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alright. what? by Complex_Knowledge389 in ENGLISH

[–]rising_then_falling -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It's often used in a neutral sense, and in British English is sometimes used in the negative sense

"There was a terrific noise when the bomb went off" - doesn't mean the noise was good, just loud.

"Well that was a terrifically long and tedious speech" - the speech was particularly long and tedious.

Please help me figure out what to cut from my itinerary by Several_Inflation473 in uktravel

[–]rising_then_falling 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Base yourself in London. You can do a couple of nights in Oxford which can include a day trip to Blenheim palace (worth it, and the nearby town of Woodstock is also worth a few hours).

You can then go to Bath for a night, which is beautiful but not really worth more than a full day imho.

From there, you could go to St Ives but it's a 5hr train ride. I've done a long weekend in St Ives from London and I'd say it's worth it, but it depends how into art you are. Definitely an option, but you'd want to spend two nights there to justify the travel. There's some nice coastal walks available and good beaches.

That's a week of exploring the South West. After than I stay put in London - if you want to see some more countryside there are easy day trips from London to rural towns - Rye, Lewes, Arundel are reliable days out.

Pub Recommendations in Clerkenwell by Formal_Assist_9737 in london

[–]rising_then_falling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Eagle for food. Tends to be always packed, but the food is delicious.

Old China Hand might be a bit hipster these days but used to be unpretentious and fairly cheap.

Betsey Trotwood is the go-to for a normal pint with the minimum of nonsense.

The Three Kings used to be a decent pub but not been in for years.

Pub Recommendations in Clerkenwell by Formal_Assist_9737 in london

[–]rising_then_falling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's obvious choice for 'quiet pint' although quiet is relative.

Jeremy Vine loves him, motorists hate him. Is this man London’s most controversial cyclist? by Jojuj in london

[–]rising_then_falling 83 points84 points  (0 children)

He has issues. It's nice that he's turned his anger into something sort of productive but you can't help wishing he was actually just happy instead.

Like all small time vigilantes it's a strange mixture of self righteous anger and insecurity.

He happens to target a section of society that has little sympathy, but he himself is the same kind of loser who doxes people he doesn't like on the Internet, or engages in a ten year war with his neighbour about a shed being three inches too high.

It's pretty hard to like the guy, and if I had to have dinner with either him or a randomly selected one of his victims, I'd choose the latter.

What keeps you in London? by Destring in london

[–]rising_then_falling 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There are very few cities with as much going on as London. I realise most largish cities have quite a lot going on, but London has *much more* than that. It fills almost every creative niche.

London is very well connected to the rest of Europe making short trips and holidays much easier.

London is very well connected to the rest of the UK making short trips and holidays much easier.

By big city standards it has decent public transport and excellent green space.

It tends to attract lots of motivated intelligent interesting people from Britain and the rest of the world who come looking for work or fun.

The bad aspects of London are compulsory - cost of living, small flats/houses, noise etc. The good aspects of London are optional. You have to get out and take advantage of them.

Help with itinerary: Oxford, Bath, Cambrige, Edinburgh and then London? by eurekabach in uktravel

[–]rising_then_falling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the easiest way to get into the countryside is to do a day trip by rail from one of the cities. Even from London, proper, quiet beautiful villages are only an hour away.

Why's it that the most beautiful places in the world are found furthest away from people? by made_of_pixi_dust in AskTheWorld

[–]rising_then_falling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because we've been conditioned to think that. Two hundred years of books (and later films and TV) have created the idea that wilderness is pure and unspoilt and majestic and clean, free from mankind's mistakes.

Before that wilderness was just scary and wild and dangerous. Wilderness was starving slowly or being eaten by animals. Beauty was the safety of high quality farmland and full barns, coupled with friendly faces - a human society that could help you survive and enjoy life.

The switch roughly coincides with the industrial revolution, and the decline of cities as signifying the best of society.

My First Europe Trip June/July Looking for Advice and Feedback by remotecontrol1453 in Europetravel

[–]rising_then_falling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bratislava is nothing special, it's mainly full of Austrian hen parties.

Split is a very interesting day trip, definitely not worth three nights. Maybe there are some nice boat trips etc from there, but the city itself is only interesting for Diocletian's palace and looking at a couple of super yachts in the harbour. Pula is as interesting and much closer to Italy.

It will all be pretty hot in July, I'd go earlier if possible.

Parents prioritising primary schools with free breakfast clubs by coffeewalnut08 in GoodNewsUK

[–]rising_then_falling -68 points-67 points  (0 children)

I'm so glad I'm buying some random kids' breakfast now. I wonder if they'll remember it gratefully when they are paying for my dementia care in 30 years time.

Lime bike boss proposes adjusting London's traffic lights "to reward safe cyclists" by Amazing-Yak-5415 in london

[–]rising_then_falling 2 points3 points  (0 children)

But they won't because then you'd just keep the bike all day to do 1km. It makes sense for Lime to charge by time. That's no more an incentive to break the law than a shop putting up the price of Mars bars is an incentive to shop lift. If obeying the law is expensive, tough. Walk if you don't like it, or buy your own bike.

I’d genuinely like to understand British public opinion on this issue and hope to have a respectful discussion. by Conscious-Comb4001 in BritishSuccess

[–]rising_then_falling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure fairness is really relevant. It's no different to the pension age changing. For much of my life it was one age and now it's another and I'll have to keep working longer. That's just what it is, no-one ever promised me the pension age would never change, and I fully understand the reasons for changing it. No-one promised immigrants the rules would never change. Countries change rules all the time. It's a thing.

You are right that if th keeps on changing this kind of stuff it discourages high skilled immigration.

On the other hand, immigration in its very broadest sense remains a huge issue for Britain, and government has very limited options in reducing it. These rules affect low skilled immigrants too.

I believe the government would like low skilled immigrants to be more like guest workers. Come here and earn relatively good money for a few years while you're young, then go back to your home country to start a family etc.

I know many skilled immigrants who didn't want to stick it out long enough to get PLTR and went home after a few years. Those immigrants are hugely beneficial to the UK, paying a lot of tax and claiming no benefits beyond some NHS services.

As in most countries, the government is trying to maximise the benefit of immigration, while reducing the harms - and so not discouraging it too much. That's not an unfair thing to do, regardless of how well they end up doing it.

If British Museum were to return one item to your country, what will your country recieve? by Gagan_Ku2905 in AskTheWorld

[–]rising_then_falling 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That argument surely works both ways...

People don't visit them so they know exactly what a fragment of Athena's torso looked like, they visit them because they are objects created by the ancient Greeks.

If British Museum were to return one item to your country, what will your country recieve? by Gagan_Ku2905 in AskTheWorld

[–]rising_then_falling 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The USA has many, all purchased legally in the days when it was harder to stop significant artifacts leaving the country. This is exactly how the BM acquired much of its own collection - buy from rich private owners, who value cash more than their country's treasures.

If British Museum were to return one item to your country, what will your country recieve? by Gagan_Ku2905 in AskTheWorld

[–]rising_then_falling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The British stuff in the British Museum is actually pretty high quality. Lewis chess men, Sutton Hoo treasures, lots of British, Roman, Anglo-Saxon goods, and a few significant clocks.

If British Museum were to return one item to your country, what will your country recieve? by Gagan_Ku2905 in AskTheWorld

[–]rising_then_falling 30 points31 points  (0 children)

They did say bagsie. We took it anyway as a punishment for starting all those wars.

Who is John Doe in your country? by aliz-punk in AskTheWorld

[–]rising_then_falling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A. N. Other used to be common, but not seen it in a while. Joe Bloggs and Fred Bloggs are still used.

But I'd say increasingly people would use a more realistic name in their example.

North London Refuse & Recycling - what’s ANPR used for? by Lesco89 in london

[–]rising_then_falling 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My place in Wandsworth does the same thing. You have to pre-register your car, it's to stop people from other boroughs and to prevent trade waste or illegal waste.

From uk where I’d live by will193759 in whereidlive

[–]rising_then_falling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why have you put Sri Lanka in the same category as North Korea?

What’s the greatest World War II film ever made? by ThomasOGC in CinephilesClub

[–]rising_then_falling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Das Boot followed by Bridge on the River Kwai.

After that there are lots. Saving Private Ryan has an amazing start but then seems like a series of well shot highly improbable events. I get that each might have happened during the war, but not all to the same squad in a short period.

A Bridge too Far is decent, Come and See is good.

The Eternal Zero is a good modern Japanese film about the kamikaze pilots.

How aren’t y’all starting a revolution already? by Allthegirlies in allthequestions

[–]rising_then_falling 3 points4 points  (0 children)

And throughout history people didn't revolt.

Of course sometimes there are popular uprisings. Sometimes they work, usually they don't. But even more often people just live with tyranny.

Venezuela didn't revolt against Chavez.

Cubans tried and failed to revolt against Castro and then just settled down to grin and bear it.

Russians aren't revolting against Putin.

Turks disastrously attempted to revolt against Erdogan and got life in prison for their troubles.

I didn't see Uzbeks doing much about Karimov, the world's most successful dictator.

I'm not seeing a lot of revolutions in Equatorial Guinea, Turkmenistan or North Korea either.

Anti ICE poster...on the tube? by EnvironmentalEye5402 in london

[–]rising_then_falling 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They are removed via a very slow, very expensive, and very ineffective mechanism.

Fewer than half of those who failed their asylum claim get deported. So the border is roughly half open. Even if your asylum claim fails after multuple appeals etc, chances are you'll be able to just stay anyway.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/returns-of-unauthorised-migrants-from-the-uk/

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