In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
"Get Britain Moving" sounds like a good slogan for ex-lax
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow in the late 30s, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
In retrospect THE NECKLACE was a massive tell. Someone who is prepared to display their BDSM status to the world, even as Prime Minister of the UK, is someone of extraordinary recklessness, who will do mad things, for good or ill
Voila
might have been a tell to men of the world such as yourself but wouldnt have registered with much of the british public
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
Hasn't New Street been improved ?
Not in the 28 years I've known it.
If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.
The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
I love a bit of hyperbole. 'Impossible to move house' is utter bullshit. We've been in an exceptional period of low interest rates for the last 15 years. if you had a mortgage and didn't make overpayments to get it down, well maybe you should have. If you thought interest rates could never go up - talk to your parents.
Interest rates are rising everywhere. Its not down to KK. We printed a shed load of cash so the economy didn't die in 2020 as half the country were forced to stop working. There was always going to be a price to pay. Its arrived.
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
"Get Britain Moving" sounds like a good slogan for ex-lax
Given the current fiscal projections, I'm surprised anyone is having difficulties in the Number Twos department.
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time.
Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.
The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
Conservative MPs are now smelling blood in the water, with suggestions that Truss will be out by Christmas and a new PM appointed (not elected) by MPs.
Got to say - the most difficult task here is getting a new PM in place without a membership vote occurring...
It's also probably the only reason Liz hasn't already gone...
Although it's great watching a U-turn designed to halt her decline, actually hasten it...
One of the current problems is that the Tory membership (once you take our career members etc) is so weird that no-one normal would join just out of ordinary desire for local political engagement. I know hardly anyone in this safe Tory seat (about to become a marginal when new boundaries come in) who actually belongs.
It would do no harm if, impossibly, the Tories could:
Get MPs to appoint a sane One Nation PM, knowing that the next election is lost
Dissolve the current membership and turn off the computer
Put out a 'New Membership Manifesto/Philosophy' written by Rory, Hat, Hunt and Justine Greening (is she still in the party?)
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
Hasn't New Street been improved ?
A double edged sword for Birmingham, is New Street. Actual arrival on the platforms - gloomy, subterranean - is pretty depressing. Most UK termini are spacious and open, with high roofs; Birmingham is not; it is darker and smellier than any other terminus I can think of. But the upside to this is that it is subterranean because it is more central than just about any other city station. So you emerge from the station into the very centre of the city centre. In all honesty, I'd rather have that than what Manchester has: Piccadilly station is nice, but very edge of centre; it's a good ten minutes' walk to the centre of town.
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
"Get Britain Moving" sounds like a good slogan for ex-lax
Given the current fiscal projections, I'm surprised anyone is having difficulties in the Number Twos department.
Perhaps that it what is meant: "Getting Britain Moving by causing the financial markets to shit their pants"
Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.
The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
Hasn't New Street been improved ?
Not in the 28 years I've known it.
If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
You seem not to have visited the place since 2015.
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
The Chancellor is still in the Tory fridge whilst the hall waits...
[Update - apparently he will be another 15 minutes]
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
Hasn't New Street been improved ?
A double edged sword for Birmingham, is New Street. Actual arrival on the platforms - gloomy, subterranean - is pretty depressing. Most UK termini are spacious and open, with high roofs; Birmingham is not; it is darker and smellier than any other terminus I can think of. But the upside to this is that it is subterranean because it is more central than just about any other city station. So you emerge from the station into the very centre of the city centre. In all honesty, I'd rather have that than what Manchester has: Piccadilly station is nice, but very edge of centre; it's a good ten minutes' walk to the centre of town.
Is that before or after the recent makeover? It used to be awful (as I recall only too well). Not seen it since myself.
Did he fall/jump/get pushed out of a window though?
That is really sad, I've been haunted by this video for the last couple of days. However bad your day is, at least you aren't going to get drafted in to the Russian Army.
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow in the late 30s, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
up until the late 70s the west midlands was one of the most prosperous parts of the country
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
Hasn't New Street been improved ?
Not in the 28 years I've known it.
If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
You seem not to have visited the place since 2015.
Last time I was there was a year ago. Before that I went through it fairly regularly.
Edit - actually, that's not true, I changed trains there back in June.
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.
The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
I am one of the few people in the world that loves the Brummy accent.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
Really? What are the Welsh doing there, pushing the Brummies out?
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
Birmingham has less to lift the soul than Manchester or Glasgow or Newcastle (say), but it still has much to recommend it. I'd rather be at large in Birmingham than 90% of Britain's large towns. It beats, say, Northampton, Wigan, Coventry, Mansfield, Sunderland, Telford, Doncaster, Leicester, Walsall or Wolverhampton.
It's not the most wonderful city in the country. But I'd give it: Birmingham - it's actually ok. or Birmingham - it might be better than you think.
Who has the grimmest mood right now - Russia or the Tories ?
Has Liz Truss suggested nuking Dublin?
If not, I'm going to go with 'Russia.'
Ten of thousands of Russian men have died Their army has been shown up to be massively underfunded, weak and chaotic. Hundreds of thousands of russians are leaving the Country. Their economy is destroyed and they will be a pariah country for decades especially when all what they have done in Ukraine is revealed.
The tories came up with a stupid inept policy which will now not be implemented.
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time.
I'm sure he can answer for himself.
Or at least find someone else's Tweet about it to copy and paste.
They eat there heart out in Armenia when they think of Birmingham's ecclesiastical architecture.
I recently visited that exact monastery!
Armenia has stunning monuments like that, and some quite epic landscapes, but all the towns - Yerevan apart - are hideous. Soviet grey concrete meets drab grey weather. And earthquakes
However the people are brilliant. Kind, generous, funny, clever, curious (in both senses). And the young women are notably beautiful
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time.
I'm sure he can answer for himself.
Or at least find someone else's Tweet about it to copy and paste.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
I quite like Brum and have seen it change quite a bit over the last 50 years, it has some great victorian buildings still, alongside some great modernism, and some ugly concrete brutalism. It has a certain "in your face" energy not found in much of England. There is much less pretension than many other cities, and a more brash materialism that reminds me of America. Every couple of decades they knock things down and rebuild, and sometimes get it right.
I can see why some don't like it, but I get its vibe. Coventry however is a dump.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
Really? What are the Welsh doing there, pushing the Brummies out?
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
Hasn't New Street been improved ?
Not in the 28 years I've known it.
If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
You seem not to have visited the place since 2015.
Last time I was there was a year ago. Before that I went through it fairly regularly.
Edit - actually, that's not true, I changed trains there back in June.
Since they built Grand Central (the shopping centre, not the station in NYC), immediately above the platforms, New Street is a lot nicer. My only bug-bear is the adjacent tram station is called, er, Grand Central, and NOT New Street.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
All the best cities think they are actually number one. Without that self confidence you are nowhere.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
Liverpool has a much nicer setting than Manchester due to the waterfront. Not the same cosmopolitan feel as Manchester though. Edinburgh is lovely my favourite British city but suffers for me due to cold weather and being in scotland
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time.
I'm sure he can answer for himself.
Or at least find someone else's Tweet about it to copy and paste.
Are you suggesting I did such a thing?
No, I was making a humorous (I thought) reference to Scott P's oeuvre.
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
The post war planners looked at Birmingham and thought how can we resolve to remove buildings of intrinsic historic architechtural beauty and replace them with, for decades a makeshift car park, before building something ugly, dreary and modern? Look no further than Snow Hill Station.
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time.
I'm sure he can answer for himself.
He rarely does though. He posts and runs. I think he posts some interesting stuff up here, but I'd love to engage more about them too. Its all a bit relentless.
In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
I love a bit of hyperbole. 'Impossible to move house' is utter bullshit. We've been in an exceptional period of low interest rates for the last 15 years. if you had a mortgage and didn't make overpayments to get it down, well maybe you should have. If you thought interest rates could never go up - talk to your parents.
Interest rates are rising everywhere. Its not down to KK. We printed a shed load of cash so the economy didn't die in 2020 as half the country were forced to stop working. There was always going to be a price to pay. Its arrived.
Yes Interest rates are rising everywhere but KK managed to add a 1.5% to 2% risk premium to UK interest rates that didn't exist prior to September 23rd..
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
Really? What are the Welsh doing there, pushing the Brummies out?
I meant funny as in amusing not....
If any of my Welsh friends pick up on that one, I want to emphasise that it was a joke. I was not inferring that all Welsh people are a bit odd and humourless.
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
Hasn't New Street been improved ?
A double edged sword for Birmingham, is New Street. Actual arrival on the platforms - gloomy, subterranean - is pretty depressing. Most UK termini are spacious and open, with high roofs; Birmingham is not; it is darker and smellier than any other terminus I can think of. But the upside to this is that it is subterranean because it is more central than just about any other city station. So you emerge from the station into the very centre of the city centre. In all honesty, I'd rather have that than what Manchester has: Piccadilly station is nice, but very edge of centre; it's a good ten minutes' walk to the centre of town.
Is that before or after the recent makeover? It used to be awful (as I recall only too well). Not seen it since myself.
BTW not a terminus but a through station.
If Conservative politicians want to educate themselves in what pro growth planning looks like, they need look around in Birmingham. The Council have spent 20 years on rebuilding the centre and it has been transformed from the post-industrial, provincial backwater it was 30 years ago. The point I would make to them is that it was all facilitated by the state. Effective politicians and officers. If you try and leave it all to the market and deregulate everything, nothing good will happen.
This is the insight that the tories seemed to gain from 2018 - 2020, but now they have subsequently lost; going back in to their comforting ideological delusions about how you get 'growth' - ie by 'deregulating' and 'rolling back the state'.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
Really? What are the Welsh doing there, pushing the Brummies out?
I think a fair number of Brummies are descendants of Welsh migration to work the factories in the 19th Century.
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
The post war planners looked at Birmingham and thought how can we resolve to remove buildings of intrinsic historic architechtural beauty and replace them with, for decades a makeshift car park, before building something ugly, dreary and modern? Look no further than Snow Hill Station.
Birmingham has an excellent cricket ground at Edgebasten, where England usually win, and excellent curry shops in Broad street. Do English cities really need anything else?
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste. That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
Hasn't New Street been improved ?
Not in the 28 years I've known it.
If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
You seem not to have visited the place since 2015.
Last time I was there was a year ago. Before that I went through it fairly regularly.
Edit - actually, that's not true, I changed trains there back in June.
That is a bloody long journey you have been on there @ydoethur . Hope you get to your destination soon
Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.
The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
I am one of the few people in the world that loves the Brummy accent.
If you like it so much, you can have mine. Like a dog t*** on the sole of one's expensive designer trainers, however hard one scubs to remove all evidence, unpleasant traces remain.
You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.
Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.
The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
I am one of the few people in the world that loves the Brummy accent.
If you like it so much, you can have mine. Like a dog t*** on the sole of one's expensive designer trainers, however hard one scubs to remove all evidence, unpleasant traces remain.
Yea, but you can say "I am considerably richer than yow" and it sounds funny. Birmingham folk always sound amusing because they generally are. The Irish are the same. I am proud to have both sets of genes and cultural influence
Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.
The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
I am one of the few people in the world that loves the Brummy accent.
Bizarrely my little conrer of SE Spain boasts a sizeable population of ex-midlands residents going back aropund 30 years I believe. All that I've met have been very nice although their accents when speaking Spanish are a sound to behold!
A strange and fascinating city, with tons of history, and a genuine world class burb in Clifton
Parts a Bristol are glorious with oodles of history. Its a city built on slavery and trying to come to terms with that. I rarely visited until a work trip a few years ago, when I was hugely impressed with the city centre. Other parts are less salubrious, but thats common elsewhere.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
I quite like Brum and have seen it change quite a bit over the last 50 years, it has some great victorian buildings still, alongside some great modernism, and some ugly concrete brutalism. It has a certain "in your face" energy not found in much of England. There is much less pretension than many other cities, and a more brash materialism that reminds me of America. Every couple of decades they knock things down and rebuild, and sometimes get it right.
I can see why some don't like it, but I get its vibe. Coventry however is a dump.
Visiting places like Cologne to see the painstakingly reproduced Cathedral, one has to wonder at the wisdom of the New Coventry Cathedral. A mistake of its time.
You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.
Utter, utter fuckers.
Yes but you must get a hardon every time you look down at your black/navy blue passport and think of that sovereignty that we got back (even though we always had it anyway)
It seems 1 half of the tory party is happy to attack the other half for reasons
Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky Forget a consensual approach, Kwasi Kwarteng goes in two footed. Says Britain was facing "slow managed decline" (hello Boris! hello Rishi"
And mentions twice 70 year tax burden - again implicit Sunak criticism - at a time when Truss gvt ought to be reaching out to his supporters
You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.
Utter, utter fuckers.
Tut tut, using 'yards' - you'll have your remoaner passport taken away, let alone your data passport.
Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.
The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
I am one of the few people in the world that loves the Brummy accent.
If you like it so much, you can have mine. Like a dog t*** on the sole of one's expensive designer trainers, however hard one scubs to remove all evidence, unpleasant traces remain.
Yea, but you can say "I am considerably richer than yow" and it sounds funny. Birmingham folk always sound amusing because they generally are. The Irish are the same. I am proud to have both sets of genes and cultural influence
But the joke is on the speaker, like Beryl Reid's Marlene or Jasper Carrot's Funky Moped rider.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
Really? What are the Welsh doing there, pushing the Brummies out?
A strange and fascinating city, with tons of history, and a genuine world class burb in Clifton
Clifton is OK, if a bit posho, but the rest of the city is a dump. One of my least favourite sizeable British cities.
I've only been once in the last few years but really enjoyed it. There was, for want of a better word, a "West Coast" feel to it. Mild climate, a sense the countryside and hills are not far away, a bit alternative and boho. It did seem to have a big homelessness problem though.
It seems 1 half of the tory party is happy to attack the other half for reasons
Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky Forget a consensual approach, Kwasi Kwarteng goes in two footed. Says Britain was facing "slow managed decline" (hello Boris! hello Rishi"
And mentions twice 70 year tax burden - again implicit Sunak criticism - at a time when Truss gvt ought to be reaching out to his supporters
Is this a speech that was written before this morning, and nobody could face updating it?
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
All the best cities think they are actually number one. Without that self confidence you are nowhere.
Many cities think they are rather more brilliant than might objectively be the case. I'd cite Newcastle and Nottingham in this respect. Manchester's certainty of its own brilliance is something else again though. (I say this as a suburban Mancunian with a great deal of affection for the place. But modest we are not in Manchester.)
It seems 1 half of the tory party is happy to attack the other half for reasons
Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky Forget a consensual approach, Kwasi Kwarteng goes in two footed. Says Britain was facing "slow managed decline" (hello Boris! hello Rishi"
And mentions twice 70 year tax burden - again implicit Sunak criticism - at a time when Truss gvt ought to be reaching out to his supporters
Is this a speech that was written before this morning, and nobody could face updating it?
You and Sam Coates actually think that we shouldn't be criticising Sunak now, for some reason??
You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.
Utter, utter fuckers.
Tut tut, using 'yards' - you'll have your remoaner passport taken away, let alone your data passport.
As someone who lives a mile from St Pancras (magnificent station) and passes through it regularly, I can confidently say that long queues for Eurostar are not a new, Brexity thing
I’ve no idea what data passports are. I go abroad and use my phone. As I always did
Honestly, the best thing they could do is level the entire thing and start again. And get King Charles to pick the architects
This may be one upside of the impending nuclear war. Radical improvements to British urbanism
I don't have a problem with anything in that picture other than the Selfridges carbunkle. Most German Cities successfully mix the old with the post war austere.
You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.
Utter, utter fuckers.
Tut tut, using 'yards' - you'll have your remoaner passport taken away, let alone your data passport.
Yes good point. Prior to our exit from the EU I was disallowed from using "yards". Now that we are free I can use yards, pints, furlongs and all the rest.
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
Liverpool has a much nicer setting than Manchester due to the waterfront. Not the same cosmopolitan feel as Manchester though. Edinburgh is lovely my favourite British city but suffers for me due to cold weather and being in scotland
Liverpool has Scousers. Edinburgh is one of my favourite places, but it has Nicola Sturgeon. I guess everywhere has its downsides.
They eat there heart out in Armenia when they think of Birmingham's ecclesiastical architecture.
I recently visited that exact monastery!
Armenia has stunning monuments like that, and some quite epic landscapes, but all the towns - Yerevan apart - are hideous. Soviet grey concrete meets drab grey weather. And earthquakes
However the people are brilliant. Kind, generous, funny, clever, curious (in both senses). And the young women are notably beautiful
(There was some sort of story that the rector used to keep parishioners in late, meaning they were trapped on the island and he could preach for longer.)
Honestly, the best thing they could do is level the entire thing and start again. And get King Charles to pick the architects
This may be one upside of the impending nuclear war. Radical improvements to British urbanism
I don't have a problem with anything in that picture other than the Selfridges carbunkle. Most German Cities successfully mix the old with the post war austere.
It does look like a bombed German toilet. Like Düsseldorf or Cologne (minus the cathedral)
The modern towers are so pathetically STUMPY
At least crap American and Asian cities have properly tall skyscrapers. British towers are so apologetic and weedy. Outside London
Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
Liverpool has a much nicer setting than Manchester due to the waterfront. Not the same cosmopolitan feel as Manchester though. Edinburgh is lovely my favourite British city but suffers for me due to cold weather and being in scotland
Liverpool has Scousers. Edinburgh is one of my favourite places, but it has Nicola Sturgeon. I guess everywhere has its downsides.
And I imagine that Rentokill charge a big price when you have a nasty case of 'Nicola Sturgeon'?
This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
That is also true.
In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
The post war planners looked at Birmingham and thought how can we resolve to remove buildings of intrinsic historic architechtural beauty and replace them with, for decades a makeshift car park, before building something ugly, dreary and modern? Look no further than Snow Hill Station.
Birmingham has an excellent cricket ground at Edgebasten, where England usually win, and excellent curry shops in Broad street. Do English cities really need anything else?
You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.
Utter, utter fuckers.
Tut tut, using 'yards' - you'll have your remoaner passport taken away, let alone your data passport.
Yes good point. Prior to our exit from the EU I was disallowed from using "yards". Now that we are free I can use yards, pints, furlongs and all the rest.
Phewee.
There you go look, the data passport even allows overblown sarcasm.
“Major advances happening simultaneously for Ukraine on two fronts 100s of kms apart. Russian military Telegram channels are increasingly in total panic. Starting to feel like the wheels are coming off for the Russian military.”
“Others have noted this, but it bears repeating: these offensives don't enjoy the surprise that the Kharkiv one last month did. Here, the Russians know what is coming, and the Ukrainian army is solidly defeating them day after day. Hard to see how the bleeding stops.”
Deutsche liabilities 1.2T, Credit Suisse 0.6T. Currency ? Any of euro, dollar, sterling or Swiss franc since they're all close to the same nominal value these days
The key to look at is the asset side of the equation, and to understand where there is the possibility of (and size of) impairments.
Comments
I posted that as a joke, but it is worth looking up. Their shares are doing really quite well at the moment.
That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow in the late 30s, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa
eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham
That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
If not, I'm going to go with 'Russia.'
If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
Interest rates are rising everywhere. Its not down to KK. We printed a shed load of cash so the economy didn't die in 2020 as half the country were forced to stop working. There was always going to be a price to pay. Its arrived.
It would do no harm if, impossibly, the Tories could:
Get MPs to appoint a sane One Nation PM, knowing that the next election is lost
Dissolve the current membership and turn off the computer
Put out a 'New Membership Manifesto/Philosophy' written by Rory, Hat, Hunt and Justine Greening (is she still in the party?)
Turn the computer on again.
Actual arrival on the platforms - gloomy, subterranean - is pretty depressing. Most UK termini are spacious and open, with high roofs; Birmingham is not; it is darker and smellier than any other terminus I can think of.
But the upside to this is that it is subterranean because it is more central than just about any other city station. So you emerge from the station into the very centre of the city centre. In all honesty, I'd rather have that than what Manchester has: Piccadilly station is nice, but very edge of centre; it's a good ten minutes' walk to the centre of town.
[Update - apparently he will be another 15 minutes]
BTW not a terminus but a through station.
However bad your day is, at least you aren't going to get drafted in to the Russian Army.
Edit - actually, that's not true, I changed trains there back in June.
https://armeniadiscovery.com/en/place/the-architecture-of-churches
They eat there heart out in Armenia when they think of Birmingham's ecclesiastical architecture.
It's not the most wonderful city in the country. But I'd give it:
Birmingham - it's actually ok.
or
Birmingham - it might be better than you think.
Their army has been shown up to be massively underfunded, weak and chaotic.
Hundreds of thousands of russians are leaving the Country.
Their economy is destroyed and they will be a pariah country for decades especially when all what they have done in Ukraine is revealed.
The tories came up with a stupid inept policy which will now not be implemented.
Its a close one
Armenia has stunning monuments like that, and some quite epic landscapes, but all the towns - Yerevan apart - are hideous. Soviet grey concrete meets drab grey weather. And earthquakes
However the people are brilliant. Kind, generous, funny, clever, curious (in both senses). And the young women are notably beautiful
I strongly recommend a visit. It’s fabulous
I can see why some don't like it, but I get its vibe. Coventry however is a dump.
This is the insight that the tories seemed to gain from 2018 - 2020, but now they have subsequently lost; going back in to their comforting ideological delusions about how you get 'growth' - ie by 'deregulating' and 'rolling back the state'.
A strange and fascinating city, with tons of history, and a genuine world class burb in Clifton
It lifts the spirit in ways Liz Truss never quite reaches.
https://www.remotelands.com/travelogues/garni-the-roman-temple-in-armenia/
You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.
Utter, utter fuckers.
Obi Wan Peroni
Honestly, the best thing they could do is level the entire thing and start again. And get King Charles to pick the architects
This may be one upside of the impending nuclear war. Radical improvements to British urbanism
Other parts are less salubrious, but thats common elsewhere.
Sam Coates Sky
@SamCoatesSky
Forget a consensual approach, Kwasi Kwarteng goes in two footed. Says Britain was facing "slow managed decline" (hello Boris! hello Rishi"
And mentions twice 70 year tax burden - again implicit Sunak criticism - at a time when Truss gvt ought to be reaching out to his supporters
Strongly disagree. It has a remarkable topography for a start
But then, you think Birmingham is OK!
Diversity of opinion is good
He needs some basic public speaking training.
He has an excellent voice for public speaking, but terrible technique.
Basically what cost Sunak, who was in favour of the handouts, the election vs Truss who was against them.
They are a very weird party.
I’ve no idea what data passports are. I go abroad and use my phone. As I always did
Phewee.
https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/limeworkstcwyfan/limeworkstcwyfan.htm
(There was some sort of story that the rector used to keep parishioners in late, meaning they were trapped on the island and he could preach for longer.)
The modern towers are so pathetically STUMPY
At least crap American and Asian cities have properly tall skyscrapers. British towers are so apologetic and weedy. Outside London
I’m sure workers will be overjoyed when holiday entitlement , and the working time directive etc are gone .
Plenty of talk about growth, but nothing about how to get it
“Others have noted this, but it bears repeating: these offensives don't enjoy the surprise that the Kharkiv one last month did. Here, the Russians know what is coming, and the Ukrainian army is solidly defeating them day after day. Hard to see how the bleeding stops.”
https://twitter.com/neilphauer/status/1576946172609953794?s=46&t=1pS0_ubk1S__VRnngjQo6A