The jobless are no shirking scroungers – you try living on £65.45 a week

lostinrates

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Well to be totally un PC, here the social classes make up a huge difference. In the upper levels I don't know anyone that is unfit. In the lower levels it's split between some who do nothing, drink and smoke too much and some who work very hard all the time and are as fit as a racehorse.
Middle classes are generally something between the two.

Unfit, or slim? I know few upper clas people who are over weight, that's for sure.....in fact lots of friends disowned me for that reason fit is something different though..and not totally requisite, though desirable for social acceptability :rotfl:

lostinrates

Jomo wrote: »

I would have thought country folk would be fitter than city dwellers...

yes most would think so. In reality I believe it to not be so...

Jomo

lostinrates wrote: »

yes most would think so. In reality I believe it to not be so...

At least the air will be slightly cleaner in the country...swings and roundabouts surely!

Lotus-eater

lostinrates wrote: »

Unfit, or slim? I know few upper clas people who are over weight, that's for sure.....in fact lots of friends disowned me for that reason fit is something different though..and not totally requisite, though desirable for social acceptability :rotfl:

Well most of the upper class people I know are country folk, so they have dogs and horses, so they're very fit from that, even if they don't have the animals, they work hard, or walk in the lanes for enjoyment.

PhylPho

Jomo wrote: »

I would have thought country folk would be fitter than city dwellers...

Of course they're fitter!

As a country dweller myself, I'm well aware of the attention that has been paid to my physical well-being by successive Governments.

The Conservatives de-regulated Britain's bus services, privatised the railways, and flogged off as much social housing stock in rural areas as possible.

Labour then ramped up fuel and Road Fund Licence taxes to amongst the highest in Europe, decimated our rural economy by its epic mishandling of the Foot & Mouth outbreak, and appointed Sir Terry Leahy to its 'blue sky' think tank whilst simultaneously promising to curb the power of the supermarkets.

The result of the Conservatives' enlightened policy towards we country dwellers has resulted in:

(a) the unavailability of the local buses that used to run;

(b) the withdrawal of the only useful train service from our nearest station;

(c) the inability of any rural family on a typical rural wage to occupy anything other than a caravan parked well out of view of the Council houses now owned as second homes / holiday lets by Conservative voters with £1m City bonuses.

The result of Labour's enlightened policy towards we country dwellers has resulted in:

(a) an inability to run a car even if its purchase could be afforded;

(b) the farm we folks once worked for having its heart ripped out by a culpable moron / failed politician called Nick Brown;

(c) the farms that did manage to survive all going progressively bust anyway: the number of farmers and farm workers has dropped from 477,000 to 353,000; the number of dairy farms in England and Wales from 28,000 to 11,000 -- another one goes out of business every day at exactly the same time we are importing 1.5 million of litres of milk. . . every day;

(d) the only jobs we are able to get are in one or other of the supermarkets that have driven British milk producers out of business.

Now, add up that lot, and the position is that during the week we all bicycle along rutted tracks or walk across flooded fields for mile after mile so as to stack shelves at Tesco's. . .

Whilst on occasional weekends we are viewed as quaint long-distance hikers by city dwellers out for a breath of fresh air in their 4x4s as we tramp cross-country to take the kids to a city centre fair we were once able to access via a functioning train service.

Given this degree of physical toil, any fule can see why all of us country folk are super fit.

And why, being so enduringly indebted to both the Conservatives and Labour, we're so looking forward to walking many a mile to the Polling Station next Thursday.

PasturesNew

Jomo wrote: »

At least the air will be slightly cleaner in the country...swings and roundabouts surely!

I went for a walk near Mullion, on The Lizard last week. Lovely day ... walking down the steps to the beach I remarked to my sibling "Oh - the sea air probably smells gorgeous ..... but I can't smell it because I guess I'm just used to salty sea air all the time".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/panoramas/churchcove_360.shtml

PasturesNew

lostinrates wrote: »

walking is free, but unless you have a dog or another reason, slogging hrough dark lanes no pavements is miserable much of the year, and the wet/muddy fields like wise. Glorious in the spring/summer/autumn.

I don't walk because it's pretty pointless alone. And as for it being 'free', it sort of is.... if you have good footwear and a good overcoat and protective clothes. I don't. You can't just go down a charity shop and magically buy that stuff cheap either, if you're living in a poor area and are of a petite stature. I'd end up looking like a Michelin-man bag lady if I did that.... thus removing any enjoyment from it at all.

Walking's pretty dull.... you walk, you get there, you come back. Kind of loses its appeal by the end of the road.

custardy

PasturesNew wrote: »

I don't walk because it's pretty pointless alone. And as for it being 'free', it sort of is.... if you have good footwear and a good overcoat and protective clothes. I don't. You can't just go down a charity shop and magically buy that stuff cheap either, if you're living in a poor area and are of a petite stature. I'd end up looking like a Michelin-man bag lady if I did that.... thus removing any enjoyment from it at all.

Walking's pretty dull.... you walk, you get there, you come back. Kind of loses its appeal by the end of the road.

well it depends
i walked into town the other day,its a few miles
went round the museum
and walked home
cost £0
special equipment not required

Lotus-eater

PasturesNew wrote: »

Walking's pretty dull.... you walk, you get there, you come back. Kind of loses its appeal by the end of the road.

It's not the walking, it's what you see around you that makes it worthwhile.

And I don't mean spectacular mountains all the time either. I can take you into any bramble patch, in any location and find things of interest.
Admittedly in some of them it would be condoms and needles, but still worthy of some sort of interest.

silvercar

PasturesNew wrote: »

I don't walk because it's pretty pointless alone. And as for it being 'free', it sort of is.... if you have good footwear and a good overcoat and protective clothes. I don't. You can't just go down a charity shop and magically buy that stuff cheap either, if you're living in a poor area and are of a petite stature. I'd end up looking like a Michelin-man bag lady if I did that.... thus removing any enjoyment from it at all.

Walking's pretty dull.... you walk, you get there, you come back. Kind of loses its appeal by the end of the road.

I walk because I enjoy it. It may be pointless in the sense of not having a direct purpose - but isn't all sport? Walking is one way of keeping healthy; certainly clears my mind.

Certainly don't need expensive gear, pair of trainers and a shower proof jacket.