Did we have the best of it ? Is Britain Lost ?

[Thingamabob]

23 hours ago, NanLaew said:

We also had the best of Thailand when we came here in the 70's and 80's.

 

Things change and so do people.

 

Deal with it.

The difference is that Thailand is still recognizably Thai. Britain, however, has changed beyond belief.

[superal]

18 hours ago, sidjameson said:

Better food now.

Skilled working class labour like plumbing much better paid now.

Better TV, free (entertainment online) now.

Better minimum wage now.

Houses better heated now.

Anyone can and does enter university now.

Better flights to Europe now. Much cheaper.

Better state pension now.

Better access to information now.

Less perverts like Jimmy saville now.

Better place to be gay now.

Better place to be a woman now.

People less racist now.

Cheaper pubs now.

 

Things much better now, albeit there are problems that need fixing.

Not to mention that the UK crime rates are off the scale , shop lifting is out of control and not attended to by the undermanned police force , housing beyond the reach of most young people , uncontrolled illegal immigration allowing criminals and extremists into the country  and sponging off the benefit system , cost of living spiraling , state pension equates to half the minimum wage levels , hospitals running at 100% capacity , NHS has all but collapsed , doctor appointments minimum 2 weeks wait , price of a beer at a pub is out of reach for many , pubs and night clubs closing down at a high rate weekly , dentist appointments very expensive etc etc  . I am glad to be out of it cos its not the country that I grew up in .

[spidermike007]

On 4/16/2025 at 8:05 PM, Tropicalevo said:

 

Totally agree, but usually things change for the better.

I first came to Thailand in '93.

On the whole, Thailand has changed for the better - even Koh Samui, where I have lived for the past 25 years.

However, Britain???

It does not look like a change for the better to me.

I suspect that I will never be going back.

I could not possibly disagree more adamantly. I left Samui 10 years ago and it was at that time a pale shadow of what it was 10 years prior to that.

 

Now I don't even recognize the place, it has lost its soul in the same way that Manhattan has lost its soul, it's just a high-end, over congested, over priced corporate island at this point, mobbed by obnoxious Russians. 

[spidermike007]

I think in general the UK and the US have both lost the plot and have both been declining gradually for at least the last 30 to 40 years. Right now the US is declining even faster with a Goomba attempting some and completely idiotic changes and running around with a preconceived notion of a false sense of relevance, and importance to the world at large. 

[NickyLouie]

3 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I think in general the UK and the US have both lost the plot and have both been declining gradually for at least the last 30 to 40 years. Right now the US is declining even faster with a Goomba attempting some and completely idiotic changes and running around with a preconceived notion of a false sense of relevance, and importance to the world at large. 

So typical, so predictable 

 

Ahh yes, blame Trump for Britain's immigration issues .....

 

 

 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

3 hours ago, superal said:

Not to mention that the UK crime rates are off the scale , shop lifting is out of control and not attended to by the undermanned police force , housing beyond the reach of most young people , uncontrolled illegal immigration allowing criminals and extremists into the country  and sponging off the benefit system , cost of living spiraling , state pension equates to half the minimum wage levels , hospitals running at 100% capacity , NHS has all but collapsed , doctor appointments minimum 2 weeks wait , price of a beer at a pub is out of reach for many , pubs and night clubs closing down at a high rate weekly , dentist appointments very expensive etc etc  . I am glad to be out of it cos its not the country that I grew up in .

The previous governments have a lot to answer for.  Have faith that Labour can at least put some things right, like the NHS, by the time of the next election. 🙏

[Red Forever]

The, not so, thinly veiled racism in many of posts on this subject show that (at least here on A.N.) many of the racist, low IQ, far right posters yearn for a return to the days of polio, food rationing and signs in rooming houses saying “No blacks, no Irish, no dogs”.

Yeah right. The good old days eh?

[AustinRacing]

Throughout history we’ve seen rise and fall of great civilizations. It’s sad that the west is on the decline and being replaced with communism style civilization. 

[Red Forever]

13 hours ago, Kinok Farang said:

Not much fun for the thousands of grooming gang victims.

You mean those groomed by Jimmy Saville, Cyril Smith MP, Rolf Harris……oops just realised that’s not the narrative you wanted.

[Jimjim1]

On 4/17/2025 at 9:07 AM, BangkokReady said:

Things change, so just let it run its course?

And that gem of ignorance is exactly where the problems lie, so many especially the 90s generation and up have sat back and allowed this once great country to be over run by political dogma, communist ideals of control and police powers that have turned it into a fierce police state where we have all but lost the freedom of speech we cherished.

I have driven many hundreds of thousands of miles all over England and enjoyed every mile but yesterday I had to drive 50 miles to deliver a trailer and the journey was fraught with endless speed cameras with controls from 20 mph through to 50 mph some of them being less than 50 yards apart causing extreme stress because of the constant speed changes and awareness of cameras with ones complete attention on these aspects and no attention to road conditions or other users, we are now so compelled to look to the sky ( because that is where they are positioned ) for police revenue collectors that if one of those Morons who is completely glued to their telephones should step out in front of us the chances of hitting him / her is 99% guaranteed.

Britain is completely lost and has been since the turning point in 1977 when over night everything changed and every politician, government departments, and any organisation of authority were handed the ability to blame everybody else for the wrongs they did.

I am happy to be the age I am because we had the best of it prior to 1977 when the appalling LABOUR government won a vote of no confidence thanks to the arch political clowns the LIB DEMS and that changed England for the worse.

I see no way back from this turmoil largely because the younger generation is so wrapped up in the likes of Facebook and Play stations that without any knowledge of what is happening around them they are accepting of it and when ALL of the freedoms are gone will probably still not realise it and blind ignorance will prevail.

I have worked hard all my life and paid all my taxes and national health charges which are supposed to be available at the point of need, yet I cannot get a doctors appointment or dental treatment but asylum seekers who have paid NOTHING into the system get everything on tap and for free.

Good bye Great Britain you were once great and we were proud to say we are British but not anymore, now you are just third world.
 

SPOT the police speed camera most of them are like this

[faraday]

My mate was on a 3 day week at British Leyland in Cowley in the '70s

 

 

Spent most of the time in the pub.

 

Ah yes, the good old days 😁😁

[BangkokReady]

45 minutes ago, Jimjim1 said:

And that gem of ignorance is exactly where the problems lie, so many especially the 90s generation and up have sat back and allowed this once great country to be over run by political dogma, communist ideals of control and police powers that have turned it into a fierce police state where we have all but lost the freedom of speech we cherished.

I have driven many hundreds of thousands of miles all over England and enjoyed every mile but yesterday I had to drive 50 miles to deliver a trailer and the journey was fraught with endless speed cameras with controls from 20 mph through to 50 mph some of them being less than 50 yards apart causing extreme stress because of the constant speed changes and awareness of cameras with ones complete attention on these aspects and no attention to road conditions or other users, we are now so compelled to look to the sky ( because that is where they are positioned ) for police revenue collectors that if one of those Morons who is completely glued to their telephones should step out in front of us the chances of hitting him / her is 99% guaranteed.

Britain is completely lost and has been since the turning point in 1977 when over night everything changed and every politician, government departments, and any organisation of authority were handed the ability to blame everybody else for the wrongs they did.

I am happy to be the age I am because we had the best of it prior to 1977 when the appalling LABOUR government won a vote of no confidence thanks to the arch political clowns the LIB DEMS and that changed England for the worse.

I see no way back from this turmoil largely because the younger generation is so wrapped up in the likes of Facebook and Play stations that without any knowledge of what is happening around them they are accepting of it and when ALL of the freedoms are gone will probably still not realise it and blind ignorance will prevail.

I have worked hard all my life and paid all my taxes and national health charges which are supposed to be available at the point of need, yet I cannot get a doctors appointment or dental treatment but asylum seekers who have paid NOTHING into the system get everything on tap and for free.

Good bye Great Britain you were once great and we were proud to say we are British but not anymore, now you are just third world.
 

 

I don't think people had any idea what was coming with the whole "Cultural Marxism" thing.  People were totally blindsided and even now many think they are doing the right thing, with even more scared to speak out.  There's a real witch-hunt vibe.

 

45 minutes ago, Jimjim1 said:

SPOT the police speed camera most of them are like this

 

I had to google the title to find out.  I had no idea speed cameras were now tiny and hidden.  A total revenue generation operation.

[AgMech Cowboy]

His books may be fiction, but Stephen Leather has been writing about the direction that Britain is taking and the social ills for many years. The politicians chose to ignore it.  Diversity is not a strength. You have been mislead (as many in the US are) and have given more material to the fiction writers that is too close to the truth.

[newbee2022]

8 hours ago, leonard beaven said:

Not sure which Britain your in,,but check your list, then please tell me where Britain is better.better still,no don't bother.take a look into parliament and see how many foreigners are now running our country.Britain back in the 1960/70's was good,we were British and proud to say so.

I on a pension,and I'm treated better in Thailand than I would be back there.

"foreigners are now running our country."

Really 😱?

That's illegal😳

[Magictoad]

On 4/17/2025 at 10:16 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

Nobody likes change.  Thatcher changed things, Blair changed things and 14 years of Tory rule changed things.  Brexit changed things dramatically!  It's too early to tell whether Starmer will actually deliver any changes, good or bad.  

What you wrote doesn't really mean anything, does it?

[Kinok Farang]

2 hours ago, Red Forever said:

You mean those groomed by Jimmy Saville, Cyril Smith MP, Rolf Harris……oops just realised that’s not the narrative you wanted.

Wrong forum mate,virtue signalling is on the next page.

[safarimike11]

7 hours ago, superal said:

Not to mention that the UK crime rates are off the scale , shop lifting is out of control and not attended to by the undermanned police force , housing beyond the reach of most young people , uncontrolled illegal immigration allowing criminals and extremists into the country  and sponging off the benefit system , cost of living spiraling , state pension equates to half the minimum wage levels , hospitals running at 100% capacity , NHS has all but collapsed , doctor appointments minimum 2 weeks wait , price of a beer at a pub is out of reach for many , pubs and night clubs closing down at a high rate weekly , dentist appointments very expensive etc etc  . I am glad to be out of it cos its not the country that I grew up in .

 

[safarimike11]

Just now, safarimike11 said:

 

Moment group of teen yobs surround lone police officer (Manchester).

[Sir Dude]

The UK has failed because it let in too many immigrants from places that have no desire to integrate and hate us... plus successive governments are in the high and mighty clouds about self-righteousness nonsense and devoid from reality. The UK is rapidly becoming a third world country... get out whilst you still can, as a distopian societal future awaits it due to a failed BS flirtation with multiculturism which simply won't fly when it hits reality.

One of the reasons why many people don't want to have children is not just because of the financial problems, but because it is morally wrong to bring new life into such an authoritarian and Orwellian world and condemn them to such oppression... whether it be the UK, EU, China, US or anywhere else.

[Baht Simpson]

20 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Unity ?

Not for the younger ones it wasn't . 

Football supporters were fighting each other regularly. 

Punks, Skins and Moss were fighting each other regularly .

Postcode wars .

Then you had the Left and Right fighting .

Ethnic monitories getting attacked and well as gay bashing , race riots

Horrible violent times where there was violence everywhere 

 

 

 

It goes even further back. Some of us remember in the 60s many seaside towns were warzones at the weekends. Mods and rockers would go there and fight openly on the promenades. Many would carry Stanley knives, the weapon of choice. The police were mostly helpless.  Imagine that now.

 

Before that in the late fifties there were the Teddy Boys and greasers, which was a similar story. There was terrible inner city deprivation well into the seventies.  It doesn't do to paint everything rosy. 

[youreavinalaff]

On 4/17/2025 at 9:12 PM, Kinok Farang said:

Nowhere near £25k salary in Lancashire in 1980.Bricklayers had to travel to Germany to earn anywhere near that.

You need to read his comment again.

[NanLaew]

21 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

Hmm, I seem to have hit a nerve with you.

Sorry if I did.

To answer your question -

Samui has an International airport and many choices of ferries.

I have a passport.

This means that I can travel - lots.

My job allows me to communicate with people daily, mostly face to face.

I listen more than I talk (as explained to me by a professional salesman - two ears but one mouth).

Then, I also have friends and family that I communicate with.

Whilst I have not lived in the UK for more than 32 years, I have been there often, although not since Covid.

Friends who visit every year are now saying the same thing.

They are not sure if they will go back again for a holiday.

Just a quick personal visit or an emergency.

My daughter and granddaughter still live there and are happy.

My D-I-L and her children still live there but have moved to the countryside.

They started to feel 'uncomfortable' in the larger urban areas.

 

 

 

I left the UK in 1977 and between 1980 and 1990, Thailand was home; Pattaya specifically, then it was about 12 years in the USA and Brazil. I returned to Thailand around 2007, settling down again, briefly in Pattaya before moving to Isaan. I visited the UK at least three times a year during those periods, more often when I was US based and apart from the Covid hiatus, still spent around 2 months per year in the UK. I only have a nice and nephew surviving there, and I see them every second visit. They are in their late twenties now and never bring up or talk about Britain being "lost" when we meet.

 

The UK has changed, some good and some bad, but I don't see it as dire and hopless as some here. Chances are that I will go back there for my final years.

[baansgr]

With at least 50 stabbings daily, 500,000 white girls raped by pakistani gangs, shops going bust because of shop lifting from immigrants, whites scared to go out in the day let alone at night and 500  young fit muslim men arriving daily...yeah you can safely say it's changed for the worse..and any idiot that says different is either complicit in the down fall or just a white apologist

[baansgr]

14 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

"foreigners are now running our country."

Really 😱?

That's illegal😳

Ok, just to clarify his point ...a foreigner who was born abroad to foreign parents that has since claimed their plastic British citizenship and that can be revoked at any time but still has their ORIGINAL citizenship..hope that clarifies that for you

[newbee2022]

52 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Ok, just to clarify his point if you are that retarded as not to understand...a foreigner who was born abroad to foreign parents that has since claimed their plastic British citizenship and that can be revoked at any time but still has their ORIGINAL citizenship..hope that clarifies that for you

Retarded?

Do you want to insult me?

Answer!

[OJAS]

On 4/17/2025 at 8:40 AM, CharlieH said:

Was Britain of the late 70s and 80s—despite the strikes, inflation, and blackouts—a better place to live than the Britain of today?

 

IMHO the rot was already well established by the 70's & 80's, and for a more realistic starting point I think that you need to go back to the early 50's when Britain's relatively halcyon - but, alas, too short-lived - period in the aftermath of WW2 began to fade out.

 

[WDSmart]

I'm a US citizen, but I sympathize with the problems the UK is now having. They are much the same as ours (USA), but I think ours are much worse.

Is Britain and the USA lost? I hope not, and I think not, but recovering from these current crises will take a long, long, and turbulent time.

[Cameroni]

On 4/17/2025 at 3:40 AM, CharlieH said:

Did We Have the Best of It?

 

Britain's real problem are its underlying economic issues. For years the decline of Britain has been predicted, and it looks like it has now come to pass. The proliferation of chicken shops and Turkish barbers, the crime, the poverty, if you go to some parts of the UK now, you'd think you've entered a dystopian horror film.

 

Britain's economic decline is more apparent than ever.

[Terry2905]

On 4/17/2025 at 3:07 PM, BangkokReady said:

 

So, if you got cancer, you wouldn't treat it? Things change, so just let it run its course?

I have just been diagnosed in Thailand with cancer. 

 

I looked into returning to the UK for treatment, which I can't afford to pay for in Thailand, but my local gp placed me on an 18 month waiting list to see an oncologist!

 

Emergency ambulance response time has gone up enormously!

 

The local Blackpool council told me to live rough on the streets!

 

And yes I am British and paid all my NI and taxes.

 

But refugees get put up in 5 star hotels and given money!

 

I agree that the UK has lost all it's morals!

 

 

[Cameroni]

The dangers are obvious. Britain would be unable to fund itself at current interest rates in the event of any sudden loss in international confidence, causing the pound to plummet and gilt yields to spike higher.

 

This would in turn further increase the already mountainous servicing costs of the national debt, forcing the Government into deep spending cuts and further tax increases. All manifesto pledges would be shredded as the UK entered a doom loop of economic contraction and ballooning debt servicing costs.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/01/25/britain-is-on-the-brink-of-a-full-blown-fiscal-crisis/