neds bothering our barbara

[quarterstaff]

just like to call to your attention that there was a bit of bother in aikmans last night... and that some wee neds were giving dearest barbara some hassle.

i issue a fatwa (sp) on his ass.


anyone else noticed a disturbing rise in hooliganism in past few weeks?

[Tweedle-Dum]

No, but I was observing with the aid of Potton and Goodwin the increase in the number of children. They're everywhere!

[hr]
Live by the sword, die by the arrow.

[Bonnie]

I see a rise in this type of behaviour every time there's fewer students in town.

[sparkler]

there seems to be an increase in the number of neds hanging out in town, esp these past few weeks. they also seem intent on giving everyone a load of hassle. where did they come from? can't they just go back there?

[Mr Comedy]

I think a subtle change in the hunting legislation is in order.

[Scully]

I agree- it gets worse everytime the students go away. During summer, the wee neds invade st Andrews, then slowly drift out when the students come back- mainly because we're older than then, bigger than them, hang around in bigger groups, drink more, and are actually able to enter the bars in St Andrews, not just stand outside!

[Prophet Tenebrae]

We need to teach these Neds a lesson - about being killed to death, as let's face it they couldn't learn anything else.

[amac]

[s]Prophet Tenebrae wrote on 15:19, 30th Jan 2005:killed to death


Definitely. Far better than the other types of killing.

[vegetation for the masses]

yeah i saw that happen. It was particularly nice when the kid said "who do you think you are, do you think you own the place? ur just a member of staff!"

what a loser.

[The Cellar Bar]

aye - cheers guys. I wasn't in last night cos of this frikkin back just now. But I got the story from Barbara later on.

Little shites. One good form of employment would be down at the Gatty or Bio-Chem. Once you've dropped as low as you think you can studying pond-life, you can batter on and check out what's even lower. It always seems to happen when the Uni takes one of its "can't think of wot to do with 'em, give a .....Week". And these little bastards come out of the woodwork. Scrawny little suckers with an attitude that ain't backed up by anything else. But are as dangerous as hell if you turn your back on them.

Thanks to Quarterstaff if it was he/him who discussed the matter with the twat. Just hope thate ain't any reperussions because of it. Just listen to Barbara - it's the best thing to do, believe me - and trust the call!!

[Slash wannabe]

[s]quarterstaff wrote on 12:58, 30th Jan 2005:
anyone else noticed a disturbing rise in hooliganism in past few weeks?


YES! Its so annoying! Lets kill them all - make it a new uni tradition they reproduce so damn fast anyway.

Last week I was shocked at the appearence of neds in the cellar. Scum of scum drinking in the best pub in St Andrews, there must be some law against!

[hr]
IMAGE:www.pushposters.co.uk/new/thumbs/a/S_a06015.jpg
Is there no standard anymore?

[daduffster]

Sorry, have I missed something? What exactly counts for hooliganism in St. Andrews? It's not like we're dealing with a bunch of England fans tearing up the town like in Euro 2000. We're dealing with the neds who are only neds because there is nothing else to do! If you won't to solve the problem then do something constructive and promote ideas, such as a Youth Group/Club or something, to get these "neds" off the streets.

Taking the stance of wanting them to go back where they came from, believing that neds cannot learn anything and wanting to kill them is half the problem. Just because we're students does not make us any better.

Furthermore, if loitering on the streets, shouting abuse in bars and general anti-social behaviour counts as hooliganism, then students are without doubt the worst offenders.

Don't get me wrong, i'm not here to defend ned culture as I totally agree that it is intimidating to the general public. But what gives us the right to look down on those who may not have experienced the same education and opportunities?

[quarterstaff]

i didnt intervene, cellar bar... just saw what was going on and thought it deserved a post here.



and to the last poster who spoke of people in st andrews not knowing what hooliganism is... it doesnt matter who does it, or when or how much... intimidating staff is always unacceptable... and like it or not those who are unhappy with their lives like to make trouble for the rest of us.

[daduffster]

I totally agree that intimidating staff is unacceptable and i apologise if i have undermined the event. I only use the comparison to show that this is not a problem with a particularly difficult solution. It's not like we've descended into some sort of anarchy over the past two weeks.

My main point is this: If we gave "neds" an alternative to hanging about on the streets and in bars then we would possibly see a reduction in hooliganism.

[The Cellar Bar]

[s]daduffster wrote on 03:17, 31st Jan 2005:
I totally agree that intimidating staff is unacceptable and i apologise if i have undermined the event. I only use the comparison to show that this is not a problem with a particularly difficult solution. It's not like we've descended into some sort of anarchy over the past two weeks.

My main point is this: If we gave "neds" an alternative to hanging about on the streets and in bars then we would possibly see a reduction in hooliganism.


valid point - and one that we've struggled with in St. Andrews for a lomg time now.

I did Youth Work for 15 years around here and the biggest problem that the town has now is the demographics have shifted just a tad over that time. The Cosmos Centre did and still does a huge amount of work for young people in the town. But it's maybe poorly positioned, for instance, to be instantly accesible as a "drop-in centre" for people because of its location. And the town is strapped for accommodation where it could probably do the best work. That is more in the centre of town.

What really hacks me off is that this place is the Home of Golf. The Golf courses are undoubtedly one of the biggest assets this town has and they are notionally owned by the town through the Links Trust. Over the course of an average summer, golfers tee off in Foursomes at approx. £100 a skull at the rate of one Foursome every 16 minutes. Day in and day out from maybe 6 in the morning to 5 or 6 in the evening. It doesn't take too much of a genius to figure out the sort of income that generates over the course of maybe 15 weeks of the summer. I started University here in 1972. And I couldn't point at one single thing that has appeared in this town over those years for which that cash has been used. Slick new Links Clubhouse maybe. But not much else that actually, directly, benefits the community. Even the Byre Thatre was built through public subscription and matched by Lottery funding.

If even a fraction of that money had been pointed towards provision for young people, we wouldn't have some of the irritations, because hooliganism it ain't, that happen every now and again. Having to put up with "neds" is irritating, and sometimes potentially dangerous. But we're being done a disservice by those responsible for putting back into the town what is effectively ours in the first place.

[tintin]

Hear, hear - you do wonder where all the money goes.

[big_phil]

It obviously shows that none of you play golf then. A lot of money is required to run a golf course successfully, and to run six requires a hell of a lot of money. So most of the money goes to maintaining the links.
If you want a youth centre maybe some of the bars who charge far too much for drinks should do something.

[flarewearer]

There definitely has been a rise in the abundance of shell-suited low-life. They seem to congregate outside Tesco, the "amusements" and around any pub that they think they might be lucky enough to get into.

[hr]...We sing of landscape and memory and the urgency to do it now; in the street and in the fields...

[the-enemy]

[s]big_phil wrote on 13:39, 31st Jan 2005:
It obviously shows that none of you play golf then. A lot of money is required to run a golf course successfully, and to run six requires a hell of a lot of money. So most of the money goes to maintaining the links.
If you want a youth centre maybe some of the bars who charge far too much for drinks should do something.




but the money you pay to play golf goes towards golf. does the golf get any local council money intended for youth work? its as much the golf communities problem as it is the rest of the towns, when the neds get bored trashing the town they are gonna have a go at the golf courses next.

and i'm sorry to say, that any formation of a youth centre or whatever is only gonna work for a short period of time. in my hometown they set up a venue called "The Pitstop" to keep teenagers off the streets. it was really popular for a couple of months, but after that attendances fell and fell. it was only ever busy on particularly wet or cold nights.

youth organisations don't work either, as the kids you are concerned about are keen to appear rebellious, so aren't gonna join anything which requires organisation and obediance.

the problem with the kids here isn't the same as the problem with kids in inner-city areas. kids in glasgow, etc, get into this lifestyle as it fits their background (not eloquently or clearly put, but can't describe what i mean). the kids in st andrews are CHOOSING to behave the way they do more than these other kids are; they are mostly from better backgrounds where other activities are available, with some investment or whatever.

the only way you are gonna get rid of this problem is to breed them out, and lets face it, a lot of these kids will be parents of 3 or 4 before most of the students start to think about starting a family...

[quarterstaff]

[s]the-enemy wrote on 17:07, 31st Jan 2005:
[s]big_phil wrote on 13:39, 31st Jan 2005:[i]
It obviously shows that none of you play golf then. A lot of money is required to run a golf course successfully, and to run six requires a hell of a lot of money. So most of the money goes to maintaining the links.
If you want a youth centre maybe some of the bars who charge far too much for drinks should do something.




but the money you pay to play golf goes towards golf. does the golf get any local council money intended for youth work? its as much the golf communities problem as it is the rest of the towns, when the neds get bored trashing the town they are gonna have a go at the golf courses next.

and i'm sorry to say, that any formation of a youth centre or whatever is only gonna work for a short period of time. in my hometown they set up a venue called "The Pitstop" to keep teenagers off the streets. it was really popular for a couple of months, but after that attendances fell and fell. it was only ever busy on particularly wet or cold nights.

youth organisations don't work either, as the kids you are concerned about are keen to appear rebellious, so aren't gonna join anything which requires organisation and obediance.

the problem with the kids here isn't the same as the problem with kids in inner-city areas. kids in glasgow, etc, get into this lifestyle as it fits their background (not eloquently or clearly put, but can't describe what i mean). the kids in st andrews are CHOOSING to behave the way they do more than these other kids are; they are mostly from better backgrounds where other activities are available, with some investment or whatever.

the only way you are gonna get rid of this problem is to breed them out, and lets face it, a lot of these kids will be parents of 3 or 4 before most of the students start to think about starting a family...
[/i]



i see what your saying but you cant generalise like that... st andrews is no easterhouse, but there are some quite rough areas in the "badlands", and in leuchars too.

those who are living in deprivation here may not have it as bad as others, but it must be quite galling to live so close to the golfers and students who are seen to have SO much disposable income.