Originally Posted by Barratie (Post 6502217)

Why should she be forced to do that? What if her husband has access to a joint account and it is frequently overdrawn or some other scenario?

What has that got to do with Royal Mail? Should they keep all their Post Offices open then, on the slight off chance that some little old lady wont have her own bank account and has a husband who spends money like water?

I dont want to drift into politics, but society is FOR US and should be organized BY US to serve OUR NEEDS irrespective of Blair, Brown, Thatcher and all the other liars and career politicians that have and are destroying our nation.

I bet you would be among one of the first to moan if the cost of stamps went up dramatically to cover the cost of keeping all the Post Offices open, just to serve one little old lady every day.

Do not be surprised if one day, the Police get privatized, and you will need Police Insurance in order to call 999, this is where it is heading just keep watching.

Don't be ridiculous, you're talking about Post Offices and emergency services together! Is this just any excuse to moan that you can possibly think of?

They already closed a great number of local police stations over the years, beleive me the UK has TONS of cash but it gets spent on weapons and is thus being handed over to private arms firms, that is the reality.

Do you live in the US? If so, I only have to say... $9 trillion worth of debt, much of it spent on war and nuclear arms.

Hugh

Originally Posted by Barratie (Post 6502625)

Well Sir I hope you are not dissapointed.

Of cousre I know of Camden in NJ, but this is obvioulsy not center city in Philly. I used to work at 20th and Market and lived near China Town which is around 30 mins walk away.

I walked to/from work every day/night except when it was heavy snow or rain.

I had to walk through center city, sometimes I'd stop at a bar or three on the way home.

Not once in two years did I see anything like I see here all the time. I never saw fighting, I never saw anyone puking in the street, nor did I see people shouting, cheering except after some major game and Philly is busier than Birmingham or even Liverpool I think.

I was never personally hassled or threatened or felt threatened, of course it can get more tense very late and in more remote streets, certain parts of South Street become unsettling later but these are not really "in" center city.

Between 20th Street and Front Street (1st street) along the area bounded by Market Street and say Chestnut Street is the core of center city and I recall very fondly walkiing along Chestnut Street at say 11pm and hearing people chatting with their windows open, sitting on steps, as the insects chirped in the 90 degree summer heat.

Never once did I see loutish behavior, vandalism or anything. Outside these houses and apartments are flower boxes that were never messed up and never had trash placed in them.

I must have walked that whole area a hell of a lot during my two years there, met some superb people (a few great Brits included) and enjoyed some of the best bars and food that can be had.

If you had a bad experience then of course I this must be taken into account, and I did hear of a few stories about muggings, not many but a few. The one I did hear was two guys attacking a welsh barman that I knew, named Geoff who just happened to a be a big player in the amateur Kick Boxing world and was built like a rugby player, they didnt last long.

If I walk around here at night, say Brindley Place or Broad Street it is shameful, louts, nutters shouting, cheering arms in the air, blocking traffic, being sick all over the sidewalk, girls dressed like hookers tottering about in micro-skirts and heels in JANUARY, bouncers and security men.

Someone pulled me up earlier by referring to New Orleans and I have to say that is potentially a very dangerous place, in fact it is the only place (so far) in the US that I have felt really unsafe, trouble is that a great number of UK cities are almost like New Orleans, but in the US such places are pretty unsual.

May I ask, when you were last in the UK?

Hugh

Originally Posted by geeandtee (Post 6504391)

Were you living in a Philadelphia in a parallel universe?!?!?!?!:blink:
It has just about the highest rate of gun crime in the US?:eek:

All those negative things you talk about being in the UK can be found anywhere in the world, even Philadelphia. It hasn't been the City of Brotherly Love for centuries.

Originally Posted by petally (Post 6502522)

Even the fact that patriotism is associated with racism and xenophobia in the UK is so sad. There's so much to be proud of about bring British and you don't have to be a member of the BNP to do so!

Originally Posted by backagen (Post 6505022)

I think if it's not being done already, they need to make citizenship a compulsory subject in all schools. It needs to be about teaching the kids to be proud to be British, and teaching them about what it means to be a citizen, the role of the government and their local MP, and what they can personally do to make their local community, and the country, better!

Originally Posted by backagen (Post 6505169)

I might add that in my opinion, the main barrier to the British government implementing these sort of ideas is an overwhelming sense of national embarrassment. That is, an almost complete lack of national pride.

The government, in all their business in recent years, seems utterly embarrassed to stand up for British people and British culture. The government needs a strong, determined leader (eg, not Gordon Brown) who can cut through all of this and who will not take any B------T from their political colleagues, and who will fight for a return to common sense and decent British values.

Unfortunately the problem is there is no such politician on the scene at the moment, and nor has there been for a very long time. I personally thought Tony Blair seemed to have some potential at first, but he soon deteriorated once in power, and became a puppet controlled by the same hands that operate George Bush.

I have my opinions on the real agenda behind all this, but that is too much to go into on this forum. The real point is that all of that is not insurmountable, we just need to find and somehow elect as Prime Minister, a really good, decent strong leader who is actually proud to be British, and who will actually ensure that the interests of British citizens is put first in every government decision.

By no means would it be an easy job, but there must be someone like that out there somewhere!

Originally Posted by backagen (Post 6505692)

Also I agree that generally speaking the quality of homes in UK is not as good as in Australia

Originally Posted by Grayling (Post 6505714)

Are you serious:confused:

I have never seen so many poorly built houses as I have in Australia.

G

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 6505722)

Ditto the US...just wood, insulation and plaster board..

Originally Posted by Barratie (Post 6505732)

This is often true, many new houses are pretty shabbily built, BUT the house I used as an example above is brick.