Is our town a shithole..

I agreed with something I said? Nice that you’ve calmed down a bit now.

edit: your post makes no sense at all.

You have no idea why I'm speaking about this to you?

When you've just agreed with a clearly stated (though nonsense) argument with your own clearly stated (though nonsense) . You can say things. Just don't be surprised when people disagree with you.

Sometimes these people may even TYPE IN CAPITALS. It't doesn't mean you can't say the thing you said..

That really depends on the course and the university. My friends daughters grew up in Spain, then France. They both went to St Andrews. Have done very well as translators.

Go onto Higher Education on Mumsnet, start a thread. It's been useful.

Also on FB what I wish I knew about university WIWIKAU. They are a great help.

Gawd I'm glad mine are done and dusted 😁

Name says it all, yes it is a seaside town, yes it is now a shithole, yes any decent shops are all shut, yes they are building ridiculous amounts of flats, yes we have an inordinate amount of vape shops/barbers, yes there are groups of men hanging out all over the place at varying times day and night. Not helped by councils 'please send us all your depressed or addicted for rehab by the sea in return for some cash' policies.

What’s it got to do with you?

I can answer that re our council. If there's an empty retail unit then the council can only refuse things like the type of signage used. If catering insist on extraction fans being suitable. They can't refuse a barber, nail bar because it seems a bit hinky.

Why can't you say it?

Can’t say….

@nothingquitelikeathreadhighjack

"But just as in some areas we are seeing that a badly apply DEI policy means that people are no longer being selected on merit, or just on merit."

People have never 'just been selected on merit', on a general principle.

Unless you want to argue that what until recently was an enormous over representation of white, privately educated men in positions of power in industry, the military, the judiciary, medicine, politics, and the media, is the result of upper middle class white men being just much more clever and capable than literally every other demographic.

BTW - in relation to student admissions I think you're referring to universities making contextual offers. Most universities make contextual offers to students who have attended state schools with high intakes of disadvantaged pupils, also those who've been in local authority care, or who come from families where nobody has previously accessed higher education. Are you against this?

I live in a big standard London borough. Not the wealthiest and not the poorest. Approx 20 mins to the centre. It’s nothing like this. No drunks or homeless people. a few chains but lots of (non-glam) independent cafes and small shops.

Council pretty good. Weekly bin collections. Trees well-maintained. Wonder if that makes a difference. The usual London diversity here is from established families rather than new groups of men being bussed in.

These stories are horrific and depressing. It’s about the bigger system but also us as individuals. Why is it ok to watch loud videos in hospitals and on the tube without headphones? Why don’t people pick up litter? How can we have gone so wrong?

@Slatterndisgrace

It's a request.

What do you want to say that you can't say?

I think that the suggestion (not by the other poster, but I have seen this elsewhere) has been that a dominance of diversity and inclusion policies have affected how students are selected. The theme is the same as for other areas - obviously diversity and inclusion is good provided that the same standards apply to everyone, and that in relation to universities rigorous academic standards remain. But just as in some areas we are seeing that a badly apply DEI policy means that people are no longer being selected on merit, or just on merit, and some suggest that this is also the case in relation to RG universities - which means that the rigourous academic standards are therefore in fact going to be affected. What do you think?

Academic standards across the Russell Group are extremely rigorous. Subject choice will matter a lot though.

Thank you for this, will do. Does your dh think that academic standards have changed?

I am guilty of going into our city centre and thinking my God. But then I try and look at the good things.
We gave a beautiful cathedral and the shopping centre has been bought and the new owners are really trying.
I feel we have a lot of homeless people more than ever and they can be quite rowdy I've often seen a group of them kicking off over drugs and what ones done to another I assume they go to a hostel. I have thought sometimes it's like Elizabethan times with the nursery rhyme
Hark hark the dogs do bark the beggars are coming to town....
But it's drugs and alcohol. And I wonder why nothing ever gets done about drugs.
I used a lot of local amenities because I home ed. I see a lot of people trying very hard with little money to throw at things. Lots of libraries doing there best. Parks looking beautiful if you go in them.
It's a bit similar to the late 90s when everywhere was a shit hole after the cuts in the 80s . A lot of things seemed to improve with lottery money getting thrown at things back then. A lot of people pick up litter now and seem to plant local flower beds up making little neighbourhoods in bloom.
We have a lot of parks which are very accessible. I haven't seen any of the groups of men drinking OP describes. I see a lot of young people not in school mooching in the park. Smell a lot of weed everywhere.
I live about 200metres from a hotel used to house refugees and everyone is always blaming everything on them. But I haven't noticed a problem. It makes me smile when a group of them come walking back from our local cricket pitch cos I know everyone around will be spitting feathers at the bloody audacity of them. I've noticed them with a lot of sports direct bags so Mike Ashley is making plenty on the back of it.
Our canal is beautiful to walk along.
I think if we start thinking our towns are a shit hole then there is no hope.

Interesting. Thanks for that.

I agree with what you say (I was writing about a different subject) and I loved your post because most of my childhood was spent in some pretty bleak areas, and I recognise what you say. I was referring to people who are sufficiently literate and self aware, including the professions. There is a huge lack of awareness and teaching it more widely including in schools (along with emotional intelligence) would make a huge difference. On MN threads you will often get a majority saying "punishment and consequnces" etc and a tiny minority saying that research doesn't support that as just one example, all of them fairly assertive and reasonably literate! So a slightly different issue.

But going back to what you say, about average reading age is 9 - are you referring to actual studies about this? I was looking at the government report in relation to changing the curriculum recently and it said that at the end of primary 40 percent of children do not meet the required standard in literacy and at the end of GCSEs 40 percent again do not meet the required standard in literacy or maths and in fact 16 percent of that age do not meeting the required standard applying to 11 year olds. I am not sure how accurate this is, but it is unacceptable.

What demographics apply to the communties you refer to, and what percentage of the community - is this the 40 percent?

And when you say the parents don't see the value of education, do you mean they don't engage with you at all and don't encourage their dc to do homework? Or they say learning to read and write is a waste of time?

Local councils have had their funding cut in real terms by as much as 20% since 2010, at a time when there's been increase in statutory spending because of our ageing population. This means they've had to cut spending on social care and social services.

Then in 2013, government handed over responsibility for funding addiction services to local authorities, while they were struggling to deal with massive funding cuts and the ongoing housing crisis caused in part by the sell off of council housing.

It's been absolutely ruinous to communities, to families and to the NHS.

2018: "Drug and alcohol services cut by £162m as deaths increase"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44039996

2023: "Funding cuts mean addicts left to fight disease alone"

https://news.sky.com/story/vomiting-blood-and-shaking-uncontrollably-funding-cuts-leave-addicts-left-to-fight-disease-alone-12928915#:~:text=Funding%20for%20addiction%20treatment%20services,waiting%2010%20years%20for%20help.

2021: "Thousands of young people missing out on drug and alcohol treatment as budgets cut by over a third"

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/latest-news/detail/2021/03/28/thousands-of-young-people-missing-out-on-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-as-budgets-cut-by-over-a-third

Is that an order?

Made me chuckle putting organised crime in brackets after saying we know the reason for them. Yes we do. You are right. Why.

Give us an example of something you used to be able to say, that you can't say any more.

Wondering if it’s Exeter because I know people there and this is exactly what they are describing. It’s made worse by drug and alcohol services being placed in the main shopping areas.

op I really sympathise because that sounds grim

No, but they seem to be in some kind of paralysis regarding the issues. Incompetence perhaps? Laziness? Stupidity? No forward planning or thinking? Putting their own interests first? Greed? Who knows, but they have been outwitted that's for sure.

And councils are not addressing the money laundering shops otherwise there wouldn't be so many of them! The public knows what's going on and the reason for them (organised crime), yet still they persist. Why?

I have absolutely no idea why you’re speaking about this to me but you appear to have a great big fucking gob that you can’t control love. Do you shout at people on the street or is it just behind the screen?