Absolute Shitholes: European Edition

[buzby]

Skelmersdale is a hole. I was brought up very nearby and worked in The Concourse (indoor shopping centre, there is no town centre) a couple of times. Just awful. My friends who were raised there are still traumatised from it. Never seen anything on the continent remotely as bad as that or Runcorn, but maybe I'm not so extensively travelled.

Have you tried Charleroi?

I'm with sevendaughters here, Charleroi has got nothing on Skem:
https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,65355.msg3396344.html#msg3396344

[Stoneage Dinosaurs]

Re: Athens - if you want to experience it, just go and buy some tapas from the Co-op and then visit the British Museum to look at all the stuff we nicked.

disclaimer: I have never been there either

[Dr Rock]

You may want to edit that to read tzatziki instead of tapas.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

He mezzed that one right up

[Cuellar]

Have you tried Charleroi?

I'm with sevendaughters here, Charleroi has got nothing on Skem:
https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,65355.msg3396344.html#msg3396344

Small question, but why would painting things bright yellow prevent people from chucking themselves off them/down them (in the case of stairs)?

[Stoneage Dinosaurs]

Feel like a right ouzo (loser) now

[buzby]

Small question, but why would painting things bright yellow prevent people from chucking themselves off them/down them (in the case of stairs)?

There have been many academic studies done into the psychological effects of different colours, and from these yellow is a colour that's usually associated with warmth and happiness. Bright yellow in particular can also be fatiguing to the eyes, which can dissuade people from hanging around certain areas.

This was presumably picked up by the  MoD/MoS, which resulted in them using shades of yellow for most of the bunker interiors - here's the stairwell from Hack Green, the former RAF ROTOR bunker which was converted into the Cheshire regional HQ:

[Cuellar]

Huh! Interesting, thanks.

[Buelligan]

There have been many academic studies done into the psychological effects of different colours, and from these yellow is a colour that's usually associated with warmth and happiness. Bright yellow in particular can also be fatiguing to the eyes, which can dissuade people from hanging around certain areas.

This was presumably picked up by the  MoD/MoS, which resulted in them using shades of yellow for most of the bunker interiors - here's the stairwell from Hack Green, the former RAF ROTOR bunker which was converted into the Cheshire regional HQ:

Yep, that scene definitely invokes feelings of warmth and happiness in me.  Clever fellows these MoD chappies.

[finnquark]

Would anyone be able to sum up why Marseille is supposed to be shit? It looks nice enough based on pics and basic info but i've never heard a good word about it from actual human people.

I have many good words. Went for four days during my Easter holiday, had a great time. Picked up 20 euro tickets to go watch Marseille play Leipzig, in the end with the nutty fans, had a brilliant time, they won 5-2. Everyone was in a great mood for the rest of the weekend. Went to the calanques on the bus, had a swim. There's a great Mediterranean museum, went to a lot of nice bars, interesting Cathedrals, etc. Thought it was great.

[im barry bethel]

Going to Trogir in Croatia next year (Brexit permitting). Simultaneously relieved it's not showing up in this thread and concerned it's not in the "Places you would like to visit" thread.

Go across that bridge onto the island then across the other bridge onto Ciovo and you'll be able to see the rivets on the undercarriages of the planes landing at Split

[im barry bethel]

Bright yellow in particular can also be fatiguing to the eyes, which can dissuade people from hanging around certain areas.

Always surprised at the popularity of Lotus safety yellow

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Trogir is pretty much the nearest place to Split airport. Which was an absolute dive but I think has been redeveloped.

[buzby]

Yep, that scene definitely invokes feelings of warmth and happiness in me.  Clever fellows these MoD chappies.

I think the bright yellow in the stairwell was intended more to dissuade you from hanging around, lest a sense of ennui and despair at the situation set in and you decide to throw yourself off. The rest of the bunker uses more subdued magnolia shades.

Most Haunted did an episode there and related the story of a young WRAF called Joan who allegedly committed suicide in the 1950s by throwing herself over the balustrade of the stairwell over a love affair with another woman. Like most things on Most Haunted though it's presumably complete bollocks.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

So can I ask the fans of brutalism - what they consider to be Europe's shitholes?

[Sebastian Cobb]

So can I ask the fans of brutalism - what they consider to be Europe's shitholes?

Redditch

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Is it worth mentioning the Paris suburbs?

Ahhh, le Gai Paris...

Was it rhe film Deepan that was set in placea like these? Basically Algerian/French drug gang turf wars and the only residents of these places are ethnic minorities and asylum seekers desperately clinging to an existence that baseline scrapes being better than their previous one.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panelák

[Sebastian Cobb]

Whenever Berthaud and Gilou went down the suburbs you knew you were in for a good episode of Spiral.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Whenever Berthaud and Gilou went down the suburbs you knew you were in for a good episode of Spiral.

Haha, indeed. That was some glorious norties drama.

[a duncandisorderly]

here's the stairwell from Hack Green, the former RAF ROTOR bunker which was converted into the Cheshire regional HQ:

bunker? do they know someone's lowering a bomb into their midst?

[Ferris]

Montreal has got this, though:



Anyone who doesn't like that is a monster!

I am faintly obsessed with Habitat 67 and spent 4 hours of a vacation forcing everyone to walk through industrial estates to look at it up close.

[Ferris]

Calais, France. Fucking awful. Everything is the other side of railway tracks. It is impressive.

Barmouth, Wales. Laughably miserable.

[Buelligan]

bunker? do they know someone's lowering a bomb into their midst?

Shh.  It is painted orange.

It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. To the human eye, orange is a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red

Nowhere there does it say that orange represents a missile.  Nowhere.

[buzby]

Shh.  It is painted orange.

Nowhere there does it say that orange represents a missile.  Nowhere.

It seems to be some kind of camera pod, probably used in weapons release aerodynamic tests - International Orange and Black is the NATO standard colourscheme used on Test & Evaluation payloads.

[Buelligan]

It seems to be some kind of camera pod, probably used in weapons release aerodynamic tests - International Orange and Black is the NATO standard colourscheme used on Test & Evaluation payloads.

Dangerous ground, my friend.

[Emma Raducanu]

When S?S! releases a travel guide, I'm buying it. Between this and 'worst places in Britain' thread, I've laughed and thoroughly enjoyed everything he's written. Well done, Sir.

[Neville Chamberlain]

I, too, find everything S?S! writes laughable!

[Buelligan]

"laughed until I shat up my own pelvis bone"  **** The Sun

[Paul Calf]

When buzby writes A Secret Guide To Loads Of Interesting Stuff, I'm definitely buying it.

When S?S! releases a travel guide, I'm buying it. Between this and 'worst places in Britain' thread, I've laughed and thoroughly enjoyed everything he's written. Well done, Sir.

I prefer his early stuff before he got commercial, akshly.