Sister harassed and intimidated by Irish gipsies in Blackpool

candygirl

I went to Blackpool for NYE a few years ago, and they had shacked up, next to our hotel, on Blackpool Fc's car park ! :eek: We didn't get any hassle, but lots of our crowd did:(

GwylimT

I remember spending summers making paper flowers with my gran, its nice to know so many of you think I'm scum.

BigAunty

peachyprice wrote: »

Absolutely not, it's still alive and kicking.

I'm not disputing that the practice of foisting unwanted fabricated 'heather' on the public is still happening.

I'm just really surprised that I've managed not to see it again since having unwanted foliage shoved in my hand around 30 years ago.

BigAunty

geerex wrote: »

Although, where I live, certain people still seem to want to go there. I can't fathom it at all, the place is a dump. That said, they're the type of people to wear tracksuits to all occasions and drink buckfast, must be a demographic thing...

Parts of it are definitely very run-down - whole sections of hotels on the southern end of the seafront were clearly burnt down or boarded up - but parts of it have definitely been revamped for the better - lots of great street sculptures and street furniture.

It is also very evident that the surplus of accommodation as a result of its faded fortune is why its ended up as DSS-On-Sea like other seaside areas (Margate, Brighton, etc).

I don't think I really saw much in the way of Police or Community Wardens along the seafront which is perhaps why most holiday makers are pestered for money on multiple occasions each day (based on the fact that I was regularly asked for money each day). That's something that really harms the reputation of tourist attractions.

They also need to tackle street drinking, not sure if there are any rules in place already or if there are rules which aren't being enforced.

And I do recommend the walks along the promenade towards Fleetwood and Lytham and St Anne's. The trams are always a joy. I didnt' book any tickets but there seemed to be loads of great shows on - popular musicals and singers.


On the bright side, there was a lovely street vendor in Blackpool selling miniature paper kites from a handcart at a £1 a pop on the sea front. I bought a couple for some young relatives who think they are fab. That's the kind of entrepreneur that Blackpool should be encouraging - proper goods, clearly priced, no pestering.

DomRavioli

GwylimT wrote: »

I remember spending summers making paper flowers with my gran, its nice to know so many of you think I'm scum.

Accosting innocent and vulnerable people, or ensuring others do could make you that; the fact the practice still goes on is sickening, and the fact you seem to be defending it is even worse. It is 2015, its about time they stopped.

I dare them to pray on me - I'm a disabled vulnerable woman, but I would kick the living snot out of them if they tried anything like that. How dare anyone, regardless of race or descendence put vulnerable people, or anyone else for that matter, into those circumstances?

I couldn't care what race or creed you identify with, but identifying with people who routinely extort money from the most vulnerable of society won't earn you friends or favours.

Petra_70

Thanks for your responses everyone. My sister has actually contacted the council about it, and they said they would pass the complaint to one of their officers and ask them to look into it. AFAIK they haven't got back to her yet.

I agree about Blackpool being horrible though; it used to be OK many years ago, but now it's an overpriced dump. And yes the DSS have put 1000s of people on benefits there, making it a dole ghetto, like Rhyl in North Wales, and some of the towns on the south east coast.

I don't think any of us will be going there again in a hurry. My sister is starting to recover, since a few people she told about it laughed at her being afraid of a 'curse.' Most people said 'who believes that?!'

PasturesNew

The best non-confrontational way to deal with this (works for me), if you're quick enough, is to say something that "sounds foreign", just make some words up - and then pretend you're not English, don't speak English, have no idea what they're saying..... then throw your hands up in the air, mutter something else "furren" and walk off.

It works on the phone too

Artytarty

Lovely. I see the Welsh, Rhyl people in particular have been given the same sweeping appraisal and found to be wanting.

suejb2

Went to Blackpool last night to see the lights, don't bother,if you haven't seen them this year they are 'bobbins' around a third weren't on at all others intermittently.

The said "ladies" are still there with their Heather. Prompted by this post I would have actually intervened if they were hassling someone but they were gossiping about some 'terrible, vile person ' who had the nerve to ignore them. Ha.

I gave them a double dirty look O.P on behalf of your sister. This reminded me that I was approached many years ago and because I refused they kindly offered me a barren future as a spinster! I'm celebrating 14 glorious years married next month and have two beautiful children. So stick that curse in your pipe and smoke it or e-cig and vape it.

seven-day-weekend

To the people who said this is racist. How are you possibly supposed to describe someone without using adjectives? If you are not allowed to say 'gipsy' or 'Irish' or even mention their gender, then you're basically just saying 'someone harassed me' and that's not much of a warning if other people can't narrow down the 'suspects'.

It's like when people grizzle that more young men of middle-eastern appearance are stopped by the police for terrorist activities than other groups. That's because your average white granny is not known for committing acts of terrorism, whereas young men of middle eastern appearance are.

We all know not ALL the Irish gipsies or ALL the middle-eastern-looking young men are guilty of these activities, but it's just a waste of time to target people who do not match the description of the perpetrator.

And then we get back to my original point, how do you identify someone without using adjectives?