pap Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 Oooh dear. A heady brew of Joanna Lumley, local ignorance and the interjection of a Tory MP has caused a small storm, prompting the liberals at Huffington Post UK to voice their indignation. Basically, some people in Aldershot are upset because former servicemen, Gurkhas to be exact, are sitting on their park benches. The Aldershot MP said: "I was walking around in Aldershot on Saturday and everywhere I went there were Nepalese just basically sitting out in the open, sitting out on the park benches. "You may find this bizarre, but some of my constituents say 'if I go into town, I haven't got a park bench to sit on because they are all taken by the Nepalese'." Apparently, many residents are considering fleeing the town because of the Nepalese influx. Personally, I view this as the result of poor planning from both Governments (last one and this one). I mean, how hard can it be to set-up a decent support network, particularly in an army town like Aldershot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 It's not exactly their fault. Many of the nepalese people who are settling here(who also bravely served our country), are old and so need a sit down every so often. There obviously aren't enough benches. Build some more. And also, I doubt every bench going is totally full up to the brim or are these people so racist they can't even bear to sit on the same bench? Where I live has had a similar large increase in the Nepalese community and I have no problem whatsoever with them. They all seem like very polite decent people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 (edited) Oooh dear. A heady brew of Joanna Lumley, local ignorance and the interjection of a Tory MP has caused a small storm, prompting the liberals at Huffington Post UK to voice their indignation. Basically, some people in Aldershot are upset because former servicemen, Gurkhas to be exact, are sitting on their park benches. Apparently, many residents are considering fleeing the town because of the Nepalese influx. Personally, I view this as the result of poor planning from both Governments (last one and this one). I mean, how hard can it be to set-up a decent support network, particularly in an army town like Aldershot? I live in the same borough (not Aldershot, the posh bit, I hasten to add) and it is a problem (in general, not park benches specifically). The infrastructure in the area (schools, hospitals, etc) simply wasn't expanded to cater for the influx. I'm sure it's a huge coincidence but the 'problem' increased exponentially during the "Labour Years" (there you go, I said it. I'm going to get a ticking off now from Mr V for harking back to political times of yesteryear....) Edited 27 March, 2012 by trousers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pancake Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 I live in the same borough (not Aldershot, the posh bit, I hasten to add) and it is a problem (in general, not park benches specifically). The infrastructure in the area (schools, hospitals, etc) simply wasn't expanded to cater for the influx. Trying to think of a posh bit of Rushmoor tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 Trying to think of a posh bit of Rushmoor tbh. Sshhhhh.....you'll blow my cover...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 It's not exactly their fault. Many of the nepalese people who are settling here(who also bravely served our country), are old and so need a sit down every so often. The majority are younger (often extended) family members who join their older relatives. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but it was seemingly an uncontrolled influx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 The majority are younger (often extended) family members who join their older relatives. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but it was seemingly an uncontrolled influx. I think the main problem is getting them integrated into our system. I remember at school, while there were obviously exceptions to the rule, a large majority of nepalese pupils kept themselves to themselves, largely talking in their own language rather than mixing in some sort of de facto social segregation. I think there is fault on both sides for this, though towards the end of my time there, they did make effort to harbour understanding of the different cultures to mix kids up, but I think it takes more than what they did to integrate the students properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 I too reside in Rushmoor (not the posh bit). A large number of the recent Nepali arrivals are oldies who rather than sit around at home (like native OAPs might do) seem to enjoy strolling around the town (I suspect most of them are in better health than similarly aged 'Brits') so they are quite noticable. The younger Nepali community is, according to a recent newspaper report, the most economically active demographic in the country (something else a number of 'native' Rushmoorians could do with emulating). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pap Posted 27 March, 2012 Author Share Posted 27 March, 2012 The problem of uncontrolled immigration is hardly a new one, but in this instance, it is especially visible due to the uniformity of ethnicity of those involved. Given time, these things sort themselves out. Hell, if the immigrants from former colonies were able to make a go of it then, when we were considerably more xenophobic, we should have no problem now. I'm not really sure that the MPs comments are helpful if he has no clear plan to address them. What's his endgame here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperMikey Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 I went to college in Farnborough, where there's also a large amount of Nepalese people. There were quite a few Nepalese people employed at the college (although not in great jobs - mainly cleaners, car park attendants etc) and a hundred or so Nepalese pupils. The integration point that Andy raised further up was also evident in the pupils at my college, who tended to just stand outside one of the computer labs and talk amongst each other. Same in classes too. It's not really too much of an issue that they do that, but it seemed that nobody was really interested in integrating them into the general student population, and it looks like that's the same for Nepalese people in the outside world as well. Either way, it was a pretty stupid thing for the MP to say - it's his responsibility to make sure they're not just sitting on benches and are actually doing something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 I went to college in Farnborough, where there's also a large amount of Nepalese people. There were quite a few Nepalese people employed at the college (although not in great jobs - mainly cleaners, car park attendants etc) and a hundred or so Nepalese pupils. The integration point that Andy raised further up was also evident in the pupils at my college, who tended to just stand outside one of the computer labs and talk amongst each other. Same in classes too. It's not really too much of an issue that they do that, but it seemed that nobody was really interested in integrating them into the general student population, and it looks like that's the same for Nepalese people in the outside world as well. Either way, it was a pretty stupid thing for the MP to say - it's his responsibility to make sure they're not just sitting on benches and are actually doing something! Why does a college need a car park attendant? Can't do your redac in the car park, now a bike shed,that's different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 Aren't Ghurkhas just glorified mercenaries anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 Aren't Ghurkhas just glorified mercenaries anyway? What, paid to fight? Like any soldiers then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pap Posted 27 March, 2012 Author Share Posted 27 March, 2012 BBC article from a while back. Gerald Howarth would like to see Gurkhas dispersed around the country in the manner of asylum seekers. I'd guess that this is just another broadside in that direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSixty Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 Having been to Aldershot, they have bigger problems to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperMikey Posted 27 March, 2012 Share Posted 27 March, 2012 Why does a college need a car park attendant? Can't do your redac in the car park, now a bike shed,that's different. Haha, well there were 3000 students at Farny and the college car park itself holds about 250 cars. The college struck a deal to allow students to park at Farnborough FC's football ground during the day, although that still meant about 30-50 people had to park on the street as there weren't any spaces. My friend had paint thinner poured all over her car for parking outside some bloke's house. Anyway, the car park attendant was there to direct people to park and also to check permits. Pretty easy job tbh... No need for bike sheds, the place was like a f*cking orgy at times. I know somebody who claimed to have fingered his girlfriend during lunch break in one of the cafes on campus while about 400 people were in the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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