[Closed] London is not representative of the united kingdom it's a landlocked island.

No, it's a kingdom that isn't united.
HTH

WGAF?

Stephen Walter has done an amazing map depicting London as an island: [url= http://www.stephenwalter.co.uk/drawings/drawa1.php ]here[/url] and [url= http://www.bl.uk/magnificentmaps/map4.html ]here[/url]

Crikey, the detail in that map. Ideal for the bog wall.

Disagree. I've lived in London and i've lived elsewhere: they're not that different, it's just the media portrayals typically are.

Trolling?

London is not representative of the united kingdom it's a landlocked island

or a city state

Hairychested - Member

No, it's a kingdom that isn't united.
HTH

Ha ha! That's how I remember the difference between UK and GB!! UK isn't united!!!

With a bit of global warming it could become New Atlantis

London needs an area the size of Spain to provide it's resources.

I wish it were an island, with tight border controls to keep some of you lot out. Come here clogging up our streets, enjoying all the culture and history and stuff we have to offer, then bugger off back to Oddmorden or whatever Godforsaken hell-hole you crawled out from, complaining about it. Stay away! I'd volunteer to man the gun turrets... 😉

You're right though Nutt. London is a unique entity unto itself, and doesn't represent the UK. Unlike all other cities which are merely UK cities, nothing more. London has the same mythical status as New York, Paris, Barcelona, Hong Kong; places which exist and thrive in their own right, not merely as part of a greater whole.

Greatest City on Earth, without a doubt.

London needs an area the size of Spain to provide it's resources.

And its GDP is the same as Austria's.

Greatest City on Earth, without a doubt.

Amazing what wealth and riches Imperial exploitation can bring.

Even more amazing to find out who is proud of this.

london is a shithole!

Amazing what wealth and riches Imperial exploitation can bring.

Name me a great city on Earth that wasn't founded along similar lines.

London is also the birthplace of many fantastic institutions of medicine, Law, art, learning and philosophy. The battleground for social justice and equality. A huge melting pot of different cultures and ideas.

I think the positives far outweigh the negatives, but there'll always be the envious naysayers.

Central London is an impressive place, loads of history, culture and all that good stuff. However it always amazes me how many people who live in the surrounding suberbs talk up London. From what I've seen of the sprawl that surrounds the centre there is little different from the sprawl around any major city. Might as well live around Manchester, Leeds or Liverpool. Nothing special about those places (except the stupidly high house prices).

Name me a great city on Earth that wasn't founded along similar lines.

That makes it OK then.

London is also the birthplace of many fantastic institutions of medicine, Law, art, learning and philosophy

All producing largely white, proffesional middle class, discourses that you spend most of your time on here bleating against.

I think the positives far outweigh the negatives, but there'll always be the envious naysayers

Not envious at all. If I wanted to live in London I would.

Interesting double standards on this one elf.

A few tips for us northern visiters to Londinium ofat' interweb thingy..
London Travel Safety Tips
•Try to avoid walking alone at night. Keep to well-lit main roads
•Stay alert: be aware of what's going on around you
•Avoid wearing headphones – they reduce awareness of your surroundings

All producing largely white, proffesional middle class, discourses that you spend most of your time on here bleating against.

What? Explain please? So, you're saying I'm opposed to White Middle Class professionals now, are you? Do you pay [i]any[/i] attention to what I post?

Nah, you've got me mixed up with someone in your own imagination I'm afraid me old mucker.

Or do you just want an argument? 😉

Stumpyjohn; I agree to an extent re some suburbs, but then even some of them have their own uniqueness within London's history. Greenwich was once miles from the city, yet today is inseparable from any notion of what London is.

I think the difference between London and many other cities worldwide, is that London is a 'brand'. Same as Paris, Barça, New York etc. Other UK cities have tried this, but never really succeeded for that long. London has produced icons that symbolise the place like no other city on Earth has, really.

[i]N.B. > ElfinFredsClothing's views do not necessarily represent those of the other 6million+ of us who reside in London[/i]

at this present time, I think it's 64% shithole, 30% great place to live, 6% meh

N.B. > ElfinFredsClothing's views do not necessarily represent those of the other 6million+ of us who reside in London

I respect your right to be wrong. 😀

I love it. Others don't. The World keeps turning....

A few tips for us northern visiters to Londinium ofat' interweb thingy..
London Travel Safety Tips
•Try to avoid walking alone at night. Keep to well-lit main roads

Of course it's not representative, just as Birmingham isn't and Liverpool isn't and Edinburgh isn't, etc 🙄

this is hilarious, and ridiculous. the title might as well be:

"The UK is entirely homogenous, except for that london bit, which is different"

MrK doesn't deal in widespread generalisations.

Of course it's not representative, just as Birmingham isn't and Liverpool isn't and Edinburgh isn't, etc

I don't think those places are a separable from the rest of the UK as is London though. What I mean is, if you go to New York, you go to [u]New York[/u], not the USA. But if you go to somewhere like Hartford CT, you are going to the USA. Make sense? New Yorkers I spoke to agreed with me on this one. Their identity is very strong and distinct from the rest of the USA. I noticed the same with Paris and Barça.

I find the sense of distance of Londoners quite funny.
I know half a mile can make quite a difference in the type of neighbourhood but please, it's only half a mile - It's not some epic journey to another land.

"not representative" in what sense?

Give it a decade or two...

The air stinks. It ain't air.

Good place for bicycle shows though 🙂

It's not really an island.... it's more like a theme park, where the theme is London itself. It's almost like it tries so hard to maintain its brand it's become a self-fulfilling parody.

Don't get me wrong, I love it to visit (been 6 or 7 times this year), but it can feel quite 'other-worldy'

Their identity is very strong and distinct from the rest of the USA

They just like to think that - makes them feel special - same as some Londoners 😉 (speaking as a Londoner...)

Hartford CT, eh... been there?

MrK doesn't deal in widespread generalisations

I have not been often enough to pass comment on its distictiveness or otherwise. Usually when I travel I can tell I am somewhere different. I suspect London has that feel as well.

Was in london on saturday having a mooch about. I do just wandering about and seeing where you end up. Found this little local boozer about 10 mins east of liverpool st, loverly!
Wouldnt want to live there, but its important to me that i visit fairly regualarly.
Mind you blew my nose the next day and it was battleship grey!

Hartford, eh... been there?

Yes. It's not the most exciting place I've ever been to. 😐 I understand it does have history that is pretty significant though (formation of the Constitution of the USA), but it's not somewhere I'd choose to visit. NY on the other hand, was somewhere I'd always dreamed of going. But I'd dreamed of visiting NY, not the USA. There's a difference.

I'd agree with that but IMO New York is still very much the US even if it has it's own slant on things. Everywhere does really, it's just less shouty and nasal 🙂

When I worked there, I definitely found it to be a microcosm. Absolutely. You don't have to go anywhere for anything, and can spend your entire life there unless you choose to leave for some reason or other.

In smaller places, you often find yourself travelling to another town or city for whatever reason - quite possibly trivial of course. But that doesn't happen in London unless you want to do something outdoorsy. Because peoeple tend to spend so much time in the city, I think it takes over your mind a little and you think London rather than South Eastern England.

I am not a city fan at all, and Manchester or Birmingham would depress the crap out of me. London is far more than just a big city, however, and I simply enjoy being there. Chock full of inspiration, for me.

Inspiration, good point, that's why I'm thinking of going for a job there. If I could afford to leave the flat there's a lot to check out.
But I like being a 5 min ride from countryside. I need that green release. I wonder how long I could stand london for. You can't easily escape in any direction.

molegrips is bang on about the travelling to other towns aspect that happen when you live in other towns and cities but not in London.

The UK is a varied place and I can't think of any one area, town or City tat represents it particularly well.

duffmiver - Member
london is a shithole!

No different to most larger towns and Cities in the UK then, and to be fair it's better than most of them. Ever been to Birmingham or Liverpool? Any of the large business park towns such as Reading or MK? Post industrial towns with collapsed economies who then get a shopping centre and which is labelled as regeneration as unskilled retail jobs are claimed to be replacements for skilled manufacturing jobs? Or Post industrial towns that don't even have that redevelopment?

ooOOoo - Member
I find the sense of distance of Londoners quite funny.
I know half a mile can make quite a difference in the type of neighbourhood but please, it's only half a mile - It's not some epic journey to another land.

Distance in miles ceases to become relevant in large Cities like London it's all about time. While my girlfriend was doing her teacher training some idiot gave her a placement 15 miles away this took 1hr 45 min to get to, another area 20 miles away could have only taken a little over an hour it just depends on the connections.

I see your point
I guess the tube map has a lot to do with it. If you only ever use that you would have no sense of distance at all!

But I like being a 5 min ride from countryside. I need that green release. I wonder how long I could stand london for. You can't easily escape in any direction.

Hence the microcosm thing.

You lose scenic valleys and hills and so on. But there's a lot to be said for leafy old suburbs. I know you can't go mtbing but some of the suburbs are absolutely beautiful. We went to the Zoo the other day, and some of the streets from Camden Town tube were just beautiful. And this coming from a die-hard country boy.

wasnt this covered a week ago
you can get the tube into the middle of epping forest

granted most londoners dont because they are too busy shopping/partying/working/commuting/inflating property prices etc etc

so it is a bit of an island, theres so much to do its hard to leave sometimes!

Central London is an impressive place, loads of history, culture and all that good stuff. However it always amazes me how many people who live in the surrounding suberbs talk up London. From what I've seen of the sprawl that surrounds the centre there is little different from the sprawl around any major city. Might as well live around Manchester, Leeds or Liverpool. Nothing special about those places (except the stupidly high house prices).

What a bizarrely circular point. The reason they're expensive and desirable places to live despite themselves not being that special is exactly because of their proximity to the centre of one of the world's greatest cities. Might as well live around Manchester, Leeds or Liverpool - as long as you don't want all the good stuff of London 20 mins from your front door.

Erm Swindon was actually the birthplace of the nhs, not a lot of people know that.

Ahh London, a flaccid old spam javelin that's well past it's prime and utterly kidding itself if it thinks it's anywhere close to being on a par with New York City's purple headed warrior.

It remains however, my third favourite city in the South of England.

lol

so it is a bit of an island, theres so much to do its hard to leave sometimes!

I think the yanks use that as an explanation of why most of them don't have passports 🙂

Erm Swindon was actually the birthplace of the nhs, not a lot of people know that.

This isn't [i]quite[/i] true, but the model on which the NHS was then based was pioneered there:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2008/06/27/nhs_swindon_60th_feature.shtml

Ahh London, a flaccid old spam javelin that's well past it's prime and utterly kidding itself if it thinks it's anywhere close to being on a par with New York City's purple headed warrior.

Utter, utter pish. New York would love to be like London in terms of history, culture and diversity. It just doesn't have the depth of stuff that London does. Any intelligent New Yorker will tell you this. It's like London's flashy, brash, loud younger relative. Has a lot of growing up to do 'til it's even anywhere close.

London's fine, like any other big city really. Full of the same sorts of folk the world over. Sometimes it's hard to tell them apart 'cept for the languages (and even that's no way of telling sometimes) All have the shopping, most have old buildings and museums and parks...and traffic and drunks and whatever.

Personally I like to see the horizon, but I understand why London and mega cities like it are appealing

London is the UK's only really big city tho, and that makes it unique.

Plus there are plenty of places in London where you can see to the horizon, and plenty of places in the world's great wildernesses where you can't 🙂

I assume he means a horizon without buildings?!

London- great place to visit, great place to work, but the best bit for me is always leaving at the end of the day!

Aye, you know, the sky meeting the ground...

I don't hate cities, and I can see Elfin's point, London's got a claim to be one of the "great" cities. S'not for me, is all.

If a the buildings are several miles away does that not still constitute the horizon?

Plus there are plenty of places in London where you can [s]see to the horizon[/s] eat the air it's so thick with pollution, and plenty of places in the world's great wildernesses where you [s]can't[/s] can smell a daisy a mile a way, the air is so clear

I was in London last Monday, the air was fine.

Sure, it wasn't an Alpine meadow, but so what? I love those too 🙂 The advantage of being able to see the good in most things is that you're always near something good 🙂

Btw I don't think London's noticeably less polluted than any other big UK city.

In any case, bristolbiker, you can't talk. Bristol has all of the disadvantages of London and absolutely none of the advantages!

Funny how people slag London off, but they'll all come here to shop, see concerts/shows, eat, visit museums and galleries, etc. 😀

If you don't like it, then don't ever come here. Quite simple isn't it? That way, those of us who are intelligent enough to appreciate it properly will enjoy it without you miserable buggers clogging the place up. 😉

grips, sort of. I just prefer my views a little less man made*

*with the proviso that I live in the south east of England and it's all a bit manufactured...If I look out of my office window it's fields and coos. I prefer that to taxis and buildings and people...

I too love to look out over countryside. However, I can see the good in London, and I don't slag it off. I would enjoy talking about the good points of something more than the bad, wouldn't you all?

I could live there (lots of work for me) but don't.

Actually, you're right, London as a whole comes, out 3rd bottom in the UK in a quick straw pole on Google....

In any case, bristolbiker, you can't talk. Bristol has all of the disadvantages of London and absolutely none of the advantages!

No, I'd disgree with that - my local single track is 50m from the door, and a bus to the centre takes 10 minutes the other way.

Like I said, I like London for what it is - as Elfin says above, it does have the shows, museums etc etc and that's fine.... which confirms my inital post that it is like a theme park, where all the rides are in one place and when you've had enough you can go home....

I think most people could say the same of where they live, that it is different from the rest of the UK, has it's own identity.
Not sure I'd got to the trouble of starting a thread about it though 😕

In any case, bristolbiker, you can't talk. Bristol has all of the disadvantages of London and absolutely none of the advantages!

As a Londoner who chose to move to Bristol, I always say that it's the other way around. Well ok, definitely doesn't have all the advantages/none of the disadvantages but has the ones that I care about - eg things/places to do and see without crap commuting and with mtbing 20 mins away, affordable (relatively speaking!) housing.

London is great though and I love going back for the weekend to visit family/friends but to get the best of it you really either need to be very into culture/arts/all the other things that London simply has much more of than anywhere else and/or very rich.

When I last went there, Bristol was insanely busy traffic-wise, a bloody nightmare to get around and contained nothing of interest. Even the shopping was crap!

And there was naff-all decent biking locally, although I'd be happy to be proved wrong there.

PS I know I am complaining when I previously said I liked to focus on the good - I am just trolling 🙂

Bristol has some awful traffic - as does any big city - however, as a Londoner, I'm constantly suprised at just how localised it is (rather than being everywhere) and how short the 'rush hour' seems.

Not really sure how the shopping's crap - isn't it the same as everywhere - eg all the big names that you get everywhere plus Park Street and various other areas for the independents? Name me somewhere where it's good? Though TBH I really couldn't care less about the shopping...

Biking's great, thanks 🙂 at least, it suits me.

Most cities have bad traffic yes, but London has the tube which is an alternative most cities don't have.

Not really sure how the shopping's crap - isn't it the same as everywhere

When I walk around Broadmead it looks shabby and depressing. This does not make for a pleasant town centre experience, for me.

Broadmead is shabby and depressing. That's why they put up Cabot Circus a couple of years ago 🙂

As to traffic, Bristol's small really so unless it is rush hour, it's not really an issue.

Cabot circus is half a shopping centre tacked onto a crap town centre. St David's 2 in Cardiff wees on it 🙂

Nah, that's full of Welshies though 😉

As a Londoner, born and bred, i think it's a truly amazing place. I ride around it all day and it never ceases to amaze me one way or another (unless of course it's p!ssing down and 2 above zero). But, the rest of our fine country is also amazing has has many undiscovered gems that i'll find in time.

London and the UK rocks.

Yay! 😀

Also, affixing rubber soles to your clogs will stop your clattering being less noticeable

Not true - once spent a trip on the tube sparking our clogs on each other & on the metal bits of the floor - absolutely terrified the locals! 😆

Plus there are plenty of places in London where you can [s]see to the horizon[/s] eat the air it's so thick with pollution, and plenty of places in the world's great wildernesses where you can't [s]can[/s] smell a daisy a mile a way, the air is so clear

I think that Elfinsafety bloke might be from London you know...

Speaking as a Northern chap, that London is a magical place. Just magic. I love going, love the sights, the sounds, the smells, the ladies, all of it. It is one of the great cities of the world, and puts every other city in the UK to shame, even those in t'North.

It's a bit dear, and the chippies are rubbish, and the off road stuff is a bit poor, but as a place, it's ace.

Cardiff

A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Btw, I think London's great too. Don't want to live there but lots of my friends do which gives me plenty of reasons to visit...I have to see Fred's missus' child every few weeks anyway. And when I get sick of the Freds of this world I can point the car west and go back to Bristol.

Cardiff's great for the millenium stadium and the half marathon there's an excellent race.

Hell, I even like Liverpool and Manchester too....and Glasgow, and Newcastle.

What's the point in shitting on a city just because you don't live there?

...and trains that go underground...

You London types complain about the tube; Jesus! It's amazing, reliable, clean enough, cheap enough, it just works so well compared to shitty buses..

and the chippies are rubbish

ernie_lynch to the thread please! 😀

[i]and the chippies are rubbish

ernie_lynch to the thread please![/i]

They don't have proper gravy, mushy peas, or

DA DADA DA DADA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[center] http://www.hollandspies.co.uk/ [/center]

Londons carpenter types are mighty fine though....

uponthedowns - Member
> London needs an area the size of Spain to provide it's resources.
And its GDP is the same as Austria's.

No it's not. You're confusing revenue generated UK wide and reported in the City of London with actual revenue generated by people who live and work in London.

You won't get this in Bristol:
[IMG] [/IMG]

Well I'm not very up on all that stuff, but according to Wiki, London's GDP is $565 billion, while that of the entire UK is $2.2 trillion. So London's GDP makes up 1/4 of the entire UK's. Considering London's metropolitan area population is getting on for 14 million, if you consider the entire population of the UK is an estimated 62 million, then it's reasonable to believe that these figures are accurate. 25 percent of the GDP is generated by 22.5% of the population. Sort of. Oh it's too compulcated for me... 🙁

You wouldn't get it in Bath either. The w4nkers in town planning would see to such modern rubbish 🙂

I have to see Fred's missus' child every few weeks anyway

She's not my missus any more; kicked her out months ago. And if I were you, DD, I'd get a paternity test. I mean, it's costing you a fortune, but are you really sure? Are you? With her track record? 😕