China

[Sandyn]

The younger generation will do just fine, just as every other 'younger generation' has done. They will cope with whatever is thrown at them. For those of us who are older and living in a world that has changed a huge amount, this world is their norm.

 

[nickr]

I served an an apprenticeship in electrical engineering. That has given me the chance to work on all sorts of equipment from hydroelectric generation, radar, I've rewound electric motors you could walk through, even cloth cutters and washing machines. I can only hope that the young people of today can enjoy the same sort of employment that I've had. From my experience this has all been because of British engineering and manufacturing. In these current times we have to rebuild our manufacturing industry, this would provide employment and sales for the country. I know I may seem old, but I remember being proud to see products marked with "Made in Britain" or "Made in England", and our engineers are some of the best in the world. It's time to ask why can't I buy British made products and be proud of our heritage.
I've worked with a lot of engineers and I'm proud to say a lot of them our "Great".
An old but goody.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Unfortunately the Buy British campaigns just about coincided with the time quaility manufacturing was very quickly going down the pan and moving to Japan. Much of the stuff proudly carring a Union flag was actually rubbish.

It's time to ask why can't you buy British made products and be proud of your heritage> We all know why - there'll always be a Country somewhere that'll make it way cheaper, and most people aren't remotely interested where something's made.

 

[Shane1978]

There is a danger in believing as common truths that which the media report on TV and in the press.

Were there a three mile stretch of sandy beach and 30 people crowded at one end smoking weed and imbibing booze, would the media report a deserted beach or irresponsible rave.

If you are old enough, remember how it was 50 or 60 years ago. Your parents thought rock and roll was discordant rubbish, flat pack furniture was the work of a design genius, miniskirts were sinful, and short back and sides was the only game in town.

Unsurprisingly the world has changed. Not all kids are irresponsible, smart phone obsessed, lovers of lowest common denominator TV shows. Many are far more thoughful than I ever was about climate change, bio-diversity, rainforests etc etc.

As a principle we should all reflect on how things were when we were their age - not because the past should be some sort of constant, but to properly understand that the world moves on and we don't always change with it.

Well said. I was listening to some blues in the workshop yesterday and it struck me how subversive it must have seemed at the time. That repetitive riff is just like when I first started listening to what we called ‘rave music’ at the time. And the man singing isn’t a respectable gentleman crooning of his love.. it’s a drunken old black man growling about how his girlfriend left him - because he’s a drunk!
Imagine respectable middle class white kids from the Home Counties listening to that! Imagine their parents reactions.
nothing changes really.

 

[billw]

It's time to ask why can't you buy British made products and be proud of your heritage> We all know why - there'll always be a Country somewhere that'll make it way cheaper, and most people aren't remotely interested where something's made.

Most people forget we do still make a lot of stuff here, but it's generally stuff that's complex and highly skilled, not whacking some aluminium in a mould and drilling a couple of holes in it.

Stuff we do, as the NINTH largest manufacturing economy* in the world.....

Aerospace - aircraft engines and components
Chemical and pharmaceutical - huge R&D sector, but we actually make the stuff too and export £45bn of it
Defence - 140,000 people in a field that the west will never allow China to be involved in
Electronics - 14 of the world’s top 20 semiconductor companies have design/manufacturing sites in the UK
Nuclear - 63,000 direct jobs
Security - equipment supporting national infrastructure; cyber security; policing and counter-terrorism
Space - supports telecoms and broadcasting to enable disaster relief, telemedicine, navigation

Right - most of that stuff is complex and requires innovation and highly technically skilled people, both in design and manufacture. What's more productive for our economy? Employing less people in higher value operations, or employing lots of people to churn out plastic toothbrush holders, aluminium step ladders, or even iphones!

The best thing our country can do is ask "where can we add the most value?" and if somewhere else can do things to a required standard at a much cheaper price, outsource it to them and let our people continue to generate a higher GDP per capita by investing in quality education and encouraging investment in the country by firms looking for the best, not cheapest, workforce.

Next time you manage to fly somewhere, sit near the wing and look out of the window. How would you feel if the engine had "made in China" on it? Let's make the stuff that can't be replicated easily in Guangzhou.

*A fact, but disguises that even in 9th place our global share is a mere 1.8%.

 

[Spectric]

And they're worth something like £70m apiece so hardly knobheads.

As I said a bad influence, the younger generation look at them and think if a pair of knobheads can make £70 million each why do I want to work for a living, I will copy them and become famous.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It must be the only sphere of employment where two people can make huge amounts of money doing a job that one person could do easily.

 

[Shane1978]

As I said a bad influence, the younger generation look at them and think if a pair of knobheads can make £70 million each why do I want to work for a living, I will copy them and become famous.

Copying ant and dec would involve working hard and keeping your employers, fans and sponsors happy for nearly 2 decades. Rising to the top of your career and getting paid a premium for your work. Isn’t that what we all want our kids to do? As long as they’re happy?

 

[Droogs]

it would be nice for them to achieve that but just at something that is worthwhile and not inane drivel

 

[doctor Bob]

As I said a bad influence, the younger generation look at them and think if a pair of knobheads can make £70 million each why do I want to work for a living, I will copy them and become famous.

Pah, one of my clients is a trader, he makes more than that, he's 28..........

 

[Trainee neophyte]

it would be nice for them to achieve that but just at something that is worthwhile and not inane drivel

Are you saying that Wonky Donky isn't a worthwhile piece of televisual art? I am disappointed that you are so lowbrow as to not see that their work explores the relationship between new class identities and life as performance. With influences as diverse as Camus and John Cage, new variations are created from both explicit and implicit structures. What starts out as vision soon becomes finessed into a cacophony of defeat, leaving only a sense of nihilism and the possibility of a new understanding.



This is very unfortunate.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Are you saying that Wonky Donky isn't a worthwhile piece of televisual art? I am disappointed that you are so lowbrow as to not see that their work explores the relationship between new class identities and life as performance. With influences as diverse as Camus and John Cage, new variations are created from both explicit and implicit structures. What starts out as vision soon becomes finessed into a cacophony of defeat, leaving only a sense of nihilism and the possibility of a new understanding.

Have you ever worked for the Arts Council, by any chance? (Asking tongue in cheek, just to be clear!)

Many moons ago, I read a few copies of Crafts, the periodical issued by The Crafts Council, before it was reabsorbed into the greater Arts Establishment. It was full of drivel like that. Sort of stuff that takes years of dedicated practice to perfect.

I gave up reading Crafts after about three issues. In retrospect, can't think why I read that many.

 

[Droogs]

Oh early work is fine it's that jungle rubbish I object to,I've lived in the jungle I have and it is nowt like that

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Have you ever worked for the Arts Council, by any chance

I had a little help: Instant artist statement

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I had a little help: Instant artist statement

Now that did make I chuckle ....

Many a true word, an' all that.

 

[Droogs]

It is sad when your biggest hit is when you are 12 and you then constantly fail to better it. Oh byker grove - yeah

 

[RobinBHM]

Most people forget we do still make a lot of stuff here

Yes indeed. We should be proud of the Nissan plant in Sunderland, one of the most productive car plants in Europe.

I know UK car manufacturing is mostly foreign owned assembly plant, but it's still an achievement.

 

[NickDReed]

It must be the only sphere of employment where two people can make huge amounts of money doing a job that one person could do easily.

You've not worked in the public sector then?

 

[Sean33]

All children no matter what generation inherit the world, society and morals the previous generations laid the groundwork for. Nothing exists in isolation. Blaming a generation/person without questioning what lead them there is easy and lazy.

Probably going to open a can of worms here and apologies in advance if anybody is offended. So here goes my rant, i have kids, most of my friends have kids ranging from 3-17 and without doubt they all know best. They know you can't give them a clip round the ear, they know they will not get the cane/shoe at school and they know the police have limited powers of deterrent for them. I was kindly asked to my sons school as he was being a prat and they wanted to inform me of his behaviour. When asked what i thought was the best course of action to take my reply was give them the cane, you should have seen there looks, you would have thought i had just farted in there faces. I did go on to point out that when i was a whipper snapper i got the cane, didn't do it again, local plod used to give us a clip round the ear when we were being stupid and come round and visit our parents to tell them, be jasus remember my nan even gave me a red leg stinger, again it stopped us in our tracks from doing it again.
Problem as i see it is we have gone too soft, too many snowflakes. kids need to realise for every action/reaction there is a consequence, unfortunately the consequences can not be dealt with in a way that will make them think twice about doing it again.
Now dont get me wrong, my kids mean the world to me but given the choice, yes i would bring back the cane, and most definitely bring back national Service
Rant over !

 

[billw]

When I was in Singapore early last year, where they have national service, the armed forces had a career fair about the sort of things you could do in the military. It was bloody fascinating, and the range of potentials was huge, which I am sure it is in most modern militaries, but anyway.

Point was that you'd be hard-pressed to argue that national service was a bad thing, it's not like they just stock up on cannon fodder.

These days in the UK you'd get a huge campaign saying it was slave labour or something.