Elections

[Rossgo]

Well yeah....but people also live longer too...and that's totally apolitical, it's due to numerous factors. It's almost guaranteed that once you retire you're going to live a more sedentary lifestyle, and that in turn will lead to a steady decline in overall health.


I think the UK is amazing too....I'm planning a comeback tour.

Come back Darren [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH]

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[D41]

Hmmmm.....I was going to about a month ago...just on a stopover for a day or so....but I figured it can wait a few months more....the place isn't going anywhere.

There's a few things I need to do family-wise...visit some people, do some touristy stuff, stove my sister's head in....stuff like that.

[Monty]

Interesting to see Sadiq Khan got elected as Mayor for London.

Rossgo - thats a fair summing up of how a lot people see things right now, disillusionment with politics is at an all time high I think, and if a person or party found a way to appeal to both old and young and rich and poor they'd be on to a winner. Problem is, most of those groups want the opposite to the others.

It is nice to see that people are looking into what's best for London, we have had some very good mayors for London in the recent years this guy has a lot to live up to, hope he's got a sense of humor like Boris!!

Yes agreed, but I don't think we will ever find the prefect party, and if we do someone somewhere will kill the rep of it. Problem .is they don't help themselves it really doesn't help when newspapers and the news report that hardly any MP turn up when having discussions on certain aspects, but this is what people are like, if it doesn't affect them they won't care and that is what people see.

However we are so so so so so lucky we live in a country that have the basics to live, we have food and shelters for the homeless, we have proper road networks for all to use, we have the NHS, we have minimum and living wages we literally have all of this running right now so I'm not complaining about our current government we haven't got a civil war, we aren't having to pay thousands of pounds for medical care and we don't see our homes being blown up by the air force eg the refugee camp that was bombed by the airforce recently. We have it made for us here when you look at it on a whole

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Your entitled to your opinion fella - we all are and I think your right.

I like to think I'm well travelled and people need to put the UK into perspective. It may have its issues, like many countries do - but the more i see other countries, the more I think the UK is an amazing place compared to many and its a lucky place to live if your down on your luck. You have so much choice as an individual compared to many in the world.

If the UK was to improve something, for me its the pressure cooker existence of the place these days where its harder to work and harder to achieve than it has been, where people have to work longer and harder than they used to - missing out on life and family time. So many people work so very hard and are so very stressed in the UK there days. There needs to be a better balance.

Shelters for the homeless? Well travelled, I've spent many months living in some of the poorest Countries in the World, India, Nepal, Stoke-on-Tent to name a few and not found any of them to be as anti-poor as the UK is today. Anti-poor, probably not the right word but will do for now.

Not sure where these shelters for the homeless are Ross, this seems to be the latest fad in London at the moment.

[Rossgo]

It is nice to see that people are looking into what's best for London, we have had some very good mayors for London in the recent years this guy has a lot to live up to, hope he's got a sense of humor like Boris!!

Yes agreed, but I don't think we will ever find the prefect party, and if we do someone somewhere will kill the rep of it. Problem .is they don't help themselves it really doesn't help when newspapers and the news report that hardly any MP turn up when having discussions on certain aspects, but this is what people are like, if it doesn't affect them they won't care and that is what people see.

However we are so so so so so lucky we live in a country that have the basics to live, we have food and shelters for the homeless, we have proper road networks for all to use, we have the NHS, we have minimum and living wages we literally have all of this running right now so I'm not complaining about our current government we haven't got a civil war, we aren't having to pay thousands of pounds for medical care and we don't see our homes being blown up by the air force eg the refugee camp that was bombed by the airforce recently. We have it made for us here when you look at it on a whole

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Your entitled to your opinion fella - we all are and I think your right.

I like to think I'm well travelled and people need to put the UK into perspective. It may have its issues, like many countries do - but the more i see other countries, the more I think the UK is an amazing place compared to many and its a lucky place to live if your down on your luck. You have so much choice as an individual compared to many in the world.

If the UK was to improve something, for me its the pressure cooker existence of the place these days where its harder to work and harder to achieve than it has been, where people have to work longer and harder than they used to - missing out on life and family time. So many people work so very hard and are so very stressed in the UK there days. There needs to be a better balance.

Shelters for the homeless? Well travelled, I've spent many months living in some of the poorest Countries in the World, India, Nepal, Stoke-on-Tent to name a few and not found any of them to be as anti-poor as the UK is today. Anti-poor, probably not the right word but will do for now.

Not sure where these shelters for the homeless are Ross, this seems to be the latest fad in London at the moment.

I have worked with a few ex homeless people in the past and one of my mates from sainsburys was homeless (he did a YouTube video but can't for the life of me find it) and the royal legion (think it was, it's near the oracle by the new houses so literally opposite) took him in, in Reading. When I was a postman I would see the homeless come out and go in of that place, I took my hat off to the guys who ran it. OK it wasn't the same people all the time as it is first come first served basis but they have a safe environment to go for bed and shower.

I used to walk to work everyday for 8 years and I saw our 2 local homeless guys walking from a shelter in our next village at 0530 to go and queue up at the food bank in our village. I am unsure where they are but have been reliably informed that, that is where they walk off to everyday at that time in the morning. Personally I think we do pretty well and they are not skin and bones quite the reverse.

Everyone is allowed their opinion this Is mine...however after watching the BBC comic relief homeless program this year that some people are just adjusted to living on the streets and don't want to go living in a house with bills and responsibility like that, it's not for everyone, so you can't expect to help everyone to what we think they should be doing



Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[D41]

The last company I subbed for, the owner would go down to Mexico once or twice a year and in the space of about 24 hours, would build a house.
I only went the one time....only time I've been down to Mexico (although I've thrown stones over the border on numerous occasions!)....and sure enough, in the space of one day about eight of us put up this small (obviously!) 'home'....one room, plus a bathroom and a cooking 'area' (a stove).
It was great! Most of the structure is done is bits beforehand and just knocked into place, strapped, etc.
It's a bit rough, but it's a home for someone...very humbling experience to be part of.
Then at the end of the day, a very nice young lady and her kid (there's ALWAYS a kid) came and we presented her with the house....the way she wept with gratitude was probably one of the most moving things I've ever witnessed.

I tend to overthink that stuff though.....my moronic former boss once told me he donated stuff so he could feel good about himself....so then you're doing it for you, and not the other person??
I just did it 'cos I though it would be cool....TBH, I'd kinda forgot about it. But the point is at least do it, whatever the motivation, so that it gets done.

There's also a great trick we used which I learned years ago, to make interior lighting by using a plastic soda bottle......drill a hole in the ceiling, stick the bottle in there filled with water, the sun does some lighty thing with it and it's like a bloody lightbulb!!

[Blade]

Don't you need lights at night time though

[D41]

LOL.....I guess they assume the person will be asleep.


That's actually a good question....they give them a big rectangular flashlight thing...it has a few features on it. It has a handcrank that takes half a dozen turns or so to give a few minutes of rather meager light.
IIRC, the main logic behind it was that it provides enough light & time for a mother to change a diaper.....which is pretty fecking ingenious when you think about it.

[Rossgo]

So I heard on the radio yesterday apparently 2 councils are teaming up and building a load of houses and 14 of them will be going to homeless families. I think that's pretty good going

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[Kwacky]

Let's hope nope of the homeless families they house have dark skin, otherwise the UKIP skinheads will be round to smash the windows

[D41]

I never do 'get' that mentality....I try to understand it, but it's unfathomable to me.

There used to be a great commercial in the UK for BP (I think?),,,,had a black guy drilling for oil in Siberia speaking in a Mancunian accent, an Asian gal in Africa speaking Cockney, etc.....was really cleverly done, as a person's voice over the phone will almost automatically cause you to drum up a mental picture of what they may look like, and is nearly always totally wrong.

[Rossgo]

Let's hope nope of the homeless families they house have dark skin, otherwise the UKIP skinheads will be round to smash the windows

I hope they don't go to horrible scummy people, brand spanking new homes that many couldn't afford and yet it would just be handed over to people who couldn't care. That would be a piss take in my opinion

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[Monty]

Because scummy people have no right to an affordable roof?

[Deegee]

If you've got shiny new affordable housing, personally I'd like to see them given to people on low incomes who currently live in poorer quality housing, but keep it clean and tidy. just because you've got very little money doesn't mean you have to live in filth and untidiness.

[Rossgo]

Because scummy people have no right to an affordable roof?

Not what I'm getting at, but if you had just bought a brand spanking new house with your own money that you work hours on end for and a family who shoot up every night on heroin, sniff coke, drink, smoke weed, sell drugs, cause fights, let their kids run wild nicking your cars, bikes, tellies or whatever, would you be very happy with that?!

I would hope the council would do their checks and if needed would help support them in the correct ways. The reason I put it this way is because majority of new estates have council or housing association houses within the area, or at least it is around Berks.

I'm unsure how you could even think anyone hasn't got the right to have a roof over their heads? World would be far better place if the wealthy shared their millions/ billions with the poorest and we didn't have such a massive divide



Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[Monty]

You really haven't worked me out yet Ross, I'm not having a pop at you and I'm most definitely not saying anyone shouldn't have a right to a roof. Quite the reverse

[Jack]

maybe if we didnt give away 85 billion quid a year in subsidies to profitable businesses we could actually afford some decent social housing for all those that need it

[Rossgo]

It would be nice if governments sorted themselves out so no-one would go hungry, roofless and jobless, but I think we are all kidding ourselves that won't happen!! But it is nice to here that these houses are being built and reserved for homeless families. Unsure when they will be ready though

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[Monty]

Houses are not being built for the homeless or the working poor, I know because I work in the housing business. We've not built any where near the amount of social housing we need since Thatcher sold off the ones we had to private landlords that now rent them out at rates that the vast majority can't afford.

If you don't believe me, just google how much the state spends on private housing through housing benefit.

[D41]

Er yeah.....how long ago was Thatcher in office??? She hasn't been in Number 10 since pussy was a cat.

[D41]

Because scummy people have no right to an affordable roof?

Not what I'm getting at, but if you had just bought a brand spanking new house with your own money that you work hours on end for and a family who shoot up every night on heroin, sniff coke, drink, smoke weed, sell drugs, cause fights, let their kids run wild nicking your cars, bikes, tellies or whatever, would you be very happy with that?!

Sounds like my kinda gig! What's the rent like??

The kids steal cars every night??

Totally as an aside....I don't like new houses.....old houses have so much more charm and personality to them....better architecture, better fixtures, etc. Old houses are where the action is at if you're a hardcore abdab like me.