City of Culture - Bradford

[AlexLaw76]

I guess it must be a real shit hole if it now holds this 'special' award.

Anyone been?

[Turkish]

Believe me I live about 15 miles away it is an absolute shit hole. One of the worst cities in the country. 
 

Got a few mates from there and they hate it and have all moved out. 

Edited Friday at 18:36 by Turkish

[CB Fry]

I've been to Morrisons Head Office a few times, which is on the outskirts. But driving through it/round it is difficult to disagree with the previous assessment. Shithole.

 

[hypochondriac]

Happy to say I haven't been for many years. Why do they always encourage ridicule by giving these things to the worst places in the country? Wasn't Portsmouth up for it at some point? 

[Challenger]

Never been but I believe there's lots of "culture" to be found there.

[stknowle]

I have to go there regularly for work with the next visit being on Monday. It is a bleak, dirty, grim, desolate dump.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

50 minutes ago, stknowle said:

I have to go there regularly for work with the next visit being on Monday. It is a bleak, dirty, grim, desolate dump.

And now it's a cultural bleak, dirty, grim, desolate dump. 🙂

 

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

Happy to say I haven't been for many years. Why do they always encourage ridicule by giving these things to the worst places in the country? Wasn't Portsmouth up for it at some point? 

It's just a platform by way of promoting history, as  a way of getting some funding for some projects/ redevelopment in areas desperately needing it.

I'd be happily surprised if this funding/ redevelopment was of the same levels as when it was the EU City of Culture. Not a Brexit moan, it's just because of the pooled funding that was involved, that led to bigger projects, and some lasting transformation.

[The Kraken]

1 hour ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

I'd be happily surprised if this funding/ redevelopment was of the same levels as when it was the EU City of Culture. Not a Brexit moan, it's just because of the pooled funding that was involved, that led to bigger projects, and some lasting transformation.

It’s not a moan, it’s just a fact. Liverpool completely transformed their city centre off of the back of the money for European capital of culture back in 08. A complete shithole became something genuinely brilliant. Like you say, I don’t think the level of funding by the uk is going to elevate Bradford to anywhere approaching mundane.

[Gloucester Saint]

Some nice areas around it, Saltaire, Bingley and the Locks, but Bradford itself is a shocker. It has been for a long time as well, the state of the housing stock is unacceptable in the 21st century, and parts of it don’t look that different to the Yorkshire Ripper era. Potentially some fantastic Industrial Revolution architecture to work with but as H&W identified, post-Brexit the City of Culture title isn’t worth spit in terms of regeneration funds. Another area that screwed up by voting for Brexit.

[whelk]

What I am getting from this is I that I shouldn’t be looking to take the missus on a city break there anytime soon

[badgerx16]

2 hours ago, whelk said:

What I am getting from this is I that I shouldn’t be looking to take the missus on a city break there anytime soon

It does have the National Science and Media Museum.

[spyinthesky]

I lived between Leeds and Bradford for a while and occasionally used to drive into Bradford on a Sunday to have  a look round and make me appreciate how fortunate I was to call Southampton home.
I also went to Bradford for the 6th Rd FA Cup game in 1976 which we won 1-0 and just about managed to avoid the very hostile atmosphere in and around the city.
We were sat in the main stand, the one which subsequently burned down, not far from Richard Dunne, who was British Heavyweight Champion at the time.
He was consistently calling for one of the Bradford City players to 'fucking break Channon's legs'!!
One of the facts I learned about Bradford was that the Odsal Stadium once had a crowd of 106,00 for a Rugby League Final replay in the mid 1950's.

Edited Saturday at 13:55 by spyinthesky

[hypochondriac]

14 hours ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

And now it's a cultural bleak, dirty, grim, desolate dump. 🙂

 

It's just a platform by way of promoting history, as  a way of getting some funding for some projects/ redevelopment in areas desperately needing it.

I'd be happily surprised if this funding/ redevelopment was of the same levels as when it was the EU City of Culture. Not a Brexit moan, it's just because of the pooled funding that was involved, that led to bigger projects, and some lasting transformation.

Just call it something else then. City of culture makes it sound like there's something culturally significant about these shitholes. 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

37 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Just call it something else then. City of culture makes it sound like there's something culturally significant about these shitholes. 

Our politicians pass up the chance to cling to something successful with a cheaper, pretendy version? 🙂

More generally, everywhere will have history. Bradford was textiles with lots of wool. Getting money while being reminded of your heritage sounds nicer than the "Have a handout, because you're a broken wreck," award.

[LuckyNumber7]

Like most of the places in Yorkshire I've been to it's a grimy, cold depressing shithole.

The City of Culture thing really is a joke. Would have been embarrassing if we'd won it, but it was always going to go to a deprived northern cesspit.

[badgerx16]

23 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

City of culture makes it sound like there's something culturally significant about these shitholes. 

Birthplace of Delius, Kiki Dee, J B Priestley, and the magician Dynamo.

So it does have a bit of culture, but it's still a shit hole.

Edited 17 hours ago by badgerx16

[Turkish]

49 minutes ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

Like most of the places in Yorkshire I've been to it's a grimy, cold depressing shithole.

The City of Culture thing really is a joke. Would have been embarrassing if we'd won it, but it was always going to go to a deprived northern cesspit.

You’ve been going to the wrong parts. North Yorkshire is wonderful. I love it up here. Beautiful countryside, villages and town all the way up through dales and across to the coast line with some lovely small coastal fishing villages and beaches that if the weather was better would match for anything in Europe. where we live you’ve got Leeds and York 30 minute drive away which are great for different reasons, the coast an hour away and the dales 30 minutes away. In the summer i couldn’t think of a better place in the country to live with everything you’d 

I agree though some parts are shit holes that’s mainly south and west with the old mill and industrial towns. Bradford, Keithley, some of the towns round Doncaster are horrendous. Also parts of Leeds rough as anywhere in the country. 

Edited 16 hours ago by Turkish

[Gloucester Saint]

49 minutes ago, Turkish said:

You’ve been going to the wrong parts. North Yorkshire is wonderful. I love it up here. Beautiful countryside, villages and town all the way up through dales and across to the coast line with some lovely small coastal fishing villages and beaches that if the weather was better would match for anything in Europe. where we live you’ve got Leeds and York 30 minute drive away which are great for different reasons, the coast an hour away and the dales 30 minutes away. In the summer i couldn’t think of a better place in the country to live with everything you’d 

I agree though some parts are shit holes that’s mainly south and west with the old mill and industrial towns. Bradford, Keithley, some of the towns round Doncaster are horrendous. Also parts of Leeds rough as anywhere in the country. 

Yep, York has fantastic culture, Yorvik Museum, Minster, The Shambles (unrelated to SFC..) and some brilliant pubs.

As a Walker/hiker, Yorkshire Dales are wonderful. The Malham circuit is one of my favourite walks in the country, everybody talks about Malham Cove but Gordale Scar even better, Janet’s Foss waterfall and the Tarn. Tan Hill Inn highest pub in the country on the Durham/Cumbria border, the roads out have views right into the Lake District. Wensleydale and Swaledale stunning.

Kettlewell - could spend a week there doing the walks. Fleet Moss road a must cycle/drive near there to get to Hawes. 

[Turkish]

3 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Yep, York has fantastic culture, Yorvik Museum, Minster, The Shambles (unrelated to SFC..) and some brilliant pubs.

As a Walker/hiker, Yorkshire Dales are wonderful. The Malham circuit is one of my favourite walks in the country, everybody talks about Malham Cove but Gordale Scar even better, Janet’s Foss waterfall and the Tarn. Tan Hill Inn highest pub in the country on the Durham/Cumbria border, the roads out have views right into the Lake District. Wensleydale and Swaledale stunning.

Kettlewell - could spend a week there doing the walks. Fleet Moss road a must cycle/drive near there to get to Hawes. 

Yeah I know all of those areas. we go up to Malham area a lot. We also go to Setttle area a lot during the summer. Last year we did a lot more walking and did one of the Yorkshire three peaks with my son and his mate which was great. They want to do the other two this year good to get them out on the fresh air and even better they want to do it no dragging them along
 

In the bad weather here last week the staff got stuck in the Tan Hill pub for a few days, could think of far worse places to be standard. 

[badgerx16]

39 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Yeah I know all of those areas. we go up to Malham area a lot. We also go to Setttle area a lot during the summer. Last year we did a lot more walking and did one of the Yorkshire three peaks with my son and his mate which was great. They want to do the other two this year good to get them out on the fresh air and even better they want to do it no dragging them along
 

In the bad weather here last week the staff got stuck in the Tan Hill pub for a few days, could think of far worse places to be standard. 

If you go up Ingleborough from the west, park in Clapham. Great walk up, and a lovely tea room when you get back down.

Edited 14 hours ago by badgerx16

[benjii]

Deformity capital of Britain.

Good place if you've got a hot cousin, though.

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

Yeah I know all of those areas. we go up to Malham area a lot. We also go to Setttle area a lot during the summer. Last year we did a lot more walking and did one of the Yorkshire three peaks with my son and his mate which was great. They want to do the other two this year good to get them out on the fresh air and even better they want to do it no dragging them along
 

In the bad weather here last week the staff got stuck in the Tan Hill pub for a few days, could think of far worse places to be standard. 

I had a very good pint in there a few years ago! Lovely part of the world. Wilderness.

[Gloucester Saint]

35 minutes ago, benjii said:

Deformity capital of Britain.

Good place if you've got a hot cousin, though.

You may be getting confused with the Pompey thread 😉