General Chat

[bobzy]

59 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

London's OK for an occasional visit. No way in hell would I want to live there. 

100%.  It's waaaaaaay too much for me.

[Stevo985]

40 minutes ago, Genie said:

Reports of 90 seconds between trains in some places 

 

I went the other week and was absolutely astonished to have to wait 4 minutes for the next train on the tube.

[Genie]

Just now, Stevo985 said:

I went the other week and was absolutely astonished to have to wait 4 minutes for the next train on the tube.

It’s a disgrace. 
Where is Dem by the way? 

[Designer1]

1 minute ago, Genie said:

It’s a disgrace. 
Where is Dem by the way? 

Gnoe.

[tonyh29]

Was in London on Sunday ... had dinner at the Shard for a belated 50th birthday present someone got me pre-covid times  , so different part of London from where we usually visit 

We walked from Waterloo to London bridge  , one you leave "The cut" and the theatre area it becomes quite residential and quiet for London  , but on the way we stumbled across Cross Bones cemetery , which was essentially discovered when they were digging the jubilee line  , its where they used to bury prostitutes , not in an Ipswich lorry driver way , but the ones that died of natural causes who due to their profession weren't allowed to be buried in church ground

some locals have made it into a small shine  and on the 23rd of each month there is a little service their where people can sorta go and remember a lost one  .. people have tied ribbons up etc .. some of the ribbons have names and are dated from 1723 , suggesting they managed to identify some of the names of people buried way back and given them a little memorial 

 

there is a whole heap of stuff like this dotted around  , Atlas Obscura is your friend for locating it ( some of the stuff they include is a bit meh  )  did St Dunstan in the East during lockdown , it was all the more surreal with the lack of people around 

Edited November 16, 2021 by tonyh29

[tonyh29]

17 minutes ago, Genie said:

It’s a disgrace. 
Where is Dem by the way? 

looking at his FB page, he's become a Wedding crasher as he's at someone's wedding just about every week 

[Davkaus]

5 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

looking at his FB page, he's become a Wedding crasher as he's at someone's wedding just about every week 

Poor bloke's been trying to get some welding done for months.

[bickster]

24 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

did St Dunstan in the East during lockdown , it was all the more surreal with the lack of people around 

Meh, hardly unique

St Luke's Church AKA The Bombed Out Church.

[Xela]

17 hours ago, Xann said:

If you were going to stay a bit longer? Hampstead is nice, but Primrose Hill is nearer stuff. Marylebone or Fitzrovia could be cool if you wanted really central? Belgravia's a bit drab, and you'd be moaning about the prices at your local

If I was staying long term i'd be staying in cheaper areas! 

I like Fitzrovia as well, some nice boozers around there. Marylebone is a favourite and I did like Pimlico when I stayed. I reckon £2.5k per month for a decent flat? 

[Xela]

9 hours ago, Mark Albrighton said:

Yeah this is my view. 

I quite enjoy a short stay down there, two or three nights. I suspect I’d soon find it tiresome once the novelty of the hustle and bustle had worn off.

In all fairness I’d probably struggle with most cities. The only time I ever feel like I could happily deal with city life on a regular basis is on a Sunday when it’s all a bit more relaxed. If it was like that seven days a week, I’d be fine.

i think that is the attraction of London though... its not one massive bustling city centre like Manchester or Brum. Ok, I guess you have the West End, which I guess is ground zero of crowds, but if you're in Hampstead or Highgate or Belsize Park, then it probably doesn't feel like the same city at all. 

[Xann]

12 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

Remind me what part of town are you in? I was NW1 & NW8 before my swan song year in Greenwich!

Furzedown, the grey area between Streatham and Tooting. 

9 hours ago, mjmooney said:

London's OK for an occasional visit. No way in hell would I want to live there. 

There are places that feel sort of village like. The best time to buy would've been 30 years ago

There's definitely some things going for London. We can spot a con, for example.

An ongoing campaign at Tooting bus station. The kids really hate the treacherous prick, bless.

We also have the Colliers Wood Yarn Bomber that makes accessories for post boxes.

[TheAuthority]

1 hour ago, Xann said:

There are places that feel sort of village like. The best time to buy would've been 30 years ago

My fave was always Highgate Village and it was just about affordable in the 90's. Not as bougie as Hampstead but really villagy.

Had a mate who owned a flat in Muswell Hill another nice hood - he had to sell when his business went belly up though. He paid 64K for a 3 bed back in 1990  I can't imagine what you'd pay now.

Long time friend who is now in the London Symphony grew up in East Finchley - a bit more gritty than Highgate but still v cool. His parents still live there and as he says, there's no way on earth he could ever afford to live there himself. Very sad!

[Xann]

The pub next door to East Finchley tube, down the hill, used to be great a zillion years ago. The Old White Lion says the internet.

The Irish pub up the hill after the supermarket was very different. A more character driven experience 

Friends lived between the two on the opposite side, above the shops.

Must have been around the millennium, seem to remember hearing Senor Coconut a lot in their places?  

They moved to Golders Green after that. The Moon had more atmosphere.

 

Would have to really think about it, if I was offered a move anywhere in London?

The character of many places has changed a lot.

I suspect there's likely to be accelerating changes in the next few years. Possibly turbulent? Who knows?

[TheAuthority]

2 hours ago, Xann said:

The pub next door to East Finchley tube, down the hill, used to be great a zillion years ago. The Old White Lion says the internet.

The Irish pub up the hill after the supermarket was very different. A more character driven experience 

Friends lived between the two on the opposite side, above the shops.

Must have been around the millennium, seem to remember hearing Senor Coconut a lot in their places?  

They moved to Golders Green after that. The Moon had more atmosphere.

 

Would have to really think about it, if I was offered a move anywhere in London?

The character of many places has changed a lot.

I suspect there's likely to be accelerating changes in the next few years. Possibly turbulent? Who knows?

I was a country bumpkin when I hung out in East Finchley - it all seemed glamorous! Went to a club at the Trocadero in town on NY Eve with that gang from Finchley in 96. Smoking pot at a hip hop club was very new to a lad from Wollaston.

As for living in cities. You take the rough with the smooth. I think in your 20's you should live in London or New York or wherever. I'm happy I did it and over a decade in Manhattan was great. Once my nipper came along it was time to get out but I would have happily stayed if I didn't get my current job offer and we would have have made it work. The people that thrive there have family in the city - it's very tough without that support network once you have kids.

London from 18 - 26, Miami 26 - 34 & NYC for over a decade. The only place I would never go back to is Miami. I am a huge supporter of global warming so we can sink Florida - it's a cultural, vacuous wasteland.

[mottaloo]

Am trying to find the max and paddy gif/meme of when max is saying to the old farmer ".....and !?" but I can't find it anywhere. 

Any help would be appreciated 

[chrisp65]

5 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

I was a country bumpkin when I hung out in East Finchley - it all seemed glamorous! Went to a club at the Trocadero in town on NY Eve with that gang from Finchley in 96. Smoking pot at a hip hop club was very new to a lad from Wollaston.

As for living in cities. You take the rough with the smooth. I think in your 20's you should live in London or New York or wherever. I'm happy I did it and over a decade in Manhattan was great. Once my nipper came along it was time to get out but I would have happily stayed if I didn't get my current job offer and we would have have made it work. The people that thrive there have family in the city - it's very tough without that support network once you have kids.

London from 18 - 26, Miami 26 - 34 & NYC for over a decade. The only place I would never go back to is Miami. I am a huge supporter of global warming so we can sink Florida - it's a cultural, vacuous wasteland.

From the house I live in now, from the upstairs window, I can see the house I grew up in.

Had a chance to move to London when I was a kid, had a job offer that came with digs, a Chandler’s Merchant down on what was then the working bit of the Thames. I was way too young then for any sort of adventure.

On my psycho geog walks around London I always quite fancy those quiet looking little mews off bustling places. Places a 5 minute walk from Earls Court tube that have the feeling they are truly quiet at night. I suspect a mews house by a tube could possibly be out of my budget. 

[Ingram85]

So the new Lidl wage. I think I get about 40p an hour more if that working for the nhs than the new Lidl wage. I know both jobs have the respective pressures but mentally I’m done with working in mental health. Tempted to jack this thankless job in and swap to Lidl if Boris King of the Word Removed’s doesn’t give us a wage rise that is beyond inflation.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Ingram85

[Designer1]

4 minutes ago, Ingram85 said:

So the new Lidl wage. I think I get about 40p an hour more if that working for the nhs than the new Lidl wage. I know both jobs have the respective pressures but mentally I’m done with working in mental health. Tempted to jack this thankless job in and swap to Lidl if Boris King of the Word Removed’s doesn’t give us a wage rise that is beyond inflation.

How old are you Rich? Is there anything that you fancy re-training as?

[Ingram85]

6 minutes ago, Designer1 said:

How old are you Rich? Is there anything that you fancy re-training as?

36. I’m desperate to do something else but I’m worried about upsetting the apple cart in terms of I’ve got a mortgage and bills and a step kid now and I’m worried about **** everything up if it goes pear shaped.

[bobzy]

15 minutes ago, Ingram85 said:

So the new Lidl wage. I think I get about 40p an hour more if that working for the nhs than the new Lidl wage. I know both jobs have the respective pressures but mentally I’m done with working in mental health. Tempted to jack this thankless job in and swap to Lidl if Boris King of the Word Removed’s doesn’t give us a wage rise that is beyond inflation.

It's probably what they want to push towards privatisation.  Absolute shit show.

Awful that you feel this way mate.  A couple of my mates have shifted from public sector mental health work to private (or a mix) so they can better manage their lives around it.  They felt pretty bad about doing it but were completely drained with their jobs within the NHS.  Perhaps an avenue to look at, unless you're wanting a completely new job.