"Ello John dya drive a motor"

[struth]

The problem is obvious. too many cars on too little roads all vying for the same goal; to not be late for work, or get home as early as possible... everything now is against the clock. Too many commuters tbh, and a totally inadequate public transport system. Add to that an attitude of "i'm all right jack" and its always going to end in tears for someone.

[Puffin]

The problem is obvious. too many cars on too little roads all vying for the same goal; to not be late for work, or get home as early as possible... everything now is against the clock. Too many commuters tbh, and a totally inadequate public transport system. Add to that an attitude of "i'm all right jack" and its always going to end in tears for someone.

Yes exactly, that's why cyclists are hated so much as they are seen as an inconvenience and are expendable to a lot of motorists,

[Marco]

The problem is obvious. too many cars on too little roads all vying for the same goal; to not be late for work, or get home as early as possible... everything now is against the clock. Too many commuters tbh, and a totally inadequate public transport system. Add to that an attitude of "i'm all right jack" and its always going to end in tears for someone.

Spot on, in all respects!

There are more selfish arseholes than ever, not just on our roads, but *everywhere* in public, living in their superficial, largely meaningless 'little bubbles', who couldn't give a damn about anyone else, which the grossly materialistic society we're created and live in today has bred.

In terms of the bit in bold, yup... Too many stressed to buggery, headless chickens, with fatally poor 'work/life balances', running around the place with no time to themselves - and it's a disease the UK suffers from in particular, especially in places like London.

In that respect, it's a real eye-opener, going abroad and watching how the French, Italians, Spanish, and even Germans exist, working hard, yes, but also managing to find the time to LIVE.....

It would be a useful, and I suspect beneficial exercise, therefore, to introduce 'work swaps', where a selection of workers from the UK, from various industries, swapped places for a week with their European counterparts, and see if they learned anything useful, and if so, whether it would force a chance in their 'headless chicken' lifestyles, before they all end up dead from heart attacks.

Marco.

[mad-moon]

Yes exactly, that's why cyclists are hated so much as they are seen as an inconvenience and are expendable to a lot of motorists,

I do not hate cyclists. Cyclists who are riding correctly, have every right to be on the roads, providing they abide by the laws of the road and I'm sorry, but the majority of them don't. Running red lights, bouncing up on to the pavement to avoid red lights, undertaking vehicles who are waiting at red lights, snapping off wing mirrors, and when you confront them, they kick your car or smah your wing mirror off purposely in anger. That's just one scenario , the waiting at a red light road rage scenario. the prolem on the roads today, which I pointed out in a previous thread " what makes a good driver" is PATIENCE ! and Grant pointed it out further up this thread

" The problem is obvious. too many cars on too little roads all vying for the same goal; to not be late for work, or get home as early as possible... everything now is against the clock. Too many commuters tbh, and a totally inadequate public transport system. Add to that an attitude of "i'm all right jack" and its always going to end in tears for someone."

[Pigmy Pony]

Spot on, in all respects!

There are more selfish arseholes than ever, not just on our roads, but *everywhere* in public, living in their superficial, largely meaningless 'little bubbles', who couldn't give a damn about anyone else, which the grossly materialistic society we're created and live in today has bred.

In terms of the bit in bold, yup... Too many stressed to buggery, headless chickens, with fatally poor 'work/life balances', running around the place with no time to themselves - and it's a disease the UK suffers from in particular, especially in places like London.

In that respect, it's a real eye-opener, going abroad and watching how the French, Italians, Spanish, and even Germans exist, working hard, yes, but also managing to find the time to LIVE.....

It would be a useful, and I suspect beneficial exercise, therefore, to introduce 'work swaps', where a selection of workers from the UK, from various industries, swapped places for a week with their European counterparts, and see if they learned anything useful, and if so, whether it would force a chance in their 'headless chicken' lifestyles, before they all end up dead from heart attacks.

Marco.

I wonder how the lifestyles of our "headless chickens" differ materially from our "finding time to live" European counterparts? Is housing cheaper over there? Do they spend less on their cars, food and drink, essential services (gas, electric, water), holidays, etc?

I would argue that it is not the workers, but the employers, politicians and bankers that need to do a "job swap", at the end of which we may say "Nah, you can keep 'em".

If the problem turns out to be that British workers have to work longer than our continental cousins to earn comparable incomes, well that's not necessarily the fault of the workers. Failing businesses are never the fault of the workers, but always the fault of those in charge. It would be nice to be able to say to your boss "I'm leaving for a better job because you're a complete wank-stain and your firm is headed for the toilet", but unfortunately it's still a buyers market jobwise.

And that's probably at the root of the "headless chickens" problem.

[Macca]

I wonder how the lifestyles of our "headless chickens" differ materially from our "finding time to live" European counterparts? .

Me too.

I've been to Paris and Rome and they didn't seem to be so laid back there. Not been to Germany so not sure what that's like now but going by their previous form I wouldn't describe their culture as particularly 'chilled'. The Dutch seem to be cycling somewhere all the time and the Spanish to be either sleeping or partying hard. Scandinavia has some of the highest suicide rates in the world so they're clearly out and the Poles and Russkies are on the piss all the time so hard to tell with them.


Now I've been to rural France and the shops all close at 10am and I don't know what they all do after that but whatever it is they aren't doing it on the streets as it's like a ghost town. So maybe they are finding 'time to live' but if so they do it in private. And you can go to rural Britain and see pretty much the same thing (except the shops are open all day).

[Pigmy Pony]

Whatever it is they do in rural France, it certainly isn't home maintenance. I've driven all over France, and not just on the autoroutes, and most of the houses look like they're ready to fall down. The owners are probably busy setting fire to bins and cars in the cities, and being as laid back about it as possible.

And no one in their right mind would drive a nice car round Paris.

[Pigmy Pony]

At the risk of being branded 'Francophile', I'll just mention that the most commonly seen sign outside the cities is 'Ferme'. Not sure if this is a type of cheese, but it seems to be big business. I'll buy some next time I'm over there, if I can find anywhere open

[Macca]

. The owners are probably busy setting fire to bins and cars in the cities, and being as laid back about it as possible.

.

I've not tried it but it's possible that setting fire to bins and cars and throwing a few rocks at the police reduces your stress levels. It does look like it's more fun that working for a living although I suppose that's not saying much.

So get up at 6 am, open your boulangerie or whatever, close at 7am then off into town for spot of rioting. Back home for tea-time, some wine, some cheese, catch some rays, then off to bed in your falling-down house.

[Marco]

I wonder how the lifestyles of our "headless chickens" differ materially from our "finding time to live" European counterparts? Is housing cheaper over there? Do they spend less on their cars, food and drink, essential services (gas, electric, water), holidays, etc?

I would argue that it is not the workers, but the employers, politicians and bankers that need to do a "job swap", at the end of which we may say "Nah, you can keep 'em".

If the problem turns out to be that British workers have to work longer than our continental cousins to earn comparable incomes, well that's not necessarily the fault of the workers. Failing businesses are never the fault of the workers, but always the fault of those in charge. It would be nice to be able to say to your boss "I'm leaving for a better job because you're a complete wank-stain and your firm is headed for the toilet", but unfortunately it's still a buyers market jobwise.

And that's probably at the root of the "headless chickens" problem.

It's mainly a culture thing. We (although I don't count myself in this, nor I suspect most folks here, but Brits in general) have become conditioned to working all the hours under the sun, to fund a lifestyle we can ill afford. We're obsessed with 'stuff', and so earning enough money to pay for it all has become the primary focus, thus encroaching on our free time and ability to LIVE.

My experience of how folks live abroad, in the countries I've mentioned, is that they tend to lead a more frugal existence, with less focus on having 'stuff', and where TIME (to spend doing what *you* want) is ultimately more important than money - and so if you have less 'stuff', you don't have to work such long hours to pay for it, thereby reducing stress and achieving a healthier work/life balance.

Try telling a Frenchman, for example, that he or she can't have (at the very minimum) a one-hour lunch break, in order to relax and enjoy a proper cooked hot meal, and that instead they'll have to eat a microwaved pie, or some such, at their desk, whist carrying on working, and they'll tell you where to go in no uncertain terms!!

Yet we put up with it here and don't dare say 'boo to a coo', continually accepting being put upon by our employers, to the extent that they put upon us more and more (because they know that they'll get away with it), and so control our lives, not just in work, but also (supposedly) out of it, by expecting us to be contactable virtually 24/7, at the beck and call of an email or text message....

It's a vicious circle that has put so many people in a lifestyle trap (made them become a slave to the 'rat race') that's very difficult to escape.

However, from what I've seen abroad, in the countries I've mentioned, they seem to manage the pressures of modern living rather better than we do, and have held onto the things that ultimately matter most and make life precious: having TIME to ENJOY LIFE (spending more of it with their loved ones, than working their fingers to the bone - for *what* exactly in the end?) and simply continually running around like a headless chicken.

They don't seem to care about 'keeping up with the Joneses', or are as obsessed with lifestyle trends, as we are, and aren't so materialistically-driven, nor generally, do they give a bugger what others think of them, as they tend to have the self-confidence to adopt more of a 'fuck you' approach.

After all, in terms of working like a dog to earn lots of money, what good will it do, if you've got NO TIME to enjoy it...? Life's too short to ultimately waste it neglecting the people who matter to you most. None of us know how long we've got on this earth, so why not ensure that when you do depart, you've got as little regrets as possible?

If you're a parent, what would you like your kids one day to put on your gravestone: 'We loved you dad, but never really knew you, because you were always working', or 'We loved you dad and will treasure all the wonderful memories we made spending time together while you were here'?

The 'headless chickens' of today would do well to think about that, and make the appropriate changes to their 'busy lifestyles', before it's all too late....

Marco.