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I went to Battersea Park Fireworks display on Saturday. What a f*ckup that was! Crowds upon crowds of people (50,000 estimated). Too many people. It was poorly staffed, poorly lit, no signage, uneven surfaces/curbs/steps all over the place, lack of barriers, no phone reception, power cuts. Massive uncontrolled queues for food stalls and bars, I didn’t even bother getting a beer as it took an hour to get a bratwurst! It was like nobody had considered that people might have to queue up for things!
It was an absolute disaster waiting to happen. Not the sort of place you’d want to be if something went wrong. I’ve been to many large events and it’s the worst I’ve seen by far. Closest thing I can compare it too is the Cheltenham racing festival except in a much smaller space, with no lights! I did quite enjoy the thrill of it in some ways and the fireworks were good but I couldn’t wait to get out!
Anyone else been to an event or in a situation where you felt you were (or actually were) in danger?
No need for that mate.That’s my hometown you’re talking about.Although it’s probably gone downhill a lot since I left in 1968.
Agree mate, nothing wrong with Battersea, been to some good noughtee raves there lately, mind you nowadays you got to be a multi-millionaire to live there.
FKA AcidPixie
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Dangerous Places. on 21:13 - Nov 8 with 2532 views
Yeh. My next door neighbours family all drink in there so we decided to go with them and take the kids to see the fireworks. Was actually a good night in the end. I prefer The Green Man up the road these days though. The William Twig and the Newton Pippin are also places you probably shouldn't take your kids when gunpowder is being lit.
[Post edited 8 Nov 2021 18:56]
I used to play in goal for the Green man, used to be two bars but they have gone upmarket now and knocked them through! The Twigg was no go for me back in the 80’s but when my marriage broke up and I moved back to Bracknell I had ages pleasant lunchtime sessions in there.
favourite cheese mature Cheddar. FFS there is no such thing as the EPL
Agree mate, nothing wrong with Battersea, been to some good noughtee raves there lately, mind you nowadays you got to be a multi-millionaire to live there.
Sorry chaps. I remember it as a Scum heartland when I grew up.
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Dangerous Places. on 22:03 - Nov 8 with 2428 views
Driving into and suddenly discovering I had driven into the 'wrong part of town' In Mamphis. (terrifying btw). 1968, the whole of NATO was put on alert due to the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, after being positioned in the feild the sudden realsisation that this could/might turn into an invasion of the West slowly started to sink in, not good times and nobody was joking anymore, just a horrible feeling. Getting out of Oakwell the year they got promoted to the Prem, we battered them on the pitch and their fans were absolute bastards afterwards.
Are you talking about Memphis Tennessee USA there Ted. If so without doubt one of the most dangerous cities over here and with it being the home of Elvis Presley the powers that be do not want any bad press so its even more dangerous for visitors who are not ready for the crime wave My daughters team played a soccer tournament there for years . One night a mother from the team made a liquor run to the local store and the owner said and I quote."Are you out of your fcuking mind coming here after dark for beer ,get back to your hotel now and stay in there ..
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Dangerous Places. on 22:05 - Nov 8 with 2426 views
Sorry chaps. I remember it as a Scum heartland when I grew up.
Yes but it went upmarket when I moved out.They demolished our houses to make way for tower blocks,but the same houses close to us are still standing and are now worth a fortune. The new tube line won’t do anything but increase house prices even more.
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Dangerous Places. on 22:35 - Nov 8 with 2354 views
Dangerous Places. on 22:03 - Nov 8 by CLAREMAN1995
Are you talking about Memphis Tennessee USA there Ted. If so without doubt one of the most dangerous cities over here and with it being the home of Elvis Presley the powers that be do not want any bad press so its even more dangerous for visitors who are not ready for the crime wave My daughters team played a soccer tournament there for years . One night a mother from the team made a liquor run to the local store and the owner said and I quote."Are you out of your fcuking mind coming here after dark for beer ,get back to your hotel now and stay in there ..
Home of Elvis and the Ancient Greeks.
Kudos to the mum determined to get the beers in on tour.
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Dangerous Places. on 22:38 - Nov 8 with 2352 views
Dangerous Places. on 22:03 - Nov 8 by CLAREMAN1995
Are you talking about Memphis Tennessee USA there Ted. If so without doubt one of the most dangerous cities over here and with it being the home of Elvis Presley the powers that be do not want any bad press so its even more dangerous for visitors who are not ready for the crime wave My daughters team played a soccer tournament there for years . One night a mother from the team made a liquor run to the local store and the owner said and I quote."Are you out of your fcuking mind coming here after dark for beer ,get back to your hotel now and stay in there ..
It really is a f ucked up place where you can openly carry a firearm but can’t drink a can of beer openly.When I flew back from Vegas in 2014 I still had a can of beer left in my hand luggage.I was given the option of drinking it in a toilet cubicle or throwing it straight in the bin.
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Dangerous Places. on 22:41 - Nov 8 with 2338 views
Had the inside track that Pulp were going to do a secret set at the Park stage at Glastonbury.
Sadly, so had about 60,000 other people too.
It was mudbath so I took one look at the size of the crowd and longed it.
Got to work afterwards and one of my colleagues' sister had dislocated her ankle getting stuck in the mud during a crush to get out afterwards.
Yeah I was there for that: there were so many people trying to push to the front from the back even though it was clearly rammed already. A very unpleasant experience.
Also a Reading festival many years ago where we were stood in the middle of the field before Alice Cooper came on but the surge from the back to get forward pushed us close to the front where the crush was so bad that people were lifted off their feet and it was difficult to breathe. I’m a tall strapping lad so I could get my head above the heat haze to breathe but others were struggling: it was a scary situation that could’ve been a lot worse. I was at Donnington when kids tragically died in front of the stage during Guns n Roses as well but thankfully much further back that day.
A couple of football games spring to mind, neither involving QPR.
The year before Hillsbrough, the same two teams played the same FA cup semi at the same ground. I went with a Forest mate and we had tickets for the Kop end.
We and many Forest fans were herded on to buses outside the station and taken to the ground. When we got there, we were all kept on the buses outside the stadium for ages. Drunk guys p1ssing in the aisle etc, which was nice.
When they eventually let us off it was nearly kickoff time and there was a mad rush to get into the stadium. The upper terrace was absolutely rammed and I was up against a crush barrier. Genuinely feared for my safety and spent the first half hoping Forest would not score as the resulting surge might have been very bad. Only at half time did people move around and it got a bit better. The tragedy the following year is well documented and this had potential to be similar for a while.
Another time was at a Spurs v Arsenal league cup semi final at WHL in the 80s. In the Arsenal end which again was absolutely rammed. Spurs were winning until Arsenal scored two late goals to snatch it. Mayhem in our end and serious risk of injury. The stewards had to open gates in the fencing to let people on to the pitch and prevent another potential tragedy.
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Dangerous Places. on 23:24 - Nov 8 with 2265 views
A couple of football games spring to mind, neither involving QPR.
The year before Hillsbrough, the same two teams played the same FA cup semi at the same ground. I went with a Forest mate and we had tickets for the Kop end.
We and many Forest fans were herded on to buses outside the station and taken to the ground. When we got there, we were all kept on the buses outside the stadium for ages. Drunk guys p1ssing in the aisle etc, which was nice.
When they eventually let us off it was nearly kickoff time and there was a mad rush to get into the stadium. The upper terrace was absolutely rammed and I was up against a crush barrier. Genuinely feared for my safety and spent the first half hoping Forest would not score as the resulting surge might have been very bad. Only at half time did people move around and it got a bit better. The tragedy the following year is well documented and this had potential to be similar for a while.
Another time was at a Spurs v Arsenal league cup semi final at WHL in the 80s. In the Arsenal end which again was absolutely rammed. Spurs were winning until Arsenal scored two late goals to snatch it. Mayhem in our end and serious risk of injury. The stewards had to open gates in the fencing to let people on to the pitch and prevent another potential tragedy.
Anfield after the semi was bloody awful gates closed at the final whistle I’m not small and had to push back against those behind us trying to get out.could have been a lot worse that night
Belgrade before and during the game , give me the old den in the 80s any day of the week compared to them feckers
Was a LU station manager (like a couple others on here) for many years.
The fire suppression and evacuation systems in places like Bank and Victoria are the best in the world because of the KX fire.
One thing TfL get right is their safety legislation. That's why no one has died in a fire for 35 years despite 400km of track, nearly 300 stations, and 1.3billion journeys.
I'd be worried about what you are breathing in though!
A couple of football games spring to mind, neither involving QPR.
The year before Hillsbrough, the same two teams played the same FA cup semi at the same ground. I went with a Forest mate and we had tickets for the Kop end.
We and many Forest fans were herded on to buses outside the station and taken to the ground. When we got there, we were all kept on the buses outside the stadium for ages. Drunk guys p1ssing in the aisle etc, which was nice.
When they eventually let us off it was nearly kickoff time and there was a mad rush to get into the stadium. The upper terrace was absolutely rammed and I was up against a crush barrier. Genuinely feared for my safety and spent the first half hoping Forest would not score as the resulting surge might have been very bad. Only at half time did people move around and it got a bit better. The tragedy the following year is well documented and this had potential to be similar for a while.
Another time was at a Spurs v Arsenal league cup semi final at WHL in the 80s. In the Arsenal end which again was absolutely rammed. Spurs were winning until Arsenal scored two late goals to snatch it. Mayhem in our end and serious risk of injury. The stewards had to open gates in the fencing to let people on to the pitch and prevent another potential tragedy.
"Another time was at a Spurs v Arsenal league cup semi final at WHL in the 80s. In the Arsenal end which again was absolutely rammed. Spurs were winning until Arsenal scored two late goals to snatch it. Mayhem in our end and serious risk of injury. The stewards had to open gates in the fencing to let people on to the pitch and prevent another potential tragedy."
I was also in the Arsenal end that night. It was ridiculous. It was maybe just as bad in on one of the pens for a Rangers league visit there around the same time.
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
Dangerous Places. on 22:03 - Nov 8 by CLAREMAN1995
Are you talking about Memphis Tennessee USA there Ted. If so without doubt one of the most dangerous cities over here and with it being the home of Elvis Presley the powers that be do not want any bad press so its even more dangerous for visitors who are not ready for the crime wave My daughters team played a soccer tournament there for years . One night a mother from the team made a liquor run to the local store and the owner said and I quote."Are you out of your fcuking mind coming here after dark for beer ,get back to your hotel now and stay in there ..
Yes mate Memphis Tennessee, been back since though without any problems, If you drive South you'll come to Clarksdale, Mississippi which was a big attraction for blues music nuts like myself, I believe that they stopped doing organised tours years ago due to the gang culture that is now rife, the motel owner told me do not venture out after dark especially North of the railway crossing, I left town early the following morning.
My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic.
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Dangerous Places. on 14:47 - Nov 9 with 1862 views
The home bar at Ninian Park before Cardiff v QPR eons ago. Three of us Rs - all of us born and bred in south east England - were whisked in there by one of the chaps' father in law, a burly Welshman who had played for the Bluebirds' youth team. It was terrifying, we didn't dare say anything or our accents would have blown our cover. At least it meant the father in law had to get the drinks!
There was a firework display at Watermead in Aylesbury long ago and the fireworks were being launched from a boat in the middle of the lake. An unexploded firework fell out of the sky onto the boat and the bloke organising the display had to abandon ship and jump into the lake.
"Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1."
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Dangerous Places. on 15:31 - Nov 9 with 1809 views
60+ feet high structures made from timber off-cuts with a rope dangling from the top from which you could launch yourself off...where were the HSE in the 70's!?
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Dangerous Places. on 16:17 - Nov 9 with 1697 views
I seem to have avoided too much danger at live events thankfully. Place-wise I worked in the Brownsville part of Brooklyn for 3 years at one point - that was probably the most consistently tricky and certainly had the reputation. Things would kick off most during the summer - a lot of people hitting the substances, turf rivalries, petty squabbles etc. I remember sitting in our shithole of an office one early afternoon and heard gunshots over the blaring of the air conditioner - turned out to be a triple murder - "ok then, early start today..."
On a different day a co-worker saw a guy dropping his gun in the bin across from the police station - not too worried about the crime solving abilities of the local cops obviously.
I must say though, considering how sketchy the place was, I was never made to feel personally threatened, other than an awareness of the crime stats and the general problems all around. It almost felt like I'd either get shot or left alone which I respected - no constant-hassle middle ground like a lot of rough areas in these isles. Not that I ever hung around there after early evening.
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Dangerous Places. on 22:27 - Nov 9 with 1444 views
Driving into and suddenly discovering I had driven into the 'wrong part of town' In Mamphis. (terrifying btw). 1968, the whole of NATO was put on alert due to the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, after being positioned in the feild the sudden realsisation that this could/might turn into an invasion of the West slowly started to sink in, not good times and nobody was joking anymore, just a horrible feeling. Getting out of Oakwell the year they got promoted to the Prem, we battered them on the pitch and their fans were absolute bastards afterwards.
I had a similar experience in Tampa Ted. Missed a turning on the freeway so did what you would do n the UK and went off at the next exit to go back round and on to the freeway back the other way. Except there was no way to get back on and ended up in a neighbourhood that was unsavoury, to say the least.
I was at Monsters of Rock in ‘88 when 2 people were killed in a crush during the Guns n Roses set. Some parts of Cairo and Luxor felt a bit unsafe in 2012. Lots of locals carrying guns to “protect” tourists from terrorist attacks.
Bizarrely one of the worst crowd experiences I ever encountered was in the Palace of Versailles. They completely over-sold the tickets, so it was absolutely packed inside. At one point we were in a large room where the exit was a small door in the corner. People were being crushed up against the wall and my kids were terrified. Actually went and complained that it was obviously overcrowded and people,were getting hurt, but they didn’t give a crap. Told us to go onto their website to write a complaint (all in French, of course). If they had had a fire in that place hundreds would have died.
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Dangerous Places. on 22:54 - Nov 9 with 1409 views
Yes but it went upmarket when I moved out.They demolished our houses to make way for tower blocks,but the same houses close to us are still standing and are now worth a fortune. The new tube line won’t do anything but increase house prices even more.
Did you ever see 'The Secret History of our Streets'? They didn't do one for Battersea but perhaps they should have. Great programme and this one for Deptford was probably my favourite
*Edit - Just watched this and the sound drops out for a couple of minutes just after 20 minute mark.
Went to Washngton D.C. once, we booked a Best Western that looked in a great location a few blocks from the Capitol. We arrived and went for a walk around to get our bearings, turned out the hotel was in the local ghetto area Anacostia.
It had a fairly unique KFC in that the ordering/serving counter was one long perspex wall with turntables to receive your food.
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wrong thread 
