what a fucking mess! i don't come back that often, and when i do, i come on the train, through leeds and into shipley. but, with being back for a week over xmas, i had a chance to spend a bit more time here this time.
never the most salubrious of places, i'll admit, but its just fucked up here now. went through manningham and toller lane down into town, and loads of buildings are just wrecked and burned out. i know a lot of this is down to the riots in the summer, but it is as though the whole city is crumbling into nothing.
and miles from where the riots were, up leeds road and up towards Barkerend and Thornbury as well, loads of pubs boarded up and let go, other buildings too
does anyone else here know Bradford at all? is this really all because of the riots? have things really got a lot worse in the 3 years that i've been gone, or is it just coming back and seeing it afresh?
― gareth, Wednesday, 26 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)
Manningham has been rough as long as I can remember Gareth, though I
doubt the riots have helped.
― stevo, Wednesday, 26 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)
Perhaps it's because you've been living in London recently,
everywhere else looks run down, in decline, but Bradford's been
slipping since the mid-90s, problems in Manningham have only speeded
the process up. The riots in northern towns like Bradford, Burnley
(dunno Oldham) have made the social problems more overt, but these
riots are representative of the social unrest all over the north.
With enough encouragment/provocation they could happen anywhere with
high unemployment. I'd be interested to see if there are any riots in
South Wales next summer, where race isn't such an issue.
― K-reg, Wednesday, 26 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)