General News Thread

[davieG]

[bovril]

Just now, davieG said:

This is very similar to a lot of the British 'expats' I met in Bulgaria who seemed to like it because there were very very few MENA immigrants. Then 75% of them voted for Brexit and ended up having to leave. 

[Raj]

23 minutes ago, bovril said:

Really enjoyed your character arc over the last week. Been a rollercoaster. 

Here to entertain until my next ban!!!

[Trav Le Bleu]

2 minutes ago, Raj said:

Here to entertain until my next ban!!!

I think you'll find that after the next ban, it'll be Bentley's Roof for you mate.

[danny.]

4 hours ago, Raj said:

People of colour = we are all immigrants and not wanted and dont integrate.

 

Polish, Bulgarians, Romanians etc..white people are welcomed with open arms and live in their ghettos  on Evington Rd and Narborough Rd and Humberstone  Rd near town and it's all good...NOT about colour is it!!🙄🙄

 

What would the reformers be saying if the boat people were swedish blonde and blue eyed I wonder???

Have to push back on that, I used to live in Westcotes and people were not particularly happy at all about the people that had moved over and failed to integrate into British culture at all, for example the culture of drinking in a front garden loudly shouting until 3am in the morning on weekdays really didn't sit well with people. Maybe some people were fine with it, but where I lived a lot were not happy at all, I wouldn't have described it as "all good".

 

2 hours ago, StanSP said:

I'm not sure they will. 

 

When Ukrainians were allowed to come over here and offered refuge and housing it was fine. 

 

When Afghanis were offered the same gesture, it was very much a different reception they got. 

 

General and basic summary, I know. But you get my drift... 

Where the Ukrainians not migrants vs Afghani immigrants?

[Jon the Hat]

2 hours ago, StanSP said:

I'm not sure they will. 

 

When Ukrainians were allowed to come over here and offered refuge and housing it was fine. 

 

When Afghanis were offered the same gesture, it was very much a different reception they got. 

 

General and basic summary, I know. But you get my drift... 

There was an immediacy to the Ukraine conflict which made that more acceptably I think, there have been Afghan immigrants coming for 20 years.

 

1 hour ago, Tommy G said:

Get Scarlett Johansson on that boat ASAP

Good call.

[lcfc278]

4 hours ago, Raj said:

People of colour = we are all immigrants and not wanted and dont integrate.

 

Polish, Bulgarians, Romanians etc..white people are welcomed with open arms and live in their ghettos  on Evington Rd and Narborough Rd and Humberstone  Rd near town and it's all good...NOT about colour is it!!🙄🙄

 

What would the reformers be saying if the boat people were swedish blonde and blue eyed I wonder???

I drove down Narborough Road yesterday and I think if you take the time looking at the shops, restaurants and clientele you'll see it's a mix of pretty much every culture going. However one thing I will say is the place is an absolute state, pretty much from the bridge just past KFC, all the way to the large Tesco. There's litter everywhere, shops and houses just dump bin bags and cardboard boxes out on the street. There was a butchers down as you get closer to Braunstone Gate and one of the butchers was sat on a chair outside, smoking, all whilst still in his butchers 'whites' - the whole place is disgusting.

 

You look at some of the buildings and houses on that road, particularly up near the Iceland and the side streets there, and they're lovely big houses. You can see that at one point in time it was probably a grand area to live in that had a bit of prestige about it but nowadays its just lots of overcrowded HMO's full of people who don't care what their area looks like and are happy dumping a fridge, mattress or sofa out on the street.

Edited 8 October 2025 by lcfc278

[Trav Le Bleu]

48 minutes ago, danny. said:

I used to live in Westcotes and people were not particularly happy at all about the people that had moved over and failed to integrate into British culture at all, for example the culture of drinking in a front garden loudly shouting until 3am in the morning on weekdays really didn't sit well with people.

So why did you do it then?

 

 

And joking aside, for me, I'm associating that image with white Brits on benefits on council estates up and down the country.

 

So are you saying that immigrants weren't happy about being kept up, cos they had to work in the morning?

[danny.]

Just now, Trav Le Bleu said:

So why did you do it then?

 

 

And joking aside, for me, I'm associating that image with white Brits on benefits on council estates up and down the country.

 

So are you saying that immigrants weren't happy about being kept up, cos they had to work in the morning?

I keep my alcoholism indoors so I can cry myself to sleep in solitude, thank you very much.

 

Well I grew up on the Monsell and people didn't do that 🤷‍♂️

[Raj]

14 minutes ago, lcfc278 said:

I drove down Narborough Road yesterday and I think if you take the time looking at the shops, restaurants and clientele you'll see it's a mix of pretty much every culture going. However one thing I will say is the place is an absolute state, pretty much from the bridge just past KFC, all the way to the large Tesco. There's litter everywhere, shops and houses just dump bin bags and cardboard boxes out on the street. There was a butchers down as you get closer to Braunstone Gate and one of the butchers was sat on a chair outside, smoking, all whilst still in his butchers 'whites' - the whole place is disgusting.

 

You look at some of the buildings and houses on that road, particularly up near the Iceland and the side streets there, and they're lovely big houses. You can see that at one point in time it was probably a grand area to live in that had a bit of prestige about it but nowadays its just lots of overcrowded HMO's full of people who don't care what their area looks like and are happy dumping a fridge, mattress or sofa out on the street.

Just like Evington Rd which is a dump now- used to be lovely.

 

Anyway im not saying anything else in Gen Chat as i think your all trying to get me banned again!

[davieG]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002kkmj/storyville-the-librarians

 

Caught some of this in the night 

 

In an era of escalating censorship, librarians have found themselves on the front line of America’s culture wars. This film follows the dispute between librarians with a deep academic tradition of access to knowledge and campaigning groups who seek to ban books that they find objectionable. 

In Texas, the Krause List, a blacklist of 850 books, many focused on race, gender and LGBTQIA+ lives, sparks a wave of book bans that sweep across the country. 

What begins in quiet library stacks erupts into fierce battles at school boards, community meetings and courtrooms. Facing harassment, threats and laws that criminalise their work, the librarians refuse to back down, exposing the growing influence of white Christian nationalism and the coordinated efforts to control ideas by silencing voices. 

Urgent and deeply human, this film is a powerful reminder that access to knowledge is never guaranteed and that democracy depends on those willing to protect it. 
 

One librarian was having to defend a book on the history of the KKK that had been deemed pornographic by the committee.

 

I need to watch the whole thing to get the full picture.

 

 

[Trav Le Bleu]

20 minutes ago, lcfc278 said:

 

You look at some of the buildings and houses on that road, particularly up near the Iceland and the side streets there, and they're lovely big houses. You can see that at one point in time it was probably a grand area to live in that had a bit of prestige about it but nowadays its just lots of overcrowded HMO's full of people who don't care what their area looks like and are happy dumping a fridge, mattress or sofa out on the street.

They're called students.

[Trav Le Bleu]

19 minutes ago, danny. said:

I keep my alcoholism indoors so I can cry myself to sleep in solitude, thank you very much.

 

Well I grew up on the Monsell and people didn't do that 🤷‍♂️

They do now

 

[danny.]

19 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

They do now

 

Well you have to replace the addiction of setting fire to cars with something 

[kingfox]

2 hours ago, lcfc278 said:

I drove down Narborough Road yesterday and I think if you take the time looking at the shops, restaurants and clientele you'll see it's a mix of pretty much every culture going. However one thing I will say is the place is an absolute state, pretty much from the bridge just past KFC, all the way to the large Tesco. There's litter everywhere, shops and houses just dump bin bags and cardboard boxes out on the street. There was a butchers down as you get closer to Braunstone Gate and one of the butchers was sat on a chair outside, smoking, all whilst still in his butchers 'whites' - the whole place is disgusting.

 

You look at some of the buildings and houses on that road, particularly up near the Iceland and the side streets there, and they're lovely big houses. You can see that at one point in time it was probably a grand area to live in that had a bit of prestige about it but nowadays its just lots of overcrowded HMO's full of people who don't care what their area looks like and are happy dumping a fridge, mattress or sofa out on the street.

Great observation  

 

I live not far away from the KFC, I’d describe that area as the medium part of Narborough Road, could be better, could be worse. 
 

But I’ve mentioned to neighbours and friends quite recently, as soon as you go under the bridge where Iceland is, all the way to the cut off to Braunstone Gate it’s in an absolute terrible state. 
 

Some shops have changed hands in recent years. Intasound for example who had been part of Narborough Road since the 70’s recently moved, as have others. Then all the replacements are usually “food supermarkets” or Turkish Barbers which there are literally about 20 in the proximity of Narborough Road. 
 

As you’ve touched on, the rubbish is appalling down that end too, off some of the side streets it’s even worse. More noticeable crime incidents in recent years too, such as fights and stabbings. 
 

Certainly not an area you’d want to go down regularly nowadays.

[Free Falling Foxes]

2 hours ago, lcfc278 said:

I drove down Narborough Road yesterday and I think if you take the time looking at the shops, restaurants and clientele you'll see it's a mix of pretty much every culture going. However one thing I will say is the place is an absolute state, pretty much from the bridge just past KFC, all the way to the large Tesco. There's litter everywhere, shops and houses just dump bin bags and cardboard boxes out on the street. There was a butchers down as you get closer to Braunstone Gate and one of the butchers was sat on a chair outside, smoking, all whilst still in his butchers 'whites' - the whole place is disgusting.

 

You look at some of the buildings and houses on that road, particularly up near the Iceland and the side streets there, and they're lovely big houses. You can see that at one point in time it was probably a grand area to live in that had a bit of prestige about it but nowadays its just lots of overcrowded HMO's full of people who don't care what their area looks like and are happy dumping a fridge, mattress or sofa out on the street.

I approached someone who had dropped some litter with a comment about having some pride in your area.

'It's not my f ing country bro'. Was the reply.

I bet it is when it suits, and thereby lies the problem.

[Trav Le Bleu]

19 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

I approached someone who had dropped some litter with a comment about having some pride in your area.

'It's not my f ing country bro'. Was the reply.

I bet it is when it suits, and thereby lies the problem.

So you know @Raj then?

Edited 8 October 2025 by Trav Le Bleu

[Tommy G]

37 minutes ago, kingfox said:

Great observation  

 

I live not far away from the KFC, I’d describe that area as the medium part of Narborough Road, could be better, could be worse. 
 

But I’ve mentioned to neighbours and friends quite recently, as soon as you go under the bridge where Iceland is, all the way to the cut off to Braunstone Gate it’s in an absolute terrible state. 
 

Some shops have changed hands in recent years. Intasound for example who had been part of Narborough Road since the 70’s recently moved, as have others. Then all the replacements are usually “food supermarkets” or Turkish Barbers which there are literally about 20 in the proximity of Narborough Road. 
 

As you’ve touched on, the rubbish is appalling down that end too, off some of the side streets it’s even worse. More noticeable crime incidents in recent years too, such as fights and stabbings. 
 

Certainly not an area you’d want to go down regularly nowadays.

What's causing this do you think?

[Raj]

43 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

I approached someone who had dropped some litter with a comment about having some pride in your area.

'It's not my f ing country bro'. Was the reply.

I bet it is when it suits, and thereby lies the problem.

 

11 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

What's causing this do you think?

 

There is no pride in the country we live in.

I was going to put "They" but id be banned again.

 

We live in a lovely close in East Leicester and ALL of us have pride in where we live.

We are the only "darkies" on the close but we are "one of their own".

 

ALOT of the new generation of "immigrants" don't care and don't have the same pride/ ethic in the country.

 

It also doesn't help that the councils don't have the money to sweep/ maintain the streets either but that's another matter.

 

Its all about PRIDE!

 

 

24 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

So you know @Raj then?

Are you TRYING to get me banned!!!

[Mickyblueeyes]

What does integration look like to people ? 
 

I was a second generation immigrant. Parents from Africa. Grandparents from India. Born and grew up in the UK. Educated in the UK. Worked and built my business in the Uk (as did my parents). Oh and I support England in the Cricket. 
 

Parents came over in the 70s. Loved it. Certain aspects of the culture they fully adopted. Paid taxes etc. 

 

However, in just the Indian/african/asian culture and around Leicester there were also some (a lot) within each group, who again grew up here, had very little with Indian culture who had a genuine, unwarranted dislike for the other simply because of things that happened 100, 200, 300 years ago in a land they would be a complete foreigner in simply because of what they were taught at home. Thats not integration. 
 

I mean it pissed me off growing up but you can see people carry this belief into their adulthood and the same perverse hatred following through. 
 

That’s one example of the difficulty.

 

How do you stop that ? 

[bovril]

Perhaps the alienation a lot of younger, second or third generation immigrants feel from England is not that dissimilar to how those from native families feel towards a country with now quite little to offer them either materially, culturally or spiritually. The descendents of migrants have a ready made identity to fill the void of growing up in a nation that has more or less sold out all its principles and traditions.  

[danny.]

14 minutes ago, Mickyblueeyes said:

What does integration look like to people ? 
 

I was a second generation immigrant. Parents from Africa. Grandparents from India. Born and grew up in the UK. Educated in the UK. Worked and built my business in the Uk (as did my parents). Oh and I support England in the Cricket. 
 

Parents came over in the 70s. Loved it. Certain aspects of the culture they fully adopted. Paid taxes etc. 

 

However, in just the Indian/african/asian culture and around Leicester there were also some (a lot) within each group, who again grew up here, had very little with Indian culture who had a genuine, unwarranted dislike for the other simply because of things that happened 100, 200, 300 years ago in a land they would be a complete foreigner in simply because of what they were taught at home. Thats not integration. 
 

I mean it pissed me off growing up but you can see people carry this belief into their adulthood and the same perverse hatred following through. 
 

That’s one example of the difficulty.

 

How do you stop that ? 

I'd say speaking the language of the country in every day life, dressing in the styles of that country and adopting the traditions and values of that country.

[bovril]

1 minute ago, danny. said:

I'd say speaking the language of the country in every day life, dressing in the styles of that country and adopting the traditions and values of that country.

I think it's a bit cruel forcing immigrants to dress as badly as English people.

[Mickyblueeyes]

6 minutes ago, danny. said:

I'd say speaking the language of the country in every day life, dressing in the styles of that country and adopting the traditions and values of that country.

Someone could dress in “western” clothing. Speak English but still hold opinions I described above so is that person somewhat integrated more than someone who doesn’t dress the same and hasn’t yet learned the language ?

 

And what are the traditions and values of this country - surely that changes per class ? 

[Samilktray]

15 minutes ago, bovril said:

I think it's a bit cruel forcing immigrants to dress as badly as English people.

Imagine fleeing warzones and then being expected to dress in a superdry coat and bootcut jeans? Bloody hell