General Chat

[Rds1983]

1 hour ago, chrisp65 said:

Up until this week, my only knowledge of Bradford was what I see on the TV. So my impression of Bradford was that it was some covid infested outpost of the Taliban.

Having spent a few days there, I thought it was really nice. One of the nicest places I’ve been, and friendly too. Like everywhere, it had its grim areas, but it also obviously had some decent spaces, impressive buildings, nice parks, good shops and some really nice pretty leafy terraced streets. Incidentally, streets that had been changed to resident only parking, no through roads, priority to pedestrians and cyclists. So right up there with the very worst of London traffic schemes. There was also a chippy, Grace’s, that possibly cooked the best piece of chip shop fish I’ve ever had.

Car parking was plentiful and cheap. I think i paid £1 an hour in an NCP. There were multiple record shops and cafe’s and places selling trendy craft beers. A 10 minute drive from some decent countryside.

I’ve googled up the house prices and basically, £100,000 less than I’d have expected, if I hadn’t known it was Bradford.

It felt like one of those places you could ‘cash in’ when it comes to retirement. You’re not out in the sticks, 3 hours from a hospital or a supermarket. But you could house swap from lots of other towns and cash in £100,000 in the process.

Had a Bradford postcode for years and there are some fantastic bits to Bradford, but there's also some absolute dumps and the crime rate isn't great (although I've just described virtually every city in the world). 

If you ever go back again I'd recommend checking out Shimla Spice for a curry (personal favourite and award winning chain - voted best curry House in England) and the National Media Museum as it's very interesting and free to enter. 

You'd also be surprised what houses in some of the satellite villages go for. You can easily see fairly standard houses in Ilkley for over £1m each. 

[mjmooney]

1 hour ago, Rds1983 said:

You'd also be surprised what houses in some of the satellite villages go for. You can easily see fairly standard houses in Ilkley for over £1m each. 

Amusingly, Ilkley is split between Leeds and Bradford postcodes. But you are correct, it's upmarket. I'm pretty sure that many people in the south of England just think "Ilkley Moor B'aht 'At" and visualise some grim northern 'flat caps and whippets' place. In fact barbour jackets and labradors is nearer the mark. 

It ain't really Bradford. 

[Seat68]

2 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

Up until this week, my only knowledge of Bradford was what I see on the TV. So my impression of Bradford was that it was some covid infested outpost of the Taliban.

Having spent a few days there, I thought it was really nice. One of the nicest places I’ve been, and friendly too. Like everywhere, it had its grim areas, but it also obviously had some decent spaces, impressive buildings, nice parks, good shops and some really nice pretty leafy terraced streets. Incidentally, streets that had been changed to resident only parking, no through roads, priority to pedestrians and cyclists. So right up there with the very worst of London traffic schemes. There was also a chippy, Grace’s, that possibly cooked the best piece of chip shop fish I’ve ever had.

Car parking was plentiful and cheap. I think i paid £1 an hour in an NCP. There were multiple record shops and cafe’s and places selling trendy craft beers. A 10 minute drive from some decent countryside.

I’ve googled up the house prices and basically, £100,000 less than I’d have expected, if I hadn’t known it was Bradford.

It felt like one of those places you could ‘cash in’ when it comes to retirement. You’re not out in the sticks, 3 hours from a hospital or a supermarket. But you could house swap from lots of other towns and cash in £100,000 in the process.

In 2008 I spent a few weeks there testing Barratts shoes new PoS system. I was staying in a hotel a short distance out but my experience of the place was wholly positive. As a side note my shoddy testing had no hand in the brands demise. 

[Xela]

 

4 hours ago, mjmooney said:

I live almost on the Leeds/Bradford border, and house prices plummet as you cross the line. Unfortunately, car insurance premiums double (that's if you can get car insurance at all - some areas they simply won't touch). 

I don't know a huge deal about Bradford but I do know they have wonderful architecture. Some grand old buildings there. I dated a girl from there (well, Shipley) and she used to tell me a lot about the downsides of the city - car crash scams, terrible (uninsured) driving - pretty much the same as large parts of Brum!

 

[chrisp65]

It was just a little mini tour of the area for a few days. I was knocking around Wigan, Burnley, Bolton and Bradford.

Three do them were pretty much what I expected, with Bradford being very much a step apart and not what I’d expected. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a positive story about Bradford. I’m sure it helped that the sun was shining, but it looked like somewhere I’d happily use as a one night staging post if I was doing the grand tour and heading up towards Scotland for a holiday. It was a lot less predictable and touristy than York.

[bickster]

22 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

I was knocking around Wigan, Burnley, Bolton and Bradford.

Have you been checked out for PTSD?

If you are ever in Burnley again, there's a cab firm called Delta Taxis somewhere. If you chuck a little Molotov Cocktail into the office when passing I'll be eternally grateful because I'm sick of their customers complaining to us about them

[Sid4ever]

Ah Bradford worked there for 5 years, main customer was the supermarket that starts with M, horses on roundabouts, rag and bone men in the streets with their hoardes for the day mainly metal on their horse drawn carriages.  Simpler times.

[Rds1983]

1 hour ago, Xela said:

 

I don't know a huge deal about Bradford but I do know they have wonderful architecture. Some grand old buildings there. I dated a girl from there (well, Shipley) and she used to tell me a lot about the downsides of the city - car crash scams, terrible (uninsured) driving - pretty much the same as large parts of Brum!

 

There's fantastic architecture in most of the towns and cities around there in West Yorkshire. All stems from the woollen boom during the Victorian era, plus other things like mining. 

If you looked up from the betting shops and kebab houses there were some wonderful things to see. 

[blandy]

46 minutes ago, Rds1983 said:

towns and cities around there in West Yorkshire.

 

[mottaloo]

Years ago, i met a bradford girl on line (love@lycos) and popped up a few times for a bit of uncomplicated "fun".

She was petite, attractive but drank pints of guinness - went for a curry the first time we met and it was odd that (at the time) there weren't any curry houses in the town centre but more in the suburbs. They also served free chapattis with main courses which made my order of 2 naan breads look silly.

Anywhoooo............she impressed me very much when we got back to my hotel (room above a pub) on that sat night when she said "We're not 'aving us jump til i've watched match o' daaaay"......just cos Bradford City had won a rare game that afternoon.

True to her word, once City's game had finished she did the needful !

[sne]

Not sure where to put it but we might get our first billionaire in space today, or not. All seems very dystopian to me but great fun for him I'm sure.

 

Edited July 11, 2021 by sne

[chrisp65]

Don’t forget to recycle your milk bottle tops.

We need to recycle milk bottle tops if we’re going to offset the carbon of billionaire’s private rocket jollies.

 

 

[Davkaus]

There's still a chance of the things blowing up on the launch pad some I'm all for him, Bezos and Musk making it a weekly trip.

[foreveryoung]

18 hours ago, mottaloo said:

Years ago, i met a bradford girl on line (love@lycos) and popped up a few times for a bit of uncomplicated "fun".

She was petite, attractive but drank pints of guinness - went for a curry the first time we met and it was odd that (at the time) there weren't any curry houses in the town centre but more in the suburbs. They also served free chapattis with main courses which made my order of 2 naan breads look silly.

Anywhoooo............she impressed me very much when we got back to my hotel (room above a pub) on that sat night when she said "We're not 'aving us jump til i've watched match o' daaaay"......just cos Bradford City had won a rare game that afternoon.

True to her word, once City's game had finished she did the needful !

I met a girl from Newbury on love@lycos, (searched through Netscape, remember that), boxing well above my weight. Mom and dad owned a pub I think The George and Dragon in the city, great times. Fizzled out in the end travelling to Newbury every other weekend used to kill me. She smoked like a trooper too, not really my scene having never smoked.

[sne]

Oh this is so very very dystopian. "We turn now to our founder Sir Richard Branson"  and "Remember today, space is as of now Virgin Territory"

[mjmooney]

18 hours ago, mottaloo said:

Years ago, i met a bradford girl on line (love@lycos) and popped up a few times for a bit of uncomplicated "fun".

She was petite, attractive but drank pints of guinness - went for a curry the first time we met and it was odd that (at the time) there weren't any curry houses in the town centre but more in the suburbs. They also served free chapattis with main courses which made my order of 2 naan breads look silly.

Anywhoooo............she impressed me very much when we got back to my hotel (room above a pub) on that sat night when she said "We're not 'aving us jump til i've watched match o' daaaay"......just cos Bradford City had won a rare game that afternoon.

True to her word, once City's game had finished she did the needful !

Very Rita, Sue and Bob, Too. 

And Bill Oddie did a rather good Beach Boys parody called 'Bradford Girls' ("Bradford Girls eat fish and chips, Bradford Girls have greasy lips"). 

Sadly not on YouTube. 

 

[Genie]

I’m glad Richard Branson managed to scrape enough pennies together to go to space after asking for a British tax payer bail out a few months ago.

[theboyangel]

23 minutes ago, Genie said:

I’m glad Richard Branson managed to scrape enough pennies together to go to space after asking for a British tax payer bail out a few months ago.

Nothing ever stands in the way of a Branson vanity project 

[bickster]

1 hour ago, Genie said:

I’m glad Richard Branson managed to scrape enough pennies together to go to space after asking for a British tax payer bail out a few months ago.

Why do you imagine the two things are connected? They will undoubtedly be different companies. Generally speaking most products with the Virgin logo attached to them are actually just other companies licensing the Virgin brand to use in their retail sector. See Virgin Cable, Virgin Coke and a fair few others. Shite all to do with Branson. He just lends gives them the logo, tuns up at the launch and pockets the cash, he is the corporate equivalent of Ken Dodd opening a supermarket

[Genie]

On 11/07/2021 at 18:45, bickster said:

Why do you imagine the two things are connected? They will undoubtedly be different companies. Generally speaking most products with the Virgin logo attached to them are actually just other companies licensing the Virgin brand to use in their retail sector. See Virgin Cable, Virgin Coke and a fair few others. Shite all to do with Branson. He just lends gives them the logo, tuns up at the launch and pockets the cash, he is the corporate equivalent of Ken Dodd opening a supermarket

Richard Branson and his Virgin group own 24% of Virgin Gallactic.