My town..
I do love it, at times, but recently.. I just sigh at what's happening.

The whole city centre was a building site for two years, with random pedestrianisation causing havoc, drilling and slab cutting (and the dust) permeating all of life, including any thing you had rashly bought to drink, as sustenance. But never mind, the council said, we'll soon have a centre to be proud of. We're still waiting.

In the meantime we suddenly have these odd wide boulevards, with colour-changing lights (that worked for a fortnight) in between the brand new pale granite slabs. Slabs that were imported from China at huge expense, then sent back to China, then repositioned where they could pick up the maximum amount of staining and chewing gum blobs from the Burberry-clad multitudes.

I shouldn't complain, because we have a brand-new shiny (half-empty) shopping centre. The other half of the shops are mostly pointless outlets of herbal hair-care loveliness, watches, and other overpriced tat. A boon to the hopelessly under stimulated denizens who think shopping is a bona-fide hobby, and that don't realise that it's exactly the fucking same as the Westfield in Derby. With only the badly stained granite at the entrance that lets you know you're in Leicester.
The problem is, now that everyone with any disposable income now heads to the Shopping centre, leaving the aforementioned street with the pavement lights to the students with clipboards, poundshops, and empty units.
We still have some architectural gems in Leicester. including the 15th century Guildhall, that was saved from demolition in the 1960s by public campaign. The same cannot be said for the Bowstring Bridge, here it is. Demolition, despite all the protests is due to start any day..

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braunstone_Gate_Bridge

*It's only surface rust, on the pic. Final meetings were held in secret, there's still nothing wrong with the bridge, apart from it being in the wrong place at the wrong time...

Also there's a lovely independent, successful pub called the Pump and Tap, the landlord has been told to be out by 27th November. By De Montfort uni, who want all the land to build a sports centre, with very limited public use.

Sorry for the rant. I'm still seething..

*Edit, clarification for the link..
(Beer Elf Thought this was like a campfire, anyhow, on, Thu 29 Oct 2009, 22:45, 9 replies)

The Pump And Tap
was where I spent most of my days. Well 91-95 when at DeMontfort. I love Leicester, I have a real fond spot for it. I heard they knocked teh P&T down years ago (erroneously) and was overjoyed to find it was still there when i visited for a reunion last year. We never left it and got pissed there all day like the old days. There used to be a band there called 'my dog has no nose' and they were ace.

I'm genuinely horrified that that the Uni are getting rid of it, not surprised, DMU were always wankers. That has really upset me, I'm on your side.

(I used to work at teh Pizza Oven on braunstone gate, also, and there was a mexican on the corner we liked??)
( I have run out of coke is a little sweaty, Fri 30 Oct 2009, 0:16, closed)

Shame about the bridge...
the only reason they're knocking it down is so that some failing ex-poly can build a swimming pool. Great.

Is the demolition stuff definitely going ahead?
( Noo_Noo Is now 'BeerElf Jnr', I guess :), Fri 30 Oct 2009, 0:23, closed)

The Swan and Rushes
Is my fave boozer :)
( pickspicks, Fri 30 Oct 2009, 1:19, closed)

It is,
Also a lovely place.. Just watch LCC try and build a shopping mall there...
(Beer Elf Thought this was like a campfire, anyhow, on, Fri 30 Oct 2009, 15:19, closed)

Is this a pea?
Or am i suffering fro De Ja Vu?

(Genuine Question, I swear i've read this on here before)
(sunray18, Fri 30 Oct 2009, 2:53, closed)

It's not
A pea, although the bridge may have been mentioned before, 'cos it's lovely and doomed.. The mexican (Rum Runner?) is now a sort of bistro-bar type place. The whole of Braunstone Gate is starting to change from nice place for a night out into middle-aged coke-bloke-central. Still nice in parts though (esp the P+T)

Date for demolition is set somewhere in the new year.

It's not the way that Leicester City Council is demolishing everything that makes us unique (don't get me started on the New Art Gallery, on New Walk FFS!) Its the underhand, sneaky way that they work..
(Beer Elf Thought this was like a campfire, anyhow, on, Fri 30 Oct 2009, 15:18, closed)

wait,
they're pulling down the New Walk art gallery too? F'kin hell...
( Noo_Noo Is now 'BeerElf Jnr', I guess :), Sun 1 Nov 2009, 23:29, closed)

No,
They're pulling down the old Day Nursery opposite (nice 1950's brick, arched windows) and building something that looks like the Tricorn Centre in Plymouth, out of Brightly coloured MDF, apparantly..
(Beer Elf Thought this was like a campfire, anyhow, on, Tue 3 Nov 2009, 23:10, closed)

That's not the worst part...
It's also (apparently) the sexual assault capital of Europe, go Leicester!... or not
(anotherdoublewhiskey, Tue 3 Nov 2009, 0:15, closed)