Read this and feel utterly crap about the world. It’s horrible because it’s true.
I was unhappy but not surprised to see just how much decay there now is in middle England. Empty shop properties are gnawing away at the heart of the commercial centres like death watch beetle in the timbers of society.Litter and graffitti were testimony to the lack of pride and discipline. Public space has become no man’s land. Concerned adults are too frigthened to complain if someone litters or abuses it.
We are in danger of being left with vast areas of public space controlled by the graffitti artists and gangs in the evenings. The rest of us will venture into this alien environment rarely for short periods. We will not linger long, deterred by the rip off car parking charges and by the need to comply with an ever more terrifying array of traffic and personal conduct rules and laws. We know the yobs will flaunt all this with no consequence for them, and we know if we make a mistake we will be pounced on.
Well that’s a nice cheery thought to set up my first day back after Easter!
Oh no Blue! I am spurred on to take severe action on anybody seen littering or graffing in Salisbury and Wells. And indeed those playing their music loudly on public transport. I always tell myself ‘it doesn’t bother me too much…I will ask next time’.
Can you find a video to cheer you up (I mean on youtube- I can always recover blissful contentment in a moment by looking at babies and I’m sure everyone has an equivalent).
When I have my yurt on a small island I will only let nice people be my neighbours. It will be nothing like this. You may come and have free holidays
The Westfield Centre in Derby is falling prey to this. It’s been open for 18 months now, and never had a full compliment of shops. Parts of it are now like little ghost towns, with rows of five or six consecutive empty units.
…And since the opening of the Westfield Centre already drew so many shops out of the High Street, most of Derby’s shopping district is now vacant.
Scary stuff.
That sounds awfully like the ‘updated’ Victoria in Southend, that kicked out all the old, established, quirky shops, renovated, glassed the roof over and then found no shops wanted (or could afford) to pay the rents.
It’s now huge, new, and empty.
How jolly annoying to find out that Nutopia was being run on credit from dodgy loan sharks. I think someone should complain to someone. Yours etc, Middle England.
Now Mr Hogday I cannot accept your aggressive sarcasm – you might kill someone! Don’t you realise that most of the decision-makers live in London? The smart bits of London? The ones where the pavement cafes and boutiques are still thriving on the recession-proof expense-account trade? You shouldn’t expect so much from your representatives that they should actually notice what is happening as a result of their policies.
And actually John Redwood is sound.
You are looking at icebergs, BE. Captain Brown put the deckchairs astern so we could marvel at the sunset.
Blue Eyes, you’re right. I’m going to take a leaf out of our glorious leaders book of examples and say “Sor…sor….s…s…..s…I apo….s….”
LOL!
Apparently the apology had to be in such large print with such messy handwriting that it was illegible. You couldn’t make it up.
But yes, John R is right again. I wish he wasn’t – but then, I wish he were PM
Darn it Blue~
That makes me sad. I hate it when people litter and deface property.
As a child of the ‘Give a hoot, don’t pollute’ movement…it always makes me angry to see someone so selfish and thoughtless with our environment.
I always laugh when I watch Young Frankenstein….try something like that.
And I’d be happy to send you some fun stuff from Idaho! E-mail me.
Wendy, I just thought it was me who cracked up everytime I hear “Putting on the Ritz” ! Lol/LMAO/ROFL
Nobody should be too scared by predictions of the future given by the kind of people who don’t know the difference between flout and flaunt.
Ha! I did notice that and wondered whether he had edited the post and left the word flaunt in by mistake. There is a lot of flaunting of bad behaviour as well, mind.
Wendy – I agree! I am doing a post on this at some point!
Hogroast – Am I too young to know what you are on abaaat?
Greatings,
Onload of page my antivirus put alert, check pls.
Thanks
Rufor
Not all of Middle England is a wasteland, I’m happy to say. I live in a place (NW England) where the local shops thrive, the streets are mostly free from litter and dog poo and it’s safe to walk at night.
Sorry to sound like a smug B’stard but friendly communities still exist, albeit outside of the cities and large towns. However, having lived in both I know where you are coming from and deeply sympathise. I consider myself lucky I managed to escape without having to quit these shores.