England, Bloody England?

[patongpanda]

Hmm, I do wonder if the pro-blighty folks are only that way because they are there on holiday?

I wake up many a night from having a nightmare of being trapped back in the UK.

Having said that I will take my Thai wife there for a holiday one day.

And I shall do it in style - hire a nice sports car and cruise through the English countyside

staying in quaint B&Bs feasting on pub grub and fine ale.

[JimsKnight]

Yup, the green and pleasant land has never been more divided and more wretched I fear. We have a new generation of useless layabouts/chavs/sycophantic morons that just want to borrow borrow and benefit scam the country. Expensive, expensive and over-rated the UK is pretty much a second-rate place compared with the other European countries like France and Germany. Once outside London (financial capital) its a very different place. Once you hit the North its a barren, deprived wasteland.

BBC and ITV tends to churns out endless, mind-rotting trash to further dumb down the watching masses.

The Blairite Left-wing socialist agendas pretty much evolving into Browns baby. Which probably means we move one step closer to commie Britain.

England and English is still a dirty word to the cotton wool wrapped officials who seem to think Britain is one country (it isn't) and the voice of dissent is getting louder and louder.

Its hip and acceptable to be a Left-Wing poncy liberal, but to be a patriotic Right-Wing dude is somehow only the done thing if you have Far-Right tendencies. Thailand is an example of a Right Wing countrie that does well by looking after its own country-folk and jobs, its not perfect, but at least the core belief is there.

The North-South divide is wider than ever adding to the complexity of Englands woes.

The Southerners tend to view Right-Wingers as BNP and NF, which ironically is who the BNP are cleverly targeting by pledging to restore heavy industry and repatriating all the illegals using cash in-lieu of aid packages etc etc.

It'll be interesting what gets done by soft-touch Dave Cameron

Things will get worse before it gets better boys.

[Fred Sanford]

I cant comment on living in the UK but I will say this, that Newcastle Brown must taste spectacular

[Suszzy]

i wonder why some english people..hate thier country?

the more i read about it the more i see lots of the negative side

surely must be something good for you to remember and talk about..

not just ...bad things or never want to go back to uk again.

i just wonder..that's all. nothing more..nothing less.

[Totster]

i wonder why some english people..hate thier country?

the more i read about it the more i see lots of the negative side

surely must be something good for you to remember and talk about..

not just ...bad things or never want to go back to uk again.

i just wonder..that's all. nothing more..nothing less.

Some people just like something to moan about.. thats all

Me included sometimes...

totster

[kmart]

Hmm, I do wonder if the pro-blighty folks are only that way because they are there on holiday?

I wake up many a night from having a nightmare of being trapped back in the UK.

Having said that I will take my Thai wife there for a holiday one day.

And I shall do it in style - hire a nice sports car and cruise through the English countyside

staying in quaint B&Bs feasting on pub grub and fine ale.

Thats the way, m8. Only don't make the place seem too attractive to her...

I enjoy my visits back to Blighty and the family at least once / year. I'm never selling my house there, or transferring my savings either.

[chiang mai]

Hmm, I do wonder if the pro-blighty folks are only that way because they are there on holiday?

I wake up many a night from having a nightmare of being trapped back in the UK.

Having said that I will take my Thai wife there for a holiday one day.

And I shall do it in style - hire a nice sports car and cruise through the English countyside

staying in quaint B&Bs feasting on pub grub and fine ale.

I had more or less the same dream and this year in June I lashed out and tried to make it come true. The trouble is it was a massive disappointment. Whilst the countryside remains as beautiful as ever the weather didn't co-operate and as you know that can make a big difference. Quaint B & B's were hard to find and even in the Lake District (in the rain) they fell into two camps - a) any old to**er who had a spare room and wanted to rent it out for £90 per night, and early retirees from London with some money who had bought an older farmhouse and made the place look like it was out of Homes and Gardens and had the attitudes to match and charged £120 per night.

As for good pub grub: when we weren't driving around (dodging speed camera's) trying to find Thai food for my better half to eat we did try quite a few traditional pubs and again I was very disappointed. The vast majority have been taken over by chains and had a very plastic feel about them The food with only one exception appeared to be mass produced and microwaved. How difficult can it be to make a decent freshly made shepherds pie I wondered - English sausages also appear to be in decline with many of them approaching the flavor and texture of hot dogs.

Finally, the overall cost of everything started to make my eyes water and it seemed that everyone was trying to find ways to extract money from everyone else. Parking at £6 for four hours just so that we could look at the shops on the high street, internet access (WFI) at £20 for three days, fried rice with chicken in a local Thai restaurant run by some Issan folk, £11, and so on.

My chum in the UK reckons that most expats have memories of their own country that are very different from the reality of today. The UK, my UK seems nothing more than an illusion and frankly I prefer the memories of what was than the reality of what it is now.

Edited August 2, 2007 by chiang mai

[jackr]

"Dust off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure....."

Aliens.

[Andrew Hicks]

....On a Hull visa trip and do you know what? IT IS NOT TOO BAD HERE! This, coming from a man who is usually only too keen to stick the boot in to the UK. I arrived last Wednesday to the fine city of Newcastle.[my hometown] I could not believe how clean and fresh the cool air felt. I could not believe how modern and well run the place seemed to be. The prices of course were sky high as always, but on the flipside of that coin is the knowledge that one can complain/seek legal redress if need be.

I went into my Brothers local. Everyone complaining about the state of the country, but yet warm and friendly on a personal level. Crime not too big a factor if you ignore the Tabloids, be polite, and do not go to the wrong areas at night.[as in Thailand.]

I left Thailand expecting the worst but although I am really looking foreward to returning to my wife, St. Bernard and home in Chumphon, for the first time, I will miss what England also has to offer.Family, Old friends, Newcastle Brown ale, decent Indian curry, Marmite,the papers, good talk radio....

PS. I wil let you know how I got on with my visa application in Hull as soon as I can.

I thought you couldn't see Hull any more... sort of hull down after the recent showers.

I got back from England six weeks ago and yes. it's one of the best. Even the winter isn't that bad.

The one thing that gets me though is the failure of the work/life balance. The richer societies get, the more you have to work... witness the USA, Japan. The first thing I'd want to do with my money is buy a little time.

But no, you've done well in your job, so you're driven to do even better. Performance targets, productivity gains, and all that. It drives people into the ground.

When I'm there everyone's too busy to talk to you. You need an appointment a week ahead. You can't just walk into someone's house and chat to them. It's not the done thing. The pretty village strees are empty of people... it's SUVs only.

Thailand is a people place, vibrant, swarming with'em. Sometimes the work/life balance swings the other way here, but broadly family life here is far more humane and inclusive.

The nuclear family is a total nightmare. hel_l is a young couple trying to have two careers, two babies, two cars and a mortgage. I'm glad I'm past that anyway.

But I still love a warm pint on a balmy evening.

Andrew Hicks

[Khun ?]

Guess it must be nice knowing you can still earn enough to live else where or can still go other places.

The down trodden that have migrated to Thailand fit in well and make the atmosphere just the same.

The old sneaker always will feel best and to get on to the new just strap on a few trinkets and a few dermal pigmentations and you too will feel new, lots of soul with little heart.

[Robski]

Just under 1 in 4 people in the UK – or nearly 13 million people – live in poverty, according to the latest figures.

This includes nearly 1 in 3 children (almost 4 million) http://www.oxfamgb.org/ukpp/poverty/thefacts.htm

[taxexile]

Just under 1 in 4 people in the UK – or nearly 13 million people – live in poverty

is that poverty as in " have to wait to see my free doctor and travel 10 minutes to the pharmacy to pick up my free medicines , 15 year old car instead of new one , have to walk to the benefit office every week instead of it automatically going into my bank account , can only afford one week at the beach instead of two , only got a 24" tv instead of a plasma flat screen etc.etc."

or do you mean poverty as in " no roof only plastic sheeting , no food ,no drinking water , civil war raging around me , no doctors or medicines full stop ,

there are poor people in the uk , but there is no poverty , other than the poverty of dependance and the poverty that comes after wasting or throwing away every opportunity that a western country like the uk offers all its citizens.

[chiang mai]

Hmm, you have to read the Oxfam report to understand their definition of poverty. They define poverty as the lowest earners within a country and do not compare one country against another. Hence the 1 in 4 Brits who are considered to be in poverty are only defined as such relative to the rest of the people in England. Hardly a definition of poverty in my book and I would guess most folks would have a difficult time trying to substantiate that definition. I'm surprised, I would have thought that Oxfam would have done better and I do agree wholly with Taxexile.

Edited August 2, 2007 by chiang mai

[yaketyak]

You won't have to be in the UK too long to realise one thing has changed. Almost monthly the country is becoming more and more controlled by the Stalinist Labour government. Hardly a day passes without something else being against the law, you can't smoke at bus stops, all shops have to obey the State and put notices at their entrance doors staing that it is against the law to smoke in the shop (your shop but you are TOLD what you MUST put at the entrance) , the State tells you what you can look at on the internet , you don't have freedom of expression , call someone FAT even though they most definately are and you will be sued to death in court , in fact everyone walks around scared of their own shadow , frightened to say anything. And if you happen to be unfortunate enough to go anywhere near a child for gods sake get away quick before you are accused of molestation or assault .(the country has become almost unhinged in its so called "protection" of children and you are guilty whether you are or not)

Sounds like i am going overboard in my exaggeration doesn't it ? Sad thing is i'm not . Its frighteningly close to reality.

Our lovely country has become a horrid , controlled , one because those in power have decided the answer to all their problems is to make everything people want to do against the law. That is their solution. Much of the blame can be put at the door of the right wing papers like the Daily Mail and News of the World , against whom the government is afraid to act.

Welcome back to the UK!!

[draggons]

the biggest selling shoes in England just now

[JimsKnight]

You won't have to be in the UK too long to realise one thing has changed. Almost monthly the country is becoming more and more controlled by the Stalinist Labour government. Hardly a day passes without something else being against the law, you can't smoke at bus stops, all shops have to obey the State and put notices at their entrance doors staing that it is against the law to smoke in the shop (your shop but you are TOLD what you MUST put at the entrance) , the State tells you what you can look at on the internet , you don't have freedom of expression , call someone FAT even though they most definately are and you will be sued to death in court , in fact everyone walks around scared of their own shadow , frightened to say anything. And if you happen to be unfortunate enough to go anywhere near a child for gods sake get away quick before you are accused of molestation or assault .(the country has become almost unhinged in its so called "protection" of children and you are guilty whether you are or not)

Sounds like i am going overboard in my exaggeration doesn't it ? Sad thing is i'm not . Its frighteningly close to reality.

Our lovely country has become a horrid , controlled , one because those in power have decided the answer to all their problems is to make everything people want to do against the law. That is their solution. Much of the blame can be put at the door of the right wing papers like the Daily Mail and News of the World , against whom the government is afraid to act.

Welcome back to the UK!!

I Agree with you partly.

But to my knowledge the Daily Mail has never been in a position to pass any laws nor encourage socialist/communist sentiment. They are given to panic about things a bit too much, the internet and the legacy of this new order government thats been in power the past 10 years. The latter I would agree with somewhat. Compare this with the lame yet loyal socialistic Sun and Guardian and you have quite a mouthpiece for Browns new vision.

[yaketyak]

Yes the Daily Mail does not have the power to pass laws, but what it does is whip up public hysteria (which is already at fever pitch) over its pet subjects .... anything to do with children and sex , and the other one ,anything to do with immigration (the Sun does the same thing BTW), .... and then publish story after story about them to the extent that the surprisingly gullible British public then is brain-washed into believing them .

For example , they will run a headline "public outrage at light sentance given to ......." when a simple reading of the story will reveal that the "public" don't even know about it until they read the story so how can there be public outrage ? Answer there is none ... its made up by the newspaper to 1) sell their papers and 2) to indoctrinate the rather easily swayed British public into adapting their way of life to what the newspaper (ie Rupert Murdoch) thinks fit.

Unfortunately nothing i have seen about Gordon Brown suggests it will get anything other than worse.

We will all be goose-stepping in the (non-smoking) streets before long !!

[maisampatpom]

I'm the opposite! Went back to the UK for 2 weeks, my asthma come back with a vengeance, expensive prices, miserable cold weather. I'm back 'home' now in Phuket and loving it.

Simon

The UK is a sinking ship .... Everybody get off!!!!!

On the contrary! I think most brits are well suited to the shit-hole. If they get off there will probably be ship-loads of the pricks arriving here. If that were to happen I'd have to seriously consider moving out! Although, if they all got off, perhaps the place wouldn't be so bad and I could go back there.

[Neeranam]

England - no thanks - it was a joy to hear "stick yer chariots up yer A***" last Saturday

Edited March 12, 2008 by Neeranam

[wolf5370]

I'm the opposite! Went back to the UK for 2 weeks, my asthma come back with a vengeance, expensive prices, miserable cold weather. I'm back 'home' now in Phuket and loving it.

Simon

The UK is a sinking ship .... Everybody get off!!!!!

On the contrary! I think most brits are well suited to the shit-hole. If they get off there will probably be ship-loads of the pricks arriving here. If that were to happen I'd have to seriously consider moving out! Although, if they all got off, perhaps the place wouldn't be so bad and I could go back there.

Quite maisampatpom, we seem to have enough pricks here already ! Oh, and welcome to the forum someone as charming as you is always welcome

[bulmercke]

Britain's a damaged country.

Millions are in terrible debt - earning embarrassingly low salaries -

It's a taxed-to-death populace being watched over by big brother.

The populace no longer - in the main - has any trust in their government or the political process.

Crime - political correctness - and a dumbed down population obsessed with sport, celebrity, television and sex are - in the main - all that awaits you.

Brit

[CbrLad]

Britain's a damaged country.

Millions are in terrible debt - earning embarrassingly low salaries -

It's a taxed-to-death populace being watched over by big brother.

The populace no longer - in the main - has any trust in their government or the political process.

Crime - political correctness - and a dumbed down population obsessed with sport, celebrity, television and sex are - in the main - all that awaits you.

Brit

Well summed up. Then there is also the infrastructure that is falling appart, hardly any inovators and a country that is all to happy to just accept their lot rather than do something about it. As for political correctness one guy I know seem's to think it is ok to make derogatory comments about my (Thai) wife, such as asking how much I payed for her, infering she is a prostitute etc, but when I refered to soccer as <deleted> ball he was up in arms, and he was serious too.

[Nysan]

Britain's a damaged country.

Millions are in terrible debt - earning embarrassingly low salaries -

It's a taxed-to-death populace being watched over by big brother.

The populace no longer - in the main - has any trust in their government or the political process.

Crime - political correctness - and a dumbed down population obsessed with sport, celebrity, television and sex are - in the main - all that awaits you.

Brit

Ahhh and then you prefer Thailand....

In all fairness, I have only been to Britain for 6 hours in my life, and it was actually Newcastle. I was there on a cruise from my ol´Sweden with my pals. As I remember Newcastle....genuine, broad streets, nice looking bulidings, it is clean and tidy. The girls were jawdropping beautiful and were quite lightly dressed considering how cold it was. And, yes they don´t speak like they do on BBC´s tv shows...Could hardly understand a thing. As my friend said: "why do they sound like they have a hot potato in their mouth when they talk?" I would love to try a expat life in Britain. It even seems more nice than the big colony in the west .

[howtoescape]

Far more confidence in the UK to deal with its social and economic problems than this tinpot nation.

Multi-culturism didnt work, i never see any debate on this apart from MP's an unelected officials blaming the police/legal system/schools/indigenous peoples for this, there has never been a debate on whether it is wanted or how schools and hospitals can cope with unmanageable numbers.

The debate about mass immigration from new EU members has got the point where all working class/poor English are now called lazy and scared of a days work, the BBC is punting this myth this week, on what should be called "Arent the working class all lazy, dumb, ungrateful and blindly racist week." They just call it "White". They keep on putting on Enoch Powell (enemy no.1) as the voice of the working class, but his "Rivers of Blood" prophecy came true on 7-7-05.

People cant afford housing anymore, and ive never seen a worthy debate on this, other then to dictate to us we arent going to build on greenbelt land despite the population growing at a faster rate then ever.

We do debate the economy, but we are now taught that money is the be all and end all by our masters, this is what happiness is meausured by. When at the same time the rich are getting richer faster then at any time in my life.

We were told we are going to have the best of all debates, "A Referendum" on the EU constitution this was proven to be a lie.

Today for the first time in years i heard a politician speak sense, this was when Dave Cameron said to Alistair Darling "You are raising the 10% tax level to 20%, making the poor poorer, then you are getting them to fill in a form to ask for some of this money back and the few lucky ones will get it. You are creating a society where people are wholly dependant on government."

We paint over the cracks in the UK just as much as the do in tinpot Thailand.

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

I spent a couple of years working in England and Scotland more than 20 years ago, and really enjoyed it. Reading this thread made me think of the definition of heaven and hel_l:

Heaven is where the police are British, the cooks are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian, and it is all organised by the Swiss.

And, you guessed it:

hel_l is where the police are German, the cooks are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and it is all organised by the Italians.

[Rinrada]

Gaud.....luva a duck...wot wiff that scottish git ...wots is name chancellor of the exchequer...bleeding chancellor ...couldnt run a menage e couldnt and he goes and puts 4 pence on a pint of wollop...4 P...geting as bad over "ere as the prices wot yer pay in Nana Plaza for a swally...init........

gorra admit me local boozer in Holborn ...up west....Princess Louise does still only charge about 1-50 a pint but exceptin ..like ....init.....and he gives all our dosh (400 quid present) to the penshioners ......???...why ..they dont need it do they...countrys going to the dogs ..init.....

and if yer fancy a FAG ..gor blimey.....25 p on a packet.....and all that money to the "ealth service...wot for?...dont need it .....get sick ye die right.....going tae the dogs .....

an dont even talk about me Porche...25 quid to drive it up west when on the pull...and they call it congestion charge .....wot congestion...serviced regulary ever 5 years like ...bit smelly but then its a porche ....sodding commis everywhere....

and now they want uz to take an oath of alliegence....eh.......full of foreighners it is...init...

recon now is the time to pack in the high paying job,sell up,collect me hard earned dosh,pensions,Isas,high interest savings,investments, dividends,compo,benefits,orrf shore private bank accounts and move where there aint no bleeding foreighners living....like maybe CM......yaa... sounds good.............paradise....and el cheapo...init...

after all can always go back again when the cabbage runs out..........luva ..duc......gawd bless em.....

[Nysan]

Rinrada

OK...I have just put your post in my enigma machine...because it is writen in code right?

[Eric1949]

Nice wun Rinrada, me finks same, same

[bingobongo]

Britain's a damaged country.

Millions are in terrible debt - earning embarrassingly low salaries -

It's a taxed-to-death populace being watched over by big brother.

The populace no longer - in the main - has any trust in their government or the political process.

Crime - political correctness - and a dumbed down population obsessed with sport, celebrity, television and sex are - in the main - all that awaits you.

Brit

give me a break, millions in thailand are dirt poor and are in debt, coups every other year, rampant corruption, SARS, dengue fever, nonexistent infrastructure (watch the crumbling sidewalks and exposed overhead power lines), and $1.5 billion sexplotation industry in the innocent LOS

dumbed down in the UK? right and all thais are enlightened with the wonderful education system and the wonderful empty wai smiles on their faces

by the way how is the thai police state doing these days, last time i checked the royal thai army is practicing maneuvers in Bangkok.....take off the rose colored glasses and dont bash the west because you felt inferior there

let me know when your midlife crisis breaks and reality sets in in the third world

Edited March 13, 2008 by bingobongo

[anonymouse]

....On a Hull visa trip and do you know what? IT IS NOT TOO BAD HERE! This, coming from a man who is usually only too keen to stick the boot in to the UK. I arrived last Wednesday to the fine city of Newcastle.[my hometown] I could not believe how clean and fresh the cool air felt. I could not believe how modern and well run the place seemed to be. The prices of course were sky high as always, but on the flipside of that coin is the knowledge that one can complain/seek legal redress if need be.

I went into my Brothers local. Everyone complaining about the state of the country, but yet warm and friendly on a personal level. Crime not too big a factor if you ignore the Tabloids, be polite, and do not go to the wrong areas at night.[as in Thailand.]

I left Thailand expecting the worst but although I am really looking foreward to returning to my wife, St. Bernard and home in Chumphon, for the first time, I will miss what England also has to offer.Family, Old friends, Newcastle Brown ale, decent Indian curry, Marmite,the papers, good talk radio....

PS. I wil let you know how I got on with my visa application in Hull as soon as I can.

As much as I love Thailand I'm always ready for my two month trip back every year.

I fill my boots with all I've been missing and by about the sixth week am getting home sick for Thailand and ready to go home.

For good or bad my roots are English.