Reply to: Air China magazine apologises for London race slur

[Old Greg]

The "funny" thing is I completely get that statement having lived in Plymouth for 5 years, again early 90's.
Lets just put it this way, at that time, shocking things happened down there that never made the national news.
Different game down there, I'm sure parts of Kent are/was just the same.

Seaside towns do have their edge. I think Hastings was described as a big drug town with a small fishing problem.

[MrMarkyMark]

I'm guessing you haven't been to Kent.

The "funny" thing is I completely get that statement having lived in Plymouth for 5 years, again early 90's.
Lets just put it this way, at that time, shocking things happened down there that never made the national news.
Different game down there, I'm sure parts of Kent are/was just the same.

[Old Greg]

True, obviously a lot less dodgy now.
I knew a few lads who always went up to estates Hackney way, to buy party items, in the early 90's and you wouldn't go up without knowing someone who was known locally.

Mexico City was the place in the world, that kept me on point at night, as it were, but fantastic place all the same.

I'm guessing you haven't been to Kent.

[MrMarkyMark]

The areas of London I wouldn't have walked around in London alone at night are very few - parts of Somers Town and a couple of estates in Hackney.

True, obviously a lot less dodgy now.
I knew a few lads who always went up to estates Hackney way, to buy party items, in the early 90's and you wouldn't go up without knowing someone who was known locally.

Mexico City was the place in the world, that kept me on point at night, as it were, but fantastic place all the same.

[sasguru]

That's the spirit!

Indeed!

[Old Greg]

To be fair to him, his contributions are generally well-spattered with mirth-inducing gibberish from start to finish. Hardly a surprise when you reflect upon the inescapable reality that he has less intellectual capacity than most people's sock drawer.

That's the spirit!

[shaunbhoy]

I had to chuckle at your first and last lines.

To be fair to him, his contributions are generally well-spattered with mirth-inducing gibberish from start to finish. Hardly a surprise when you reflect upon the inescapable reality that he has less intellectual capacity than most people's sock drawer.

[The_Equalizer]

Talking about London as a whole is meaningless.
I wouldn't walk after dark in Harlesden, say, or parts of East London, but quite happily in most parts of central/West/South West London.
Saw more violence living up North in one year than a lifetime in London, as Greg says, alcohol fuelled.

I had to chuckle at your first and last lines.

[Old Greg]

Talking about London as a whole is meaningless.
I wouldn't walk after dark in Harlesden, say, or parts of East London, but quite happily in most parts of central/West/South West London.
Saw more violence living up North in one year than a lifetime in London, as Greg says, alcohol fuelled.

The areas of London I wouldn't have walked around in London alone at night are very few - parts of Somers Town and a couple of estates in Hackney.

[sasguru]

Talking about London as a whole is meaningless.
I wouldn't walk after dark in Harlesden, say, or parts of East London, but quite happily in most parts of central/West/South West London.
Saw more violence living up North in one year than a lifetime in London, as Greg says, alcohol fuelled.

[The_Equalizer]

Maybe it's what you're used to. When I lived in London I found it a very safe place and most violence seemed to be between criminals who had had a business misunderstanding. When I moved to Manchester, I was astonished by the random Saturday night carnage in the street - bottlings etc. Never saw any of that in London.

I'm probably speaking more about the London suburbs, but you've got a point. When you're not from a place there's always a sense of detachment.

[Old Greg]

That's it. Any trouble I've seen/dodged has been random in London. In Belfast you'd normally get told of f*** off first. That, and they'd kindly paint the curb stones and put up flags. This is post Good Friday agreement though.

Maybe it's what you're used to. When I lived in London I found it a very safe place and most violence seemed to be between criminals who had had a business misunderstanding. When I moved to Manchester, I was astonished by the random Saturday night carnage in the street - bottlings etc. Never saw any of that in London.

[The_Equalizer]

Likewise in Glasgow. You know how to spot trouble or avoid it a mile off, never random like London.

That's it. Any trouble I've seen/dodged has been random in London. In Belfast you'd normally get told of f*** off first. That, and they'd kindly paint the curb stones and put up flags. This is post Good Friday agreement though.

[scooterscot]

That map does contain murders back to the 1970s, but I'm with you about feeling safe in London (or not). Ironically, I always felt safer in Belfast than I ever did in London.

Likewise in Glasgow. You know how to spot trouble or avoid it a mile off, never random like London.

[The_Equalizer]

Not sure what the fuss is about. I'd not feel super comfortable wondering the streets of London alone at night compared to Munich, say.

That map does contain murders back to the 1970s, but I'm with you about feeling safe in London (or not). Ironically, I always felt safer in Belfast than I ever did in London.