Well i have been working near Moss Side in an area called Rusholme in Manchester, i had a call to make and i saw an area of sand on the pavement with flowers put there, it seems that a teenager called Dean was shot dead over the weekend,was it drugs or what, this council estate was a soulless place, i think id rather live in a caravan somewhere than places like that, not many people take an interest in their gardens that to me says its soulless, my work takes me to many council or housing association estates and on most you see a lot of beautiful gardens with trees, shrubs and flowers but only one garden had a lavatera bush,i think if councils could get these type of tenants interested in gardening the place would come alive,this is an area that needs looking at so wake up councils and help them with seeds etc.I also passed the new Commonweath stadium being built in east Manchester, to get there i went along Alan Turin Way which has been name after the fellow who beat the Enigma code during the war, so thank you Manchester for making sure his name lives on as our governments have forgotten him.
Been to hell today.
You should try some parts of Middlesbrough, Sheila. Drugs, homeless, prostitutes, muggings, thieves, people robbed at knife-point. I suspect these inner-cities are all pretty much alike. There are a few houses where a hanging basket is up and a rose struggles, but they're older tenants I suspect. There's areas I wouldn't want to go on my own after dark. No bleeding heart liberal here, been through too much.
Just as bad here in Birmingham Sheila and Diane. My neice was robbed at GUNPOINT a few weeks ago at the cashpoint, by 2 girls.I don't go out at night on my own, and am very wary during the day.
Marigold.
Its the same in the South too, there never seems to be a day goes by without some incident or another, at one time Southampton was the murder capital. Thankfully that was quite a few years ago now.
Several councils have run experiments with gardening to see if people take more care of the area and it does work to some extent. The community garden initiative is well worth it and some even grow veg for those who can't always afford fresh produce.
What really annoys me is they will spend a fortune on a building or yet another road and shove these deprived areas under the carpet or knock them down and sell the ground to builders.
The cost of living in the south is high too and while there are perhaps more jobs available, the wages nowhere near cover the costs of basics like rent. There is no way I could live here on 3.70 an hour and being single with no children I have no other means of support, I'm pretty sure its the same in your areas too.
I personally couldn't live in such squalor as some do, I'm not rich or well educated, I'm from a council estate myself so I'm no better than anyone else, but I just don't understand the mindset.
My Father once said that it takes certain people to live certain lifestyles.
No i go on a lot of council estates, luckily the majority are quite pleasant and most tenants look after their gardens, but these estates i have been to today are so called modern built in the last 10-15 years and honestly they look horrible, whoever designed them should be shot, how the hell can they call themselves architects is beyond me. You find that if they build semi-detached houses with some space between each semi they dont seem to go downhill the same, no i am talking about houses that just go on and on with no space etc between each other, and these were also built of concrete grey grey grey all the way with tiny front gardens etc.Yet a short way away they are spending millions on all the new stadium for the commonwealth games, these areas need money, not everyone on these estates are scum, some have been unfortunate sometimes in their lives,i think in this country we must spend more money on the kids on these types of estates,if it costs over 30 million on security for the royals are these kids not worthy of some money for kids clubs sports clubs etc,i know some people might think it is a waste, but i dont cos if we have no pity for the genuine poor then as human beings we are finished.