What are your "controversial" opinions that go against popular opinions in the UK?
I'll start: Greggs is massively overrated. I genuinely don't understand how people hype it.
Edit: this is a casual community so it would be great if we could avoid politics lest it descend into chaos!
I'm going to just go ahead and run into oncoming traffic...
Northern Ireland should be given back to Ireland.
England, Scotland, and Wales should become independent countries with an open border & trade policy between them and the newly reunified Ireland.
And any of those countries should be free to choose to rejoin the EU if they have not already done so.
:)
England, Scotland, and Wales should become independent countries
Only if London fucks off and becomes a city-state.
Being the casual community I'd hope that people would stay clear of politics to keep it light hearted, but looking at the community rules it doesn't prohibit politics.
Northern Ireland should be given back to Ireland.
It really pains me, as someone from Northern Ireland. How people just assume that it's that simple. Both that NI was "stolen" from Ireland and that it'll be a quick and simple job to bring them together.
Federate the UK! Though I think England is too big and needs to be broken into chunks roughly even with Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Massively decentralize.
Do you split or keep the military as is?
Tea bags without a little string on it is weird.
Then again, I'm european and have only ever visited Edinburgh so I don't think my opinion counts, Anglophilic as I may be.
Anglophilic
There's creams for that.
For a long steeping tea, I can understand the string.
For one you're going to be whipping out after a few minutes, I like the tagless ones.
It means I can just throw them in, instead of fiddling wrapping the string around.
The trains aren't bad. They're not great, but they're not as utterly terrible as some people make out. I commute to Manchester three times a week typically and it takes ~30 mins on the train, I always get a seat and I've never been delayed more than 15 mins. At rush hour it would take an hour to drive and even an on-the-day return is cheaper than parking.
Edit to add: I go to London a couple of times a month. Not had a significant issue in years.
They’d be acceptable if they weren’t stupid expensive.
I commute to Manchester three times a week
Yeah because you're going to a major city. But if you're not going to a major city or you're going by a link then you start having problems.
If my train is 15 minutes late and I'm getting a connection in Manchester then it's a major issue, if you're getting off in Manchester it's a minor inconvenience.
It's sod's law that if your train is delayed then the connecting train will depart exactly on time. The other classic inevitable is that the size of the train is inversely proportionate to the expected passenger count.
I keep trying trains, here are some of my experiences. Caveat, I actually like/enjoy driving myself, but I want trains to be good for everyone including me.
Living in Wiltshire, within walking distance of a train station. Have friends in Kent, again walking distance of a train station. I was visiting those friends a few times a year, maybe even monthly at the time. I didn't have my own vehicle. Jumping on a train with a book, seemed like the good option. The cost was incredible, easily 4x the cost of fuel if I had a car/motorbike (as I later did). The trains were generally on-time, into London. Once I bought a vehicle (motorbike at the time) that became my default. The one time I wanted to leave the motorbike at home due to bad weather, the line was flooded between reading and Paddington and I had to take the bike in the rain anyway. It cost me less to pay the fuel, insurance and outright buy the motorbike in a year than I spent on the train.
Living in South Wales, travelling to leeds regularly (several times a month). Avoiding the road miles/fuel/carbon, trying to take the train. The journey is long, involved several changeovers. The worst changeover was at Cardiff, I had a 55 minute wait at the end of a 5+ hour journey before a final 20 minute train home. I did get a lot of reading done. I also got a lot of drinking done, that much time sat on a train and I'd have a few cans. Ironically google maps often told me to get off at a station before home, and walk the hour and twenty minutes from Cwmbran home, as it was quicker that taking the layover in Cardiff. Eventually started driving again.
South wales valleys, into cardiff. Rush hour traffic is horrendous. The drive to work at the weekend was around twenty minutes, during rush hour you'd add an hour to that at least. Started taking the train. Was regularly late to work as the rush hour trains would be at capacity and I wouldn't be able to get on, or they weren't running. I had a 35 minute wait at the station each evening after work, if I worked late I'd often get stuck waiting on the hourly train home. The train, while "in theory" quicker, was even slower than driving; it was less reliable and it worked out more expensive than the fuel.
The train should be a solid win. But time after time I've ended up buying a vehicle and going back to driving.
I think it's very regional. I work in various places around Yorkshire, so I'm not always on the same route, but it's generally 10-20 trains a week (mixed with other weeks where I can walk or cycle from home). Of a 20 train week, I'd expect 1-2 delays or cancellations every day. Unless we're starting or finishing early/late, I'd expect a seat once, in one direction only.
These are mostly 2 carriage Sprinters with hundreds of people trying to get on them. Sometimes I work in other places, and you've got these enormous 10 carriage long things that run North/South, but only 50 people trying to get on, so you always get a seat on them.
I commute to Manchester
That's the only reason you're coping. Manchester is the greatest city in the World so it offsets the utter abortion that is train travel. Where are you coming from? North, East, South West? If it's some shitole town like New Mills I can imagine the train journey is a euphoric experience.
Edit to add: I go to London a couple of times a month. Not had a significant issue in years.
On second thoughts you may have brain damage. It's not normal to think train travel and London are acceptable to life. You should speak to your doctor and ask about traumatic brain injury or tumours. Could explain things.
Fish n chips is an awful dish. There, I said it.
It's good until you're about halfway through and the grease catches up with you.
So true. Split it with someone, stop eating when you're still wanting more.
That's a good one! I do like a chippy as long as the batter is nice and crispy. Can't stand vinegar though, absolutely vile stuff!
I'm American and I couldn't imagine getting fish and chips without malt vinegar. They aren't just serving it with white vinegar over there, are they?
It's the chips for me. Anaemic soggy rubbish is awful, our local changed hands a few years back and they started to dry the chips until they were crispy.
It was amazing. The chips even managed to stay warm and not too sweaty after getting them home because they started to box them rather than wrapping in paper.
However they received so many complaints they reverted back to paper, and the chips are a hot lump of soggy crap. There are several chippies in town who serve that crap, it was a nice period when we had one that made good food.
I don't bother with fish and chips anymore.
English people are terrible at fish and chips
I prefer fries to thick cut chips if I'm given a choice but battered fish is golden crispy magic.
Brits are exceptionally bad at driving. It's unbelievable the dumb shit they do on the roads. All it takes is get across the channel to see what traffic could be.
Funilly enough - it takes about 5 miles, when coming back from EU, for the rules to be thrown out the window. Doing 20 below on a fast lane, never overtaking, not fitting into a single lane, no indicators, no anticipation, no fucks given. :(
Can't say I agree with this. I've driven in France, Belgium, Netherlands & Germany and didn't really notice any difference in standards across anywhere, including the UK. The only weirdness I saw was in France where I saw drivers purposely crashing their car into other parked cars to make some space.
Other than the not using indicators thing, I haven't seen anything like you describe. Doing below 20 in the fast lane is a death sentence, unless you're in traffic obviously.
Belgians stick to the right like glue, Dutch are similar. Germans are, well, Germans. Very polite, very precise.
Doing below 20 in the fast lane is a death sentenc
Yes, it is. Doesn't stop some people. They simply rely on others to do safe driving.
Have you seen the way the french drive?
I have! But.
Cornish pastry shop are not very good.
Any shop selling a "Cornish pastry" must be awful. The pasty shops that are actually in Cornwall are definitely better!
I’ll start: Greggs is massively overrated. I genuinely don’t understand how people hype it.
I hadn't read your comment before answering and now I have I wish death and plague upon your bones. You're a proper wrongun'. People like you should have new medicines tested on them. You should also be force-fed Greggs until you beg for death or capitulate and accept it as your Lord and Saviour.
Fucking anti-Greggs monsters are gonna take over the country if we don't sort them out soon.
You've obviously never had a Greenhalghs cheese & jalapeno pasty, or been to pound bakery! They have a much better selection of pasties for a lot less.
Thomas the Baker > Cooplands of Doncaster > Pound Bakery > Greggs >= Cooplands
Milk doesn't belong in tea.
Also what you call "pie" and "pudding" is a culinary crime.
You've clearly never had a good steak and ale pie or creamy chicken, leak and ham pie!
Chicken pot pie, also lobster bisque pie. It works I swear.
Listen you vile heretic, what do you think a pie is then?
Milk doesn’t belong in tea.
That we can agree on.
ETA: I'm proud to have the only genuinely controversial opinion in this whole thread. You're a bunch of wet-knickered, limp-lidded, pussy-willows.
As usual people are fucking idiots so you may need to sort by controversial...
It's even still written in Reddiquette that downvotes are not for disagreement
Yeah but I'm not going to update a list of really bad takes.
Then don't vote. My rough rule is:
Makes for a more engaging platform and stops a place turning into an echo chamber.
P.S. I upvoted you because I enjoy having my views challenged though I disagree with you for the above reason. I don't want echo chambers.
Totally agree, although it's not a problem that's unique the to the UK, it's also a big issue in places like Italy and Spain. I don't know what is is about football that brings out the dickheads, you just don't see it with other sports.
Isn't it a lot to do with how easy it is to start playing? All you need is something ball shaped and a wall or a bit of grass .You don't need to terraform a whole area like golf, for example.
So it's got no barrier to entry which means people of a lower socioeconomic disposition can play it and they are often disproportionately stressed and angry
I think football in general is just boring. There's huge periods of time when nothing seems to be happening. Every 5 minutes they seem to stop play to have an argument with the referee or to roll on the ground in apparent agony because they got grazed knee. I really can't be bothered with it.