Friend giving safety tips for London?

Shxt happens every where its just that London is a large area, and a lot of tourists go there.

There’s London and there’s London. It depends on the advice. For example in my very naive part of SW London there is one park which is absolutely fine, one which is a known drug dealer haunt. There’s also an alley by the tube which is a cut through and looks fine but gets much narrower and darker where someone was mugged last year and which people outside the area may well use, but locals absolutely wouldn’t. People who come into London to the city/ soho would have no idea.

I also lived in France and ended up having to send something similar as 3/4 of my friends were pickpocketed almost instantly at the Gare Du Nord.

So if it’s useful local info, great, if it’s “the northern line is black” a bit misguided but probably coming from the right place.

I can see why it feels a bit patronising. But it’s probably just an indicator of her own naivety when she moved there.

Unless she’s tedious and controlling in many other ways (in which case - why visit?) just let it inform your understanding of her and enjoy your time there.

This doesn’t only happen in London, though.

Surely beyond “STAND ON THE RIGHT, WALK ON THE LEFT” it’s the same as being in literally any other densely populated place?

This perfectly describes several of my nephews who have Irish grandparents, have never set foot in Ireland and go all diddly-diddly at anything Irish.

@VotesForWomen Re 📱 phones, it’s SO tempting to read them in public
I’m doing that right now.
The only safety advice I can think of is to not look at phone when wandering through streets or waiting at Stations or on Tube-
I need a new phone, and when I get one I won’t be reading it walking along.

Can’t think of any ways of keeping a nice phone safe, apart from keeping it hidden.

Even if “chained ‘
to you you could get injured by having it yanked away.

Really patronising. You’re not some halfwit from East Bumblefuck who’s never left the village.

I don’t think it’s bad to give a warning - it sounds worse than ever at the minute in big cities for mobile phone thefts and pickpocketing.

A friend warned me about Paris after she had her phone stolen. I was happy to get a warning to be on my guard.

Presumably similar to a Plastic Paddy?
You know the cod Irish person with Irish parents who has never actually lived in Ireland themselves. 😂

Yep, this!!! “I’m SO London!”

Jeez, it’s London, not Mogadishu. I’m from London and I behave in exactly the same way there as I do everywhere else. As does everyone who lives there, unless they used to live somewhere else and haven’t yet realised that it’s a perfectly normal city.

Of course it's incredibly patronising. I find people who've moved to London or lived in London like to give unsolicited London advise, commonly tube advise.

It's like just because dont live in London you could never have visited it or any big city. As if you hadn't considered pickpockets exist or can't navigate a train

I never keep a phone in my back pocket. I prefer to keep my cash, and phone in a bum bag. I don't use bags these days unless in a group. I saw a stream where a woman keeps a old phone so if it gets stolen in public it won't matter.

I'm very intrigued to know what the safety tips were that she was giving you.

Is this when people have their phone out in their hand?

having my phone snatched would be absolutely terrible - somebody who could unlock it could access pretty much everything. I'm always up for safety tips!

Quite..

And then you woke up…

No!
All Cities all over the world can be dodgy for muggings.

Adding to this I have my sensors out all the time when walking in London and generally, (uptight) and did not in the slightest take notice of these boys circling the area on bicycles in such a casual and unassuming way.

The OP is being quite cagey about answering the question about what advice her friend gave but my mind immediately went to phone snatchers too!

Ive lived in London for ten years and remind people visiting me to be careful about having their phone out on the street bc of phone snatchers. We have a fb group for people living in our block and if our neighbours see it happen on the street where we live they normally post on Facebook just giving people a heads up that it’s happening. Maybe the friend is just being kind!

Er, when was that? The 80's?!

I came into London last week and was in St James palace. I actually didn't realise the phone muggings were that blatant /endnof aisle on tube etc. Most people I saw had their phones out.

So yes I perhaps could do with your friends tips!!!

My fella, and I went on holiday to London. We visited all the tourist spots, and a day after leaving for home. All the area's we visited had being bombed even the toilets. So it put us off staying there in future to be honest. But we did visit another time, and my fella needed the loo so I stood waiting for him. I noticed a sign saying about a murder at the pub/restaurant . Then my fella told me he got told off because he never noticed the chalk on the floor in the men's.