The Poolie Bunker

did'nt even know they played cricket there

me and the wife have just come back from a comparably rural part of Holland (Brielle), and it's very noticeable how differently people behave there. There are bikes just parked up without being chained to anything, possessions left in gardens etc and we commented that these things just couldn't be done where we live - and that's just about any part of Britain today. Young people were very polite, there was no graffitti, litter or vandalism anywhere in sight for miles and miles.
Obviously the big cities might have their problems, but Brielle struck us straight away as a place we would like to live tomorrow if we got the chance.
This country is getting worse, the story about people entering a cricket field to be the centre of attention is pathetic, but this lad has no shame or no idea what it means.
I wouldn't even be bothered about missing football if it meant that my overall quality of life went up ten notches.

We've spent some time in Holland and agree with your observations a couple of friends have settled there for those reasons. As the vast majority of people I've met and read about all think the same with respect to politeness, lack of graffitti, low crime rate, strong community presence etc. why can't it be the norm over here. People cannot blame liberal attitudes as Holland is more liberal compared with the uk. Holland has a diverse ethnic community, as here but people seem to integrate better. The only difference I can think of is the political will of our leaders.
Anyway - glad you had a good time.

cheers - we were staying in an apartment block - which was better then any of the ones down the Marina!! - and we got a good view of the neighbourhood. It seemed that every night people were getting together for barbeques etc, but nobody was shouting and balling, and there weren't any "look at me I'm 50" - style parties with music louder than the Monsters of Rock. If I hadn't seen these get-togethers, I wouldn't have even known they were happening at all!!! I got a very different take on life within the EEC and what civilisation ought to be like. Some of the people I've already seen out and about in Hartlepool today, made me realise what we have to put up with in our everyday lives in this part of the world. And it's not good mostly, is it?

Yeah, Holland. They smoke pot there and have sex shows and sex for sale in shop windows. What are you lot talking about its a terrible place to take the wife.

I think you're talking Amsterdam there Jimbo, which is about 80 miles from where we were staying, and nothing like the tranquility of the area we were in!!!!

My tongue was firmly in my cheek with my reply.

So true mate, so true

Came back from Cyprus on Saturday, went to Tesco's, looked around at the people wandering round and realised what a shithouse this country is

You need to try Sainsbury's.

good job you never went to ferkin asda then - gadzooks

We drove through an underpass in town last night. All the way along it's lit up with blue strip lights. No guards or grilles or owt.

Would that survive anywhere in England??

Only until it got dark.

Mind they're not gangs anymore are they?? Youth groups apparently.....gangs hurts their feelings.

yes its a strange world i went to stay with family in canada around 7-8 yrs ago and could not believe there way of life neither. the place i stayed was simcoe in ontario and apparently i did not know this canada grows 1/3rd of the worlds tobacco.

any way i was very surprised at the masses of fields of fruit, veg, flowers etc, there was no fences round the fields and people paid by leaving money in an unattended tin on the road side

but at the same time as i was there someone was stabbed whilst fishing what a lovely place though as hot as any where ive been too in the summer.

They've been playing cricket in the Colliery for about 15 years now Tim. It's been the same old faces for most of that time though!

In Germany last year, the small town we were in had a railway running through it and it was unfenced ...I mentioned this and was told " why fence off the railway, what sort of fool would go on a railway in the first place, it is dangerous you know?" So why do people over hereblame everyone but themselves, yet people over there have a down to eath common sense approach.
Mind, if you wonder why we're going to the dogs, it's probably because all the parties are nearly all run by people who went through the education system and heve never done anything meaninfgful in their entire lives,..... lives that have never experienced anything from war to work .....they're ejust a glorified bunch of idealistic sixth formers in a debating society.

As far as I can see it's just interfering with natural selection. If you're daft enough you'll end up dead enough.

train goes by the end of our road, and the council or someone has cut a lot of trees and branches down near the tracks...parents/dickheads/people round here are also up in arms saying there kids'll be able to get on the tracks etc...

just friggin weird innit?

just tell em! discipline em if they disobey,ground the twats!
its not hard to do

laziness, thats what it is, I mean I'm a pisshead but I know where ours are and they know where they cant go

i remember your tony playing for the colliery like, i honestly didnt realise they still had a team. i knew TCCA had one like

I'm waiting for the day the put handrails all round the country at the high tide mark so no one can fall in the sea and drown.....

what about BORO fans are they included or excluded

They're in the A division, TCCA are only in the B! The Colliery always dicks on the Village!

which drunks play for the colliery like any local lads or are we talking decent players here