Regressive nation
 

Currently back in the UK for an extended vacation to see family and am shocked and horrified by what I am seeing. Grass verges not cut, Trash everywhere, street beggars all over every shopping centre wheelie bins strewn anywhere and everywhere, and what seems to be a whipped puppy attitude of everyone.
Wow!!,
the other thing that is showing up is a total disregard for any consumer rights.
Sainsbury... 45 mins waiting on meal in cafe ... When I asked cashier about the delay she called security and manager saying she felt 'threatened'??

McDonald's.. Asked why a product that is being advertised has been unavailable in all stores in Southampton area for over three weeks... Their complaint line came up with some lame excuse about managers have ordering rights that head office can't interfere with!!???!!!
(Huh??)

Carphone Wharehouse ...(Romsey). Apparently the salesman wanted to keep shuffling his cards rather than serve us as we wouldn't look at any phones over £300.... When I called their offices to complain I was told that as I hadn't purchased anything I was not able to have my complaint heard.

I know the USA has big problems but it seems that the above is crazy .... Anyone else found similar?????

I don't remember it being this bad!!

Re: Regressive nation
 

Re: Regressive nation
 

Is there something wrong with being employed by either establishment :sneaky:

Re: Regressive nation
 

I used to eat posh at Tesco... But they have slimmed down most of their stores to Costa ☕ coffee:lol:

Re: Regressive nation
 

Re: Regressive nation
 

Re: Regressive nation
 

Suggest that living in the country is best option... I understand your amusement but I don't understand the BS that the council's have put out about the verges...if they really cared about the wildlife they would convert parks to wildlife refuges and encourage beehives and all that good stuff.

Re: Regressive nation
 

Oh and as a ps.... If you don't go into the cities you certainly won't recognize the state they have fallen into.😵 And yes one does eat up market for real food. There are some lovely places to eat outside of city centres .. The people used to have pride in their surroundings. So sad.

Re: Regressive nation
 

First post attacking the home that many of us have fond memories of. Are you surprised no one cares what you think?

Re: Regressive nation
 

Wow.... NOT attacking the home... Just sad at the apparent demise in what made Great Britain great!

Re: Regressive nation
 

As a regular visitor to the homeland, I do mostly agree with what you saw; the thing is that you have come across as a whiney a-hole in the post. Did you really call up carphonewhorehouse and Mcdonalds to complain?

Re: Regressive nation
 

Re: Regressive nation
 

Never mind, McDonald's might pull their socks up and make Great Britain great again.

Re: Regressive nation
 

It wasn't meant as a whiney .. It was a simple wow at how things have gone downhill. And had anyone else seen or got the same impression

Hey at least I didn't phone the papers about my neighbours:tape:

And yes I did call carphone whorehouse ... My sister in law is elderly and doesn't need a greedy little tyke trying to take advantage of her.

Re: Regressive nation
 

Well all I can note about the UK is that 11 years of austerity and 3 years of Brexshite has really taken its toll. Income inequity is terrible, is unlikely to ever improve and people (certainly outside of London) have no aspiration. The infrastructure looks tired and is clearly short of investment. Parts of the UK look like they have been attacked by a zombie apocalypse that is still ongoing. The men are fat and pale, the women are fat and orange, the kids are monsters. It's sad to see.

Re: Regressive nation
 

Yes... It looks like the get up and go.. Got up and went..and if one more person over here blames me for Trump:yield:

Re: Regressive nation
 

Taco Hell my good man🌮😁

Re: Regressive nation
 

Cheer up, if you go outside there's bound to be a crack in the footpath that you can ring the Council and complain about ;)

I'm a good woman.

Re: Regressive nation
 

I tried to call the council... Number disconnected due to funding cuts📞🤔😊

Re: Regressive nation
 

Wouldn't surprise me - make your next phone call to Number 10 and complain about the systematic defunding of local Councils while simultaneously increasing their responsibilities. You may as well do something useful on your holidays :thumbsup:

Re: Regressive nation
 

There was a gone to the dogs thread but it was closed. The sentiment crops up on here frequently, (not only in regards to crime).
https://britishexpats.com/forum/mapl...g-dogs-895368/

Re: Regressive nation
 

I would phone number 10 but apparently the old occupant ' May' not be there and i am still trying to see if the potential new occupant needs extra sound proofing in the walls. 😁

Re: Regressive nation
 

Page not found.

I have not been back for some time but the last time obviously noticed times have changed, places have changed, people have changed. Odd if you think about it that they would not.

McDonald's, do they not say somewhere that may not be available at all locations, I would not have waited 45 minutes in Salisbury's so could not comment.

Government activities and spending is an interesting one, obviously lots of Business's that I knew have failed, not an option here.

Re: Regressive nation
 

A good summation, sadly.

Ah, that well known Scouse compo trick!

Re: Regressive nation
 

Hilarious. Pop over and meet me in the pub next time I'm in Liverpool, you can tell it again so everyone can have a laugh :sneaky:

Re: Regressive nation
 

Well, I got away with it when I lived in Birkenhead!

By the way, I am also married to a Scouser!

Re: Regressive nation
 

My friend used to say "That's really funny, make sure you remember to tell all the nurses,"

Re: Regressive nation
 

Of course you'd get away with it in Birkenhead, the plazzies would love it :lol:

Glad to see you also backed a winner in the spouse stakes :thumbup:

Re: Regressive nation
 

I like your friend :lol:

Re: Regressive nation
 

Remember, scousers are as famous for their sense of humour as they are for nicking car wheels - & yes I did have to park at Anfield (& paid the parking protection fee!).

Re: Regressive nation
 

Anyway...

Not mowing the verges is a very good thing for flowers, animals, insects, the lot.

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...owing-councils

https://www.hazelwoodlandscapes.com/...dflower-meadow

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-34285859

I can't think of a single ecological case to be made for McDonalds.

Re: Regressive nation
 

Wait, you mean allowing native plants to grow and flourish encourages local fauna to thrive? Surely not.

WGAF if a verge has been mowed or not anyway? As long as there is no litter, why should it matter?

Re: Regressive nation
 

Who woulda thunk it, eh? I love seeing it personally - verges full of flowers and bees and butterflies and other insects and small mammals, so many of them endangered. Even hedgehogs are endangered ffs. No mowing, no spraying - it all adds up and helps. They are doing that in the centers of some roundabouts now, too.

Get people out litter-picking instead of driving mowers and sprayers, as you say. Better yet, don't throw rubbish out the window.

Re: Regressive nation
 

That's great - until Vicki Pollard trips over in the long grass & sues for compo! :lol:

Re: Regressive nation
 

Just as long as she doesn't squash any flowers or small mammals on her way down.

Re: Regressive nation
 

Clearing litter is much more important, IMO. Personally I don't care if someone mows their own grass, much less if local authorities mess with the grass on a berm or a verge. Native areas should look like, well, native areas. The small endangered mammals are nature's lawnmowers anyway.

Re: Regressive nation
 

Absolutely - in the UK litter was a big enough problem when we left, I understand the problem is even bigger now & in the minds (minds?) of some, long grass verges are an invitation to litter - "' 'cos it don't show see".

Re: Regressive nation
 

Litter is a problem over here too, so the UK isn't alone in that regard, but it does always seem bad when I visit again as well.

The problem here is there is no long grass to hide it because you know Americans melt if they see a blade of grass longer than 4". Nothing more fun than going on a walk in town and seeing a bunch of garbage lining the path. At least the forest preserve do keep their trails as native areas, which is nice, and you don't tend to see so much litter there. I won't even throw an apple core on the ground there because I read somewhere it's actually detrimental to the local wildlife to do that, even though you might think it's fine to leave it for them to eat.

Re: Regressive nation
 

IGAF if the verges are mowed... Its called... Spot the traffic cam � ����and the obscured speed sign.. Oh and the small child that has no road sense!! To all those that have not been back for years and have fond dreamy memories ... hmmmm.

Re: Regressive nation
 

Let's ignore for now that it is the responsibility of the driver to look out for small children, be they or be they not concealed by grassy verges - how many small children are actually waiting alongside the kind of roads that have verges in the first place, for their moment to jump out in front of you?

And speed cameras don't tend to be at ground level. Unless the grass is reaching heights of 6' or more, that's a flimsy reason. I like to drive fast too, but the preservation of native green spaces outranks my right to impunity. Let the grass grow.