Comments on: The Stepford Wives of Worcester Park

By: Fen

Fen — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:49:51 +0000

What is the area like with the newer little houses like at the end of Boscombe Road? I know there is an industrial centre at the back. It seemed OK when I went past, is it rough?

By: Doris

Doris — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:09:22 +0000

Fortunately the council house side of the Hamptons is in a tucked-away area and small. It annoys me to see people in three-storey, brand new council houses who show no obvious signs of poverty - the 4×4s, for example. Council houses should be for those in need, if that makes sense.

I sometimes hear yelling at night from the Hamptons and see the bottles of booze discarded along Boscombe Road - the residential road leading to the Hamptons. Living in a private development where many don’t drive, I did fear an influx of abandoned cars.

But the culprits of antisocial behaviour and parking cars on other’s land/ using this cul de sac as a weekend dumping ground for industrial vehicles are the older people in their tatty, three/four-bed 1930s semis along Boscombe Road.

They are not the most classy of people - many would have bought when the houses were very affordable. Some flogged their back gardens in the 80s, yet feel they have the right to claim them back years later. They lost their rear access in the 80s when they sold their land. But, no, they want it back. Up goes a gate, private parking is abused and cement mixers, etc dumped. Yes, on someone else’s freehold property.

These are the people driving around in banged-out Astras, Cortinas, chucking fag ends over their fences, etc. They should stop looking down their noses at people with smaller houses/council houses. And is their behaviour - trespassing, for example - any better than the Hamptons residents’ shouting and chucking litter about?

By: Positive citizens or trainee consumers? at Adrian Short

Positive citizens or trainee consumers? at Adrian Short — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:39:59 +0000

[...] which young people liked to sit. It’s also the place where a housing association sees fit to impose a 9pm curfew on its tenants [...]

By: Tomorrow Museum » Archive » Suburban Ruins and The Ethics of House Flipping

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:34:58 +0000

[...] The Stepford Wives of Worchester Park, Adrian Short [...]

By: Clayton Nash

Clayton Nash — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:35:14 +0000

It would be nice were we able to return to a world where we all wander about of an evening and interact - sadly I think those days are gone. However I do agree that turning teenagers into pariahs like this is simply crazy. I also get very irritated by groups of 14 year olds hanging about loudly, but I almost certainly did the same thing when I was a kid. There are a few bad apples but attacking the entire group we consistently call “Our future” doesn’t bode well for our economy.

By: Adrian Short

Adrian Short — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:05:41 +0000

I think we need to have higher aspirations and expectations of people. That means giving people the opportunity to use public space considerately and taking appropriate action when they don’t. Not only is this “likely to happen”, it does happen most of the time.

I’m not sure sending the Hamptons’ 12-year-olds off to Helmand and Basra would be quite the right approach.

By: Boscombe Road Resident

Boscombe Road Resident — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:26:49 +0000

Few spoiling it for the many perhaps, but still a pain to have to live next door to, especially with people walking past shouting at the top of their voices when we’ve just got our baby settled. Have they no respect?!

It’s all very well saying “wouldn’t it be nice if we could all get along,” but honestly, is it ever likely to happen?! We’re all as bad as each other, the ‘good people’ and the ‘bad’.

Many ‘kids’ don’t have respect and discipline like they used to - perhaps enforced national service should be brought back?!

By: Adrian Short

Adrian Short — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:46:21 +0000

Well, Annon, I live in Stonecot Hill, which is mostly pleasant enough but has its fair share of problems, too. It doesn’t quite meet your description, I don’t think.

How did you get from the fact that sometimes some people misbehave themselves to the conclusion that no-one can be trusted?

By: Annon

Annon — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:40:43 +0000

I don’t what magical land, full of chocolate rivers and candy houses you live in, but you obviously don’t live in the real world where teenagers knife little old grannies and beat people who “look at them funny”!

We tried the “lets all live in harmony” bit, and it didn’t work. Now we need to clean up Britain with some overdue discipline!