Friday, February 08, 2008
Archbishop: Flee England!
Of course he didn't say that, but it is what many English folk are starting to think, and his recent comments are only going to add to their feeling of no longer belonging in their own country:
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans, said on Thursday the introduction in Britain of some aspects of sharia, Islamic law, was unavoidable.Read the rest of the story here, but there is no need, for the trend is what matters, and the trend is that eventually England will be a Muslim state.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Why I Won't Live in England #4 - Over-crowded and Antiquated
If it often mentioned that Japan and Germany actually benefited from being bombed to bits and having to rebuild. Evidence for this is England.
English cities, towns and their infrastructure are very, very old. They were very suited to a scenario of:
- people sharing bedrooms
- outdoor toilets
- no such thing as cars, people mostly walked
- working and shopping locally
- small terraced houses easier to heat, cheaper to build
Today is different:
- we want our own bedrooms, with en-suite
- half of us own a car
- we work and shop further away (because we have cars)
- heating and building houses is relatively cheaper
The solution:
1. Reduce population - as part of the EU, the argument of more people = better economy is kinda redundant
2. Bulldoze the whole country, one suburb at a time (for minimum displacement), and rebuild it
3. Build houses with space and individuality
4. Rebuild the road and motorway network from scratch
This would restore a sense of pride, and efficiencies, that England sorely needs.
English cities, towns and their infrastructure are very, very old. They were very suited to a scenario of:
- people sharing bedrooms
- outdoor toilets
- no such thing as cars, people mostly walked
- working and shopping locally
- small terraced houses easier to heat, cheaper to build
Today is different:
- we want our own bedrooms, with en-suite
- half of us own a car
- we work and shop further away (because we have cars)
- heating and building houses is relatively cheaper
The solution:
1. Reduce population - as part of the EU, the argument of more people = better economy is kinda redundant
2. Bulldoze the whole country, one suburb at a time (for minimum displacement), and rebuild it
3. Build houses with space and individuality
4. Rebuild the road and motorway network from scratch
This would restore a sense of pride, and efficiencies, that England sorely needs.
Labels: England, infrastructure
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Why I Won't Live in England #1 - Narrow Roads
I've just got back from spending 5 weeks there, visiting my wife's family. My first visit in 12 years, although I have spent 5 years of my adult life there in the 80s/90s. Back then I was young and partying a lot - now I am more cycnical and critical (comes with age I'm afraid) and am thinking where would be best to bring up a family, rather than focusing on pubs... I doubt I can come up with 100 reasons why I won't live there (Scotland maybe, but no way England), but here goes:
#1 - NARROW ROADS
--------------------
Part of the bigger problem of over-populated and just plain old - apart from the "dual carriageways", most English roads are either narrow country lanes prone to tractors and horse riding, where you daren't drive at the speed limit, or urban roads that consist of 1.5 lanes.
Because most English houses don't have off-street parking, the councils feel obliged to have parking on the street. Usually this means that one side of the road has parked cars, plus half-a-lane on one side - and drivers must cross the median line as part of normal driving - and expect on-coming cars to move over.
It's barmy! Either move the median line over so that cars know where they should be, or get rid of the parking spots.
(Or, knock down England and rebuild it from scratch - more on that later).
A friend suggested that road rage in England is a direct result of repeatedly having to be polite on narrow roads - giving way and waving other drivers through.
The small town I stayed at, approx 25,000 people, has traffic jams where I am stuck for up to 30 mins. In London between 5-9pm it's often quicker to walk than take a cab.
At least in Australia I can breathe!
#1 - NARROW ROADS
--------------------
Part of the bigger problem of over-populated and just plain old - apart from the "dual carriageways", most English roads are either narrow country lanes prone to tractors and horse riding, where you daren't drive at the speed limit, or urban roads that consist of 1.5 lanes.
Because most English houses don't have off-street parking, the councils feel obliged to have parking on the street. Usually this means that one side of the road has parked cars, plus half-a-lane on one side - and drivers must cross the median line as part of normal driving - and expect on-coming cars to move over.
It's barmy! Either move the median line over so that cars know where they should be, or get rid of the parking spots.
(Or, knock down England and rebuild it from scratch - more on that later).
A friend suggested that road rage in England is a direct result of repeatedly having to be polite on narrow roads - giving way and waving other drivers through.
The small town I stayed at, approx 25,000 people, has traffic jams where I am stuck for up to 30 mins. In London between 5-9pm it's often quicker to walk than take a cab.
At least in Australia I can breathe!
Labels: England
