ECCOnoob

Not a surprise. Ha d a feeling that was going to happen after they refurbished The Moor branch and did nothing with High Street. They really don't need two centre branches these days.

What decade are you in? I am a damn sight older than you claim to be, but even I had my own passbook account, as did many of my junior school classmates. In fact, at that time, a representative of the Yorkshire Bank used to come into school once a week so we could pay our pocket money into it. By the time I reached teenager, I had my own junior account with a cash card and then a few years later a Solo debit card which was widely used. Kids these days are even more sophisticated. It's certainly not uncommon to see junior school age kids with their own prepaid debit cards or bank accounts with regular visa debit cards for those a bit older. Banks offer kids accounts as a routine service. Have done for decades. Kids are getting their own smartphones before they reach 10, they embrace a basic concept of the internet even earlier. Their world is digitised right from nursery to home to school to friends to work. Of course kids living in that world will expect to be able to buy things online, or add some music to their screaming service or download some game onto their devices... Just take a look in some of the supermarkets at the gift cards and prepaid things that can be bought. A good proportion of it is certainly not aimed at adults. The days of a quid out of mum's purse every week or £5 clipped to a birthday card from Grandma are long gone. It's very different and given your claimed age, it seems quite bizarre that you come out with such stuff. You're at least 15 years behind the rest of us most of the time.

They're not wrong though. Hardly a stretch to figure out how someone like Putin's mind works. The world has been watching and reacting to his behaviour for a long time.

No. Simple maths: 365 Tory seats is MORE than the 203 Labour ones and MORE than the 48 SNP ones and MORE than the 11 Lib Dem ones and MORE than the 8 DWP ones and MORE than the 15 other party ones.... 365 is also MORE than half of the available 650 total seats, hence, what's the word..... Oh yes. MAJORITY. How is this so hard for you to understand.

Nobody cares. That's not how the our general election results are calculated. It's seats. The Tories won the last election because they were the party with majority seats. The Tories were 80 seats over. Spin the maths all you want. They are still the party in office right now and the party who has been in office for the majority of the time throughout this present and last centuries - approx 72 years compared to Labour's 37 years.

Not a poor argument at all. You seem to admit you haven't voted since an election 17 years ago, so what gives you right to be criticising the electorate's choice like you did in post #25921. In my opinion, those who choose to ignore engaging in the selection of their political representative and utilise some of those voting rights that people fought for, quite frankly don't have any merits to be complaining if the vote doesn't go their way. It's not a minority. We have first pass the post political scoring. The leader of the party who achieves the majority share of seats wins PM's position. It's how it's always been just the same as it was when Labour won their elections - nobody seemed to be bitching about the game rules then. Even when they have taken baby steps to bring an alternative system and held a referendum, it was rejected by over 67% of us taking part in the vote. Nothing which changes the fact that the Tories have held the a prime ministerial office over 2.6x more than Labour.

Yes absolutely. I'm glad somebody else mentioned it. Seemed a lot of talk about the benefits that people have from dogs but very little talk about the dog's own welfare. For all the talk of how loyal and loving and comforting dogs are to people, they are still a significant financial and time commitment. They're not some thing to be petted and give comfort when people feel like before being shoved away in a basket for hours on end when they want to go on a day trip or go out to work all day or get out to their favourite nightclub somewhere. It always concerned me when alarming numbers of my work colleagues, as did seemingly many other people, suddenly decided to get a dog during the covid lockdowns. Now they all seem moaning and complaining after being told they need to get back into the office at least X days a week or worrying about having to pay hundreds in dog sitter fees. Some are even going as far to give them away. These are living breathing animals, not toys. It's a serious and measured decision to be made before committing to one.

Ah the old.... "my vote choice is right and everyone else's is wrong"

Well prepare to be disappointed because throughout history the Tories have had the majority of the power. This sudden landslide shift to Labour has happened before but it never lasts long term. There is always a knee jerk whenever a bright new Labour leader gives their we can change everything and fix all the problems with their magic wand promises..... Then the cracks start to show, Labour over promises and under delivers and everyone goes running back to the Tories. Since the start of the 20th century there has been 25 different people as prime minister. Only six of them were Labour compared to 16 of them being a conservative. The message is very clear.

Sorry 😐, stupid voice recognition and no editing function! I meant to say you could be on a low income council estate with families still taking pride in their homes using whatever little money they have to do them up and keep them neat..... ..... ....There could be former industrial wastelands transformed into premium housing with lots of new families and communities developing equally there could be former streets for the rich and privileged which become desolate and run down to become the new bad area...

About as "fair" as you singling out those two specific categories of workers as if they are special and deserve some kind of discount or exception privilege. Every job is argued essential if an organisation is going to choose to pay money to someone to do it. That I would agree with to a point. However globalisation increase in remote working is giving more opportunities for people outside London or other big cities to be earning City wages whilst remaining living in their location . No. "Londoners" are not. What an insulting generalisation. There are plenty of flat capped Northerners buying property to let out too. The population have always been like that . You always seem to be desperately portraying it to be a tory issue. There's been a wealth divide and difference between those who have and those who have not for centuries. People make areas good or bad not simply wealth. You could be on a low income counsellor state with families taking Prague in their homes, using my local money. They have to do them up and keep them neat. Or you could be on some millionaires row surrounded a fading gaudy fixtures and unkempt gardens because the owners don't care. That could be former industrial waste. Language are transformed into premium housing with lots of new families and communities developing equally there could be former streets for the rich and privileged which become desolate and run down to become the new bad area. It is clear that has technology and the world of work continually develops, we are building an increasing middle class who are far more educated, aspirational and ambitious than their predecessors. I never see that something negative. The world evolves. Opportunities are still out there for those prepared to take that step and grasp them. People wallowing in the past, expecting things to be handed to them on a plate or those two or three generations on still banging on about Thatcher& co ruining their lives need to be kicking themselves up the backside. Inequality is a basic part of human nature and so is the default of looking after number one. Even the 'poorest' in this country still are more than prepared to reap rewards and take advantage of other nations elsewhere. Just the same as our ancestors are doing hundreds of years ago. It's deluded to believe it's going to be any sort of balance of equality.

Its not comparatively. It might be above average and applicable to the top end qualified professional jobs but there are other factors at play here. Average price in Surrey is £632k compared to £214k in South Yorkshire. Average rent in Surrey £2,400 a month compared to £909 in South Yorkshire. Sample commuter season ticket (13 mile journey). Surrey has £2,400 South Yorkshire £1,100. There are plenty of "working people" down south too. They are not all millionaires driving around in a Bentley.

What market is that then?

What are the missing 7% I wonder. Either way, interesting there are technically more people who dont identify as Christian than those who do. What a surprise Nigel Farage talking balls just to draw attention to himself. This paragraph in the article sums it up for me. Typical fuss over nothing that rolls around every year. “....Throughout the year, messaging at the station also celebrates festivals from other religions including Easter, Christmas, Passover, and Diwali to mark the beliefs of our colleagues and passengers"

Ah yes. overlooked that line. So again a perfect example of waste. Use the Priory rather than send her to the £5m Mental Health Care Department that the Mid and South Essex Trust had at their disposal.

I am not denying that. If you read my post, I made it clear that the NHS should be providing core clinical treatments and emergency services. Looking after the disabled, natural cause illness, elderly fragility and palliative care is part of that core clinical treatment. What I am not agreeing with is propping up the serial abusers, self harmers, malingerers, timewasters, dangerous activities, lifestyle choices.... Anna, SOME patients are a nuisance. SOME patients deserve to be blamed for their own conditions (even more so why they ignore the previous advice/treatment/refuse services offered). SOME patients should be made to pay when they overuse and abuse the service. SOME patients are more than capable and should be taking responsibility for nursing and caring for themselves instead of sitting on their backsides expecting the state to pick up the tab.

If true (because Daily Mail). A perfect example of waste, incompetence and mismanagement from the NHS I describe. Putting aside the obvious self infliction from the family and the patient herself, how the hell did things get that far. How on earth did they 'sneak in' Fish and Chips and Buckets of Fried Chicken to a clearly critically obese patient on a hospital ward. Nobody noticed? Nobody actually monitored and checked when they ran their tests? Did none of the clinicians involved up to and during the peeing away of £10k on a gastric band stop to think that this patient clearly has a mental health problem and may need to be referred for either detention or psychological treatment to top her self harming via overeating? Did none of the services check on the wider family, about her lifestyle and who was providing this bed bound woman with all this food which may have been bordering abuse? Madness.

Lots of things there that people should be taking self responsibility for - not expecting the state to nurse them. THAT is the problem. The NHS is overused, taken for granted, overburdened by far too many who should and can be taking care of themselves. It has far too many departments, divisions, side projects and auxiliary services that shouldn't be funded by taxpayers. Its ego is far too big and its always too overprotected because god forbid any Politician would dare to suggest even the slightest reform - they all know it would be election suicide and within seconds all the unions would be kicking off. I long for the day when someone will have the balls to openly admit it might be a little bit of incompetent, flabby, wasteful, expensive and mismanaged. It needs to be completely stripped back to is functions of core clinical treatments and emergency services. Lifestyle choices, malingerers, self inflicted damage, serial abusers and timewasters clogging up the service need to be severely tackled even directly made to pay if necessary. ......You choose to go base jumping off cheddar gorge >> better get that health insurance policy. You choose to eat 2 buckets of fried chicken and a gallon of coke a day, despite the widely publicised public health warnings >> be prepared to be paying for your weight loss and diabetes treatment You choose to blatantly ignore repeated advice of your Clinician to cut out smoking >> fine, but the next time your visit with worsened emphysema will be chargeable. You choose to get blind drunk on Saturday night and start brawling >> your choice. But expect to be left waiting at the back of the A&E queue followed by an invoice on Monday. You choose to repeatedly fail to attend arranged GP appointments without cancelling >> next time its £25 each missed appointment..... However, never going to happen.

Very true. Far too many blindly following a colour or picking who their dad picked or their granddad did or their great granddad did. .

It is, but I am more surprised that such falls under a local authority's remit and more importantly out of their budget. Seems quite bizarre that at a time when some local authorities are going completely bankrupt and others sre barely able to provide the minimal of services, money is being spent in such way.

Let's all remember the local elections for SCC and the City Regional Mayor are coming up on 2 May. So if one wants to get rid of the tools who brought in all the decisions that people have been whining about on here about for months - now's the chance. Use it or lose it.

Bull. You wouldn't remember jack all until at least into 2000. Nearly all stores took debit cards without additional charges, You could even use them to buy tickets onboard the train or at the cinema , in many pubs and even in my local corner shop. I certainly remember getting my slips to sign from all sorts of places day-to-day. By the time you claim you emerged onto this world, the switch debit card had been in existence for nearly a decade, contactless payments started before you even became a teenager. Some of us were actually there love. I don't care what your family did. Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen. When are you going to get into your head, cashless society is not a new thing. It is just the tools that have changed.

You make it sound as if there's no other human being on the planet who I will interact with during my day. I have my own social network of people to talk to. I don't need shop staff for it. See what I have said above. People these days have there entire communications and support network be it verbal, written, visual all in their pocket. We have never had more engaged society.

1967 love. Barclays Enfield. Well prepare to be disappointed because there's only one direction it's going. What if you get mugged and lose all your cash? What if you drop your wallet on the bus? Why if the store safe gets broken into? What if the till got jammed? We can all play those games You have never had 'change' love. By the time you were popped out into this world, cashless transactions were well established, ordinary consumers had been using cheque books for decades and debit cards were commonplace.

Even cash transactions require digital dependency. Do you think a bank just throws cash into a big vault and writes it all down on big dusty handwritten ledgers. How do you think the ATM you use every day conducts its transactions. Your comparisons were the theatre are misguided, considering most of the venues these days have increasing use of digital ticketing where the ushers just scan a barcode from someone's device. It's sod all to do with laziness. Cashless transactions have been around since the 18th century. Before the advent of the digital revolution the vast majority of the world's financials was conducted by cheques and bankers drafts and orders. People were not wandering around which huge sacks of coins. The first plastic payment card was created in the 1950s. The first EPOS invented in the '70s. More talking out of your backside Mrs "28 years old"