Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

PasturesNew

zagubov wrote: »

For all that we think we're a creative country, we had the misfortune to adopt the cornflakes packet model of architecture for too much postwar reconstruction. Too many town centres look soulless and characterless.

It's cheap and fast.
No time to f4nny about with fancies.

If you have, say, 5 families to house ... do you spend 2 years planning a spectacular building/home for 1 of them, then run out of money ... or 6 months banging up 5 "adequate, but square" identikits in budget?

"Attractive" comes at an additional price.

Pyxis

zagubov wrote: »

For all that we think we're a creative country, we had the misfortune to adopt the cornflakes packet model of architecture for too much postwar reconstruction. Too many town centres look soulless and characterless.

I've always wanted to visit Dublin to see what a victorian city might look like if it wasn't bombed to bits by the Luftwaffe, but I'm worried that ordinary urban development may have had a similar effect over there.

From what I remember of it, when I went in the early naughties, it wasn't too 'urbanised', and had kept all its charm.
I don't have happy memories of that visit. Everything went wrong that could go wrong, and I felt I was in a parallel universe!
It was a city of contrasts: I was quite happy walking down the main shopping streets, and some of the shops were very expensive indeed. Yet the minute I turned into any side street, the atmosphere changed and I actually felt scared.

I did managed to get into a bar and sample some real Irish draught Guinness, though! Even if the parallel universe thing did extend to the barman really confusing me. :rotfl:


In great contrast, though, when I visited Belfast, a few years later, I absolutely loved it!
It had a vibrancy that was very attractive.
I did the 'Troubles' tour on a special bus, and I was amazed at how such a relatively small area around the Falls,Road etc. had resulted in such a lot of mayhem.
Living through the 70s when the news bulletins every night told of yet more trouble, killings, riots etc. plus living in London at the time and enduring bomb scare after bomb scare, I never, ever thought that one day I would visit Belfast and see those places, yet alone find the city wonderful!
Funny old world!

LydiaJ

PasturesNew wrote: »

*cousin: That's how mum called them all as she didn't understand who all the people were in the family. I've now worked out that this "cousin" was: Mum's grandmother's sister's grand-daughter.

That's a cousin - a second cousin to be precise.

Pyxis wrote: »

From what I remember of it, when I went in the early naughties, it wasn't too 'urbanised', and had kept all its charm.
I don't have happy memories of that visit. Everything went wrong that could go wrong, and I felt I was in a parallel universe!
It was a city of contrasts: I was quite happy walking down the main shopping streets, and some of the shops were very expensive indeed. Yet the minute I turned into any side street, the atmosphere changed and I actually felt scared.

Sorry you had such an unpleasant time. What was it about the side streets that made them scary to you?

Pyxis wrote: »

In great contrast, though, when I visited Belfast, a few years later, I absolutely loved it!
It had a vibrancy that was very attractive.
I did the 'Troubles' tour on a special bus, and I was amazed at how such a relatively small area around the Falls,Road etc. had resulted in such a lot of mayhem.
Living through the 70s when the news bulletins every night told of yet more trouble, killings, riots etc. plus living in London at the time and enduring bomb scare after bomb scare, I never, ever thought that one day I would visit Belfast and see those places, yet alone find the city wonderful!
Funny old world!

I was a child in the 70s. The Troubles and associated bomb scares etc were just part of life to me, and I suppose I thought it had always been like that and always would be.

Pyxis

LydiaJ wrote: »

Sorry you had such an unpleasant time. What was it about the side streets that made them scary to you?

.

Not entirely sure.
The side streets were rougher looking, and there were odd lurkers hanging about.
Plus a very different atmosphere compared with being on the main roads.
It was strange.

Are you from Dublin?

Yorkie1

I hadn't realised how gas and electricity prices had gone up.


My 1-year fix ends this month and I'm doing some comparison, including looking at quidco & topcashback. And then there's the crystal ball for whether to fix for another year, or 2 or 3.


Staying with current provider (Scottish Power) till March 18 is £640. [Up from £593 if compared to expiring tariff].


SSE, after £69 cashback (must use within next day) would be: £613 for a year, £652 for 2 years with £50 exit fee within the first 12 months, and £631 for 3 years (£50 exit fee for the whole period).


Had a look at EDF with their £80 cashback, but it's not as good. And not keen on some of the smaller companies such as First Utility owing to poor reviews.


Argh.

LydiaJ

Pyxis wrote: »

Not entirely sure.
The side streets were rougher looking, and there were odd lurkers hanging about.
Plus a very different atmosphere compared with being on the main roads.
It was strange.

Are you from Dublin?

No. My experience of going there is limited to walking between the ferry terminal and the railway station several times in the 1980s, and visiting cousins there once, also in the 1980s. I was just curious.

Yorkie1 wrote: »

...not keen on some of the smaller companies such as First Utility owing to poor reviews.

I was with First Utility for a while, although I got a cheaper deal with Sainsbury's energy on the most recent "Martin says everybody switch now" last autumn. I didn't have any trouble with them.

zagubov

Never been to Northern Ireland. Feel I should do at some point. I'm not sure how many people from NI have posted on our NP threads.

PasturesNew

I made flapjack.
I ate it all.
Horrific when you think of that ....

Imagine opening a whole pack of butter and cutting off 1/5th and just eating that block. Then tipping 2 tablespoons of sugar out and eating that.
Not to mention the other stuff I put in it! (syrupy goodness).

That's why I very very rarely make it .... I make it thinking "snacks for the week" and then it's gone before it's even had a chance to complete the cooling stage

Jazee

Pastures, I've stopped making goodies too even when I tell myself they are for visitors. But I need to make 500 fairy cakes for a charity fundraiser later this month, so I made a start yesterday. Managed to only eat one before putting the rest in the freezer to avoid further temptation.

Pyxis

Jazee wrote: »

Pastures, I've stopped making goodies too even when I tell myself they are for visitors. But I need to make 500 fairy cakes for a charity fundraiser later this month, so I made a start yesterday. Managed to only eat one before putting the rest in the freezer to avoid further temptation.

Cakes in the freezer never stopped me!