Poor old bristol

New one on me Celtic , i've heard of people having a fav sport or fav song but never a fav chef   

Plenty of Butchers Knives in the area

A couple of young teenage murder victims in last few days in Bristol weren't there.

My brother used to manage an OK Corals in the Keynsham area.

Been here 30 years, I can confirm its a dump, always marijuana in the air, bikes on pavements, derelict buildings in the city centre and graffiti EVERYWHERE

Agree, more graffiti there than any city anywhere, awful.

Sad to read, i lived in Bedminster as young teenager for a couple of years after leaving Cornwall and loved the city and still 'support' the local team BCFC. I've been back a few times since, as recently as last Christmas, but we were only there a few days and didn't get chance to see so much, in fact on the 25th we stayed in the hotel. Mind you, i guess there are several cities in GB that are not what they once were.

Sad to read this, I spent a day in Bristol a few years ago and enjoyed it.

Most big cities are sh1tholes now, can't think why.

A I S ,, you would not recognise bemmie now with all the high rise blocks on the go.

Stewarts

Stockholm is nice

Blencathra,

We were in the Holiday Inn, close to Cabot Circus and didn't stray far from the area.

What i remember from Bedminster in bygone years (lived in Chessel St) is the Hen and Chickens pub, although i was too young to go in of course, the school near the WD Wills tobacco factory and Ashton Gate stadium.

My main point is that bristol has a food culture of its own, way before the sailing ships arrived. This is what stein should have showcased. All those frustrated super restuarants and foodies shuved to the back of the queue for a womens cooperative and a celebration of windrush. ITS A COOKING PRGRAM

Anyone ever go to the Horse and Jockey pub was in Frogmore Street  Bristol 1  bottom of Park street ...

There’s a village called horse and jockey in Ireland

North Street is very "in" nowadays, little cafes/bars  + top class cheese shop.

Whippin, I used to use that Joe Corals shop in Keynsham a lot
Did your brother continue managing it when it became a baldy shop?
I'm guessing he did because it had the same manager for about 30 years before it closed last summer
I'm talking about a West Ham supporter called Nick

And others who have mentioned North Street in Bemmie...
Was there earlier this week waiting for the baldy shop to open at 9.00

A lot of poncey cafes as others have said, didn't want some fancy coffee for a fiver but luckily there's a Clarks pie shop there

Story in the news this week about a new dentist opening in Bristol, taking NHS patients (ie the rest of us paying). Queues lapping the blocks. One could tell it wasn't a queue to get a job.

Cider, funny you mention that
My step daughters best friend was on the TV clip being interviewed, the one wearing a red bobble hat, whilst in the queue

She could easily afford to go private but won't on principle

But then so many people are unwilling to make the simple connection between mass immigration and the inability to access public and medical services. The images say everything, however the mainstream media will gaslight the idea the the problem is that there isn't enough dentists, not enough 'investment', austerity yada yada.

I do get it, Reg. If you're one of the ones paying in, you should at least expect to see some of the benefits coming out.

I actually signed up with a private dentist and the experience was excellent. Certainly worth the additional wedge.

The short term solution seems obvious to me, that if you use private medical services and dentistry, you should get a credit of what it would have cost to delivery those services via NHS. Win win, as it should take pressure off delivering services who can't afford to pay, and I'm not losing out by opting to go private.

That's a great solution Cider
By coincidence, again, I had to visit the Dentist this week with a sudden acute toothache
Got in the same day and only a 10 mile drive to Cheddar

But the consultation and temporary filling cost me 170 quid, with at least another 200 to pay next week
Would have been 75 max I think with the NHS

Certainly escalates quickly if you need work done. I've pretty much written off trying to access these types of services through the 'free' NHS. Luckily I get full fat medical insurance and private GP access through work, but I opted to see a medical consultant privately, not going through the insurance. £200 for half an hour!

But it was like going on a luxury holiday, consultant and nurse at my disposal, leather sofa in the waiting room! Well worth the money, completely stress free and not having to mix with the general public. The only slightly odd part was paying the consultant at the end of the appointment via the little Square payment receiving device he pulled out from his draw lol.

My osteopath's receptionist asked me to pay before I went in the other week. I likened it to a carvery.

I remember in the 80s settling a small medical bill which was for so many guineas
That's one pound 5p or 21 shillings to a guinea for any post decimal readers
I paid by cheque of course

I remember in the 80s settling a small medical bill which was for so many guineas
That's one pound 5p or 21 shillings to a guinea for any post decimal readers
I paid by cheque of course

I've gone to a private dentist for cosmetic work but I certainly wouldn't be so arrogant to expect the NHS to subsidize me. Why don't the private medical companies go out to motorway crashes and transport the casualties free of charge to NHS hospitals ?

Sorry , first cheque got lost in the post

Are you hard of thinking, Bindaree? Obviously I'm referring to work that would be completed via the NHS otherwise. The cost to the taxpayer is the same, but that would be freeing up services for people who can't or don't want to pay. We are talking about elective work here, not trauma emergencies

Cider, I couldn't work out if Bindaree was having a dig or not, seemed a strange post.
For my part, I used to have a dentist that accepted NHS patients but then decided to go private only. So now, unless I find a dentist that takes new NHS patients (see earlier posts regarding queues in Bristol) I have to pay the private prices.
This is the scenario for millions of British people.
So, basically, we have to pay more for a similar service, and don't all receive the subsidy that we've paid for via our taxes.
It's that simple surely?

Exactly yes. There would be enough people taking up the deal to move from NHS listed dentists onto private only dentists, freeing up the NHS ones for those who can't/won't want to pay.
The only thing stopping it would be this absurd ideology now that people who work hard to earn a decent income shouldn't get preferential treatment over those that the hard workers pay for. From a practical perspective it is win win, as said.
If someone needs a hip replacement, and it costs the taxpayer £5K for the procedure to be delivered via the NHS. Someone with means can pay £8K to do it privately, get the £5K credit that it would have cost the taxpayer anyway, freeing up the NHS resources for those who can't/won't pay. It's a no brainer as far as I am concerned, so it will never happen.

when i was a young lad i needed dental traeatment quickly but it was a sunday so fat chance then . my dad took me same day to a dental student training place at a local university . they put me a temporary filling in free whilst other students watch . it was fine , bet the facility does not exist today ....and the ' temporary ' filling is , touch wood, still there after 40 years ! my present dentists said they did a brilliant job .

Winsor Knot. The students at the Eastman Dental hospital in Gray's Inn RD in London used to do emergency work on your teeth,I was in real pain 50 years ago and went there a consultant checked my tooth and a student took it out.She was so pleased it was her 1st extraction.

Reg we must have crossed paths if you call into North St baldies ,

2.35 winc TOOTHLESS

couldn't could it ??

North Street baldies is my local too, Blencathra.

Have an occasional pint in the Masonic and watch the weekend footy in the Rising Sun.

Jolly Colliers for my lubricants

Blencathra and raspberry...
I only pop into that shop about every 3 months, and then only for 9am for 10 minutes or so
Moved out of Bristol over 10 years ago, prior to that I was in there quite often, but preferred to go in the independent Winning Post in St John's Lane... Gone now
I used to go in the Luckwell club a bit as well
Don't know if that's still going?

Only been here just over 5yrs

Worked for baldy and did few covering shifts in there,

One of the few who new what he was doing !!

Luckwell still open , but sod walking up that hill afterwards,

There's a Betfred shop around the corner from the RAF careers office, i was in there on Boxing day.

I can recommend the home made 'Cornish' pasties in the Cafe next door, although the place itself is small and was a bit crowded.

AIS, can't remember that shop
Blencathra, did you work in the Broad Walk, Knowle shop?
That was my local baldies

Blencathra16 Feb 24 18:47Joined: 09 Jun 20 | Topic/replies: 542 | Blogger: Blencathra's blog
A I S ,, you would not recognise bemmie now with all the high rise blocks on the go.


I don't get down to South Bristol very often but the last time I was in Bedminster, the butchers had a disco glitterball!

nah . only shop i never did , all the others at some point ,

lads from there now at winning post whitchurch

Reg , Andrew on about Clare St in the centre (by hippodrome )

The more you fund private healthcare the less consultants/dentists/whoever are available for the NHS, that's the problem. They should all be obliged to work a certain number of days for the NHS, they weren't subsidised through medical school just to line their own pockets only a few years later. I've had 2 young dentists in recent years that have trained up, worked for 5 minutes and moved to Oz.

Blencathra, I know that Clare St shop now

The owner of the Winning Post shops, Roy, a nice fella
Should imagine he's OK to work for
Used to be very good shops for getting on... Back prices as well

That's a longer term issue swifty, you can't stop people leaving the country.

It's a wider problem with the whole 'free at the point of delivery model'. But nobody who could fix it wants to face up to it. Certainly nobody on the nhs gravy train.

Cider, there is a way to half solve what swifty said

If they are put through dental school (or medical) they should be obliged to work for the NHS for so long or repay the full cost of training
On a smaller scale I've seen it done by bus companies when training up people for PSV licence
I appreciate that if they emigrate to Oz it makes it difficult

Yes Reg. Nick is my brother. It's certainly a small world!

That's what I was meaning, it's not workable. Knowing how the NHS works, the machine allowing their staff members to be shackled to the NHS after medical school isn't going to happen. It needs to be broken up so they aren't employed by the state, and the job market in the medical world is competitive.

Reg, the Luckwell Club is gone - I've lived just off North Street for about five years
and people talk about the Luckwell Social Club but it's new housing now and was just b4 my time.

I think Blencathra is talking about the Luckwell Inn which is still open and doing well - nearest pub to me.

Raspberry, yeah I thought it had closed, was a good club

Whippin, it certainly is, I used to have a good laugh with him. And he knew his stuff as well, especially football.

I believe he got offered alternative jobs too far away when his shop closed?

Yeah, he's a pretty easy guy to get on with is our Nicholas. He loves his football but he's got a bit of work to do to catch me and our Nephew in our Mini Fantasy Football league.

That's right, he took a redundancy payment and he's no longer in the bookmaking game. He's in his mid 50s so no option to retire just yet. He's been going Racing and whatnot but I'm not sure what his plans for the future are.

3 young children found dead there. Not the Bristol I used to think of.

Swifty, my 7 year old grandson lives less than a mile from where the first 2 were murdered... It's a worry him growing up there... Been trying to persuade his mother to move down nearer us into Somerset for years

Swifty, didn't realise you were referring to something that happened today or yesterday, just read about it ... I thought you were talking about the stabbing of 2 teenagers about 2 weeks ago, followed by another last week

Reg, this is another sad episode, probably a drunk /drugged mother.

re. the previous 3, I wouldn't like to have kids growing up there. I'm in Somerset too and Bristol appears far too often on the regional news for trouble.

Yes, swifty, just reading about it now, 42 year old mother of 3 arrested

We're only 25 miles South of Bristol but seems a world away

What a fkd up world this is.

A neighbour, who didn’t want to be named, said the family who lived in the home had sons aged around eight and six months, and a daughter aged around four.

The family were from Sudan I believe

Police had been at the Property earlier in the Month , Family probably known to social services ,

Tory and Labour will be asking for your vote soon.  PMSL