London...your thoughts.

[Russ]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/10508673.stm

Interesting article until I read....

In the north of England, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool were the workshops of the world.

That pretty much convinces me the article was written by a Londoner

I have to say of the few times I've been there, you really can tell the differences in people's attitudes. In Port Talbot shop assistants look you in the eye, people seem naturally more friendly and welcoming. In London it's like people are ready to knife you.

[Damien]

London will soon rule you all! We assimilate you all! Whahaha!

Besides the country becomes progressively weirder the further from the M25 you go!

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by Damien

London will soon rule you all! We assimilate you all! Whahaha!

Besides the country becomes progressively weirder the further from the M25 you go!

The further in from the M25 you mean.

[Stuart]

Nope, and it gets progressively wierder the nearer you get to liverpool..

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by Stuart C

Nope, and it gets progressively wierder the nearer you get to liverpool..

Well you do get close to Manchester.

As with all Londoners so insular.

[Damien]

The thing that annoyed me was that people from other parts of Britain accuse those us of us that reside in or around London of looking down our noses at them! Unwashed peasants!

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by Damien

The thing that annoyed me was that people from other parts of Britain accuse those us of us that reside in or around London of looking down our noses at them! Unwashed peasants!

[joglynne]

Everyone who doesn't live in London knows how lucky they are. It is only Londoners who think they are special.

Enough said.

[Stuart]

Actually, on a serious note, one thing that did irritate me a little is that in their coverage of the cuts to funding for upgrades of 700 schools, the BBC concentrated on the impact on Liverpool and Birmingham while totally failing to mention London, where 200 of the 700 schools are situated.

The media also often fails to mention that some of the most deprived areas in the country are in London, while the goverment is busy redirecting grants to northern areas. The previous Labour administrations were both particularly good at this.

[Damien]

Originally Posted by Stuart C

Actually, on a serious note, one thing that did irritate me a little is that in their coverage of the cuts to funding for upgrades of 700 schools, the BBC concentrated on the impact on Liverpool and Birmingham while totally failing to mention London, where 200 of the 700 schools are situated.

The media also often fails to mention that some of the most deprived areas in the country are in London, while the goverment is busy redirecting grants to northern areas. The previous Labour administrations were both particularly good at this.

I agree. There is a serious aspect to the fact that London is perceived as being the favored area and that causes resentment which the government (and the BBC) then over compensate for. Your schools example is a good illustration, the Leaders debates made a point of being for the whole of Braitain but 2 were in the midlands and none in London. No doubt because they have have garnered 'oh it's all about London' type comments.

London gets a lot of attention because it's the capital. It's the economic capital, the political capital, and the cultural capital. It's got a huge population and has unique problems as a result.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Stuart C

Actually, on a serious note, one thing that did irritate me a little is that in their coverage of the cuts to funding for upgrades of 700 schools, the BBC concentrated on the impact on Liverpool and Birmingham while totally failing to mention London, where 200 of the 700 schools are situated.

The media also often fails to mention that some of the most deprived areas in the country are in London, while the goverment is busy redirecting grants to northern areas. The previous Labour administrations were both particularly good at this.

That's a typically navel-gazing Londoner thing to say. Naturally London has areas of poverty, but those are only worse than anywhere else in the UK because the wealth that surrounds them pushes up the costs of goods and services for everybody in the whole region.

Londoners will have something to moan about should the day ever come when their entire economic base collapses, permanently, as has happened in vast, vast swathes of the north of England, south Wales and central Scotland.

The money comes 'north' because that's where the widespread, systemic problems are.

[Maggy J]

All I know is that in Newcastle when I shop I get called pet or petal by the assistants.When I shop in Cardiff,Swansea or Newport I find the assistants much more friendly as Russ says.In fact the same can be said in Portsmouth or Southampton.

Shop in London stores and you get a somewhat distant and snobby attitude.

Try going into Harrods in the wrong clothes..and that is only one big souvenir store these days..

And yet my daughter fell in love with London when she was 15,decided she was never going to live anywhere else.She still loves it.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Chris

That's a typically navel-gazing Londoner thing to say. Naturally London has areas of poverty, but those are only worse than anywhere else in the UK because the wealth that surrounds them pushes up the costs of goods and services for everybody in the whole region.

Londoners will have something to moan about should the day ever come when their entire economic base collapses, permanently, as has happened in vast, vast swathes of the north of England, south Wales and central Scotland.

The money comes 'north' because that's where the widespread, systemic problems are.

I did read that the amount spent per head by the government on Londoners is considerably lower than the rest of the country. I wasn't even considering the costs of living in the region. Although if you bring cost of living into the argument, then surely London's poor need more help?

There are incredibly wealthy areas in London. There are also some of the poorest areas in the UK in London. They are sometimes forgotten by those outside London. The wealthy areas of London do not need subsidy. The poorest areas do, as much as any poor area outside London.

---------- Post added 07-07-2010 at 00:08 ---------- Previous post was 06-07-2010 at 23:59 ----------

Originally Posted by Maggy J

All I know is that in Newcastle when I shop I get called pet or petal by the assistants.When I shop in Cardiff,Swansea or Newport I find the assistants much more friendly as Russ says.In fact the same can be said in Portsmouth or Southampton.

Shop in London stores and you get a somewhat distant and snobby attitude.

The Central London stores are like that. It's much the same in any capital city I have been to. The stores in the local towns around London are not like that.

Try going into Harrods in the wrong clothes..and that is only one big souvenir store these days..

Harrods has a sort of dress code.. I can walk into my local pub wearing jeans, trainers and a tee shirt, but I would not expect to walk into a trendy wine bar dressed like that, even though both business sell alcohol.

And yet my daughter fell in love with London when she was 15,decided she was never going to live anywhere else.She still loves it.

As do I. For all it's faults.

London is not an homogeneous place - Central London is completely different to the outlying districts, which are more like villages.

People living in Greenwich will tend to say they live in Greenwich, not 'London'.

My experience over 12 years was of living in Poplar, Deptford & Brockley, I worked in Bermondsey & went to Poly near the Elephant & Castle - I don't recall any snobbery, or 'attitude' during that time - I probably wouldn't have recommended walking round Brixton late at night, but on market days, for example, it was a vibrant, noisy, friendly place to be...

[punky]

London is a hole. Even the last 10 years its gone downhill so much. I used to love it when I was a kid, now I just can't wait to get away and get a nice place out in the country.

Its so difficult trying to synchronise jobs and accomodation (x 2 if you have a partner) but i'd jump at the oppotunity if it ever came up.

I suppose I just have to hope I avoid being stabbed or catching cancer long enough to be able to retire out to the country.