Douglas Sh@hole!

[Barlow]

3 hours ago, Max Power said:

The lack of basic maintenance is shocking, shops with moss and slime on the fascias, trees sprouting from the upper floors of buildings, dirty shop windows, the new, and expensive, seating areas in Regent Street covered in slime with the woodwork having lost its appearance and waterproofing, litter, fag ends and beer stains on the granite outside 1886 (along with the grey haired smoking boozers), not to mention the low standard of shops like the second hand gadget crap. 

One of the unintended consequences of the pub smoking ban is that we get the addicts hanging around outside, staring blankly into space as they imbibe their habit.

I find smokers, simply by definition, are generally uncouth people. But they are the public face of what is inside the pub. And even if my assessment is a little extreme, the average nicotine addict is hardly an ambassadors for the trade are they.

And so we wonder why the pub trade is decreasing.

[GD4ELI]

1 hour ago, Danoo said:

Being on an island of nearly 70 million people will help. 

Not at all - we're quite remote. Look at a map...

[2112]

4 hours ago, 2bees said:

How is this news? Douglas has been a shit hole for years.

I thought it was a dirty stinking shit hole.

[SleepyJoe]

4 hours ago, Beelzebub3 said:

Only this morning seen a young fellow with a hoe clearing weeds out of the paving in Peel and thought to myself I have not seen that for years since the DOI done away with the street cleaners, I hope that this will be part of the cyclic maintenance around Peel as it is crying out for a little bit of TLC, Douglas on the other hand needs a miracle to get back to anything like it used to be. To be fair it is a sh*thole in every since of th word.

New commissioners in place, weed action a priority

[SleepyJoe]

Just now, 2112 said:

I thought it was a dirty stinking shit hole.

Josem says it's a bombsite & he is just the person to represent it

[2112]

1 hour ago, Barlow said:

One of the unintended consequences of the pub smoking ban is that we get the addicts hanging around outside, staring blankly into space as they imbibe their habit.

I find smokers, simply by definition, are generally uncouth people. But they are the public face of what is inside the pub. And even if my assessment is a little extreme, the average nicotine addict is hardly an ambassadors for the trade are they.

And so we wonder why the pub trade is decreasing.

I’m not overkeen on smoking, and have smoked in my youth. However, I respect people’s right to smoke, you can’t ban everything including lighting up a cigarette in the street. Perhaps more education, smoking areas and facilities to prevent the stubbing out of cigarettes. Also perhaps the nightclub/bar owners should be be required to provide these facilities, as part of their licensing?

[SleepyJoe]

The LVA did want smoking rooms but it was not allowed

[2112]

4 hours ago, The Chief said:

not to be that guy, but is it Douglas corpy's responsibility for the upkeep of privately held buildings and land? 

and as for the general feel of the place, they will never fill the shops when the landlords want £65,000 a year rent for a shitty little shop on strand street. 

Now that the island is booooooooming according to our esteemed estate agents and vested interests, I would imagine that the estate agents and other purveyors of high quality buildings, will be getting ready to increase the prices of empty shops on Strand Street. 

[2112]

4 hours ago, 2bees said:

Douglas corpy are very quick to take people to court over the upkeep of their properties (when it suits them...). They should be encouraged to start throwing their weight around in the right direction (instead of picking on little old ladies and people who've dared to question their ethics). 

The same applies to derelict land - former bus station - which should be subject to CPO, unless building work is commenced within a certain timeframe. 

[display name]

2 hours ago, Barlow said:

One of the unintended consequences of the pub smoking ban is that we get the addicts hanging around outside, staring blankly into space as they imbibe their habit.

I find smokers, simply by definition, are generally uncouth people. But they are the public face of what is inside the pub. And even if my assessment is a little extreme, the average nicotine addict is hardly an ambassadors for the trade are they.

And so we wonder why the pub trade is decreasing.

 

[Barlow]

57 minutes ago, SleepyJoe said:

The LVA did want smoking rooms but it was not allowed

There have been Smoking Rooms in pubs for a century and more. Up until the last few decades they were actively used and respected. But at some point the average smoker believed they had the right to smoke absolutely anywhere at all, and everywhere became a 'smoke room'.

They LVA, brewery et al tried a 'no smoking one metre from the bar' rule. This was an attempt to make the Isle of Man different from the draconian UK. It seemed to work at first and everyone was somehow happy.

But guess what . . . the selfish smokers said stuff that rule and just carried on smoking at the bar.

And so we are now where we are.

The Isle of Man really could have been progressive and different but the smokers themselves shat in their own nest.

I only get a little solace from this, when it is raining or when it is freezing cold. And the smokers are huddled outside the nice warm, comfortable pub.

[The Voice of Reason]

4 hours ago, Barlow said:

One of the unintended consequences of the pub smoking ban is that we get the addicts hanging around outside, staring blankly into space as they imbibe their habit.

I find smokers, simply by definition, are generally uncouth people. But they are the public face of what is inside the pub. And even if my assessment is a little extreme, the average nicotine addict is hardly an ambassadors for the trade are they.

And so we wonder why the pub trade is decreasing.

Maybe an unintended consequence, the smoking outside the pub but hardly unforeseen. As for staring blindly into space that is risible, they are largely found to be enjoying each other’s company.

Your condemnation of smokers as “addicts” is a lazy stereotype. I did ask whether you thought that those who enjoyed an occasional pint were addicts ( maybe I should have said “alcoholics) in relation to those who enjoy the occasional cigarette. I don’t believe you replied

Why are smokers simply by definition “uncouth people”?

Would you put Mel Gibson, Leonardo di Caprio, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and earlier incarnations of James Bond, to name but a few who enjoy a cigarette,in that category.

Contrary to your last statement it is widely acknowledged that the smoking ban has contributed significantly to the decrease in the pub trade

Edited September 10, 2021 by The Voice of Reason

[finlo]

3 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

Maybe not an unintended consequence, the smoking outside the pub but hardly unforeseen. As for staring blindly into space that is risible, they are largely found to be enjoying each other’s company.

Your condemnation of smokers as “addicts” is a lazy stereotype. I did ask whether you thought that those who enjoyed an occasional pint were addicts ( maybe I should have said “alcoholics) in relation to those who enjoy the occasional cigarette. I don’t believe you replied

Why are smokers simply by definition “uncouth people”?

Would you put Mel Gibson, Leonardo di Caprio, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and earlier incarnations of James Bond, to name but a few who enjoy a cigarette,in that category.

Contrary to your last statement it is widely acknowledged that the smoking ban has contributed significantly to the decrease in the pub trade

Jeepers you sound like my mother!

[The Voice of Reason]

1 minute ago, finlo said:

Jeepers you sound like my mother!

She’s a clever lady

[Amadeus]

The council should really do something about that.