General Chat

With respect, when things are emotionally charged and things are said that should be left unsaid, as someone on this thread has suggested happened yesterday, that is argument in its literal sense and not debate. It seems to me that part of the issue here is people getting upset because they have decided what is or is not appropriate on this board. It is a public forum and as such, no-one has the right to tell anyone else what is or is not an appropriate topic, only to object if something is personally offensive. Many people appear to use this board as a vehicle for personal conversations, which is fine so long as they do not forget that other conversations may be going on at the same time that bear no relation to their own, or for telling others what they can and cannot say. The support that is available to members on this site is wonderful and probably unique. No other forum that I looked in on yesterday had been overtaken by the days events as this one had. When any event happens there are many and varied perspectives. Sadly, it has got to the point here that some are afraid to voice their own, others see fit to try to impose theirs and still others are seen as trying to foster argument by being contrary - as they may be, but there others who simply hold opposing views. It is getting to the point where no-one can say anything without prefacing their comment with an apology or someone else objecting. True debate is getting more and more rare.

Well said Felicity - and with that I hope this thread now ends. Kaye x

felicity you talk like my hubby i wish i could speak in such a way as to get across what i mean, thanks for adding that, what more can i say

OK, everyone who's posted on this thread, this is for you - as you've all been discussing the whys and wherefores of my attitude and a thread that I put up yesterday, I think I have a right to comment at this point, so kindly do me the courtesy of reading what follows and not making snap judgements on one or two posts about me by other people. If you find the tone of this post aggressive, then so be it. I'm up to the back teeth with snide remarks and aggression from other people too. I appreciate Julie Anne trying to see both sides of an argument, but a number of you are obviously under misconceptions for one reason or another, so let's get things accurate and in perspective. Yesterday morning, my husband and my 26-year-old son left for work as normal. They travel to the end of the Piccadilly tube line by car, then get the tube train into London. My son gets out at King's Cross station, as he works a short walk away. My husband travels on, through Russell Square, to Covent Garden, then walks to his office. I heard a radio broadcast, interrupting a programme I was listening to (I don't recall exactly what time that was) and it said there had been an explosion on a Piccadilly Line tube train just outside King's Cross station, just before 9 a m . That was EXACTLY the sort of time when my husband and son would have been either on their train in that very area. No detail was given on the radio, other than to say the explosion was caused by a power surge. CAN YOU NOT IMAGINE HOW I FELT AT HEARING THAT? HOW WOULD YOU FEEL? I turned on the TV to BBC News 24 and heard the same thing. They were saying that there had been casualties, the station was closing, and there had been further explosions at other Central London locations. I tried ringing both my husband's and my son's mobile numbers and couldn't get through. THEY COULD VERY WELL HAVE BEEN ON THE TRAIN THAT HAD BEEN BLOWN APART IN AN UNDERGROUND TUNNEL! When I'd heard a little more detail from the news reports, I came onto this Board to post what I'd heard, hoping to inform others that there had been a major disaster affecting hundreds, or possibly thousands, of people in Central London. I know there are GR members who live and work in London or have relatives or friends who do. I was NOT seeking sympathy, I was trying to be helpful because the issue was so important and could affect so many others. At the same time as I was typing my post, Lindy Fleetwood was doing the same thing and her thread appeared first, but I hadn't seen it when I pressed the button to post mine. These two threads were in danger of being pushed down the Board by far less important posts, so I put up the 'controversial' one deliberately to attract attention to a tragedy of national importance. Not everyone would have heard about the bombings at that point, but people were ignoring the postings about them. Thank God, my husband was finally able to get a mobile signal and ring me to say he and our son had been on the train following the one which was blown up. They had been evacuated at the stop before King's Cross and were walking to work from there. They both saw wounded and burnt people coming out of the station and by the number of emergency vehicles and personnel on hand, deduced that something major had happened. They were both extremely lucky not to have been involved and I was very relieved at hearing they were safe. As the morning progressed, news unfolded, and many other GR members put up posts about what they had heard about the disaster. I tried many times to access my thread title and the opening post, but the GR site was so overloaded, I could not gain access, change anything or post anything, so the thread had to stand, even though I wanted to remove it. Philip arrived on it in 'full battle dress', acknowledging that he was being callous and informing me very rudely that I was being alarmist and causing hysteria by telling people that posting trivia in the face of a national disaster was wrong. He was over-reacting to a post that was several hours old by that time and had obviously not read, or not understood, what I'd written by way of explanation. When I answered him in a similar tone, I was criticised by other people, and he then came back for another try, claiming he'd been called 'a nasty man', which I hadn't said, and saying he wasn't going to post on this Board again. I've never seen him before yesterday, and I most definitely did not tell him to stay away from this Board or any other. He accused me of hiding under a kitchen table I haven't got and of being a coward. He's wrong about that too. He also accused me of being unconcerned about the events in New York on 9/11. Apart from being in hospital under general anaesthetic that day, I was extremely concerned by those tragic events at the time and furious yesterday that some man who has never met me should dare to suggest otherwise. What right does he have to judge people he's never met? I've never made a personal attack such as his on anybody on GR. I have defended myself in strong terms when I've been attacked or harangued by others, as I'm not the wuss Philip thinks I am, and I've noticed how there are always certain spiteful people who cheer on people who are attacking me. Thanks very much. If your priorities are such that an aggressive man you've never seen before takes precedence over a concerned wife and mother whose family may have been killed, then you should be ashamed of yourselves. Invite Philip back if you wish and tell him how marvellous he is if you want to, I couldn't care less about him one way or the other. As for his experiences in Northern Ireland, I don't think British troops should have been there in the first place, and it's tragic that so many were killed or wounded. I don't see why people are all so keen to defend his attack on me, just because he claims to be an ex-soldier, or why you add to that attack when I defend myself against him. If you have a problem with things I post, then have the guts to say so and let's have things out in the open for discussion. I'm sure the other Board members would find it very entertaining. It is the weekend, after all, isn't it? CB >|<

CB, I was talking very generally, referring to and meaning no-one in particular. Like I said, we all have our own perspective. Commenting on this thread didn't mean that I didn't understand and have sympathy for yours. Please don't read into my comment things that are not there. Kind regards, Felicity

Hello CB I havent actually discussed you other than to say that you were obviously distressed, which you were. Neither did I specifically defend Philip, but as I said earlier, I agreed with him that I had no problem with any thread on any subject being posted on the board yesterday, but I was concerned that your thread was descending into an argument and I said so on that thread. You were clearly upset by yesterdays events; Philip was almost certainly just as upset, even if he reacted differently to you, and that is why this disagreement (for want of a better word) occurred. It was no one's fault, granted he overreacted but to be honest, (and I hope I'm not hurting you here) the title of your thread was, to my mind, a bit of an overreaction also. I'm glad your family were ok, so please CB, move on from this because all you are doing now is worrying yourself silly. (I say this with the best intentions) Take care Bev x

Bev, Once again, you're presuming wrongly. I can assure you I'm not WORRIED at all by any of this. ANGRY that I'm being deliberately misunderstood and misrepresented for some reason - YES! At the end of the day, all I care about is that my family and friends are safe. What anyone else thinks about them, me, my posts or anything else is up to them. However, I don't like people spouting inaccuracies about what I've said or done and I will not stand for Philip or anyone else being unnecessarily rude and aggressive towards me. I didn't revive this thread. It had slipped well off the front page by the time I logged on today, so I'm not responsible for the fact that it's still under discussion, but I'm not going to allow what I've said to be twisted into something that wasn't said and wasn't intended, nor am I going to take flak for trying to alert people to a national disaster. Now, if you want to let it lie, why not stop posting on the thread? CB >|<

good idea, CB! We'll do that then, lol! Have a good weekend Love Bev x

i agree with Bev here let this drop CB have a god weekend in the knowledge that your loved ones are safe Bev Biting her tongue