Scabbydog

It is called a downward spiral. Policies have been put in place to discourage motorists and get them to use public transport. Instead it persuaded motorists to drive to out of town shopping places. The major retail names followed their customer base. The empty shops were snapped up by low end stores and betting shops. This further discouraged visitors including those who used public transport. They started shopping out of town by bus and tram. etc etc etc until city centre is deserted apart from rough sleepers and office workers who bring their lunch in a paper bag.

It is perhaps because the city centers in those places offer rather more. If your city centre is not attracting the shoppers it is time for a bit of radical thinking like trying to do something about it.

Scotland is not a pleasant place these days. The referendum was very devisive. I have friends there who are contemplating moving out because they have been attacked for supporting the NO campaign. The growth of nationalism has taken an ugly turn. There will most certainly be independence within a decade and probably ethnic cleansing to follow.

Why? http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/jeremy-clarkson-top-gear-live-shows-cancelled-in-norway-after-host-suspended-by-bbc-10126986.html Top Gear Live shows due to be held in Norway this month have been cancelled as Jeremy Clarkson waits to hear whether he will face disciplinary action for allegedly punching a member of the programme’s staff. Four performances in Stavanger, due to be held on 27 and 28 March, were called off, The Guardian newspaper reported. About 18,000 tickets, costing up to £100, for the shows had been sold.

If the rumours of the parking problems at Crystal Peaks and Meadowhall are to be believed it would seem significant numbers of people avoid the city centre for a whole host of reasons. Perhaps it would be a good idea for our captains of the city to do something about these trends rather than making excuses. Of course if you live in Rotherham or Darnal you have to drive four miles to avoid Meadowhall to get to the City, and if you live in Mosborough you have to drive 4 miles beyond Crystal Peaks to get to the city. Perhaps the planners missed that.

Filling station buys petrol at £1.21/litre and sells it at £1.26/litre. Yet is required to pay 63p turnover tax on every litre sold.

Yes its a great plan isn't it. Our local boozer is on the verge of shutting through lack of profits. It probably turns over around £200,000 a year. I wonder what a £100,000 tax bill would do to the pubs prospects. Even doubling the prices would simply double the problem and double the tax bill. I also suppose if our local Tesco had to pay 50% tax on turnover they would have to double prices to stay in business. The Pound Shop would become The 2 Pound Shop. Is this Labour's grand plan to get us out of our financial woes?

I find it odd that folk are opposed to fracking and yet turn a blid eye to the problems caused by coal mining and the production of coke. Arkwright Town fell down a hole caused by underground mineworkings and thousands of buildings and roads around here have been damaged by mining subsidence. Then there is the Doe Lea which at one time was the most heavily poluted river in Europe which ran alongside the Coalite plant.

It seems that Pakistani men make up about 3% of the population of Rotherham and were responsible for the majority of the grooming and trafficking of underaged girls. The other 97% of Rotherham men will not all be innocent but lets just keep things in proportion

I suppose on the other hand you could compare the number of people killed in the UK mining coal compared to the number in the nuclear industry. Add to that the number killed from breathing in smoke from coal fires or coal fired power stations.

So you'd tax the coal mines at 50% of turnover despite the fact that they are losing money. Still if they go bust, too bad eh. You'd make a great chancellor of the exchequer if we were trying to bankrupt the nation.

Its going to become a very expensive bike.

So are other places to shop.

I suppose the question is would more die if we didn't bomb them? Perhaps more importantly would more of us die?

But wasn't the problem in Rotherham that the sexual preditors were from a society that covers their women and female children burqas?