I started listening to the Pixies in 1991 or 1992 around the time that they broke up. I initially heard Doolittle on tape, borrowed from the library in East Kilbride. A neighbour gave me a copy of Trompe Le Monde and I bought a second hand copy of Surfer Rosa, looking for Big Black style Albini kicks.
They didn't click with me immediately. I got the REM and Velvets references on 'Here comes your man' but it took a while to fall in love with them. Eventually I got there.
I first saw them live in 2004 at T in the Park and since then I've seen them in the SECC and at Primavera in Barcelona. Generally they deliver and I was keen to see them again at the Kelvingrove Bandstand which is a great venue and usually ned free. Sadly there was a bit of a ned problem last night which is often an issue in Glasgow. Drunken twats are like scabies in Glasgow and I encountered one last night.
The pixies played a great 31 song set, starting with 'where is my mind?' and including 'wintering', 'caribou', 'nimrod's son', 'broken face', 'wave of mutilation', 'here comes your man', 'gouge away', 'planet of sound' and 'debaser'. They also played a bunch of new stuff I didn't recognise. They were tight and the new bass player did well. We also bumped into a bunch of pals which was nice.
Sadly our personal space was invaded by a drunken twat who thinks it is ok to be verbally aggressive to women. Another concert goer was wearing a 'rudimentary peni' t-shirt and on reflection, I feel that it should be gifted to that drunken idiot as a warning to the general public. After some razor sharp with and repartee, we left the venue during the last song to avoid me getting my ass kicked by the aforementioned intoxicated misogynist. We listened to the encore of 'into the white' from the car feeling sorry for anyone who needs to interact with that dude on a regular basis.
The pixies were good and assholes are, sadly, everywhere. Even at pixies concerts. If wankers could fly we would never see the sky.
Minimum alcohol pricing may well make Scotland a better place.
Showing posts with label neds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neds. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 09, 2017
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Barbed Wire Kisses - The Jesus and Mary Chain story by Zoe Howe
I picked this book up in Monorail Records on Monday. I read it within 12 hours. It was great.
I grew up in East Kilbride in the 70s, 80s and early 90s and the Mary Chain just always seemed very big to me. I remember the summers in East Kilbride when I was at primary school in the eighties. I remember it being sunny and green. I remember playing in the parks and the bushes. It as pretty good in many ways.
As I grew older the problems with East Kilbride became more apparent to me. It was full of neds, it was a small town; a bit narrow minded and boring. I got out and moved on but the town is still with me.
The Mary Chain evolved in East Kilbride and soundtracked some of those eighties summers. They made music about underpasses and parks and rain and magic mushrooms. Music that resonates around the South Lanarkshire town. Barbed Wire Kisses by Zoe Howe captures East Kilbride well. Parts of the book are laugh out loud. The Mary Chain were often cast as arch miserabilists but they come across as funny guys here.
Jim and William Reid conceptualised the band in a shared council house bedroom in the town. I've been in those houses. I've seen those walls. They emerged fully formed and made some bloody brilliant music.
I really enjoyed this book and I would encourage you to check it out. I was a bit let down by the unedited splurge of the Morrissey book and I got much more from this book.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Adventures in bin-raking
I'm staying at my parents house for a couple of days. I haven't been out here since Christmase so it's noce to catch up with them a bit. I've also been tidying out my old room at their house and getting rid of some of the crap that's still cluttering the place.
I went to the local dump with my mother this afternoon. My mother likes a bargin and keeps her eyes open for useful things whenever she goes to the dump. We were fairly lucky today. At the top of the dump was a pile of about 30 CDs and DVDs. It looked as if somebody had thrown out someone elses possessions. The collection looked rather female in origin and contained a lot of stuff by the likes of Michael Buble and Jess Stone. There was also a few Beatles CDs and stuff by Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Miles Davis and BoB Dylan. Randomly there was also a copy of 'the last time I did acid I went insane' by Jeffrey Lewis. I promptly jumped into the dump and salvaged all this booty. As a family we are not proud. I even found a copy of Johnny Cash 'American 5' for my Dad (I own this one already but my Dad is a Cash fan too). We also picked up the first series of the Wire and a couple of books.
At the end of the day we figured out that the collection of stuff was probably worth about £150. Not bad for stuff that was due to be landfill. The stuff that we don't want for ourselves will be donated to charity shops with some of the other stuff we were getting rid of.
My parents and I are not poor. I have a good job and they have decent pensions. However it does sicken me to see useful stuff condemed to landfill when it could be used by someone else. My Dad will enjoy watching Finding Nemo and the Wire and my Mum will enjoy listening to Elton John (hopefully when I'm out of earshot). I'm happy with my free stuff too.
So, if you go to the dump - keep your eyes open. And if you are going to dump stuff maybe think if someone else could use it. We suspect that all this stuff was thrown out by an idiot in a fit of anger which is sort of sad but hopefully the charity shop may be able to do something useful with it.
I went to the local dump with my mother this afternoon. My mother likes a bargin and keeps her eyes open for useful things whenever she goes to the dump. We were fairly lucky today. At the top of the dump was a pile of about 30 CDs and DVDs. It looked as if somebody had thrown out someone elses possessions. The collection looked rather female in origin and contained a lot of stuff by the likes of Michael Buble and Jess Stone. There was also a few Beatles CDs and stuff by Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Miles Davis and BoB Dylan. Randomly there was also a copy of 'the last time I did acid I went insane' by Jeffrey Lewis. I promptly jumped into the dump and salvaged all this booty. As a family we are not proud. I even found a copy of Johnny Cash 'American 5' for my Dad (I own this one already but my Dad is a Cash fan too). We also picked up the first series of the Wire and a couple of books.
At the end of the day we figured out that the collection of stuff was probably worth about £150. Not bad for stuff that was due to be landfill. The stuff that we don't want for ourselves will be donated to charity shops with some of the other stuff we were getting rid of.
My parents and I are not poor. I have a good job and they have decent pensions. However it does sicken me to see useful stuff condemed to landfill when it could be used by someone else. My Dad will enjoy watching Finding Nemo and the Wire and my Mum will enjoy listening to Elton John (hopefully when I'm out of earshot). I'm happy with my free stuff too.
So, if you go to the dump - keep your eyes open. And if you are going to dump stuff maybe think if someone else could use it. We suspect that all this stuff was thrown out by an idiot in a fit of anger which is sort of sad but hopefully the charity shop may be able to do something useful with it.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
NEDS - DVD review
I approached Neds with trepidation. I was born in Glasgow, I grew up in Lanarkshire, I went to school with a lot of neds and I own a flat in Glasgow. I didn't see this film in the cinema because I thought it would attract a dodgy crowd. I've finally caught up with it on DVD.
I think it's a good film, possibly even a great film, but it could be difficult to follow if you don't speak the language. It follows a young boy as he finishes primary school where he has academically excelled and starts secondary school where he falls in with a bad crowd. Outside school he starts to hang out with a bad crowd and get into trouble.
I recognised the characters and situations in this film. I've seen people end up like the characters in this film. It was very real to me and at times very upsetting. On a personal level, I've been threatened with a knife, kicked in the head and I've had my carry out stolen from me. I know how all that feels although I'm lucky that I've gotten away from it. I felt that Peter Mullan and his actors have created a great film that is fairly true.
As I watched the film I was struck by a real feeling that if I have children I would want to avoid them putting up with all that sort of shit. I guess that means moving to the country or something. The events dramatised in this film still go on in Glasgow and other Scottish towns on a weekly basis. Our society is fucked up. If you disagree, read the newspapers or the BBC website.
The film ends ambiguously but it's a good ending. You can pick your own ending. I hope that the main character did well after all of this. Having read other reviews on the internet I know a lot of people didn't like him but I hope he gets a second chance.
This is a story about how your environment fucks you up. Well worth seeing. Use subtitles if you need to.
I think it's a good film, possibly even a great film, but it could be difficult to follow if you don't speak the language. It follows a young boy as he finishes primary school where he has academically excelled and starts secondary school where he falls in with a bad crowd. Outside school he starts to hang out with a bad crowd and get into trouble.
I recognised the characters and situations in this film. I've seen people end up like the characters in this film. It was very real to me and at times very upsetting. On a personal level, I've been threatened with a knife, kicked in the head and I've had my carry out stolen from me. I know how all that feels although I'm lucky that I've gotten away from it. I felt that Peter Mullan and his actors have created a great film that is fairly true.
As I watched the film I was struck by a real feeling that if I have children I would want to avoid them putting up with all that sort of shit. I guess that means moving to the country or something. The events dramatised in this film still go on in Glasgow and other Scottish towns on a weekly basis. Our society is fucked up. If you disagree, read the newspapers or the BBC website.
The film ends ambiguously but it's a good ending. You can pick your own ending. I hope that the main character did well after all of this. Having read other reviews on the internet I know a lot of people didn't like him but I hope he gets a second chance.
This is a story about how your environment fucks you up. Well worth seeing. Use subtitles if you need to.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Barcelona
I'd been to Barcelona once or twice in the past, maybe 17 years ago. I have vague memories of the visit although I remember visiting the Salvador Dali museum. The Dali stuff blew me away back then.
I was in town this time for a mix of work and pleasure. I was giving a brief academic talk at a medical conference in town during the first half of the week and sneakily attending the Primavera music festival at the end of the week.
I arrived in Barcelona at 8:30am. I couldn't check into my hotel on the Passeig De Gracia straight away so I went for a walk around the centre of town. Most of the shops were shut as it was a public holiday. I walked down to the Modern Art Museum and hung out there for an hour or two.
The heat was fairly intense. I've spent a lot of time in Spain in the past but the heat always gets me. I just don't like the dry heat. I find myself eating less solid food and drinking a lot more water in that sort of weather. I guess I'm just more physically adapted to life in a cold, wet country.
There was a lot of anti-capitalist/anarchist graffiti on the shop windows in the streets near Placa de Catalunya. The current financial turmoil affecting Spain probably had something to do with that. The shops that I found in Barcelona were all fairly nice if both upmarket and expensive. I bought myself a new pair of trainers and a cap to protect my balding head from the sun. I also found a copy of a pixies CD 'the purple tape' which is out of print in the UK. It was only 5 euros so I was chuffed with that.
I also picked up a copy of an art book by Raymond Pettibon (of black flag/sonic youth goo fame). It was published to comemorate a Spanish exhibition from a few years back. I paid 50 Euros and it was selling for £120 when I checked the price in Amazon.
The underground system in Barcelona is pretty good. I had my eyes open for pickpockets but I only had one weirdo try it on. I was clearly a bit paler than everyone else on the street which clearly singled me out as a mark. Some bloke came up to me and started to engage me in disjointed conversation. He spun a bit of a sob story and managed to convince me to give him 2 Euros. He then started to ask me weird shit about how old I was so I told him to fuck off. I was slightly more polite in my lexical choice but i used my 'fuck off' Glasweigan tone of voice.
The Gaudi buildings are interesting to look at. My hotel was just a couple of blocks away from Casa Mila which just looks like it's melting. It reminds me of comic book art from the Nemesis the warlock series in 2000ad. I guess Kevin O'Neill was influenced by Gaudi and not vice versa.
Anyhow, enough rambling pish. Liked the city. Will go back. By train if I can.
I was in town this time for a mix of work and pleasure. I was giving a brief academic talk at a medical conference in town during the first half of the week and sneakily attending the Primavera music festival at the end of the week.
I arrived in Barcelona at 8:30am. I couldn't check into my hotel on the Passeig De Gracia straight away so I went for a walk around the centre of town. Most of the shops were shut as it was a public holiday. I walked down to the Modern Art Museum and hung out there for an hour or two.
The heat was fairly intense. I've spent a lot of time in Spain in the past but the heat always gets me. I just don't like the dry heat. I find myself eating less solid food and drinking a lot more water in that sort of weather. I guess I'm just more physically adapted to life in a cold, wet country.
There was a lot of anti-capitalist/anarchist graffiti on the shop windows in the streets near Placa de Catalunya. The current financial turmoil affecting Spain probably had something to do with that. The shops that I found in Barcelona were all fairly nice if both upmarket and expensive. I bought myself a new pair of trainers and a cap to protect my balding head from the sun. I also found a copy of a pixies CD 'the purple tape' which is out of print in the UK. It was only 5 euros so I was chuffed with that.
I also picked up a copy of an art book by Raymond Pettibon (of black flag/sonic youth goo fame). It was published to comemorate a Spanish exhibition from a few years back. I paid 50 Euros and it was selling for £120 when I checked the price in Amazon.
The underground system in Barcelona is pretty good. I had my eyes open for pickpockets but I only had one weirdo try it on. I was clearly a bit paler than everyone else on the street which clearly singled me out as a mark. Some bloke came up to me and started to engage me in disjointed conversation. He spun a bit of a sob story and managed to convince me to give him 2 Euros. He then started to ask me weird shit about how old I was so I told him to fuck off. I was slightly more polite in my lexical choice but i used my 'fuck off' Glasweigan tone of voice.
The Gaudi buildings are interesting to look at. My hotel was just a couple of blocks away from Casa Mila which just looks like it's melting. It reminds me of comic book art from the Nemesis the warlock series in 2000ad. I guess Kevin O'Neill was influenced by Gaudi and not vice versa.
Anyhow, enough rambling pish. Liked the city. Will go back. By train if I can.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Racism in Glasgow
I was chatting to a guy I used to work with the other day. He was born on Glasgow and grew up in Glasgow. He is very Scottish. He is also a Sikh. He thinks that Glasgow has become more racist in recent years.
My friend used to be a loyal Rangers supporter and go to Ibrox the other week. He stopped going when he heard other fans calling opposition players 'black bastards'. As he is a Sikh, he wears a turban all the time and he has a full beard. Since 2001 he says that things have become much worse. He tells me that two weeks ago he and his wife were walking through Glasgow City Centre when a ned called him a 'paki bastard'.
All of this makes me sad and angry. My friend is a Scottish as I am but he is picked on because of the colour of his skin. I want Scotland and Glasgow to be the best place in the world. We are failing when we ignore racism.
Everyone should stand up against that sort of shit.
My friend used to be a loyal Rangers supporter and go to Ibrox the other week. He stopped going when he heard other fans calling opposition players 'black bastards'. As he is a Sikh, he wears a turban all the time and he has a full beard. Since 2001 he says that things have become much worse. He tells me that two weeks ago he and his wife were walking through Glasgow City Centre when a ned called him a 'paki bastard'.
All of this makes me sad and angry. My friend is a Scottish as I am but he is picked on because of the colour of his skin. I want Scotland and Glasgow to be the best place in the world. We are failing when we ignore racism.
Everyone should stand up against that sort of shit.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Fear and Loathing in Perth - Rock Start super-ego explosion
I was on a stag-night on Saturday night in Perth. Perth does not seem like an obvious choice of venue for a stag night. There are no strip-clubs in Perth. My friends studied this question in great detail.
Due to the strip-club famine we had to amuse ourselves in other ways. We did this with alcohol as it is cheap, legal and widely available. Some of my mates started drinking on Friday but as a responsible adult I only got there on Saturday afternoon just in time to crash a hovercraft and fall out of it. I also got the chance to see my 6 foot tall 15 stone mate walking about a field in a dress.
After that all Perth could offer us was alcohol. I'm not sure exactly how much I drank. I lost count at 10 pints. I wasn't drinking as much as my mates. I've never been to Perth before and I don't think I'll be there again. The town centre is nice and for some reason (possibly alcohol) we saw a lot of attractive women. The place was also full of neddy bams (scum if you don't live in Scotland) who looked a bit violent but we managed to avoid any trouble.
After about 10 hours of drinking in various dodgy night clubs we stumbled back to the hotel bar only to find that we were in the presence of pop stars. Justin Currie from Del Amitri and Edie Reader were having a drink with some other musicians in the bar. One of my mates, who is generally rather polite, went up to say hello to Mr Currie and declare his admiration for the music of Del Amitri. Currie rather rudely told him to 'fuck off'.
There was also a wedding party from Falkirk in the hotel bar. They had a guitar and they were blasting out Oasis songs in the bar. They were about as drunk as us and for the most part they were friendly. Slightly neddy, but friendly.
Apart from Raymo. Raymo (not RaymonD) looks like the result of a pig fucking a gorilla. Raymo is angry. He kept trying to fight folk. His wife kept crying and looking generally distressed. Raymo reminded me of the Incredible Hulk (Raymo Smash!). Only less green. He kept threatening my friends but luckily nothing actually kicked off.
So we kept drinking and playing guitar. Some of us played songs badly whilst drunk. One of the musicians at the Currie table came over and joined in. His name was Stuart Nisbet (I think) and he had played with The Proclaimers, Del Amitri and Pink Floyd. He played a few songs for us - Elvis, Witchita Linesman, Johnny Cash and seemed to be a generally good guy.
Justin Currie however was a monster. He was very drunk and just generally acting like a twat. He managed to knock over tables of beer on two separate occasions, at one point showering a Falkirk bridesmaid with booze. He also seemed to think that he was both more intelligent and more important than anyone else in the room. Everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess. He kept swearing and lecturing people about how they were 'singers' or 'not singers'.
It was kinda funny. My mates have videotaped him and I hope the result will be up on youtube soon.
Currie had a major personality clash with the Falkirk bridesmaid. They kept swearing at each other and generally making lots of noise. This kept us all amused until the inevitable face-off between Raymo and Currie.
Raymo kill!
It's hard to tell what lit the fuse of Raymo. Raymo probably doesn't even know cos Raymo is a cock. But Raymo decided he was going to eat Justin. Justin was also sure that he would be able to take Raymo in a fair fight. Neutral observers felt that Raymo would be triumphant but that both of them were arseholes.
Justin was just about to kick Raymo's ass when he tried to take off his jacket and got his arms stuck. Raymo was restrained by the Falkirk bridesmaid sitting on him. Justin must have had a reality check in a moment of sobriety because he ran away to escape Raymo. Raymo later managed to get himself thrown out of the hotel by threatening to assault the manager.
Raymo thick!
I stumbled to my bed at about six or seven. I had a great night but I'm sure I've damaged myself with alcohol. Don't drink kids, it's bad. If Justin Currie ever reads this page my message to him would be 'be nicer to people'. He was acting like a total cunt. If Raymo reads this page I'd be shocked. I don't think Raymo can read.
In the morning we were talking about taking out an ad in the 'Announcements & Weddings' local newspaper in Falkirk or Bonnybridge saying 'Raymo is a pussy' (with the hotel name and date to help identify him to his friends) but it would probably be too much effort. It would be fucking funny if someone did it though.
Due to the strip-club famine we had to amuse ourselves in other ways. We did this with alcohol as it is cheap, legal and widely available. Some of my mates started drinking on Friday but as a responsible adult I only got there on Saturday afternoon just in time to crash a hovercraft and fall out of it. I also got the chance to see my 6 foot tall 15 stone mate walking about a field in a dress.
After that all Perth could offer us was alcohol. I'm not sure exactly how much I drank. I lost count at 10 pints. I wasn't drinking as much as my mates. I've never been to Perth before and I don't think I'll be there again. The town centre is nice and for some reason (possibly alcohol) we saw a lot of attractive women. The place was also full of neddy bams (scum if you don't live in Scotland) who looked a bit violent but we managed to avoid any trouble.
After about 10 hours of drinking in various dodgy night clubs we stumbled back to the hotel bar only to find that we were in the presence of pop stars. Justin Currie from Del Amitri and Edie Reader were having a drink with some other musicians in the bar. One of my mates, who is generally rather polite, went up to say hello to Mr Currie and declare his admiration for the music of Del Amitri. Currie rather rudely told him to 'fuck off'.
There was also a wedding party from Falkirk in the hotel bar. They had a guitar and they were blasting out Oasis songs in the bar. They were about as drunk as us and for the most part they were friendly. Slightly neddy, but friendly.
Apart from Raymo. Raymo (not RaymonD) looks like the result of a pig fucking a gorilla. Raymo is angry. He kept trying to fight folk. His wife kept crying and looking generally distressed. Raymo reminded me of the Incredible Hulk (Raymo Smash!). Only less green. He kept threatening my friends but luckily nothing actually kicked off.
So we kept drinking and playing guitar. Some of us played songs badly whilst drunk. One of the musicians at the Currie table came over and joined in. His name was Stuart Nisbet (I think) and he had played with The Proclaimers, Del Amitri and Pink Floyd. He played a few songs for us - Elvis, Witchita Linesman, Johnny Cash and seemed to be a generally good guy.
Justin Currie however was a monster. He was very drunk and just generally acting like a twat. He managed to knock over tables of beer on two separate occasions, at one point showering a Falkirk bridesmaid with booze. He also seemed to think that he was both more intelligent and more important than anyone else in the room. Everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess. He kept swearing and lecturing people about how they were 'singers' or 'not singers'.
It was kinda funny. My mates have videotaped him and I hope the result will be up on youtube soon.
Currie had a major personality clash with the Falkirk bridesmaid. They kept swearing at each other and generally making lots of noise. This kept us all amused until the inevitable face-off between Raymo and Currie.
Raymo kill!
It's hard to tell what lit the fuse of Raymo. Raymo probably doesn't even know cos Raymo is a cock. But Raymo decided he was going to eat Justin. Justin was also sure that he would be able to take Raymo in a fair fight. Neutral observers felt that Raymo would be triumphant but that both of them were arseholes.
Justin was just about to kick Raymo's ass when he tried to take off his jacket and got his arms stuck. Raymo was restrained by the Falkirk bridesmaid sitting on him. Justin must have had a reality check in a moment of sobriety because he ran away to escape Raymo. Raymo later managed to get himself thrown out of the hotel by threatening to assault the manager.
Raymo thick!
I stumbled to my bed at about six or seven. I had a great night but I'm sure I've damaged myself with alcohol. Don't drink kids, it's bad. If Justin Currie ever reads this page my message to him would be 'be nicer to people'. He was acting like a total cunt. If Raymo reads this page I'd be shocked. I don't think Raymo can read.
In the morning we were talking about taking out an ad in the 'Announcements & Weddings' local newspaper in Falkirk or Bonnybridge saying 'Raymo is a pussy' (with the hotel name and date to help identify him to his friends) but it would probably be too much effort. It would be fucking funny if someone did it though.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
"me and other folk were just tryin tae get the boot in and some other guy banjoed him''
Glasgow has found a new folk hero - John Smeaton
http://johnsmeaton.com/
This guy helped the police during the terrorist attack on Glasgow airport. I do not think I would have the guts to do what he did. He also has quite a way with words.
'This is Glasgow - we'll set about you'
http://johnsmeaton.com/
This guy helped the police during the terrorist attack on Glasgow airport. I do not think I would have the guts to do what he did. He also has quite a way with words.
'This is Glasgow - we'll set about you'
Saturday, October 07, 2006
new stuff on the site
I've been messing around with the site a bit. I've tried to make it more pretty and easier to find stuff. I'm using the new blogger beta stuff which seems cool. This interweb stuff is turning me into more of a nerd than before.
One cool things is the labels that I've started to add to the bottom of posts. They include broad catagories like music, film, books, shite and egomania. Click on a few and explore the site. I love you longtime if you do.
funk
One cool things is the labels that I've started to add to the bottom of posts. They include broad catagories like music, film, books, shite and egomania. Click on a few and explore the site. I love you longtime if you do.
funk
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
more neds
My mother finally managed to persuade my father to go to hospital today. He's had a painful foot for the past couple of weeks. He's a teacher at a school in the south side of Glasgow. He and a janitor recently had to split up a fight/stop an assault at school. A group of neds were beating up on one kid and my dad (who is not a young man) had to physically protect him. During the altercation somebody stomped on my dads foot. It has been hurting ever since.
Today, after much discussion, he finally went to hospital and got it x-rayed. He has a fracture (I'm not sure exactly where). That'll be why it hurts then.
Teenage neds - dontcha just luv 'em. Schools need riot police.
phunky
Today, after much discussion, he finally went to hospital and got it x-rayed. He has a fracture (I'm not sure exactly where). That'll be why it hurts then.
Teenage neds - dontcha just luv 'em. Schools need riot police.
phunky
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Unfortunate racist taxi driver
Had a horrible day at work yesterday. Very busy and lots of distressing stuff going on. I was getting a taxi home late in the evening and I was picked up by one of the most ignorant, racist idiots that I have met in a while.
The taxi driver seemed normal at first. But he wasn't. He just suddenly started talking nonsense.
'See these bloody asian taxi drivers we've got here. A lot of them have two jobs.' My response was along the lines of 'I have a lot of respect for anyone who is willing to work two jobs to earn money'. I do not think he expected this response.
He started complaining that many taxi drivers working at the same company as him also owned shops. He felt that this was wrong. I pointed out that if a man is willing to work that hard to support his family he is probably a good man. He then told me that these shop owners often employed young people to work in their shops and didn't pay them very much. I pointed out that you don't normally get paid very much when you work in a shop and that I was paid very little when I worked in somerfield, kwik save and sports division years ago.
This all confused him.
He then went into a strange rant about how the government was importing asylum seekers to steal our jobs. I told him that it was my belief that the government made it illegal for asylum seekers to work (I might be wrong in this - I'm not sure). He stated that he was sure that asylum seekers were working in various improbable places. I encouraged him to report this to the police or the council in the vague hope that he would annoy them enough to be placed on some sort of 'racist looney' watch list.
The guy just seemed to have a lot of trouble thinking. I don't think he was used to having his small minded views challenged by a white guy. It was a weird, uncomfortable situation. I guess I should have asked him to stop the car and phoned for another taxi so I wouldn't have to put up with any more bigoted bullshit but it was a cold night and I was tired. I just hope that by arguing with him a bit he'll think about his caveman like ideas before he annoys someone else with them.
I feel sorry for this asshole. If you decide to hate an entire section of humanity because of the colour of their skin you are a complete fucking numpty. I would imagine that it takes a hell of a lot of time and energy. It probably takes most of his brain-power too.
The taxi driver that drove me to work this morning was much nicer.
Rant over
Dafunk
The taxi driver seemed normal at first. But he wasn't. He just suddenly started talking nonsense.
'See these bloody asian taxi drivers we've got here. A lot of them have two jobs.' My response was along the lines of 'I have a lot of respect for anyone who is willing to work two jobs to earn money'. I do not think he expected this response.
He started complaining that many taxi drivers working at the same company as him also owned shops. He felt that this was wrong. I pointed out that if a man is willing to work that hard to support his family he is probably a good man. He then told me that these shop owners often employed young people to work in their shops and didn't pay them very much. I pointed out that you don't normally get paid very much when you work in a shop and that I was paid very little when I worked in somerfield, kwik save and sports division years ago.
This all confused him.
He then went into a strange rant about how the government was importing asylum seekers to steal our jobs. I told him that it was my belief that the government made it illegal for asylum seekers to work (I might be wrong in this - I'm not sure). He stated that he was sure that asylum seekers were working in various improbable places. I encouraged him to report this to the police or the council in the vague hope that he would annoy them enough to be placed on some sort of 'racist looney' watch list.
The guy just seemed to have a lot of trouble thinking. I don't think he was used to having his small minded views challenged by a white guy. It was a weird, uncomfortable situation. I guess I should have asked him to stop the car and phoned for another taxi so I wouldn't have to put up with any more bigoted bullshit but it was a cold night and I was tired. I just hope that by arguing with him a bit he'll think about his caveman like ideas before he annoys someone else with them.
I feel sorry for this asshole. If you decide to hate an entire section of humanity because of the colour of their skin you are a complete fucking numpty. I would imagine that it takes a hell of a lot of time and energy. It probably takes most of his brain-power too.
The taxi driver that drove me to work this morning was much nicer.
Rant over
Dafunk
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
The decline of western civilisation AKA the bus to work
I live in a nice part of the city and I work in a less nice area. I get the bus to work because somehow I've never learned how to drive. Getting the bus is good for the environment but it isn't always fun.
Today was the worst day yet. There are some school kids who get this bus who are total bastards. In the six months since August I have seen them spout racist abuse and spit at people of different racial origins. I have seen them pick on one wee fat kid constantly. I have seen them throw newspapers and other missiles at random passengers ( that one pissed me off so much that I shouted at one of them a few months back - I felt sorry for the fat kid).
On at least four occasions they have kicked out the upstairs windows forcing the bus to stop its journey. The police have been on the bus twice to book them. No effect.
The morning riot kicked off at around 8:30 today. The bus company had set an ambush. Three inspectors were either following in a car or waiting at a prearranged stop. This shit is as regular as clockwork. The inspectors came on and kicked off the two main scumbags.
That wasn't the end of it. The bus continued down the road and got stuck in traffic. The kids ran down the middle of the (busy) road and pulled open the emergency exit. The driver stopped the bus and entered into a standoff. He refused to move the bus until the kids got off. This went on for some time.
As I have a job, I got of the bus to catch a taxi. Some people from my work did the same thing. The bus started going again when we were 200 metres down the road. The bus stopped to let us back on. Unfortunately the little bastards got back on. Then the trouble really started.
The driver got out of his seat and the lead teenage scumbag basically started a fight with him. A 15 year old boy started a fight with a 50 year old man. Society has crumbled. The driver eventually got the little shit off the bus. The air was filled with threats of violence and recrimination.
One of the secretarial staff at my work, a lady in her mid-40s, was slightly 'jostled' in the fight. Luckily she seemed to be ok afterwards. She phoned the school to complain about these kids. I was able to tell her the name of the main kid involved. I've been sitting on that bus watching this shit for 6 months. I've got a good memory.
So, what will happen? I'm cynical. I think the bus driver will be suspended and the little shit will get off scot-free. This will be sad.
What should happen? I'm not sure. Some intervention is required. The police should at the least interview that kid. The troublemakers should be banned from the bus. Social services or the childrens panel should be involved. If that kid keeps acting this way he will end up in jail or worse.
Why does this happen? Social deprivation and a lack of positive role models. These kids look around and see no future. In this part of the city you find a lot of gangs, a lot of IV drug addicts and a lot of alcoholics. Probably a lot of domestic abuse. Certainly a lot of unemployment. Society is fucked.
But on the bright side, at least we aren't being bombed by America.
funky
Today was the worst day yet. There are some school kids who get this bus who are total bastards. In the six months since August I have seen them spout racist abuse and spit at people of different racial origins. I have seen them pick on one wee fat kid constantly. I have seen them throw newspapers and other missiles at random passengers ( that one pissed me off so much that I shouted at one of them a few months back - I felt sorry for the fat kid).
On at least four occasions they have kicked out the upstairs windows forcing the bus to stop its journey. The police have been on the bus twice to book them. No effect.
The morning riot kicked off at around 8:30 today. The bus company had set an ambush. Three inspectors were either following in a car or waiting at a prearranged stop. This shit is as regular as clockwork. The inspectors came on and kicked off the two main scumbags.
That wasn't the end of it. The bus continued down the road and got stuck in traffic. The kids ran down the middle of the (busy) road and pulled open the emergency exit. The driver stopped the bus and entered into a standoff. He refused to move the bus until the kids got off. This went on for some time.
As I have a job, I got of the bus to catch a taxi. Some people from my work did the same thing. The bus started going again when we were 200 metres down the road. The bus stopped to let us back on. Unfortunately the little bastards got back on. Then the trouble really started.
The driver got out of his seat and the lead teenage scumbag basically started a fight with him. A 15 year old boy started a fight with a 50 year old man. Society has crumbled. The driver eventually got the little shit off the bus. The air was filled with threats of violence and recrimination.
One of the secretarial staff at my work, a lady in her mid-40s, was slightly 'jostled' in the fight. Luckily she seemed to be ok afterwards. She phoned the school to complain about these kids. I was able to tell her the name of the main kid involved. I've been sitting on that bus watching this shit for 6 months. I've got a good memory.
So, what will happen? I'm cynical. I think the bus driver will be suspended and the little shit will get off scot-free. This will be sad.
What should happen? I'm not sure. Some intervention is required. The police should at the least interview that kid. The troublemakers should be banned from the bus. Social services or the childrens panel should be involved. If that kid keeps acting this way he will end up in jail or worse.
Why does this happen? Social deprivation and a lack of positive role models. These kids look around and see no future. In this part of the city you find a lot of gangs, a lot of IV drug addicts and a lot of alcoholics. Probably a lot of domestic abuse. Certainly a lot of unemployment. Society is fucked.
But on the bright side, at least we aren't being bombed by America.
funky
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