New Labour demolishes yet more British tradition
- SteveShaw
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New Labour demolishes yet more British tradition
Uproar is likely in the UK as the Blair administration prepares to announce that old-style phone boxes are to be reinstated - but in "environmentally-friendly green" rather than the traditional red that, sadly, was finally supplanted several years ago by what have been described as "charmless steel-and-glass constructions." It seems surprising that the government would even want to bother with phone boxes at all, what with the almost universal ownership of mobile phones, but they defend the move by declaring that the phone boxes will in fact be more than just somewhere to call your friends and family from - each one will be be a wi-fi hotspot, enabling broadband internet access even in remote areas. You will even be able to recharge your mobile and laptop batteries in the booths free of charge. Despite these obvious advances, critics are likely to describe the choice of green as yet another Blair misfire, along with recent fiascos over fox-hunting, half-hearted smoking bans, 24-hour drinking and the apparent selling of peerages to wealthy "loan" providers. A local government spokesman has allegedly declared that he doesn't know what all the fuss is about - after all, the much-loved London Routemaster buses which were recently scrapped are something that the public "seems to have got over quite easily." This patronising attitude, typical of new Labour as it gets more and more jaded, can only result in more fuel added to the flames.
Here's a photo of a C. & F. member in a prototype of the "new" phone boxes:
Here's a photo of a C. & F. member in a prototype of the "new" phone boxes:
"Last night, among his fellow roughs,
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
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- s1m0n
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I like it, but the green needs to be a shade darker.
And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')
C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis
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I don't understand about the changing them to green. If people liked them enough that they are bringing the old style back, wouldn't that mean that people liked the color as well? I think I'm not getting something here. I mean it's not as though the city is a wilderness area or something. I can't remember the last time I saw a public phone. They were usually of limited use because for some odd reason people always stole the phone books.
Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium. ~ Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre intelligence.----Seneca
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Agreed!s1m0n wrote:I like it, but the green needs to be a shade darker.
I wonder how Dr Who would feel if someone came up and painted the Tadis Red!
It is very easy for us to forget that many folks can only communicate according to how many 2-bob's they have in their pockets. And our culture is getting more and more reliant on communication. Public phones are all that prevents a lot of people becoming too distant to participate in our society - I'm sure they don't give a tinker's about what colour it is.
poor old Blair - he's the victim of his own success thank god - but which devil is going to replace him I might ask?
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As long as they don't repaint the TARDIS!
And the denizens of the planet in "Happiness Patrol" did try to paint it PINK of all horrid colors. Thankfully the Doctor had the sense to paint it back to its original proper color.
And the denizens of the planet in "Happiness Patrol" did try to paint it PINK of all horrid colors. Thankfully the Doctor had the sense to paint it back to its original proper color.
<i>The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering.</i>
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As if the impending row over the phone boxes and Condoleeza's mixed (to say the least) reception in Blackburn, Lancashire wasn't enough to blight Blair's weekend, the lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, has placed himself decisively in the opposition Tories' camp by releasing a pro-David Cameron song, the lyrics for which the Tory leader even had a hand in. There was a full report in today's Guardian (whatever you do, don't miss out on listening to the song!). I would say that the net is closing in on Blair at last. March was a pretty lousy month for him all round, what with all the talk of corruption and the ever-looming threat of the newly made-over Gordon Brown waiting in the wings. If he'd thought that the first day of April had held better portents for him, along with the much-delayed improvement in the British weather, he was sadly deluded. It isn't an uncommon phenomenon at this time of the year by any means.
"Last night, among his fellow roughs,
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
- lixnaw
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Re: New Labour demolishes yet more British tradition
seems like more and more people in england are getting evicted and have to swap their houses for telephone booths...SteveShaw wrote:
- SteveShaw
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At least the old ones kept the noise out to some extent. The last time I used one of the new ones in London, on Tottenham Court Road, I couldn't hear a damn word of the conversation with my wife because of the bloody Routemaster buses thundering past! The return of the old ones will mean at least a partial return to sanity. Even in yukky green. They certainly do the trick for me.pop wrote:I bet they still stink of urine,you had to wear full body protection to use the old red ones,and keep the door open with your foot,we use to call them f*rt traps
"Last night, among his fellow roughs,
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
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