Recent trip to UK with Qatar air- A very sad, heartbreaking visit.

[grumpyoldman]

14 hours ago, renaissanc said:

Bear in mind that the Democrat-Marxists go Judge-shopping to find a district court judge who will block the deportations. That's the problem. The US justice system is controlled too much by the Far Left Marxists and Communists.

Total rubbish.

 

Show one example of that, and BTW, the Marxists are the radical right who want to do away with democracy. Bend the knee, ring kissing morons.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/09/curtis-yarvin-profile

[Geoff914]

1 hour ago, theoldgit said:

 

The NHS is of course pretty good if you can get through to a surgery to make an appointment, it took me 35 attempts to reach the queue to request an appointment last week, though once in the queue l only waited 20 mins to get an appointment and was seen the same day. I was previously referred to a consultant by the GP and as it’s an urgent referral I’ve been informed that it’s a 48 week wait.

 

 

You can't get an appointment at my GP's surgery. You can get a telephone triage then if you are lucky get an appointment. Good luck getting through on the phone to get the triage.

[Celsius]

1 hour ago, theoldgit said:

Serco are certainly seeking landlords with properties to rent, though l don’t know what the contractual rates are, they will normally be “commercial in confidence” https://www.serco.com/uk/sites/serco-aasc/landlords

 

I’m currently in the UK for an extended period, and here on the South Coast there are certainly beggars in abundance, some begging quite aggressively.

 

There are certainly some shops and services that will only accept contactless payments but there are others where “cash is king”.

 

The NHS is of course pretty good if you can get through to a surgery to make an appointment, it took me 35 attempts to reach the queue to request an appointment last week, though once in the queue l only waited 20 mins to get an appointment and was seen the same day. I was previously referred to a consultant by the GP and as it’s an urgent referral I’ve been informed that it’s a 48 week wait.

 

 

 

I wouldn't accept any arrangement from the government even if they were paying me 500 bux per night. This "deal" must come with many conditions such as a total ban on evictions even if these quality tenants burn your home.

[Geoff914]

2 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

 

 

 

Secondly, my comments were not an “attack” on people who use food banks. I described what I saw with my own eyes and what was shared with me by someone who lives and works in the UK.

 

 

I would say they absolutely were an attack on people who use food banks. You did not see anybody who looked like a nurse, well I wouldn't expect the to turn up in their uniform. You did believe that many of them were drug users getting the food to sell. Now stealing food to sell, I don't condone it but that makes sense. Getting food from a food bank to sell, doesn't make sense.

[Scouse123]

4 hours ago, Geoff914 said:

I would say they absolutely were an attack on people who use food banks. You did not see anybody who looked like a nurse, well I wouldn't expect the to turn up in their uniform. You did believe that many of them were drug users getting the food to sell. Now stealing food to sell, I don't condone it but that makes sense. Getting food from a food bank to sell, doesn't make sense.

I want to clarify that my comments were never meant as an attack on people who use food banks. I simply described what I saw firsthand and also shared insights from someone who actually lives and works in the UK.

 

Likewise, I understand this is a sensitive topic, and I can see how my words may have come across as judgmental to some. However, some here just refuse to address that we have a massive problem.

 

The reality is that it’s hard to know someone’s full story just by looking at them—and that goes both ways.

 

I know that many people who rely on food banks are in genuine need, and I fully support their right to access that help. It is a shame that in 2025 we have come to that.

 

That said, I don’t think it’s wrong to also discuss whether there are cases of misuse or whether the system is always working as intended.

Being able to have those conversations openly shouldn’t automatically mean you're attacking people in need.

 

What makes sense and what doesn't make sense to somebody obtaining free food from a food bank to sell on cheaply, you would have to ask them. 

 

Drug users are not rational people, they are opportunists. Why do we see them selling washing powder in the city centres and not designer perfume?

 

It's because they are opportunists and that is what is available and they can get their hands on easily.

 

[Scouse123]

Working people in Britain are exhausted. They are grafting 50–60 hour weeks, paying through the nose for fuel, bills, council tax, and mortgages—while being told there’s no money for them.

 

Meanwhile, we see migrants, many of them young men, put up in hotels with no bills, phones in hand, and no contributions to the system we keep afloat.

 

It’s no wonder people are angry. British women don’t feel safe walking alone any more, and we’re told to just accept it in silence.

 

But here’s the truth: —we’re being failed by a government that mismanages immigration, strips public services, and demands more from working-class people. That's how Labour works and always has been. Kier Starmer's comments last year were, ' We are going to smash the gangs transporting migrants to Britain '  instead, it has gone from bad to worse.

 

It’s not ‘compassion’ to house people in hotels for years—it’s chaos.

 

And it’s not ‘racist’ to want borders, safety, and fairness.

 

We need policies that protect workers, respect our communities, and hold the powerful to account—not ones that make ordinary people pay for elite failure.

[Scouse123]

4 hours ago, Geoff914 said:

You can't get an appointment at my GP's surgery. You can get a telephone triage then if you are lucky get an appointment. Good luck getting through on the phone to get the triage.

 

Which just backs my point up of a system that is completely broken and in chaos.

 

Waiting hours in hospital corridors, unable to get an ambulance, not enough teachers for the class sizes. People unable to get housing and war veterans sleeping on the streets.

 

However, money has been found to give the Chagos islands to Mauritius, a country that has no legitimate claim over the islands and is 1500 miles away from them to the tune of 30 billion over 10 years, but they can't pay pensioners a winter fuel allowance.

 

Starmer was under no pressure to do this - he forced it through, against the wishes of the original native population, the Chagossians, who were forcibly removed from the islands. They don't want to come under the control of Mauritius, a country cosying up to China and Russia.

 

This is just another example of where taxpayers money is being frittered away on ill thought out, knee-jerk policies.

[K2938]

Wish you weren’t here? Why people of all ages want to leave the UK Quitting the UK might save you a small fortune in tax, but could still cost you in other ways

June 7 2025

https://www.ft.com/content/c30f2603-d92c-48c1-be71-53fd340ed836 (subscription required)

https://archive.ph/SlVsi  (without subscription)

 

[MartinL]

7 hours ago, Geoff914 said:

You can't get an appointment at my GP's surgery. You can get a telephone triage then if you are lucky get an appointment. Good luck getting through on the phone to get the triage.

I have no recent personal experience of the NHS since I haven't used it for my 16 years in Thailand nor for 18 years before that, except for very minor reasons but the service seems to have been far better in those days. I can only base my negative opinion of it on my best mate's attempts to get 'seen to' and the complete absence of any GP attention for my 95 y.o. mum. Your comment seems to mirror their experience of their local GP surgery - both are registered at the same practice.

 

My mum's given-up trying to get appointments with her GP - it seems to be telephone consultations only for her so she just suffers in silence although, apart from her legs, she's in good shape physically and mentally for 95.

 

My mate had a skin cancer removed from his ear late last year about 6 months after diagnosis and, some months later, a recurrence on the same ear. The local recurrence meant he was dealt with as a 'priority case'. He eventually saw the GP practice nurse who couldn't make a decision on it and referred him to the dermatology nurse. The dermatology nurse took some photos but, again, couldn't make a clear decision and referred him to a dermatologist who took a biopsy in May. This sequence of events took 3 1/2 months. He was told to return for the biopsy result and decision on treatment in NOVEMBER, 6 months later and would have been 9 1/2 months since he saw the first nurse. Following complaints, this appointment has been moved forward a few months to (iirc) August. The visits to the 2 nurses seem totally superfluous when the only meaningful action came from the dermatologist. Why waste time with nurses? Dermatologist should have been the first stop.

 

Compare this to my own skin cancer experience in Khon Kaen, April/May this year - wait a few days for dermatologist appointment because that specific doctor's clinic is only held once a week, biopsy at first visit to dermatologist. Biopsy result and referral to surgeon a week later and surgery 9 days after that - 19 days in total. Our family Civil Service health scheme took care of it and obviously differences in payment methods means my experience was faster but even so, such a large disparity between NHS and Thai experience is ridiculous.

 

UK NHS's 'free at the point of use' might be great in theory but it just doesn't seem to work when waiting times are so long for whatever reason. Maybe what is 'free' and who benefits from the 'free' bits needs to be reconsidered. @theoldgit mentioned above a 48 week wait for an 'urgent' referral - that's not 'urgent', that's kicking the can down the road and almost ignoring the illness and consequences caused by delays. As I've heard a number of times "They hope you'll die first".

 

 

[MartinL]

1 hour ago, MartinL said:

I have no recent personal experience of the NHS since I haven't used it for my 16 years in Thailand nor for 18 years before that, except for very minor reasons but the service seems to have been far better in those days. I can only base my negative opinion of it on my best mate's attempts to get 'seen to' and the complete absence of any GP attention for my 95 y.o. mum. Your comment seems to mirror their experience of their local GP surgery - both are registered at the same practice.

 

Maybe I should give credit to the NHS where it's due since it's not all doom and gloom where it's concerned.

 

My brother lives and works in China but was on holiday in UK on his sailing boat last year. He had an accident while sailing solo off England's south coast - he got his hand caught in the ropes while winding on an electric winch. He's an experienced sailor so I can't guess what happened that day. Anyway, his hand was badly damaged and the meat was stripped from one of his fingers - 'degloved' is it? Also damage to a hip that has since required replacement in China.

 

Repair to hand carried out in Portsmouth immediately, no costs to him and he made a good recovery although the finger will never be quite the same.

 

There's a chance he might read this so I hope I got it all correct, bruv.

 

However bad scheduled treatment and appointments might be, it appears that emergency treatment, based on this one incident, is still readily available.

[Blueman1]

23 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Don't be so greedy

I'm NOT, I Just want what I'm Entitled & that my friend is MORE than THEM O.K. !!

[youreavinalaff]

6 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

 

Which just backs my point up of a system that is completely broken and in chaos.

 

Waiting hours in hospital corridors, unable to get an ambulance, not enough teachers for the class sizes. People unable to get housing and war veterans sleeping on the streets.

 

However, money has been found to give the Chagos islands to Mauritius, a country that has no legitimate claim over the islands and is 1500 miles away from them to the tune of 30 billion over 10 years, but they can't pay pensioners a winter fuel allowance.

 

Starmer was under no pressure to do this - he forced it through, against the wishes of the original native population, the Chagossians, who were forcibly removed from the islands. They don't want to come under the control of Mauritius, a country cosying up to China and Russia.

 

This is just another example of where taxpayers money is being frittered away on ill thought out, knee-jerk policies.

After 10 pages of comments you finally come clean. Why didn't you title the thread "Labour Party Bashing" in the first place?

[josephbloggs]

On 6/7/2025 at 11:19 AM, Blueman1 said:

 porn brokers....It's PAWN......And when travelling via the Islamic Borough of Heathrow  555 " Love It "

Have you ever arrived into Suvarnabhumi and been greeted by a Pakistani Immigration Officer welcoming you to Thailand? No, Can't say I Have.....

Has Thailand ever colonised Pakisatan? Did Thailand actively recruit Pakistanis in the 40s and 50s for the NHS and steel, textile and engineering industries?

The Pakistani immigration officers you see are actually British people - no Pakistani. British born, British raised, and more than likely at least third generation Brits.

[Scouse123]

48 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

After 10 pages of comments you finally come clean. Why didn't you title the thread "Labour Party Bashing" in the first place?

 

48 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

After 10 pages of comments you finally come clean. Why didn't you title the thread "Labour Party Bashing" in the first place?

 

 

Not biting, not listening. And I am not going to spend my hours going backwards and forwards over the next few days with the likes of you, who obviously doesn't want to face facts and probably has nothing better to do than sit on his computer all day.

 

I've said what I said and put in a thread what I saw.

 

That's it, that's all, end of.

[youreavinalaff]

19 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

 

 

Not biting, not listening. And I am not going to spend my hours going backwards and forwards over the next few days with the likes of you, who obviously doesn't want to face facts and probably has nothing better to do than sit on his computer all day.

 

I've said what I said and put in a thread what I saw.

 

That's it, that's all, end of.

I have lots to do, thanks. Not on my computer all day. Maybe a couple of hours on my days off.  However, I've read the posts on here and your agenda is obvious.

 

I'm not a Labour voter and never have been. I agree with your comments regarding certain points but many of them have been an issue for many governments. To blame the current government is narrow minded.

[KannikaP]

On 6/5/2025 at 3:22 PM, Magictoad said:

Please don't malign ALL THE NORTH of England because that would be wrong. Plenty of places are stunningly beautiful as you can see from this photo taken last week in the North of England. 

Where does the North of England start southwards, and extend West & East, or is it as they used to say Anywhere north of Watford Gap. Nice photo, where was it?

[Nick Carter icp]

On 6/4/2025 at 7:20 PM, Kinnock said:

And when travelling via the Islamic Borough of Heathrow, the issues are really highlighted.  Have you ever arrived into Suvarnabhumi and been greeted by a Pakistani Immigration Officer welcoming you to Thailand?

 

I only go to the UK for essential visits, it's too depressing.

 

 

   Its all done electronically now, you don't see any Immigration officers.

You scan your passport  and the gate opens in in to the UK you go .

Its been that way for at least five years now .

   Previously the brown staff at Heathrow were more likely to be south Asian origin than Pakistani origin .

   Quite likely their grandparents moved to the UK and they are more British than you are , they live and work in the UK and you live abroad.

   Their taxes pay your pension money 

[Kinnock]

1 hour ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Its all done electronically now, you don't see any Immigration officers.

You scan your passport  and the gate opens in in to the UK you go .

Its been that way for at least five years now .

   Previously the brown staff at Heathrow were more likely to be south Asian origin than Pakistani origin .

   Quite likely their grandparents moved to the UK and they are more British than you are , they live and work in the UK and you live abroad.

   Their taxes pay your pension money 

Definitely from Pakistan .... the weird beard was a sure sign .... and I don't use the electronic gates so I can join the queue with my wife.  And my taxes paid before and after I retired, paid for my pension many times over.

 

I understand controlled immigration for people who bring special skills to a country, such as nursing, or who bring money to support the local economy, but what special skills do you need to stamp passports?

 

Being an apologist for uncontrolled immigration is just sad.

[Nick Carter icp]

Just now, Kinnock said:

Definitely from Pakistan .... the weird beard was a sure sign .... and I don't use the electronic gates so I can join the queue with my wife.  And my taxes paid before and after I retired, paid for my pension many times over.

 

I understand controlled immigration for people who bring special skills to a country, such as nursing, or who bring money to support the local economy, but what special skills do you need to stamp passports?

 

Being an apologist for uncontrolled immigration is just sad.

 

 

   Your Wife is an Immigrant ?

You have an Asian Wife....................and you are complaining about Asian immigrants ?

   You would like the UK Government to place restrictions on Asian immigrants ?

   Do you want your Wife banned from entering the UK ?

 

[Nick Carter icp]

5 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

Definitely from Pakistan .... the weird beard was a sure sign .... and I don't use the electronic gates so I can join the queue with my wife. 

 

  When was the last time that you went through Heathrow ?

UK passports go through one gate and foreign passports go on the other side of the building through a different gate 

[Kinnock]

Just now, Nick Carter icp said:

 

  When was the last time that you went through Heathrow ?

UK passports go through one gate and foreign passports go on the other side of the building through a different gate 

Nonesense ..... not in the terminal we used.  

[Nick Carter icp]

8 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

 

I understand controlled immigration for people who bring special skills to a country, such as nursing, or who bring money to support the local economy, but what special skills do you need to stamp passports?

 

Being an apologist for uncontrolled immigration is just sad.

 

   They would-be British people, people born in the UK .

They wouldn't be immigrants 

[Nick Carter icp]

6 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

Nonesense ..... not in the terminal we used.  

 

   Which terminal was that and when was it that you went ?

How long ago ?

[richard_smith237]

12 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

When was the last time that you went through Heathrow ?

UK passports go through one gate and foreign passports go on the other side of the building through a different gate 

 

That "permission of the spouse to enter through the UK channel" varies from UK Airport to UK Airport.

 

I've been told different responses from 'Boarder Control" so many times, I still have no idea - whether we can go through the same channel or not.

 

 

The last time I went through Heathrow with my (Thai) Wife, I was told to use the UK Channel.

The last time I with through Birmingham with my (Thai) Wife, I was told we had to use the non-UK Channel.

 

The response is so inconsistent I don't think there is any official policy other than that which each individual airport applies and that seems to vary from year to year.

[youreavinalaff]

51 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

I understand controlled immigration for people who bring special skills to a country, such as nursing, or who bring money to support the local economy, but what special skills do you need to stamp passports?

As previously explained, they likely didn't come to UK to work but we're born here. They are British of Pakistani decent, if indeed their heritage is Pakistani. 

 

As working tax payers, they are supporting the economy. 

 

 

[youreavinalaff]

21 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

  When was the last time that you went through Heathrow ?

UK passports go through one gate and foreign passports go on the other side of the building through a different gate 

We went through Heathrow in March. My wife and I went through together. We were told by the officer "mixed passports in this channel, please", which was basically a channel for non UK passports.

 

The channels next to us were the e-gates where UK passports holders went.

[Stocky]

5 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

The last time I with through Birmingham with my (Thai) Wife, I was told we had to use the non-UK Channel.

 

Going through Birmingham immigration this April I went through the non-UK Channel with my wife and granddaughter - no issue.

 

Probably half the immigration and customs officers at Birmingham are of mixed heritage, that reflects the city, and they all speak impeccable Brummie - warms the cockles of my heart to hear it.

[Nick Carter icp]

1 minute ago, youreavinalaff said:

We went through Heathrow in March. My wife and I went through together. We were told by the officer "mixed passports in this channel, please".

 

The channels next to us were the e-gates where UK passports holders went.

 

   You bought an Asian to the UK and you are complaining because British Asians stamped your Asian immigrant into the UK ?

[richard_smith237]

6 minutes ago, Stocky said:

11 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

The last time I with through Birmingham with my (Thai) Wife, I was told we had to use the non-UK Channel.

 

Going through Birmingham immigration this April I went through the non-UK Channel with my wife and granddaughter - no issue.

 

Probably half the immigration and customs officers at Birmingham are of mixed heritage, that reflects the city, and they all speak impeccable Brummie - warms the cockles of my heart to hear it.

 

I think you missed the point...   

 

Using the Non-UK Channel is slower, a lot slower on flights from the Middle East and Asia.

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   You bought an Asian to the UK and you are complaining because British Asians stamped your Asian immigrant into the UK ?

 

Was he complaining ?...  I read his commentary as just that...  commentary.