ECCOnoob

Oh don't start that crap again. You are "28 years old" and used to push a catering trolley up and down the train. Let's not try and make out you have in depth knowledge of public transport procurement and scheduling operations.

My plans? Nothing. Been there done that When I was younger it started with a local pub ticket only event. £10 and must be in before 7:30 before the doors were locked. Sitting there for hours on end waiting for the big moment, The free glass of gassy cava and 'lovingly prepared' buffet consisting of makro catering pack delicacies and some curly sandwiches... We've sometimes 'gone big' and headed down town to the posh bars and clubs. All the lads in their finest check shirts from Topman or Burtons and the girls in their tight Morgan or Tammy Girl dresses wobbling around on their heels. Drinking the overpriced sugary cocktails and then off to the club for the big moment. Waiting for the balloon drop and licence for everyone to start slobbering over each other.... I've even once paid a fortune to head down to London itself. Having a microwaved three course meal and some box wine at several hundred pounds per head. Enjoying the big moment from a boat l, which I will concede was a rather spectacular viewpoint, but involved freezing your bits off on a deck in the middle of the Thames for merely sub 10 minutes of show, followed by an endless wait for the crowds alongside the bank to disburse before you could finally disembark and march slowly towards your hotel. Now as I've got older I couldn't give a fig about it. I don't see it as some reset button or chance to dream and hope about the future. 99.9% of what I am doing right now at the end of 2023, I'll be doing on 1st January 2024. It's just tripping over midnight like it does everyday. A new day - new week - new month - new year. Round around it goes. I never really know if it's celebrating the fact we somehow managed to survive the past 12 months or some delusional dreaming of the wondrous next 12 months. Either way, I'm passed it now. Quite happy to stay at home and just let it happen. If I can be bothered I might flick over onto BBC just to see the fireworks but even they've become a cut and paste job. Every year same type of light show, lots of bangs and screeches accompanied by contemporary music and a load of selected, supposedly inspirational and uplifting, quotes playing out.

Remind us all again how you pay your suppliers, taxes, utilities, plant and staffing for your "business"? Just how did you receive your salary when you were executive trolley pusher on the railways?

Maybe so. But whilst stats from 2022 UK Finance Data did show an increasing cash use it was still pitiful at 14% of all transactions and remained dwarfed by card use. Nearly 27 billion payments were made by cards as against 6 billion cash i.e. 4.5 x more people paying with plastic. I think your campaign has a long way to go yet.

The principles of it? Yes. The city was in desperate need of modernisation and redevelopment. It was lagging behind and for many years people have always complained and criticised that our shopping areas were too sprawled out. It wasn't a "promise". It was an idea, a proposal, a concept. All things which can change or evolve or even sometimes fail. Doesn't mean we stop trying. Do you think when SevenStone was originally conceived in design they saw a great global recession coming. Did you think they planned for the developer to suddenly pull out or John Lewis to get cold feet and decide to stick where they were. "stuff" happens all the time so the idea was changed. It was repurposed, new funding was found, new contractors were found and off we started again with Heart of the City. An alternative project which I'm sure even your cynical mind has to agree has been successful. The rotting eyesore Grosvenor House Hotel is gone replaced by modern office blocks which are occupied. The former decaying car park has now been changed into a park public space, play area and facilities, a load of empty wasteland has been turned into more premium office and high end apartments which are already selling, new leisure spaces, new hotels, new shops are all coming next year. The companies are moving as we speak. So yeah you are damn right - I'm going to get behind something. Silly old farts who refuse to embrace change will let the city stagnate. Every generation thinks there preference is best, but it's not all about them. The city has to keep evolving and looking for the next generation. Taste, trends, society, the way we shop, the way we work, what we want to do for leisure is always changing. The latest developments on Fargate are part of that. It is clear that traditional retailing of the oldie department stores has been decline for some time. If there's less requirement for giant bricks and mortar chain stores its perfectly sensible for such buildings to be repurposed for the things that are in demand. Some of which right now are accommodation, flexible working space, leisure facilities and smaller more boutique retailers who don't want and aren't going to fill some old school 1950s six floored department store block. I'm sure by the time I get to be a pensioner I will be grumbling about the changing world but like every generation I will have to accept it.

Yes, people do remember their childhood but you must have been extraordinary baby to have vivid memories under 5 years old of the intricacies of the Fargate shopping precinct. You should offer yourself for medical science with your brain. There are at least 8 different toilet facilities currently within Orchard Square. Those on legitimate reasons attending the businesses will have ample opportunities to go. There is even a disabled toilet at the back of the precinct for those with relevant medical needs. The closure of the general public toilets was due to reasons of constant vandalism. The precinct has no obligation and given that it is turning more and more to food and drinking establishments, with their own provision, it makes perfect commercial sense to get rid of the increasingly unnecessary and constantly abused facilities. I doubt its any major impact on its footfall. You're not telling me that people were choosing to shop in Orchard Square, simply because it had a completely open public toilet. Supertram works continued beyond 1994. In fact, the Cathedral stop did not open until February 1995. If you seriously think the problem with beggars in that area only developed in the past 13 years you are completely deluded. Some of us actually worked down there and they were plenty of winos , panhandlers and rough sleepers in the Tony Blair days too. Yes, we will see how the new developments take and I for one am keen to get behind them instead of being a miserable git complaining about everything changing. Cities evolve. That 'christmas shop' is in fact a well-known brand of homeware store which has been on the go for nearly 50 years and has branches all over Europe and places like Japan. It is not some gimmick. Monki (as most people with even half a brain know how to pronounce perfectly well) has also been on the go for nearly 20 years and part of an extremely large fashion corporation, again, not some gimmick retail the council have brought in desperation. There are already big companies moving in. Another corporate law firm is on the way, a construction company is occupying a Issac's House block all adding to the potential customer base along with the apartment residents making fertile ground for retailers and people with the kind of money to spend that could bring premium brands. There is far more to it than just Pounds Park and kids eating sandwiches. You really haven't a clue. I'm not expecting you to be riding around in Ubers eating sushi but I do expect a so called 20- something to have the mindset of a 20-something, understand the basic concepts of modern life, embrace the world that they would have been brought up in instead of repelling against it. Example like your covid conspiracies, and your cash only nonsense when you're supposed to be running a business in 2023. It makes no sense when you will have been popped out into the world at the time when debit cards were absolute mainstream and by the time you got to have your own bank account even contactless had started to be introduced. I work with lots of people on or around your alleged age and I hear nothing like the sort of things that come out of your mouth. As I said before, you sound like a 75 year-old bitter pensioner most of the time. You bring up dated references that most of my 20 something colleagues won't even have a clue about let alone be pining for like some treasured memory.

How the hell would you have real experience of fargate in the 1990s. You 'late 20s something' would have been merely a child at best and your memories are rose tinted viewpoints from dangling off your parent's arm. I am a lot older than you claim to be but I have no memories of these regular market stalls all over Fargate and Cathedral Square. Are you sure that you are not getting confused with The Moor. Goodwin Fountain was removed in 1998 and certainly in the early years after you claim to have been born into the world, it was already a broken, graffiti, litter strewed eyesore so good riddance as far as I'm concerned TK Maxx has been there in the same spot since 1997. That 'department store' with a rocket lift was TK Maxx until they did a complete refurb. Really surprised you don't remember that vividly given you are the master of recalling so much. Yes, like everything the high street of Fargate declined over the years as shopping habits changed. Plus closure of several names from Fargate also were not helped by the obvious fact that several of them were all owned by the same parent company which went into administration. Topshop, Topman, Evans, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge all went pop at the same time all leaving gaps in the street. A symptom which is being felt by cities up and down the land. Many of the buildings right now are undergoing major regeneration representing millions of pounds and investment. But lets not pretend there are no names left. Boots is still there as is Marks and Spencer, Superdrug, Lush, Hotel Chocolat, WHSmith, H&M, Tesco, several banks, two coffee shops and several food vendors...... its not all dodgy fly by night pop ups. The scales are still balanced in favour of the big boys. Orchard Square has also undergone massive regeneration and repurposing. Its new focus on food and drink has created a new buzz. Some of those venues are attracting more footfall than the aging shops ever did. Yes I would like to see some more premium stores myself but the city already has branches of Rituals and L'occitane in Meadowhall plus Atkinsons on The Moor stocks products from L'occitane as well so hardly the best example. Besides, there is a whole area being built right now around Cambridge Street and the former Leah's Yard with units being designed and sold to attract the smaller, more boutique, quality retailers - it's a whole part of the development plan to go alongside the premium apartments and upmarket hotel opening next year. As for 'Coles Corner' you wouldn't even know what that was other than some reference brought up by presumably your grandparents Cole Brothers moved away from fargate in 1963. In the 80s it held the glamour of a gas showroom and then by the 90s that so called 'vibrant' Coles Corner was a bank until HSBC moved out when it was left abandoned for many years before finally Pret moved in - so lets not get too gooey eyed. Add on for nearly half of the 90s decade that specific area would have been majorly disrupted with severe roadworks for tram installation anyway. You really do have some strange outlook. The city is evolving with many aspects designed to attract your generation and yet you speak like a jaded 75-year-old wittering on about the 'city in decline' and how it was all sooo better in the olden days. I've never known anything like it from a so-called 20 something.

He's clearly full of something though.

Did the radio station confirm whether or not this man was born and bread here? Did they specify what country they came from? specify what they immigration status they had here? Specify how long they lived here? Specify what their motive was, whether there was any connection to the victims, whether there was aggravating circumstances, confirmed they have actually been charged with anything yet?? Oh no! They have a brown person name therefore I'll make a load of wild assumptions.

Covid whine... Check. Overbearing government whine.... Check. Unable to film kids in swim gear whine... Check. Mentions his kid's swim galas..... Check. Wild overreaction and conspiracies.... Check. Ranty ranty ranty...... So predictable. Once again your moronic obsession spilled into another pointless thread. None of that crap has anything to do with kids being offered a choice to do BSL in their GCSE Options.

He won't. It's just another lame excuse for a ranty ranty thread about society being soft, pandering to the minority, wokeness.... ....I am right, everyone else is wrong, the world is going stupid blah blah. ....Why should everyone adjust for deaf people when the majority can hear perfectly well blah blah. ...I can cope with subtitles perfectly well I don't know what their problem is blah blah .

Calm down, you silly hysterical tool. Like most GCSE subjects, they are giving people the option to study it - not forcing kids at gunpoint. Given deaf people are going nowhere, it is hardly an outrageous thing for those who want to study it. It forms part of modern language just as much as any other. How many people who take the film studies at GCSE go on to be a director? How many people who take the astronomy at GCSE turn into Brian Cox? How many people who take physical education at GCSE become a world famous football player? You talking nonsense. Its about giving people the well-rounded basic education as a starting point with some more specialist personal choices in the latter years. They then go on form that basic education to then develop their careers and what other direction they choose. To some a study of BSL may be a great boost for that and possibly fsr more practical than trying to remember pigeon French and Spanish from 10-20 years prior. Its how it's always been. Like everything else the curriculum evolves. You really need to seek professional help. Its cringe making seeing a supposed grown adult constantly having hissy fits every time there's some minor trivial change to society.

Why "should" they? The wider shopping centre is nothing to do with Sainsburys. Why exactly should sainsbury's asset be used by some old dear to go wandering around the rest of the entire mall for hours on end as a personal walking frame/ battering ram/shopping basket/carry all.... To then get dumped at some random location as soon as their bus arrives. Do you think the customer would get away with that if they walked out carrying one of their wire or plastic baskets. If the same store was located on a different type of precinct such as The Moor or Fargate - do you think they will be able to go wandering up the rest of the precinct wheeling their trolley. Talk about entitlement.

I'm sure there are. There are probably plenty of Sainsbury's trolleys stuck on the retail park alongside the b&m ones, Wickes ones, Smiths ones, Homebase ones... They are probably mixed in with the M&S ones.... Some might even have ventured as far as Asda.... Doesn't make it right.

They do and you know it. They do employ people to collect the trolleys from their property from the designated trolley bays. What they shouldn't be compelled to do is have their staff wandering about all over the shopping mall which is nothing to do with Sainsbury's to collect trolleys from off their premises because some lazies are using them to wheel them to the bus station before dumping them here there and everywhere.

Yeah you keep telling yourself that.

How dare you. She has diplomas don't you know.

Oh really. So I take it your catering empire is not complying with the UK Waste Regulations 2015 and disregarding the Food Waste legislation coming into force too?

I think there's also an element of asset protection too. I know that my local Asda reintroduced coin deposit for trolleys since issues with them being nicked, lost, vandalised etc.

It doesn't. There are supermarkets up and down the land that have no such luxuries. Elderly people still get the bus there. They still cope despite the fact that they're not able to wheel their trolley full of shopping out of the store, onto the road, down the payment to whatever bus stop is nearby.

Why can't they buy themselves a collapsible wheeled shopping bag or even use a small trolley case if it's such an issue for them. As others said, it's not the supermarket's responsibility to let them wheel their shopping through the whole mall, over to the bus station and then just dump the trolleys expecting somebody else to come pick them up. How do these same old one's cope at the other end of their journey when they get off the bus. There's no shopping trolley sat there waiting for them to wheel round to their front door.

Could not agree more. In fact its pretty much the same process I've had when visiting most non-EU countries around the world. Biometric passports have been on the cards for a while. People seem more than happy to swipe their fingerprint to get easy access to their phone or banking app or entry into some buildings and they are not crying about it. However, I'm sure the usual suspects will be along shortly with their tin foil conspiracy theories.... banging on about the 'good old days' of proper British paper passports and nothing more than a smile to get through customs, speculating about fingerprints being used for evil under some government secret scheme to sell our data and working in some way to declare woke, transgender, black neoliberalists are ruining the world.... Seems to be how most of the threads are descending these days

Why is it? We are talking about two and three bedroom houses, newly built which are right in the middle of the city centre in a brand new development on prime premium land. As you say, for many it's being in the middle of everything which is the selling point. When there are old terraced houses and semis in the suburbs as much as £400k - £500k - I don't think a £300k price tag for newly built city centre house is that outrageous. Blimey, in our rival neighbours Leeds and Manchester there are flats and similar properties going for £1.5 million plus...

Absolutely clueless. You seriously asking me where my empathy is for the 95% who have no issues, no restrictions, no exclusions and no hurdles through some disability or illness.

You seem be confusing celebrating the existence of diversity with deliberately avoiding ways of including them into activities. That's not how modern world works. I will suggest that 95% of people are perfectly capable of ascending a few steps to enter a business or restaurant or bar but yet the business is still obligated to install a ramp or have a system place to assist those 5% who can't. I will suggests 95% of people watching a television program can do so without subtitles or some signer flailing away in the corner but the service is still provided isn't it 95% of kids can happily sit through a pantomime or film without suffering anxiety or having a reaction or fit. However, businesses still offer relaxed performances and lights on shows and no noise shows Why do they bother eh? Why should they be forced to accommodate the minority... right? Kids having a slightly shorter trip or a slightly different method of doing that performance is hardly life ending. It is about inclusivity. It's teaching the kids, it's perfectly acceptable to make adjustments when someone is different to allow them to participate and give them a sense of normality. Through family members, I've had contact with disability and the special school system in the bad old days when they were shoved away in their own sealed unit, left to fester because my god it just couldn't be possible that adjustments could be made to integrate them into the rest of the class. Do you want to hear a quote from 1973 that was heard by a family member upon birthing a child with a disability. ... you're not going to keep it are you? What are you going to do with that? Thankfully times have moved on. Given your quote about 'meak inheriting the earth' is from a mythical character supposedly created by mythical sky being and spread to the world through a fairy tale book. Forgive me for not giving a toss.