Portobello going downhill

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Jamesie
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Portobello going downhill

Post by Jamesie » 08 Nov 2004, 21:28

When you've just spent a twelve hour day in the office, the last thing you need is to have to remove delinquent teenagers from your house.

Unfortunately, that's what I've just had to do. Having arrived home I was about to close the door when a hysterical teenage female and her male companion arrived in my hall and would only leave after strong protestations.

They then joined a group of twenty or so comrades on the street outside, surrounding cars and with various misdemeanors going on over the past quarter of an hour.

Despite two 999 calls and a call direct to Portobello Police station, it took around fifteen minutes for any response to arrive and move them on. I won't be entirely surprised if they return at some point this evening.

As I type, tonight's Evening News lies scattered and torn on the hall carpet through the resultant struggle to get them out of my home. My mother, who has lived in this house for all of her life, can remember a time when Mount Lodge was a proud working class area where community values were respected and upheld.

What has happened to this street?

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DG
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Post by DG » 08 Nov 2004, 21:46

:( Sorry to hear this, Jamesie. What an awful thing to have to put up with. Hope you and your mum are alright. We live on the High Street and have had too many incidents to count over recent years. I've lived here 15 years and the last few have been the worse for teenage problems. Touch wood though, never had any actually enter our home.

DG

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Hell's Cat
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Post by Hell's Cat » 08 Nov 2004, 21:46

That's awful J. What if you had been a frail OAP. Did they just push their way into your house :?:
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Jamesie
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Post by Jamesie » 08 Nov 2004, 21:55

Yeah, they just barged right past me! Just lucky I was here tonight and coming in when I was - wouldn't have liked my mum to face that on her own.

I would have appreciated it if the Police had spoken to us after they'd moved them on. Alas, no.

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Maria
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Post by Maria » 08 Nov 2004, 23:21

That sounds a really frightening scenario Jamesie. I'm gobsmacked that no-one wanted to take a statement from you and that it could even happen in the first place. :(
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Porty
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Re: Portobello going downhill

Post by Porty » 08 Nov 2004, 23:30

No way I wish to make light of this Jamesie, its terrible. However,
Jamesie wrote:When you've just spent a twelve hour day in the office, the last thing you need is to have to remove delinquent teenagers from your house.
That's the first thing I need to do most working days.
.....ambition makes you look pretty ugly

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wangi
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Post by wangi » 08 Nov 2004, 23:59

Hope everyone's not too shaken. If you search through the forum you'll find info on where this sort of carp has happened to other folk, me being one of them...

I don;t think it's anythink at all particular to Portobello, but rather the shocking state of Britain...

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Beach Babe
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Post by Beach Babe » 09 Nov 2004, 14:16

sorry to hear about what happened Jamesie :(

on Radio 2 atm (Jeremy Vine show) they're talking about whether local people should have their Policeman's mobile number. This would make "the Police more responsible and accountable to local people and curb anti-social behaviour"

the Police spokesman is very against this idea needless to state but it seems to be working in York, Derby area and some areas of North Wales
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Beach Babe
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Post by Beach Babe » 09 Nov 2004, 14:18

lol - they've just called some Police officers' mobiles live on air and they only got voice mail messages :lol:

perhaps it's not that successful funnily enough
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Mimpty
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Post by Mimpty » 09 Nov 2004, 14:30

I heard on the news this morning as part of the review that Beach babe mentioned that they think we should be able to call the police officer by his first name too.
Is that supposed to make them more effective?
Giving them a more "approachable" persona isn't going to help if they still don't turn up or say the culprits are too young etc, etc...

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bellybabe
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Post by bellybabe » 09 Nov 2004, 14:43

I agree, Mimpty. Doesn't matter what they're called if they're not there.
I hear a lot about how the problems in Portobello aren't as bad as they are in many places, but I don't think that matters a bit when you have intruders in your house. Things are really quiet now where I live, after a few years of hassle, and sometimes I find myself feeling grateful - and then i get mad at myself because why should we be grateful for life being the way it should be? What bothers me most here is the lack of - or very late - response from the police to so many of these incidents. I find it stunning that they didn't event take a statement from Jamesie...that's the clearest signal there is that they intend to do nothing whatsoever about it.

I'm sorry you went through that, jamesie, and I hope your mum's ok.
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Pal of Porty
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Post by Pal of Porty » 09 Nov 2004, 14:52

Firstly I would like to say that I am disgraced and shocked with what has just happened to Jamesie and also what appears to be a rather 'so what' response from the police.
However, while I accept that there has been a 'youth' problem for some months now, I do not subscribe to the view that Portobello is sliding downhill.
I can recall many similar and frightening scenarios in and around Portobello when I was growing up some 20-30 years ago and most people the age I am now, would comment back then that Portobello was on the slide.
These things unfortunately happen but I believe that the overall situation is not worse and that Portobello is still every bit as strong and supportive as a community now, as it was back then. :)
Justice delayed is justice denied.

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wangi
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Post by wangi » 09 Nov 2004, 15:13

Bellybabe wrote:I hear a lot about how the problems in Portobello aren't as bad as they are in many places
In my case when waiting hours for the police to come round... when they did eventually come round at 00:15 they weren't from Portobello, oh no - they were grom Craigmillar! What does that say...
Last edited by wangi on 09 Nov 2004, 16:18, edited 1 time in total.

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Poppy
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Post by Poppy » 09 Nov 2004, 15:52

A bit late for Jamsie and his mum, and a few others, but this in EN is slightly encouraging for the future .....

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Pal of Porty
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Post by Pal of Porty » 09 Nov 2004, 23:00

wangi wrote:In my case when waiting hours for the police to come round... when they did eventually come round at 00:15 they weren't from Portobello, oh no - they were grom Craigmillar! What does that say...
It says that they were not from Portobello - they were from Craigmillar.
Justice delayed is justice denied.

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Porty
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Post by Porty » 09 Nov 2004, 23:10

Pal of Porty wrote:
wangi wrote:In my case when waiting hours for the police to come round... when they did eventually come round at 00:15 they weren't from Portobello, oh no - they were grom Craigmillar! What does that say...
It says that they were not from Portobello - they were from Craigmillar.
DIF! just shows what you know.

It says they were grom Craigmillar.
.....ambition makes you look pretty ugly

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Epykat
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Post by Epykat » 10 Nov 2004, 20:49

wangi wrote:In my case when waiting hours for the police to come round..
I can beat that! When I had some jewellery stolen from the house it took them seven weeks! When I offered them a list of all the names and addresses and phone numbers of people who had been in the house they said not to bother because they would just deny it anyway and since it was insured I hadn't really lost out. I know it wasn't the crime of the century in the big scheme of things but I had lost my engagement ring, my eternity ring and my Mum's engagement ring and they're irreplaceable. :cry:
Enough of your nonsense - get back to the Play Pen!

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Post by prombabe » 10 Nov 2004, 21:17

Sorry to here what happened
Those kids probably need a good SMACK when they were younger and their parents following up on their threats.
As a seasoned parent the best advice I can give is dont back down and follow through the rules you lay down.
As for the police write to the newspaper I'm sure there will be a big response
Stick to what you know then you'll never become unstuck

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Porty
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Post by Porty » 10 Nov 2004, 21:59

prombabe wrote: As for the police write to the newspaper I'm sure there will be a big response
Especially if one of the more senior officers happens to spy it in Carlo's.
.....ambition makes you look pretty ugly

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Dadaist
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Post by Dadaist » 13 Nov 2004, 01:27

The main problems here are metaphors. When Jamesie said he thought Portobello was going downhill, I thought he meant subsidence and was worried about the value of my property.

I had a similar experience just this evening when Martin O'Neil admitted Celtic were going backwards - but that he had at least put a halt to it - I assumed that he had employed some structural engineers to work on the foundations at the stadium.

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Post by foxy » 13 Nov 2004, 11:22

Dadaist don't take life so seriously :D

Metaphors are the application of a name or descriptive term to an object or action which is NOT LITERALLY applicable

Food for thought :wink:

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