Joe Public Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 FROM: SALLY MACDONALD, 3 Rosewood Drive, Douglas. A LETTER from one of your readers regarding the lack of facilities and understanding of young people on the Island touched a chord with me.I was born and brought up in the Island, so small-minded people who have nothing positive to contribute can't tell me to get on the boat. I was brought up to believe that England was a crime-ridden and dangerous place and that the Island was a fantastic place to live. However, when I left the Island 12 years ago to live and work in the West Midlands I found this preconception to be an untruth. I lived in a beautiful village with virtually no crime and worked in a town that had every entertainment facility imaginable, including an ice rink, a multi-screen cinema and a large indoor entertainment and shopping complex. It made me feel like I had been totally deceived during my youth. The countryside was even more beautiful than that of the Island (walking routes were always well maintained) and life just seemed so much more exciting. Two years ago I returned to the Island due to family commitments. I have encountered more drunkenness on the streets and in bars and clubs than I ever encountered in Ledbury. Drugs seem to have been allowed to take hold of the Island and there seems to be so much aggression and violence whenever I venture out for an evening for a drink or meal. Unlike England the police here seem to adopt a low-profile approach that does not instil confidence. I now see the Island as a dull, boring place where I do not particularly want to remain. Indeed because I now speak with a slight Midlands twang I have been told by many locals to get back on the boat. It strikes me that the Island is rather an insular little place that does not welcome outsiders. The local people have little ambition to make the Island a more interesting and exciting place, particularly for young people. This is apparent in the lack of political debate that takes place here. After some thought I calculate that since returning to the Island I have had my car almost wrecked once by a speeding driver, and have had many near-misses due to lax road-safety enforcement and drivers considering this to be the Wild West of motoring. I have witnessed more fights in Douglas and other towns in two years than I ever witnessed in the UK. I have also spent more time at home bored because of the diabolical lack of facilities. I miss being able to spend hours wandering around a large shopping centre. I miss being able to pop in to see a selection of films and have a safe drink at any time of the day or evening. I miss being able to drive home safely without some lunatic tailgating me. Please don't believe that because England is receiving such a bad press at the moment this Island should sit back in smug complacency and think that it doesn't have to do anything to modernise and improve. Cities are not always fantastic places to live, but some of the smaller towns of England have a huge amount more to offer people who want to live life to the full. Who knows maybe one day this Island might wake up from the dead, but that would require some young and worldly wise politicians. I doubt that will happen when so many young people are escaping these shores. In the meantime I can't wait to escape again myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sausages Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 BURN HER! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boat in the Morning Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 cough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeoneday Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Maybe King David can exile her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcCann Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 I started to read that with anger but about half way through I realised that, on the whole I agree with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith brief Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 That's the way I saw it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
When Skies Are Grey Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 These letters are only put in to elicit the type of "boat in the morning" cliche that the author wants to receive in some form of vindication of her correspondence. Personally I could live without an ice rink and a multiplex for the other benefits the Island has to offer...you pays your money you takes your choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 She goes to live in a rural village with less than 9000 residents and she's surprised it's quieter than here? Perhaps she should try living in a city centre somewhere to get a more accurate picture of the UK. And really, if her desires for entertainment revolve around going to the cinema, shopping and the odd bit of ice skating then she sounds pretty dull. Not only do you not want to be here anymore, but the Island doesn't want you either love. Boat in the morning, yessir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemonday Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 3rd time for this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutley Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 A couple of weeks ago I stopped for petrol in Castletown on a Saturday night round 7:30. It was cold and drizzling but there was a bunch of kids hanging round. They weren't causing any trouble or anything. Anyway I struck up a conversation with them and was surprised to hear that they hung round the petrol station to meet their friends as there was nowhere else to go. They were all about 12 or 13 and had nowhere to go on a Saturday night. I on the other hand went to see Jon Gomm in the Peel Centenary Hall and had a fantastic time. The morale of the story is being young on the IOM sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
When Skies Are Grey Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Is it much different than it was 20 years ago.....everyone says that there is nothing for kids to do on the Island these days, but was there ever that much more for them. When I was a kid (god now I sound old) we went to a mates house and played the latest ZX81 or C64 game, played cards, D&D, watched TV and chatted......I didnt feel the requirement to have to hang around outside for the sake of it. Sure there was a youth club near me but I rarely went....but that didnt mean I hung around a petrol station with my mates..... It seems to me taht the some of the youth today need to be spoon fed everything...and then when things dont happen use boredom as an excuse for unsocial behaviour..... I know this will all come back to bite me on the arse with WSAG Jnr comes along...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Is it much different than it was 20 years ago.....everyone says that there is nothing for kids to do on the Island these days, but was there ever that much more for them. No, there wasn't. I'd spend my evenings playing football in the summer, playing computer games and watching films with mates. I used to write my own music, I used to mess around with guitars. I'd (gasp) spend time with my parents and family and I'd use the local youth club to meet with mates and chill out. Sure, as we got older the football turned into booze, the games were played at the Crescent and the films soon became porn, but we were still entertaining ourselves. You're absolutely right, kids today expect things to be handed to them. The funny thing is that if we gave them an ice rink, half of them wouldn't be fit enough to drag their fat, couch potatoed arses around the outside without getting out of breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Public Posted December 19, 2007 Author Share Posted December 19, 2007 Too old for computer games. But footy, go-carts, parks, british bulldog, street cricket, and hanging around ( no matter how much there is to do, teenagers do this best)......bored sometimes, but not very often or for too long. Thing about ice-rinks, multiplexes, bowling alleys etc is whose got £20 / per child/ per night to keep their precious ones entertained for a couple of hours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith brief Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 She goes to live in a rural village with less than 9000 residents and she's surprised it's quieter than here? Perhaps she should try living in a city centre somewhere to get a more accurate picture of the UK. And really, if her desires for entertainment revolve around going to the cinema, shopping and the odd bit of ice skating then she sounds pretty dull. Not only do you not want to be here anymore, but the Island doesn't want you either love. Boat in the morning, yessir. Why would living in a city centre give a more accurate picture of the UK? It's well-known that very few people live in the city centres preferring to reside in the conurbations and suberbs. I think her point was that getting hammered and being anti-social was the main passtime as there's little else to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Because that's what they do in City Centres too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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