
Have spent a lovely morning in Felixstowe where I found this delightful character.

I also learned that the house my best friend was sharing in the beautiful village of Waldringfield,
and a neighbouring house have burnt to the ground. No-one was hurt, he's moved back in with
his girlfriend; but he's lost almost everything. His housemates lost all they had too.
If you want to post a message of commisseration here that would be cool -
he's a lurker of long standing, and I think he'd appreciate it. Thanks all. :)
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:25,
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I also learned that the house my best friend was sharing in the beautiful village of Waldringfield,
and a neighbouring house have burnt to the ground. No-one was hurt, he's moved back in with
his girlfriend; but he's lost almost everything. His housemates lost all they had too.
If you want to post a message of commisseration here that would be cool -
he's a lurker of long standing, and I think he'd appreciate it. Thanks all. :)

That is bloody awful :(
If he is reading this, sorry for that fella! Best of luck to you and your housemates and neighbours! Just thank lord no-one was hurt!
Did he have insurance?
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:26,
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If he is reading this, sorry for that fella! Best of luck to you and your housemates and neighbours! Just thank lord no-one was hurt!
Did he have insurance?

Lucky for him he's not got much in the way of furnishings - his laptop, his guitar
(and his wah-wah, he was quick to reassure me) were not around. Not sure about
much else, he had some shit hot sound system gear though. :(
Not so lucky his housemates.
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:29,
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(and his wah-wah, he was quick to reassure me) were not around. Not sure about
much else, he had some shit hot sound system gear though. :(
Not so lucky his housemates.

They really should not be allowed fire until they are 30 ;)
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:50,
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My commiserations mate, you never think it's going to happen to you, then WHALLOP! Hope you get back on your feet soon :D
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:27,
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at least when you move house, you dont have to hire a van
...really sorry to hear it though
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:27,
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...really sorry to hear it though

"A sign leading to the properties showed that plans were in place to build two luxury £1m five-bedroom homes at some stage"
Looks like that might be brought forward then, look on the bright side, they got the buildings removed for free.
*runs*
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:29,
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Looks like that might be brought forward then, look on the bright side, they got the buildings removed for free.
*runs*

Past 15 years in Manchester it was like the blitz along the canals - about half a dozen listed canalside mill buildings a week were going up - all accidental, naturally, and all with outline planning consent for redevelopment as flats.
/suspicious blog
Oh, and gutted for your mate, but as long as there was no loss of life, like yer man up ^ there ^ says, it's only stuff...
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:33,
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/suspicious blog
Oh, and gutted for your mate, but as long as there was no loss of life, like yer man up ^ there ^ says, it's only stuff...

there were some lovely old abandoned Luntic asylum buildings near us. The roofs were "accidentally" taken off and the buildings became unsafe, so they had to be pulled down.
Now, there is outline planning permission to build a massive retirement village, wich may mean the loss of some lovely woodland
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:39,
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Now, there is outline planning permission to build a massive retirement village, wich may mean the loss of some lovely woodland

It's more expensive to refurbish an old building to modern standards than to flatten and build a new box, insurers and everyone else get jittery if a building is more than 25 years old, it's apparently "in everyone's best interests" to clear and redevelop as the preferred option.
Except for the small point that by doing so you are destroying the towns and communities in which people grew up, the iconic buildings that make a place home rather than just a crappy overspill estate somewhere, and filling up the landscape with poorly-build, unsightly monocultures of so-called architecture that will be falling down themselves it ten years time, let alone lasting another century as the older buildings had.
Grr. *bugbears*
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:45,
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Except for the small point that by doing so you are destroying the towns and communities in which people grew up, the iconic buildings that make a place home rather than just a crappy overspill estate somewhere, and filling up the landscape with poorly-build, unsightly monocultures of so-called architecture that will be falling down themselves it ten years time, let alone lasting another century as the older buildings had.
Grr. *bugbears*

look at all the money that went into this: www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2006/jun/25/architecture
when it could have gone into restoring this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barr_Hall
in fact, they're different councils, but the principle is the same
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:53,
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when it could have gone into restoring this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barr_Hall
in fact, they're different councils, but the principle is the same

Great Barr Hall, venue for meetings of the Lunar Society: www.lambarman.co.uk/assets/images/_50.jpg
The Public: www.bdonline.co.uk/Pictures/468xAny/y/o/k/Public_ready.jpg
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:57,
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The Public: www.bdonline.co.uk/Pictures/468xAny/y/o/k/Public_ready.jpg

listed buildings "mysteriously" getting unlisted and then within a few weeks burning down all accidental like....
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:42,
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to make room for some fucking nasty sardine-tin flats. I actually cried (I think that's really sad of me, but it was a beautiful building and such a shame to see it go).
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:46,
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*hides from swiss Lawyers pronto*
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:48,
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It really was beautiful. They could have done proper Manhattan style lofts in it, instead of tearing it down and building this monstrosity:
www.fairview.co.uk/images/uploaded/areas/buckinghamshire/delta/1.jpg
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:51,
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www.fairview.co.uk/images/uploaded/areas/buckinghamshire/delta/1.jpg

The Hoover factory, now defiled by *shudders* Tescos....
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 15:00,
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merely railing against a company I hate.
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:58,
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an Art Deco listed building, complete with spiral ramp.
It's lovely.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 15:04,
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It's lovely.

"a city with the most grade 1-2 listed buildings outside of London"....and they flattened half of the old graded warehouses, that were nicely converted into shops and café's (with charm) and built THIS consumerist nightmare of 10000000 sq feet of shopping "mall"
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:52,
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It was a lovely old building :(
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:53,
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I might cry about that too.
No. I AM now doing so. FFS.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:55,
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No. I AM now doing so. FFS.

I have memories of the Astoria going back 25 years, and yes, I have been to G.A.Y. a number of times, big whoop, wanna fight about it? ;)
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:57,
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Sad day.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:58,
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2 of my fave gigs from the last few years were there, and it was my fave venue in London :(
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:58,
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Well, that and the Palace.
No, no fucking 'Koko'. THE PALACE.
*sniffles*
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 15:00,
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No, no fucking 'Koko'. THE PALACE.
*sniffles*

At least I got to see Elbow and My Morning Jacket there :D
My work had there christmas party at "Koko" a couple of years ago. I fell asleep on the back stairs :S
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 15:02,
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My work had there christmas party at "Koko" a couple of years ago. I fell asleep on the back stairs :S


its thought that it now takes up 1/4 of the city centre
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 15:02,
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you must consider what was there before ( very little if you are honest with yourself, I know the area well as our ship is berthed in Canning half-tide dock ) and the vast benefit such a place will have to the overall economy of the Liverpool area.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 15:00,
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im just saying "why knock it down to build lifeless cubes" when the buildings are structurally sound, and look better than anything that's been put there today...but that's alot of personal opinion... also woo to the choice of dock.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 15:04,
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to the Manchester mill redevelopments ( I considered buying an apartment there, some of them are beautifully dine ) most of those buildings were in an unsafe condition to use as they were and wherever any building had any aesthetic value the developers did their utmost to at least retain the original fascia and features.
Speaking as a Manc and a builder I have to say that the mill redevelopments have been a huge boon to the resurgence of Manchester city centre.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:56,
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Speaking as a Manc and a builder I have to say that the mill redevelopments have been a huge boon to the resurgence of Manchester city centre.

it had to regenerate what it had already regenerated a few years before hand!
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:59,
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All I have to say on the matter is that the IRA were the best thing that ever happened to Manchester city centre.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 15:01,
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For the best part of a decade the civic leadership were begging them to come back and finish the job off!
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 15:16,
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in Rochester, but I imagine that it was pretty pricey.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 15:04,
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I hope he's alright. Remember, stuff's not as important as people, but I understand. If he'd like some books to read (I could donate a DVD or two but that's no use without a DVD player and telly) let me know.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:29,
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I know he and his gf's got tons of books and DVDage at hers (theirs again I suppose).
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:30,
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Give him a big hug from his aunty Captain.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:33,
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man that's awful. Hope he can get things back on their feet quickly.
( ,
Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:29,
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Property burning down (or flooding, which is just as bad) and loss of chattels is a horrible thing. I do hope you can get at least a little insurance salve to help out.
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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:30,
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( , Wed 14 Jan 2009, 14:36, archived)