Time to depart...

[Moscow Mule]

So when was our finest hour?

4pm every day. Tea time.

[gingerjedi]

Didn't they? I'm afraid now Germany is like Britain should be in many ways, sorry.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where we went wrong, my guess is the from the mid 70’s onwards, we had a lefty government who let the unions tip our once proud industry into terminal decline, the reaction was a right wing government who seemed to take great delight in finishing it off.

That extreme wobble from left to right and back again has cost us dear, Germany may have had a succession of middle of the road left leaning governments but at least it kept them on track, not to forget that Germany has had to cope with an extremely expensive reunification in recent years.

[TimberWolf]

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where we went wrong, my guess is the from the mid 70’s onwards, we had a lefty government who let the unions tip our once proud industry into terminal decline, the reaction was a right wing government who seemed to take great delight in finishing it off.

That extreme wobble from left to right and back again has cost us dear, Germany may have had a succession of middle of the road left leaning governments but at least it kept them on track, not to forget that Germany has had to cope with an extremely expensive reunification in recent years.

I think the answer is simpler than that. We just ran out of coal. We had a huge amount of it, we used it, and we ran out. Our decline was therefore from around 1910 (slowly at first), when coal production peaked. Then we had another little boost in the 70s or 80s from oil.

[NickFitz]

I think the answer is simpler than that. We just ran out of coal. We had a huge amount of it, we used it, and we ran out. Our decline was therefore from around 1910 (slowly at first), when coal production peaked. Then we had another little boost in the 70s or 80s from oil.

We still have large reserves of coal. According to the World Coal Institute:

The UK has proved coal reserves of around 220 million tonnes however total reserves could be well in excess of 1 billion tonnes. Most of this is steam coal, although there are some accessible reserves of coking coal.

[Viktor]

For me, the decision to leave has already been taken - greetings from Luxembourg...

It's strange but I'm missing London sometimes - well the good bits, a walk in Richmond park, Wimbledon, a drive on a quiet Sunday from Hampton Court to Windsor....but then it's the other side, the dark and long commute, the misery of some places, poor housing, all other things u know...

My decisoion to leave was motivated 75% by economic factors (I can't see a bright UK PLC in the next three years, plus the pound is now crap...) and 25% by the desire to experiment something new. One day I would like to return in UK for a contract, but it would not be my option for a lifetime.

Au revoir,

Viktor

[minestrone]

Sitting on the train tonight a total psycho decides to invade first class and sit beside me. Guy has some cider on him and the psycho radar switches on, he is pissed out of his face..

Guys phone rings ( really dodgy gangster rap at full volume ) and I am thinking this guy could be my first target for my new mobile jammer, then he gets into a massive argument with the guy on the other end. The guy starts shouting because his mate missed the train and he does not have any money for booze. Guy is total chav, and a very big older chav.

He hangs up and his mate calls about 20 times but he always hangs up, at this point he is going mad and screaming, when he does answer the call he is explaining to his mate that he needs to go to casualty. At any point the hector will come in and try and toss him out of first class.

I'm sitting there with a 900 quid laptop in the table with this boy about to go medieval on a scot rail employee.

I ram the laptop into the bag at the first station and pretend I am getting off but move down the carriage.

All I could think off was ex army with post traumatic stress and an anger problem.

Great end to the working day.

[BrilloPad]

Sitting on the train tonight a total psycho decides to invade first class and sit beside me. Guy has some cider on him and the psycho radar switches on, he is pissed out of his face..

Guys phone rings ( really dodgy gangster rap at full volume ) and I am thinking this guy could be my first target for my new mobile jammer, then he gets into a massive argument with the guy on the other end. The guy starts shouting because his mate missed the train and he does not have any money for booze. Guy is total chav, and a very big older chav.

He hangs up and his mate calls about 20 times but he always hangs up, at this point he is going mad and screaming, when he does answer the call he is explaining to his mate that he needs to go to casualty. At any point the hector will come in and try and toss him out of first class.

I'm sitting there with a 900 quid laptop in the table with this boy about to go medieval on a scot rail employee.

I ram the laptop into the bag at the first station and pretend I am getting off but move down the carriage.

All I could think off was ex army with post traumatic stress and an anger problem.

Great end to the working day.

You almost make me pleased to ONLY commute in South-East London.

[TimberWolf]

We still have large reserves of coal. According to the World Coal Institute:

The UK has proved coal reserves of around 220 million tonnes however total reserves could be well in excess of 1 billion tonnes. Most of this is steam coal, although there are some accessible reserves of coking coal.

(1 * 10^9 tonnes) / (60 * 10^6 people) = 17 tonnes each. (i.e. 1 billion tonnes / 60 million peeps). Do you still say we have large coal reserves?

In addition to that we may have 7 billion tonnes (116 tonnes each) that might be retrievable using advanced gasification techniques.

We once did have truly vast coal reserves (as much coal as there is oil under Saudi Arabia now) and we used it up like crack addicts on cocaine. Much the same story with our oil. We are currently mining our remaining coal at a much lower sustainable level, far below the peak rate. And this level could be sustained for some time (2050 rings a bell), but it is not enough to build us an empire or even keep us very warm for very long. Meanwhile our population is soaring.

[PAH]

It's not the poverty, it's the acceptance of it as normal, and the poverty of spirit that goes with it. Not the bus being late but the fact that nobody gives a tulip. Not the dirt and litter but the lack of self-respect, and respect for others and the environment, that breeds it.

True. The socialist government make it easy for them to not give a crap.

You only have to look at the number of people claiming benefits, pretending not be able to work, sat at home in their tracksuit when the only form of exercise they get is putting it on. There's no motivation to get some self-respect and try to make a better life for themselves.

As for SA saying we should contribute more to somehow drag them up from the slums, maybe if we were permies paying 40% tax we'd fall for that socialist nonsense. We're contractors, we know which side our butter's breaded on. Survival of the fittest!

[PAH]

Last year we toured Germany, and the difference was obvious. Clean streets, good public transport and people who have a much greater understanding of the world.

I spent a summer in West Germany in the late 80s, visiting relatives stationed over there with the army. It was the same back then. I was shocked how clean and efficient most things were.

If they hadn't merged with East Germany they'd easily have become the powerhouse of Europe. Fortunately, for the sake of a bit more balance, their pride to become reunified almost bankrupted them.

Even so, if it's still as clean and efficient it proves you don't need to be wealthy to have pride. Something that's increasingly lost with every new generation of 'British'. I blame the parents and the nanny state for letting the scrotes run riot. Hardly going to instil morals and a future worth sharing is it.

This country's going to the dogs, plain and simple. Can't see it changing anytime soon, so it's understandable those with the ability are trying elsewhere. The fact many do come back points to the grass not necessarily being greener, but maybe their expectations were unrealistic in the first place.