UK Decay

[werewolf]

Luton is worst town in the UK ..Official!
Reporting from the 'dead' centre of Luton.


It is Official, Luton tops a national poll for the crapest town in the UK!
More than 20,000 people voted for Britain's worst place to live and the
results will be published next month in Crap Towns II - The Nation Decides.
go to the the BBC report.

Well what are we to make of this!
As most are aware, Luton is the hometown of UK Decay, Furyo, IN Excelsis,
The Friction, Click Click, The Statics, Karma Sutra, Pneumania as well as
a host of ither Punk bands from the 80's..we always said Luton was crap,
for many it was a love/hate relationship.
Luton Punk venues
Luton Punk bands
Into the 90's we had The Big Eye, Nostramus, The Exodus Sound System,
Phi Life Cipher, Prince Malachi, Wayne Mc Arthur and more.
The town also produced Hollywood blockbusting Film Producer, Danny
Cannon(Judge Dread etc) and Hollywood music director Dave Arnold
(the score writer for amongst other movies, Star Gate, 3 Bond movies
including Tommorow never dies, The Muskateer and many other
mainframe movies)
Currently the towns football team 'The Hatters' are top of the league
after the best ever start to the football season. ( Keep it up guys!)
Those that have run the town over the years have failed miserablly
to properlly plan the towns affairs particularly the 'geographical' and
'social structure'.
Luton is situated in the Chiltern Hills and is actually surrounded by
areas of outstanding natural beauty,and had it been planned a bit more
appropriately could have retained more of the natural character of
the landscape
Throughout the last century luton has been used as an 'overspill'
dumping ground., with a sprawl of housing estates with haphazzard
influxes of peoples arriving from all over to fulfill the workplaces in
the supposed manufacturing industry. {where is Vauxhall today?)
The central areas of the town with its old decaying 'coronation street'
terraces, has become dense and overpopulated and in constant
danger of 'Gheto-isation'. The town is often in the headlines because
of riots and agitations, see 'Straight Outta Luto'
The University often is in trouble with funding problems and is near the
bottom of the nations list of performance figures, however it has at least
provided a bit more cultural diversity in the town, with an annual influx
of some 10-12 thousand students.
The town centre at night also is riding high in the national league of the
so called 'Binge drinking' epidemic. Guns and 'Crack' are also featuring
on the street!

Yes it takes a special quality of life to survive and grow up in Luton,
Perhaps it is because all of this that the famous 'Tribal' aspect of
'Lutonians' persists. If one has ever experienced an outing somewhere
with a 'crew' of lutonians to another place, it is easy to see that 'cheeky',
'naughty', 'Feisty' attitude that prevails amongst the 'Pack' of Lutonians!

So...What do you think?
we have included a POLL on this one..please
take the time to vote if you can!
Or click the 'Post Reply' button below to add your comments
Looking forward!!!


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[Dharma Sister]

Luton has a lot of positive qualities, and I've always thought people who upped and left as sneering at Luton. But to be honest, living in another country, let alone another town, I can really see why!
Four street rapes (reported) alone in Luton last week, my boyfriend Michel was confronted by a guy with a shard of bloody glass in his hand on his way home from work. I've had my car willfully damaged at least 6 times, I've confronted, attacked and followed on numerous occasions.
Only good thing for Luton is that it seems to breed some kind of motivation, and I like the ethnic diversity. But slag off America as much as you like, it's so much more open and spacious -Luton feels like a cage now. I wanna stay here! http://www.ukdecay.co.uk/messageboard/posting.php?mode=smilies
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[Neil]

There was an article in the Guardian by an (ex)Lutonian about all this which concluded: "There is no shame in coming from a crap town; the real crime is to remain there". Not sure I agree that there's anything wrong in staying either, even though I haven't. See: 'Don't knock crap towns. We need them' by Sarfraz Manzoor

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1314999,00.html

[Bugsy]

I was born in Luton several (40ish) years ago and apart from a short spell in Leicester, lived there all my life, until matrimonial unbliss took me down here to Devon in '88.
I've been back only a handful of times since moving away, the last time being in August, for the Pokers/Reunion night(and what a damn good night it was too).
Coming up on the coach cos I couldn't be arsed to drive(I regretted that decision on the way back), my first contact with Luton was the bus station. S***ehole. Worse in fact. Considering that is the first thing a lot of people visiting Luton have any contact with, it doesn't leave too good a first impression. Up to Hightown to check the Blockers/Well out, the train station and bridge, S***ehole. I used to busk on that bridge, this time I almost crapped myself just walking across it, well no, I did actually crap myself, but that might've been the last nights curry.
Anyway, Hightown, S***ehole. The Arndale had changed for the better, but that's just cos the big chain stores wouldn't want their shops situated in the rest of the S***ehole that is Luton.
I've been attacked by strangers and mugged on the streets of Luton in years gone by, but I still kinda love the place in some strange and perverse way, but sorry, not much anymore.
Except for the more affluent parts of town, the place IS a S***ehole. Some people pay council tax. For what? Doesn't look like it's being spent on the town. Shame on the council. Could be a great place. Incidentally, Leicester has changed unrecognisably.For the better! So what's wrong Luton Council, not enough money? It must be going somewhere!!??
In the words of the great Tom Jones,
"The ole hometown looks the same
That's such a f***in shame....." at least that's how I think it goes.

[blink poker]

i spent 4 happy years living in luton,met a lot of great people and don't regret living there at all.luton is surrounded by some beautiful countryside.i do agree with bugsy that the council is shameful. moved back to leicester in 85 and leicester has changed so much, new houses riverside apartments, a new shopping centre and so many pubs and bars the last few years i've actually enjoyed living in leicester,but a small part of me still loves luton...don't ask me why!!!

[drgaz]

To be fair, I'd have to say that Luton is the town that got me to where I am today .... Wales. The "black hole" kept me in for much too long.

I've been back once, though I suppose I'll do it again sometime. Can't say I miss the place now, though I can't deny I was involved in many mad and inspirational things there over the years.

I've served my 25 years in Luton, and its nice to be here in the green fields of Wales.

Nowadays I'm training to be a Madarchist.

By the way, I'd have to say that Luton is a sh**hole too. Shame. It could have been a nice little town, with lots to be proud of , if only the Council could have got its finger out, instead of being devious and narrowminded. And if the majority of its citizens could be arsed, of course.

To paraphrase the famous town promotional phrase - Luton's f***ing up".
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Chewing gum is television for the mouth - Lloyd Frank-Wright

[werewolf]

Kenilworth road Stadium is 2nd from bottom!

Would first nice to see you, *DrGazz*


LUTON is certainlly making the news lately, now in a recent Poll
run by the *Observer Newspaper* it appears that Luton Towns
Kenilworth road stadium has made the 'princley position' of 2nd
from bottom!
Go to the article

What next!!

What I would like to know is this....

If Luton is so BAD why do so many folk want to live here?

Take a look at the House price's here!
That surely must say something!

On the other hand right here in the 'Dead Centre' of luton as i write
this, excactly 1 week ago on tuesday 12th Oct at 3am.
Right outside this window a full scale public disturbance was unfolding
with the Police clearly wrong footed by the scale of the 'incursion' by the
sheer numbers of drunken revellers (no hellicopter suprise!), were
sending every 'cat and dog' 'Tea lady' , everything they got to try and
qwell the 'unrest'.....Frank looked out of the window and exclaimed
"they are just little kids"! he was talking about the 'coppers'!
They were doing baton charges and women policemen were in the front!
Wouldnt like their Job!
Eventually, after about an hour of disturbances and with the arrival of
the entire Bedfordshire force along with most of Hertfordshires and
Buckinghamshires Cops, order was returned!
Not one word about it in any of the local press!
Having been in Wales recently whereby a cat getting 'stuck up a tree'
makes the headlines, that seems astonishing!

Hey its getting noisy out there again!

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[guest]

Good old Luton makes the news again i see.
It is said that as Luton used to be a major hatmaking town and as mercury is used in the manufacture of hats it seems likely the pollution by this mercury is prevalent in the environment of the town.
Could this be a reason why people from the town are mad?
(mad hatter)
Or is it years of lead pollution blowing of britains oldest motorway?
Either way, its heavy metal and i am sorry to say the people of luton are doomed.

[frank-forthright]

Here's a little tune that was heard on several seaside promenades in the late Summer of 1919, following the burning down of the Town hall by the returning Heroes of the First World War and several thousand residents, after the Mayor banned an independent thanksgiving parade and booked him and his pals a slap-up dinner in the Town hall!!! So what has changed ? Not a lot. Except now the Town Hall is made of Portland stone and therefore wouldn't burn so well.
Sing this to the tune of "She'll be Coming Round the Mountain, When she Comes, When She Comes" .......

We are the Jolly Fellows, yes we are.
We are the Jolly Fellows, yes we are
We come from Luton Town, where they burned the Town Hall down,
We are the Jolly Fellows, yes we are.

[treeman]

Well hello DRGAZ. Longtime since you were around?
Luton, where the action never stops, (until you fall asleep from the booze)
Luton, where no-one ever sleeps, (due to the constant din of aircraft, traffic and brainless eejits. Yes welcome to the Town of the Undead!
If you survive a few years here, Iraq would be like a day out at the seaside making sand-castles. Welcome all ye sinners to the Burial Ground of Dreams.