Angry New Year!

AngryBritain.com would like to wish all of it's readers, supporters and people just passin' thru a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2009!

Where has that year gone?

2009 is going to be AngryBritains.com's year, we can feel it in our bones!

Post-It Note

For an insight into the Royal Mail at Christmas, check out this week's 'Beef of the Week' - www.angrybritain.com/beef.html

Don't Forget to Listen Tonight!

Dont' forget to listen out for u on Radio 5 Live tonight at around 11.30pm - Do try and call in to participate if you can. They want to know whats buggin you about Xmas this year
Is it the crowds?, the expense?, or the dreaded office party??

Call in with your grumbles, and hope to speak to you in person!!

www.angrybritain.com

Goodwill to all men!

So today is the last Saturday before Christmas, that traditional time of year when all UK menfolk will head out to the shops to complete their Christmas shopping simultaneously before football kickoff. Car parks will be full, queues will be long, and the air will be sharp with impatience.

AngryBritain.com (who smugly completed his shopping weeks ago on the interweb) calls on the UK to remember that this is the season of goodwill, so just slow it down today, you'll still get it done and the shopping malls up and down the country will be much happier places to spend some time. Peace at Westfield, Calm at Bluewater.

And if you dont manage to secure the last Pink Nintendo DS, it's the thought that counts, right?

Try telling that to Mrs AB.com, she'd smash my teeth in ... Shop-on dudes!

Mery Christmas! - AngryBritain.com

Super Boris!

Boris Johnson is considering scrapping the Congestion Charge to ease the tough times we are facing in the UK, and the flow of business through the empty veins of the City.

Is there no end to this man's talents?

Johnson for Mayor?, Johnson for PM more like. I may well wander up to City Hall later and begin my campaign.

Mr Johnson, AngryBritain.com salutes you!

No Shit Sherlock!

Internet Explorer security alert: Microsoft says all users at risk

Users of Internet Explorer, the world's most popular web browser, are at risk of having their computers hijacked because of a security flaw.

 

MS  web security experts say the best guarantee of safety is to use an alternative browser such as Firefox, Safari or Opera, which can all be downloaded for free. 

And in other news, the Sky is Blue, and the Sea is wet

Sandalous!

News reaches AngryBritain.com of an attempt to assasinate George Dubya during a press conference in Baghdad today. The President was Booted into touch by local journalist Muntadar Al-Zaidi, who Sneakered into the venue armed with a pair of Killer Heels following presumably months of Train-ering in a local shoe emporium. 

 

The President sidestepped the attack accepting his 'Farewell Kiss' with good grace as several Special Agents pounced on Mr Al Zaidi, Wedge-ing him to the floor before he had the chance to give them the Slip-per. The President we hear was unable to Slingback the shoes in self-defence, but fortunately escaped unharmed.

 

Mr Al-Zaidi used the conference as a Platform to vent his anger over the war in Iraq, perhaps he should just have clogged on to www.angrybritain.com ...

Radio 5 Live and AngryBritain.com Need YOU!

Radio 5 Live's Stephen Nolan show needs YOU this Christmas.

"BBC Radio 5 Live's Stephen Nolan programme is looking for people who plan to boycott Christmas i.e. escaping the festive season altogether by doing something completely different and want to know what really annoys you about the festive season?. Please email me at: maria.la.rocca@bbc.co.uk"

If you have a face for radio, or fancy getting it off your chest this festive season then please contact Maria or us and we'll pass it on. You can also email it to me at angryman@angrybritain.com and we'll be reading the best of them out on-air on Dec 28th.

Oh yes he does!

So we read this morning the abhorrent story of a supply teacher in Oldham, telling a class of 25 pre-Christmas-excited children that 'Santa doesn't exist' and that 'It's your parents that leave presents out'. 

Has all common sense left this isle of ours?

We at AngryBritain's Angry Blog would like to re-assure any young'uns reading this that Father Christmas is most definitely alive, well and readying his sleigh in Lapland for his big nights work on Christmas Eve. He called AngryBritain Towers this morning to say so in person. 

So there.

Don't believe what teachers tell you kids, they know nothing. If they did they wouldn't be teachers!

Merry Christmas, and don't forget to leave Santa a Mince Pie and some Milk for Rudolph before you go to sleep.

Be Good!

www.angrybritain.com

Radio 5 Live NEEDS YOU!!!

Radio 5 Live's Stephen Nolan show needs YOU over Christmas.

"BBC Radio 5 Live's Stephen Nolan programme is looking for people who plan to boycott Christmas i.e. escaping the festive season altogether by doing something completely different. Please email me at: maria.la.rocca@bbc.co.uk"

If you have a face for radio, or fancy sounding off in person this festive season then please contact Maria or us and we'll pass it on.

James May - We Salute You!

A fantastic column which you must read. Mr May we salute you!

"It was like a premium-rate telephone sex line, except it was about carburettors. I knew I was not alone, and not necessarily a pervert"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/jamesmay/3682824/Why-men-are-so-keen-to-mess-up-the-kitchen.html

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's off to work you go!

So under new proposals due to be announced by Government Minister James Purnell later today, it's back to work for the scrounging majority. No longer will it be acceptable to sit back and do nothing yet 'earn' a living off the rest of us who go to work and pay our taxes.

It's almost like music to AngryBritain's sore ears. Some sense from Westminster at long long last.

Whatever next? We wait in anticipation. And by the way, you can start by washing my car ...

Yo Ho Ho We Got Your Dough!

Having read quite a lot in the press about a couple of 'Craplands' it was with some trepidation that we made the 2 hour journey to deepest darkest Kent to go to Lapland UK yesterday. Situated on the Bewl Water Reservoir (which they don't advertise very clearly), you are ushered to a Big Teepee, where a couple of cheery elves await starry eyed children before they 'Time Travel' (Yes, really!) through a magical tunnel between England and Lapland, to be back again in time for tea.

To enter Lapland via a big Disney-esque gate, a loud shout of 'Let us in!' is required from the children before the grumpy Gatekeeper appears and lets them into the magical tunnel. On entering the dark tunnel you are met by trees which go from green to snowy white and are covered in twinkling lights. A brief stop to meet Mother Nature and then you are whisked via the fake, and noisy, snow machine (my 6 year old wasn't fooled) and then on to the first activity, toy making.

Met by some rather too quiet and unenthusiastic elves the children make a rocking horse head (a basic jigsaw) and then learn the elf's song, which I'm still humming now annoyingly. From here they go to the Ginger Bread house, to meet Mrs Christmas and a few more unenthusiastic elves who show them how to make a Gingerbread man before they are let loose with some sticky icing and hundreds and thousands.

From here there's a break for lunch, a limited choice of potted meals. Sausage and mash, Cottage or Chicken and leek pie - none of which appealed to the 6 year old. Orange squash was included but hot drinks were extra, and all around £2 a go.

After a wander round to see the real and beautiful reindeer in their enclosure and a mooch around a Samee Teepee it was our turn to go and see Father Christmas. Guided by an Elf, who knew all about the 6 year old, she took us up a snowy path to a wooden hut where Santa was waiting. This was were the day became really special, a better Santa I don't think I've ever seen. He was just perfect. Due to the magic of pre-booking, he knew all about the 6 year olds friends and hobbies. Before leaving the 6 year old was presented with a cuddly husky and we the doting, and by now broke, parents were given a book - 'The night before Christmas' as a special souveneir. The two quick 'elf-ficial' photos were an optional, £15, extra, of course.

After visiting Santa we made use of the ice rink where small, and big children, careered recklessly around smashing various limbs, teeth and cameras in the pursuit of 6.0 perfection.

Then it was time to go, leaving Lapland without the fanfare of our arrival, via a not so magical tunnel and off into the weighting 'daddies sleigh'.

And the cost of this magical day out £255, yes £255, for a family of 3. Now call me cynical but with all tickets, that's adult and child at £75 although a nice day out, I kind of expected a little bit more - around £90 would have taken us to Chessington. Whoever cast the elves needs a good kicking and next year, please, please invest in a PA system - they could barely be heard over the gaggle of squeeling children. The 'hot meal' was poor with not enough choice for the kids, and to not include a hot drink for the grown ups on a cold-themed day, is almost unforgivable. A little more supervision on the ice-rink would be wise, as would a larger pen for the Reindeer - two of whom were locking horns as we arrived to see them. The tally by my reckoning was around £350 taking into account the tank of petrol, gifts, souveneirs and the McDonalds required due to the poor food. 

I could have almost gone to real Lapland for that!

Lapland UK is good and about as far and away from the nightmares you may have read about in the press as you could possibly get so dont be afraid or worry. But £350 good?, I'm not so sure.

www.angrybritain.com

Got the urge?

So this morning the government is 'urging' the banks to pass on the interest rate cut in full to us struggling borrowers.

Urged?, Urged? They should be forced to - we own them, it's our money! It's because of their greed and inaction that we are in this mess.

One thing that does worry us about the cuts here at AngryBritain is, with rates eventually coming down and people being able to take on massive mortgages cheaply again - are we just setting ourselves up for a nasty repeat of this in a few months time?

London Blunderground

TFL, rather than spending money printing posters declaring how sorry you are for the frankly appalling service yesterday, why not spend it on improving the f*cking service?.

Is it any wonder this island of ours is sinking fast?

Vote now in City Talk 105.9s poll using the link below - Angrier as a nation?, Yes I think so.

Vote Now!

Following our appearance on City Talk 105.9 this morning with Phil & Kim why not check out what all the fuss is about for yourselves and vote in their poll:

http://www.citytalk.fm/Article.asp?id=552594&pollid=22381&iframe=

Find out the result in tonights Drivetime show.

Hear us on City Talk 105.9 tomorrow at 8.05am

We're going to be on Liverpool's City Talk 105.9 with Phil & Kim tomorrow talking about what's making us all so angry this Christmas.

Is it bad driving, overcrowded shops or just the time of year?.


Try and tune in, and join in if you can by calling the show.

www.AngryBritain.com - You Shout, They Listen. Maybe.

Love, Love, Love

"'Tis the season to be jolly!" Try telling that to poor fools including myself who were crammed on the Jubilee Line this morning into London Bridge, and then had to battle their way across the gridlocked ticket hall.

 

Seems to me there is no rhyme or reason to the London transport network. Some days you just sail in on a sea of calm. Then other days, like today, you really do wonder why you're bothering and whether it's would simply be easier to jump under a tube. In this stressed out, credit crunched world we are living in, it's no wonder that everyone is lacking in Christmas cheer this year and here at AngryBritain's AngryBlog we can't say we blame you.

 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Mayor Johnson donned a little red suit, white beard and shiny boots and took to the Underground this Christmas to spread a little cheer. Free Mince Pies and Sherry at the ticket gates (not beyond obviously because thats been banned!) and perhaps a few Christmas Carols playing softly over the tannoy in place of delay announcements

 

Come on Boris, show Red Ken how it should have been done and spread a little London love this Christmas.

That's the spirit

"It must be love, love, love" sang Suggs from my iPod this morning as I stood (again) on the tube on my arduous journey into the office.

Now December is here, I wonder if we will all start to get that warm cosy Christmas feeling and spare a little thought for those around us. Goodwill to all men, and all that stuff.

We here at AngryBritain's AngryBlog are going to start you off.

'Merry Christmas!'

Bah Humbug! - Radio 5 Live needs YOU!!!

Radio 5 Live's Stephen Nolan show needs YOU over Christmas.

"BBC Radio 5 Live's Stephen Nolan programme is looking for people who plan to boycott Christmas i.e. escaping the festive season altogether by doing something completely different. Please email me at: maria.la.rocca@bbc.co.uk"

If you have a face for radio, or fancy sounding off in person this festive season then please contact Maria or us and we'll pass it on.

My heart bleeds

Embarrassment at not being able to buy lunch, No Christmas Bonus, Scrapping the Dollar, 'Writing off' last year, Woolworths - 'it's their own fault' .... these were just some of the things I overheard being discussed by a couple of bankers who'd obviously begun to feel the squeeze on the tube last night.

Their once shiny shoes and perma-smiles seemed absent but the arrogance remained, these were clearly two high-fliers who were hanging on in there by a thread while their minions had been cast aside as casulaties in this all out credit-war.

Not once did I hear an expression of sympathy for those poor souls who've found themselves jobless in the run up to Christmas and how they might cope. It was simply all about 'them'.

In a banking culture where greed is clearly good and its all about me, is it any wonder they are in such a mess?

What were you thinking?

Oh my God!, have you seen this? Porsch-e (because thats how it's supposed to be pronounced) what were you thinking?, or drinking? for that matter. 

I didn't know Porsch-e's (because thats how it's supposed to be pronounced) best engineers were gleaned from the backstreet cut'n'shut garages of the East End of London.  This is the bastard love child of a 599, a 911 and a Cayenne with a hint of Chrysler Crossfire round the back - and that's not a good thing.

Must try harder! See me please! April Fool?. Porsch-e (because thats how it's supposed to be pronounced) I can't see this flying off the forecourts in times like these. Let's hope British is better, bring on the Aston Rapide ...

Darling's Christmas Carol

"We wish you a Merry Christmas,

We wish you a Merry Christmas,

We wish you a Merry Christmas,

Duty's up on fags and beer!"

Dead Giveaway ...

Cut VAT, raise Duty - Some giveaway Darling ...

The many faces of Louis Walsh

Now much as I'm no fan of Dannii Minogue, preferring her sister in almost every way, to see her in tears last night on live TV wasn't pleasant viewing.

She crossed swords with Louis Walsh over her song choice for Rachel, who ultimately and quite rightly got booted off the show last night, after claiming she had 'stolen JLS' song'. The galant Mr Cowell leaped to her defence but the tears were already flowing and she was unable to announce her own act. Tweedy, in full Roman slave girl regalia, looked smugly on interested only, I'm sure, in securing her position as the Alpha-Bitch next year.

This wasn't live TV, this was bear baiting.

Grow up Louis, be a man and apologise on next weeks show.

The Last Dance

So John Sargeant Waltz's out of Strictly Come Dancing tonight by his own 'choice'. Let's see how the pillar of British broadcasting deals with that little situation. By rights Arlene & co should offer a public apology for the humiliation that poor man must be feeling.

I'm sure it will be glossed over, a few niceties exchanged and then on Brucie will surge with the competition on a ratings gathering mission to Christmas.

Tonight I will be watching the X-Factor .... because Simon Cowell is much less of a bully.

AngryBritain.com

Being Followed!

It's lovely to log on and find you have a follower, someone perhaps who's likeminded and cares about trying to make Britain a great place to live, work and play again.

Cheers Rocksnowhite - nice blog by the way which I can thoroughly recommend to anyone reading this, you'll find it here:

http://rocksnowhite.blogspot.com/

AngryBritain.com

Contributors Wanted for Documentary

AngryBritain has been contacted by a documentary company who need you!. Please see below and contact them directly if you are interested in taking part:

CONTRIBUTORS WANTED FOR DOCUMENTARY!

Have you been victim to people playing music out loud on their mobile phones on public transport?

Have you asked them to turn it down or off? Have you been met with a violent response?

Are you one of the kids who play’s music out loud on public transport?

If this is you then please e-mail details to audio_assault@yahoo.co.uk

Cut it out!

So the big news today is that the base rate is likely to be cut to 1% by the new year. Great for those of us tentatively waiting to buy a house (those who have managed to a. get a mortgage offer and b. amass an enormous deposit), but not so great for those of us at the other end of the chain, like me, who are currently trying to sell a house.

The problem for us here at AngryBritain.com is the part that the media play in all of this. All the time there is uncertainty in the air thats being reported on, how can anything possibly move on? Sensationalism like 'BASE RATE TO BE CUT TO 1%' does little other than to continue to stall an already dead market.
What the majority of people need to realise is that it doesn't matter how much you lop off your house price, in the belief that this will be enough to raise that sale, it's going to make little difference when if there are no buyers, because they cant get mortgages, because the greedy banks won't lend to each other, then there is no bottom rung of the ladder ipso-facto there are no buyers and it still won't sell.
Say I lop another £100,000 off the price of my house (a nice 2 bed rural bungalow) and put it on the market at £150,000, if people can't raise that level of mortgage it's not going to sell. Simple. Reducing prices and rates now in the hope that this is going to kickstart the market is only going to lead to huge problems later on when those devalued properties and almost unheard of low interest rates rocket again in 2-3 years time and the whole cycle starts again.
I can see this, my pal who is just about managing to keep his estate agency afloat can see this so why can't the British Media see this too.
Its time to report on balance guys and see beyond the sensationalist headlines. What we need right now is stability, not uncertainty in uncertain times.

Pieces of Eight

So there's piracy on the high seas, the Pirates of the Carribean are indeed alive, well and living in Somalia. Having read the news this week I did wonder how pirates had managed to board a supertanker, three times the size of an American Aircraft Carrier, and then I saw a picture in the press of a small speedboat full of pirates packing Rocket Launchers, and began to understand ...

 

What's to be done about this? perhaps Her Maj's Navy should take a leaf out of the Indian Navy's book who decided to play a real life game of Battleships by blowing a few out of the water today.

 

Captain Pugwash had better look out, India it seems is almost as Angry as Britain.

BBC Radio Appearance

We were asked to appear on BBC Radio Northamptonshire's Bob Walmsley show at 1.30pm today discussing the battle of the sexes behind the wheel.

Many thanks to Bob and his team, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The website has undergone a major overhaul tonight and in addition to this blog you can now follow us on Twitter.

www.twitter.com/angrybritain

Tweet long, and prosper

Here we go!

AngryBritain.com welcomes you to it's (hopefully) daily blog

We thought it was about time we jumped on board the bandwagon and gave you our daily thoughts.

Hope you'll come along for the ride!

www.angrybritain.com - It's not just you.