Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: suttonred on Sunday, February 3, 2008, 22:14:27 Good article in the magazine from the editor of GQ, basically says he got lost en route to cheltenham, spends half the article saying its the worst town in england and then the other half saying it should be the next european capital of culture, as apparently the 2nd safest place to live behind Guildford, be worth catching if anyone can find it
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Arriba on Sunday, February 3, 2008, 22:16:16 i'm guessing he got lost in swindon?
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: suttonred on Sunday, February 3, 2008, 22:19:42 doh yes sorry
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Arriba on Sunday, February 3, 2008, 22:20:54 i guess he didn't visit pinehurst then?
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: STFC_Chris on Sunday, February 3, 2008, 22:48:45 http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/live/live.html?in_article_id=511712&in_page_id=1889
Ugliest town in England is a bit harsh, he clearly hasn't been to the thriving metropolis that is Hartlepool. :nuts: Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: ron dodgers on Sunday, February 3, 2008, 22:50:56 Dylan Jones editor of GQ - he's done this before - is this an old article? - it is quite easy to get to Cheltenham from junction 15
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/live/live.html?in_article_id=511712&in_page_id=1889 Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: pauld on Monday, February 4, 2008, 00:25:18 So basically this bloke is a navigational mong, unable to follow major routes, use satnav and/or read maps and we're supposed to take his sage advice. Fuck off back to Islington with your metrosexual ha-ha-ha-ha we're so fucking clever mates. Then try working for a fucking living.
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Noel Gallagher on Monday, February 4, 2008, 09:23:35 I suppose this Laandon based chelsea rent boy shagging twat has never visited the delights of Whitechapel, Hammersmith, Croydon and Hackney.
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Peter Venkman on Monday, February 4, 2008, 09:48:57 He has obviously never ventured north of Cheltenham then, "Oh heaven forbid going to a place that people buy those disgusting fish and chips with that green mushy pea thing....yuckers, Rodders where is my caviar?"
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Ardiles on Monday, February 4, 2008, 11:49:29 I had to look up 'Anaglypta'.
I don't think there are too many of us who would disagree with his point that Swindon is ugly. I hate all that bloody pebble dashing as well. But what gets up people's noses is that Swindon is surrounded by poncey towns that think they're better (Oxford, Bath, Cheltenham to name a few), and that there's now yet another journo with connections to one of these places having a pop. And he probably thinks he's saying something new. Tedious. Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Colin Todd on Monday, February 4, 2008, 13:56:55 What a fucking retard
Just in case he reads, and wishes to make the trip again here is a highly complicated tip for navigational sucess - Turn off M4 @ J15. - Get on A419 - Go straight on Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Matchworn Shirts on Monday, February 4, 2008, 14:46:38 Walsall is a town and that is much worse than Swindon
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Colin Todd on Monday, February 4, 2008, 14:59:08 Stoke on Trent is the daddy of all shitholes. As is Croydon
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Noel Gallagher on Monday, February 4, 2008, 16:27:42 Quote from: "Colin Todd" Stoke on Trent is the daddy of all shitholes. As is Croydon Ha I have family in Stoke it's not actually that bad the areas near by are actually quite nice towns like Congleton are really nice area's to live in. Shame about Burslem and tjose Vale scum bastards though. Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Iffy's Onion Bhaji on Monday, February 4, 2008, 17:52:45 Your all wrong it's Rotherham that's the worse.
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Peter Venkman on Monday, February 4, 2008, 18:47:12 If its shit towns you want the list is endless.
Runcorn. Warrington. Bridgwater. Slough. Milton Keynes. Stevenage. Doncaster. Rotherham. Mansfield. Hartlepool. Middlesboro. Yeovil (the heart of the country… and the mind of a city! FFS). Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Sussex on Monday, February 4, 2008, 18:58:26 Can I add Burnley to the list please?
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: suttonred on Monday, February 4, 2008, 19:57:33 I nominate Luton that is truly awful
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: donkey on Monday, February 4, 2008, 20:26:33 Bury, Wigan, Huddersfield, Portsmouth
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: mattboyslim on Monday, February 4, 2008, 20:31:00 I have to go to MK tomorrow - not looking forward to it.
Stoke is a perennial least favourite of mine, in addition to Luton, Stockport, Mansfield, Chesterfield, and Weston Super Mare. Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Sussex on Monday, February 4, 2008, 20:31:49 Shoreham by Sea. :D
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Batch on Monday, February 4, 2008, 22:45:01 Aldershot
Bradford. Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: RobertT on Monday, February 4, 2008, 22:51:55 Quote from: "Sussex" Can I add Burnley to the list please? :nod: I'll also agree with Stoke, most of the annexes to Manchester of the industrial variety and most of Wales in it's various Town and City forms. Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Noel Gallagher on Monday, February 4, 2008, 22:56:43 The majority of London istelf is a absolutely souless, complete and utter shit hole. I live there my self and it's certiantly not what you see in Mary Fuckin Poppins, just the London based media have always been biased towards as city which is gradually falling on its arse and losing it's identity but tehn I suspect that most GQ emplyers whould have a fucking nose bleed travelling north of Watford so there you go.
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: strooood on Monday, February 4, 2008, 23:13:46 why the fuck do people go on about loads of roundabouts in swindon?
there's the magic roundabout of course, but there's something similar in colchester and im sure many other places i might be way off the mark, but apart from the MRA, there's no more roundabouts in swinny than there are in other urban areas are there? Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Sussex on Monday, February 4, 2008, 23:16:16 Quote from: "Sussex" Shoreham by Sea. :D Poor show by the Mexican, never did come back to call me a cunt. Bet he read it though. Hiya! :) Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Mexicano Rojo on Monday, February 4, 2008, 23:19:04 you live in burgess hill. stop being a cunt.
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Sussex on Monday, February 4, 2008, 23:28:09 Point taken, It's a bit of a shithole. The council dump has just had a bit of a makeover though.
Think I lose. :D Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: suttonred on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 07:42:19 As we're on about sussex the daddy of all shit towns, crawley is just up the road, and judging by the lengthening list this whole country is a shithole, are there any decent towns?
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: STFCBird on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 08:18:39 Quote from: "Sussex" Point taken, It's a bit of a shithole. The council dump has just had a bit of a makeover though. Think I lose. :D And you are making me move there why? :evil: Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Ardiles on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 08:53:55 Quote from: "suttonred" As we're on about sussex the daddy of all shit towns, crawley is just up the road, and judging by the lengthening list this whole country is a shithole, are there any decent towns? Newcastle Stamford, Lincolnshire St Ives, Cornwall Three of my favourites. All for very different reasons. Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Sussex on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 08:59:51 Quote from: "suttonred" As we're on about sussex the daddy of all shit towns, crawley is just up the road, and judging by the lengthening list this whole country is a shithole, are there any decent towns? I have the pleasure of working in Crawley. They have to put more police out in the town centre during school holidays to cope with the extra shoplifting asbo chavs. Nice place.. Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Mexicano Rojo on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 09:57:12 nice places
brighton tunbridge wells bath warwick salisbury lymington honiton barnstaple cheltenham york harrogate kendal chester shoreham -by-sea 8) Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Bogus Dave on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 09:59:31 loughboroughs nice
Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: tans on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 10:21:16 Quote from: "i was once mexico red" nice places brighton tunbridge wells bath warwick salisbury lymington honiton barnstaple cheltenham york harrogate kendal chester shoreham -by-sea 8) i was born there. Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: RobertT on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 13:19:49 Quote from: "strooood" why the fuck do people go on about loads of roundabouts in swindon? there's the magic roundabout of course, but there's something similar in colchester and im sure many other places i might be way off the mark, but apart from the MRA, there's no more roundabouts in swinny than there are in other urban areas are there? We are indeed a town with a much higher concentration of roundabouts than most others (Colchester and MK being two others of note). It's more the high number of mini roundabouts that does it, the vogue is to use traffic lights, like they have done along Thamesdown Drive. I think roundabouts can create traffic chaos if there are two many close to each other, a bit like the stretch on Great Western Way where McDonalds is. * removes anarok * Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: pauld on Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 07:54:24 Where TEF leads, the Adver are sure to follow. Eventually.
http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/mostpopular.var.2021175.mostviewed.mayor_hits_back_at_criticism_of_town.php For all the snivelly ha-ha-ha lets fill some empty copy with a few cheap cracks of the article was infuriating if there's one really good way to make yourself look small-town, it's rolling out local dignitaries to do this kind of "Huff, Puff" piece Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: Ardiles on Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 11:10:26 Couldn't agree more, Paul. I think one of the the first steps to remedy the town's image problem should be for its leaders to develop a thicker skin and maybe a sense of humour. The obligatory picture of a councillor with a gold chain round his neck standing next to a roundabout proclaiming 'We love it, here' does nothing to solve the problem.
This was happening every time someone had a pop in the 1980s and it's still happening now. It's a shame that so little has happened in the last 25 years. Other towns have reinvented their town/city centres in that time. In Swindon, a few carpet warehouses became pubs about 10 years ago to create a drinking zone on Bridge Street...and that's about it. Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: flammableBen on Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 13:57:00 I was having a conversation about how shit the Town Centre was with my good friend Dan last night. It really is a shit hole. Infact we were only there becasue he was buying the drinks and the Savoy is super cheap.
In fact Swindon has a bit of a nothingness problem. The Town Centre is an identikit town centre with the same shops you'd find any where else, added that it's lost the shine you might expect from such a plasticy thing and is generally a bit of a dump. Then you've got the multitude of identical suburban estates, with there bendy cul de sac roads. Could do with a bit of character really. Like a canal or something. It does have it's nice bits although you'd probably need someone to show it to them. Sorry I've gone a bit of a rant. I think I've just agreed with Ardiles in a not very eloquent way. Title: Mail on Sunday Post by: BANGKOK RED on Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 14:26:21 One of the reasons that I ended up in Thailand was a sort of existence of nothing-ness. Despite me having a career, money, house ect. And about the only things that I looked forward to was Saturday afternoons in the pub, watching town and mountain biking in the countryside.
If I came from a town with a bit more "Umpfff" about it, then I may well still be there. |