The most Socially Selective schools in England.

You do not need to prove your address to access health care. The unconscious patient in A and E with no relatives/friends would be really stuck if he did have to before receiving treatment.
Health care workers do not want to be put in a position where they have to query eligibility for health care before administering it.

handcream having worked extensively with "illegals" (what a hideous and insulting term, these so called "illegals"are just like us) I'm afraid I feel duty bound to inform you that they are entitled to care from the NHS as well they should be. We are not as yet some tin pot dictatorship where only the chosen few get proper care, neither have we been completely taken over by bigots like Farage, health care is free at the point of delivery to all, not just those a politician or administrator has deemed to be legal.

If someone chooses to not learn English or cannot work out that you will need some evidence that you are who you are what on earth are we expected to do. Just let them go through regardless?

There are loads of even home grown Britons who for one reason or other cannot provide proof of address. Halifax Finchley branch last month refused me service because I could not provide proof of address (I had just moved house). That doesn't make me or them 'illegals'. When I was living in Slough decades ago, I rented a room from a Pakistani landlady who spoke not a word of English. I bet she could not provide 'proof of address' if asked to and yet, she owned three properties!

They did queue up and when they were asked for proof of address they couldn't provide it! They then had to leave. We were all in a open plan waiting room - I thought you would know that seeing as you are claiming to know all about the area.

Is it racist to question why people are trying to use a service they are not entitled to use......

Needs their head examined, handcream? Perhaps you should be the first one to have it done or are you already doing it at the NHS drop in centre?

How on earth can anyone call total strangers 'illegals' is beyond me. Would true illegals queue up of all places in a NHS unit where thorough checks of residence status are made before treatment? Other than demonstrating your racist attitude which is what I believe your whole argument about Slough is truly about, your slanderous remarks about total strangers are totally uncalled for. Yes, a trip to the head doctor is not before time!

Ooh, Happy I'm old school : pre Fayed Harrods was just, well just
since he's gone, both of them have improved

The surrounding area is completely different, Windsor, Gerrards Cross, Beaconsfield etc are some of the most expensive areas outside of London.

My DM always told me a Fortnums is a bit like Harrods; rather naff.

smoke
her son was a scummy git that my parents hated
but she had the domestic skills of - well zilch
BUT
in the 70's early 80's she did not strike me as odd this is in the Saudi, not Russian days
and my primary school was full of such people

old style shopping was "get the staff to do it"
seriously, only typing it this evening did I realise how odd it was

Slough is an overcrowded mess with lots of illegals, I saw a number of them when I sat for 4 hours at the NHS drop in centre. How anyone can think that Slough is up and coming really needs their head examined!

Actually in my area the uber wealthy patronise small local niche artisan shops usually selling organic food.

On my 25 mile drive to work I pass within close proximity of 5 Waitrose's and two half size ones. There are four more within 20 miles in the opposite direction

But the Supermarket tests are middle class bilge

the uber upper class Mum of an ex of mine had never been grocery shopping in her life
she phoned Fortnums with her guest list and they delivered the food
and then her chef turned up to cook it

In Waitrose the other week:
"Oh no they don't have any organic chopped tomatoes"
DH: "oh my God the Barbarians are at the gate, Waitrose hasn't any organic chopped tomatoes "

Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough .....

The gross offence committed on Thanet by London is the brewing scandal of 15 years' time

happy did you know I've actually made it into the FB "overheard in Waitrose" page

You may be interested to know that Thanet is the 49th most deprived local authority and the most deprived in Kent but has a one of the top ten largest Tesco's in the UK.
I've only been to a Slough once (I always think of the Betjamin poem I'm afraid when ever I see sign post or here anyone mention Slough) so can't comment on it but I doubt the size of a Tesco store has any relationship to the affluence of the neighbourhood.
Here is ruralsville it seems we have a Waitrose or they're building a Waitrose on virtually every corner a far better indicator of local wealth/prosperity.

I have said in my opening posts on this thread that it was true Slough was a dump some 30 years ago. There was absolutely nothing except for a MacDonald restaurant in the High Street. I had cause to travel into Slough again in the past 12 years or so from London and the transformation of the town was massive compared to what I knew of it before.

I said I was impressed, mightily impressed of the regeneration and some MNers seem to think me ridiculous. Believe me, I’ve also travelled to many other towns in England and Wales in the past so many years and the slump and deprivation that I saw make Slough a paradise! So, it is not about huge Tesco and/or Sainsbury’s floor space as such though I don’t see them building them in the deprived areas mentioned above. And like I said before, drugs, prostitutes, stolen cars, anti-social behaviour, murders, etc. exist in London, Paris and New York too. They are not the sole preserve of Slough alone.

*expensive

I would agree that Bracknell is going up in the world. Not Slough though.

My DS is 4. Just before he was born a really beautiful and clearly very expansive new playground was put in at Salt Hill (close to Tesco). Won awards- it was lovely and I took him there all the time.

By the time we left Slough six months ago it was ruined. Obscene graffiti that was never removed, covered in chewing gum, full of beer cans, bottles and worse first thing in the morning suggesting illicit night time use, being mainly used by teenagers as a windbreak for their fags during the day. I wouldn't go there and I'm made of pretty stern stuff.

The council may be trying hard but Slough is not for turning.

Everyone knows Tesco only open up in the most upwardly mobile locations, of course!

They only have sainsburys after the government stepped in though (which was my point about why Tesco was keen to build such a big store). I really don't understand why you think that big (floorspace) supermarkets would make or demonstrate an area is nice though?

I'm not going to argue about it though. If I wanted to set up a call centre or a factory I would consider Slough (or if I needed easy obvious access to drugs or a prostitute or a stolen car). But as a nice place to live or visit I wouldn't. It's my just my opinion of course but it's based on knowing the place well and recently something you seemed to think impossible in your early posts.

And that's not to mention I travelled through Slough on my way to Ascot and Eton in the best part of the last 12 years.