulaski

"It's all the government's fault", and "we need the government to fix it for us", and that people complain about the former, and spend too much time sitting around waiting for the latter, are the primary causes of the problem, and the UK has been heading this way for decades, at least since the 1930's. The UK didn't rise the zenith of global influence, somewhere around 110-150 years ago because everyone was waiting for the government to take care of things. Thankfully there is little likelihood of anyone invading the UK today because there is not much hope of the population at large putting up any sort of meaningful resistance - it would be entirely up to "the government" to deal with the situation.

Steerpike

I've been back about 7 times (losing track) over the past couple of years due to family illness issues. Currently going every 3 months. Whereas in the past, when I've gone back I've tried to 'see something interesting' every day or visit friends around the country, these past visits have all been spent in the grim industrial sh*t hole where I grew up, 'up north' (with typically one 'day off' to head to London, or Edinburgh, for a break). Abandoned mills and warehouses (some converted to 'discount shoe outlets' and the like), depressing housing stock, dreadful shopping centers, etc. This thread made me think of several observations I've made.

1) inner cities / towns, at least in the 'North', and excluding the obvious high-spots like York, Harrogate, Chester, etc are really grim - dirty, run down, boarded up properties, litter everywhere - no 'pride of ownership'. I watched teenagers throw empty bottles onto the footpaths while in the 'park' in town (where a 'fairground' was being hosted). Parents / adults said nothing.
2) the people in these northern towns look haggard, defeated. It was probably always that way ... and why I ran to get out of there when I had the chance.
3) There's a HUGE muslim community in my old town and they are exceptionally helpful. I now have to push my mum around in a wheelchair everywhere, and it always seems to be the muslim kids rushing to open doors for me. In one instance, a woman dressed head-to-toe in black, with a niqab covering all but the eyes, yelled at her kids (in a strong northern accent, which was funny) to open the door for me as I entered a shop. All the local taxi drivers are from the same community it would seem and they are all very respectful and helpful (getting wheelchair in and out of taxi). What's quite interesting is ... there was a huge muslim community in town when I left, in the early 80s ... but I never saw any 'traditional dress' (Niqab for women, men with white pants, etc) so this is a development over the past 30+ years.
4) the food in the towns up north' is dreadful. The only saving grace is the "indian" food, which was everywhere, cheap, and good. By 'dreadful', I mean, the vegetables have been sitting there for hours, salad seems unheard of ... but you can have all the chips and peas and gravy you can eat! I don't think I saw anyone ever eat salad or fruit (in the town).
5) you go out into the 'countryside' (small towns/villages) just outside these grim towns and you are in a different universe. Not one 'person of color'; the people look affluent; and the food was generally VERY GOOD. I went to what once was a 'pub' out of town (now more of a restaurant with a bar as an afterthought) and had one of the best meals ever - nicely prepared fish, plenty of well-prepared vegetables, and salad. I went to what was termed a 'garden center' also out of town, and had the most amazing meal there also.
6) when I do head into London - where I spent 6 wonderful years at uni and working - it's another universe again. Vibrant, great food, good shops. Returning to my home town by train, I can feel the life-force drain from me.
7) driving on the motorways is a nightmare. Whenever I chose to drive long distances (not often), I seemed to find myself in 'managed motorway' zones and/or 'average speed zones' ... for miles, and miles, and miles. At one point, it seemed like I had to drive at 50 mph for a few hours. Very stressful having to keep an eye on the speed all the time. (Manchester to St Albans was the worst, down the M6 for a while with seemingly endless repairs).
8) it's a LOT harder to deal with a wheelchair in the UK than in the US, it would seem. While pushing my mum around, I had to choose my routes very carefully and the idea of 'smooth transition ramps' at street crossings seems unheard of. In the US, every street corner has a 'ramp', and every shop has a way to get in with a wheelchair. And of course, EVERYONE in UK parks half-on the pavement (sidewalk) because the roads are too narrow, so half the time I had to roll out into the streets to get around parked cars. My mum lives in an assisted living facility and yet, there are no powered-doors, and all the doors are extra-strongly sprung due to being 'fire doors' ... so if she were to get a motorized scooter - which I'm trying to convince her to do - she wouldn't be able to get around the building, let alone the town! I now really, really appreciate the "ADA" - Americans With Disabilities Act. The UK has a long way to go on that front, it seems.

Some tid-bits ...
1) the local Morrisons grocery store is not bad, and they even have a salad bar in the store ... but no salad dressings (unless you buy a whole bottle)! My mum doesn't have her own kitchen any longer so I was hoping to pick up something healthy to eat from there.
2) McDonalds don't do the 'all day breakfast' thing in UK like they do now in the US. I understand McDonalds isn't the height of healthy dining but their sausage McMuffin with Hash Brown is perhaps the best breakfast snack on earth ... (though I did have the best bacon/egg/sausage/beans breakfasts most days!)
3) Subway don't offer 'oil and vinegar' as a topping on their sandwiches - you have to choose from one of their high-calorie or high-junk options. Again, Subway isn't the height of dining but there were times when I just needed to pick up something quick.

scrubbedexpat142

Story just out -

Victoria, 23, first year student avails herself of a second hand Audi A1. £300 down & 60 monthly payments of £329.

2+ years on Victoria loses her job & cannot afford the payments. Her parents picked up a couple but can no longer afford to do so. Victoria is now in arrears.

According to Victoria's Mother this situation is entirely the fault of the finance company -

1) They failed to check sufficiently that Victoria could afford the repayments.

2) They sold Victoria a car that was too expensive.

3) They failed to predict that Victoria might lose her job 2 years down the line.

Victoria, of course, had no part to play in this whole saga and is just a "victim".

civilservant

Doesn't sound any different than the hundreds of similar stories every day in the US.

jjmb

having just returned from Edinburgh, it was noticeable that Scotland is doing better than the England which I have visited recently as well. Looking at the economics of government, England is still on the austerity mode with increasing private finance into services normally provided by government, whereas Scotland is increasing the services they provide. Apparently, they pay a higher tax than the England which I did not realise. (according to a Scottish friend and no, I didn't check that fact).
Brexit is definitely like an axe hanging over the heads of everyone, remainer or brexiteer, neither group is happy. Crime seems to be on the uptake in both countries and my son is noticing a lot less EU citizens, especially where he currently works. My son had his own experience of being beaten up by a gang of teens just recently as he tried to grab a boy who smashed a car window near his flat. The police said it wasn't worth arresting them as they were habitual offenders and would just get a slap on the wrist. He has now decided to return to Texas, mainly because he wants to be near family again but that incident didn't help his frame of mind.

Mallory

Steerpike - Just want to say how nice you are to your mum. I am sure she appreciates the attention you give her. I had to push my mum around in a wheelchair the last time she came to the US. It can be very difficult. Your post was interesting!

steveq

They also get a huge amount of money from England, via the Barnett formula, amounting to around another 20% higher than England.

TexanScot

Well yes, but that's because the cost of providing public services in Scotland is higher due to the lower population density - it's not just free money that's given for no reason.

Either way it's not sustainable in the long term - either the Nationalists are going to run out of money to spend on "free" prescriptions and "free" university, or Scotland becomes independent and public spending has to be slashed right across the board.

Nobody likes things like tuition fees, but the gulf between Scottish and English universities is large and growing: https://www.scotsman.com/education/s...cuts-1-4892958

scrubbedexpat099

I thought that was one of the reasons they wanted to join the EU? And North Sea oil, but not sure how that fits in with the GND.

TexanScot

Joining the EU as an independent nation made sense when the UK was still going to be a member, as the rest of the UK is Scotland's biggest trading partner by far.

Now that the UK is leaving, an independent Scotland rejoining the EU would mean an external frontier and customs/trade barrier at the border - it would be a logistical nightmare similar to what we are seeing in Ireland at the moment.

The Nationalists largely overplayed that the last time round and much of the public fell for it - they didn't seem to realize that you don't actually get the oil revenue, rather you get the TAXES on the revenue and when the price plummets...

There is still lots of oil in the North Sea but most of it is in places that are uneconomical to reach at current prices, or inaccessible with current technology. The old infrastructure does provide an opportunity though, as you can't really leave it there. No country has really started to tackle legacy decommissioning yet and there's a huge opportunity for Scotland to develop the engineering know-how for this, and to become a world leader in the field. It won't provide the number of jobs that exploration and extraction does, but it's something all the same.

For all the economic problems that independence would bring, I'm starting to think that it might just be preferable to Brexit and I'm not the only No voter that thinks that way.