A bit council (Vol 5)

[Alorotom]

SteveStrange said:

I don't want to put my shopping in a trolley where someone's kids have had their dog-stty feet.

Can I come and walk across your kitchen worktops in my dogwalking shoes?

Dominating the work-tops ... that's new but undoubtedly council!

[SteveStrange]

Mammasaid said:

SteveStrange said:

Mammasaid said:

SpeckledJim said:

pocketspring said:

Koyaanisqatsi said:

It's a shame because the beach is actually okay as far as beaches go, but then you look behind you and see something resembling a warzone -- a truly sad and hideous place like landing on another planet. Literally every council box ticked.

A few little gems here.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7736605,1.106770...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7736594,1.102199...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7733266,1.100670...

You need to sort your geography out. That's clearly Beirut.

It looks a lot like some of the smarter parts of Soweto.

THere's obviously been some money spent there in the last decade, as the streets have all been resurfaced

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7727269,1.105855...

I may have had a hand in it.

I was an.... interesting job

spill the beans!

When I say "interesting", I mean from a normal roads job point of view!

Weeks of planning, giving notice, letter drops etc only to be told on the day of the works "You're not closing that today, I need to get x in or out, I'll block you with my van".
"Can you just do my driveway while you're at it" (and "home" owners asking for the arisings so they could re-rubble their own driveways)
Not leaving ANYTHING laying around because it would disappear within seconds (shovels, flasks, anything.
Drunk people walking past asking if there was any work going.
Angry locals telling us that we should have done it sooner/should be spending the money on their housing.
The smell of weed permeating even the smell of fresh tarmac, from first thing in the morning to the time we finished.
Carrierbags full of needles at the end of the road.
More than once we had to dig up and relay concrete after locals had "written" (tbh quite funny) obscenities in to it.
Locals breaking in to neighbours houses to get car keys to move cars to assist the truck drivers reversing down the roads!

But also

ENDLESS cups of tea being offered by the older residents.
Kids watching pretty peacefully at all of the activity.
A couple of times someone would start a barbecue and crack out a tonne of Richmond sausages and cheap baps for all the guys.


It was like another country, like something you'd see in a Borat film. Not an unpleasant job, but not the sort you want to repeat very often.

[Sixsixtysix]

iphonedyou said:

T6 vanman said:

User name clearly indicating otherwise

On Jaywick; this Streetview is particularly sad. The jocosely named Sunbeam Avenue, and the difference between 2009 and 2012.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7736716,1.106773...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7736605,1.106770...

Genuinely hard to imagine how this can exist in the UK in 2023; and what misery must have transpired before, during and after those images were taken.

Those are from 2009 and 2012 to be fair.

[Mammasaid]

SteveStrange said:

When I say "interesting", I mean from a normal roads job point of view!

Weeks of planning, giving notice, letter drops etc only to be told on the day of the works "You're not closing that today, I need to get x in or out, I'll block you with my van".
"Can you just do my driveway while you're at it" (and "home" owners asking for the arisings so they could re-rubble their own driveways)
Not leaving ANYTHING laying around because it would disappear within seconds (shovels, flasks, anything.
Drunk people walking past asking if there was any work going.
Angry locals telling us that we should have done it sooner/should be spending the money on their housing.
The smell of weed permeating even the smell of fresh tarmac, from first thing in the morning to the time we finished.
Carrierbags full of needles at the end of the road.
More than once we had to dig up and relay concrete after locals had "written" (tbh quite funny) obscenities in to it.
Locals breaking in to neighbours houses to get car keys to move cars to assist the truck drivers reversing down the roads!

But also

ENDLESS cups of tea being offered by the older residents.
Kids watching pretty peacefully at all of the activity.
A couple of times someone would start a barbecue and crack out a tonne of Richmond sausages and cheap baps for all the guys.


It was like another country, like something you'd see in a Borat film. Not an unpleasant job, but not the sort you want to repeat very often.

[dillenger]

As an engineer I can get on board with this ...also as an engineer I have no idea how this is staying up...

It’s the vase of flowers what tickled me…not letting lack of funds or the view ruin romantic evenings on veranda

[hidetheelephants]

dillenger said:

As an engineer I can get on board with this ...also as an engineer I have no idea how this is staying up...

It’s the vase of flowers what tickled me…not letting lack of funds or the view ruin romantic evenings on veranda

WTF? Is this a Jaywick religious attraction; the balcony of immaculate suspension?

[iphonedyou]

Sixsixtysix said:

Those are from 2009 and 2012 to be fair.

Below from 2019 suggests it hasn't picked up much in the intervening years..! Beyond resurfacing - with thanks to Steve, above!

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.772473,1.1019181,3...

[dillenger]

hidetheelephants said:

dillenger said:

As an engineer I can get on board with this ...also as an engineer I have no idea how this is staying up...

It’s the vase of flowers what tickled me…not letting lack of funds or the view ruin romantic evenings on veranda

WTF? Is this a Jaywick religious attraction; the balcony of immaculate suspension?

Got it figured out… has taken some time but on the right hand side going into the wall looks like some fuse wire wrapped round wall plug…safety first kids

[DodgyGeezer]

smithyithy said:

It feels a bit cheap to call that council, it's just depressing, probably one of the most hopeless looking places I've seen in the UK - it looks more akin to a rural area in a former Soviet country

IIRC it is one of, if not THE, most socially deprived areas in the UK. The thing is though that every time sprucing up is tried (better housing etc) the locals are vehemently against it as they feel that (probably with full justification!) it's a prelude to trying to gentrify the area and force them out... living on a nice beach (and it is nice) would be worth a fortune in today's lunatic property market

[anonymous-user]

dillenger said:

As an engineer I can get on board with this ...also as an engineer I have no idea how this is staying up...

It’s the vase of flowers what tickled me…not letting lack of funds or the view ruin romantic evenings on veranda

Exactly like being in Monaco.

[motco]

smithyithy said:

It feels a bit cheap to call that council, it's just depressing, probably one of the most hopeless looking places I've seen in the UK - it looks more akin to a rural area in a former Soviet country

What is especially depressing is that quite a few occupants have clearly made an effort to keep their place clean and tidy but they're surrounded by detritus. How must they feel when they look out of their windows?

[LimaDelta]

pocketspring said:

Exactly like being in Monaco.

Hmmm, high rises, parties, gambling, loud cars, big brand logos, lots of fake teeth/lips/etc, lots of garish jewellery, nobody working, expensive (floating) caravans.

Monaco - council.

[motco]

C n C said:

iphonedyou said:

On Jaywick; this Streetview is particularly sad. The jocosely named Sunbeam Avenue, and the difference between 2009 and 2012.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7736716,1.106773...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7736605,1.106770...

Genuinely hard to imagine how this can exist in the UK in 2023; and what misery must have transpired before, during and after those images were taken.

..and as this is PH - just round the corner in 2019 (after the re-surfacing).

Complete with Krooklok on the steering wheel!

[Road2Ruin]

Stan the Bat said:

Also letting your kids eat stuff off the shelves and then paying for it( possibly) at the till .

I am going to have to agree with that. If you don't have the foresight or self restraint ( I see adults doing it too), then by default...council

To add...driving a car/van with a hoodie up.

[classicaholic]

hidetheelephants said:

dillenger said:

As an engineer I can get on board with this ...also as an engineer I have no idea how this is staying up...

It’s the vase of flowers what tickled me…not letting lack of funds or the view ruin romantic evenings on veranda

WTF? Is this a Jaywick religious attraction; the balcony of immaculate suspension?

A couple of accords and some pallets - cant see any problem there unless you tie your staff to the posts!

[cheesejunkie]

Road2Ruin said:

I am going to have to agree with that. If you don't have the foresight or self restraint ( I see adults doing it too), then by default...council

To add...driving a car/van with a hoodie up.

Seat as low as possible with the back at a 45 degree angle. Baseball cap can replace hood up.

[rossub]

DodgyGeezer said:

smithyithy said:

It feels a bit cheap to call that council, it's just depressing, probably one of the most hopeless looking places I've seen in the UK - it looks more akin to a rural area in a former Soviet country

IIRC it is one of, if not THE, most socially deprived areas in the UK. The thing is though that every time sprucing up is tried (better housing etc) the locals are vehemently against it as they feel that (probably with full justification!) it's a prelude to trying to gentrify the area and force them out... living on a nice beach (and it is nice) would be worth a fortune in today's lunatic property market

All these references to the old eastern bloc, but it actually reminds me of an awful lot of places in small town USA…. and ‘Ghetto’ areas of their cities.

[motco]

rossub said:

DodgyGeezer said:

smithyithy said:

It feels a bit cheap to call that council, it's just depressing, probably one of the most hopeless looking places I've seen in the UK - it looks more akin to a rural area in a former Soviet country

IIRC it is one of, if not THE, most socially deprived areas in the UK. The thing is though that every time sprucing up is tried (better housing etc) the locals are vehemently against it as they feel that (probably with full justification!) it's a prelude to trying to gentrify the area and force them out... living on a nice beach (and it is nice) would be worth a fortune in today's lunatic property market

All these references to the old eastern bloc, but it actually reminds me of an awful lot of places in small town USA…. and ‘Ghetto’ areas of their cities.

Detroit for example.

[rossub]

motco said:

Detroit for example.

Absolutely, but that’s the one everyone knows. The poorer states are absolutely riddled with places that look like that.

[motco]

rossub said:

motco said:

Detroit for example.

Absolutely, but that’s the one everyone knows. The poorer states are absolutely riddled with places that look like that.

Actually, about five years ago I was walking down a residential road in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains north of Sydney, and I was surprised to see some pretty poor housing with non-runner cars outside. Nowhere near as bad as some being discussed, but still fairly deprived and visible to visitors to the Blue Mountains tourist area. It seems that affluence isn't as universal in the first world as the respective countries would have you believe.