St Pancras = St Patricks

[berneyarms]

I wasn't talking about "Ireland or elsewhere", indeed let me quote the post you got so upset over.

Given this was in a thread (this thread) about a TOC located in England I'd have thought that it was pretty clear I wasn't talking about "Ireland or elsewhere". There are also other clues, such as my login name (nottsnurse, 'notts' = Nottinghamshire and 'nurse'...err...Nurse) and that I refer to extra admissions to the Intensive Care Unit I work on (clue, it might be in the East Midlands of England).

For avoidance of doubt though, my comments regarding St Patrick's Day are specific to the UK-version, not the of "Ireland or elsewhere.

Interestingly I managed to have a quick look at the ICNARC (Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre) stats*, regarding admissions on the jolly old 17th March into the early hours of the 18th. I'm sure you'd be shocked to know that 'ETOH' (relating to consumed alcohol) is by far the most common reason for admission on those dates, going back as far as the records available show.

(*Sadly these are the 'pure' stats that are not generally accessible to the public, otherwise I'd post a link.)

It is still not representative of the majority of people celebrating St Patrick's Day in the UK - that's my point and it annoys the hell out of me as a proud Irishman when people try and tell me that the majority of people do go out and get hammered in doing so. They don't.

What you're describing is still a minority of people. Sure there will always be people who drink to excess and let's be honest that's a fact of life in the UK for all sorts of reasons, but to suggest that it is the majority of people celebrating St Patrick's Day as your post did is fundamentally wrong.

 

[nottsnurse]

It is still not representative of the majority of people celebrating St Patrick's Day in the UK...

Can you point out where I said it was representative of the majority?

It seems that you're a "proud Irishman" looking to be offended rather than reading what is written.

 

[berneyarms]

Can you point out where I said it was representative of the majority?

It seems that you're a "proud Irishman" looking to be offended rather than reading what is written.

Oh come on. It was pretty much implied by your comment,

"It's been little more than excuse for many to drink to even more excess than usual for years, with all the negatives extremely drunk and loud people bring with them. Should public bodies be tripping over themselves to be associated with this celebration of drunkenness?"

Particularly the last few words of the final sentence.

 

[gazthomas]

As a Welshman I find the whole commercialism a bit tedious - we've never marketed St. David as well as the Irish have marketed St. Patrick, who was a Welshman!

 

[berneyarms]

As a Welshman I find the whole commercialism a bit tedious - we've never marketed St. David as well as the Irish have marketed St. Patrick, who was a Welshman!

To be fair the Irish government some time ago recognised that we had a unique chance to sell the country to the world, using our national day, and taking advantage of the fact that the Irish diaspora is spread all over the world.

These days the occasion is primarily taken by the Irish Tourist Board to sell Ireland as a tourist destination, which is why you've seen many global structures lit up in green as a way of promoting the country. At the same time virtually every Irish government minister is sent to different locations across the globe to promote Ireland as a location to do business and to visit. Indeed the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) has a standing invitation every year to meet with the US President, Vice President and the senior US politicians around St Patrick's Day to discuss US policy with regard to Ireland - that's fairly unique.

Here's the list of locations that Tourism Ireland have managed to turn green in 2018:
https://www.tourismireland.com/Pres...ism-Ireland-announces-Global-Greening-line-up

So there is a lot more to St Patrick's Day than some of you seem to think. It's an opportunity for a relatively small country like Ireland to punch way above its weight.

 

[THC]

So there is a lot more to St Patrick's Day than some of you seem to think. It's an opportunity for a relatively small country like Ireland to punch way above its weight.

Great post. Seconded.

THC

 

[Alteran Ancient]

St Patrick's Day might not have the same reputation as New Year, but it still seems to be used as a justification by some to go "on the piss" with little regard for others. The police tape opposite my house on the Sunday morning just gone is testament to that.

This has been a rather... heated topic, to say the least. I apologise for my own part in this - and hope that my somewhat sweeping statement earlier today didn't overly offend.

This has veered wildly away from the railway, so I'm going to bow out of this one for now.

 

[theironroad]

Only on railforums could so many mountains have been made out of so few molehills.

 

[bb21]

It's a point of principle. The passenger information screens are there to direct passengers and it's fundamentally important they always display the correct information.

That is why I remain unconvinced by it too, but willing to keep an open mind. I have historically been of the opinion that CIS boards should not be messed with in principle. Station name boards are more fair game but need to be used responsibly.

It isn't about how many people will be inconvenienced/confused, but having it in mind the needs of those who would require the most assistance and/or are most easily inconvenienced/confused, and trying to accommodate as many customers' needs as possible while having fun, but the former must come first.

If I was a duty controller and an information controller asked me if they could rename St Pancras to St Patrick's, I'd say "hmm, no, but that's a nice idea though - can we do something else maybe, to mark the occasion?"

"Why not put 10:24 St Pancras (St Patrick's Express) on the board?"

 

[DavidGrain]

Surely it is down to the question Are departure boards to give information to passengers or for railway staff to fool about? Seriously the person who did this should be facing a disciplinary.

 

[Bromley boy]

Surely it is down to the question Are departure boards to give information to passengers or for railway staff to fool about? Seriously the person who did this should be facing a disciplinary.

Bit of a silly comment.

This would have been an official instruction, not someone “fooling about”. Why would someone be disciplined for doing their job as instructed?

 

[lewisf]

Surely it is down to the question Are departure boards to give information to passengers or for railway staff to fool about? Seriously the person who did this should be facing a disciplinary.

You should have seen how nuts SWT went with their boards on Valentine’s Day and Christmas a couple of years ago.

 

[dubscottie]

Oh come on. It was pretty much implied by your comment,

"It's been little more than excuse for many to drink to even more excess than usual for years, with all the negatives extremely drunk and loud people bring with them. Should public bodies be tripping over themselves to be associated with this celebration of drunkenness?"

Particularly the last few words of the final sentence.

As someone from Dublin also, this "everyone gets hammered" thing is b****x.

Unless they are getting mixed up with Arthurs
Day that was a piss up, and abandoned after the cost to the DFB/HSE was known and Guinness was asked to stump a few €€ to pay for the effects of a promotion.

 

[Harbornite]

Only on railforums could so many mountains have been made out of so few molehills.

Absolutely, a further case in point being the following comment...

Seriously the person who did this should be facing a disciplinary.

 

[BucksBones]

Oh God, not this again! Surely this subject has run its course?

 

[Clip]

These always cause a mass outpouring on here whenever these little things are done but i can confirm that the scrolling bit of the PIS i saw showed the destination of St Pancras as the last station so it done its job in my eyes and wasnt confusing. Shame the OP couldnt have taken a pic of it at the end there to show this

 

[CentralTrainer]

I’ve been to Birmingham a few times. What an absolutey horrendous sh*thole it is.

I will never go back if I can possibly avoid it.

Had the misfortune to be stuck in Bromley one afternoon - made Sittingbourne look like a cultural metropolis of note

 

[Bromley boy]

Had the misfortune to be stuck in Bromley one afternoon - made Sittingbourne look like a cultural metropolis of note

You’re not wrong there, the area around Bromley south is particularly bad. The Bromley north area is a lot nicer, however.

If you want somewhere that’s guaranteed to be worse than all of the above, try Gillingham.

 

[Harbornite]

The thread must have run its course by now. Unusually, there's been no stories in the news of foreign passengers being stranded or getting lost due to the temporary name change. Funny that.

 

[AlterEgo]

The thread must have run its course by now. Unusually, there's been no stories in the news of foreign passengers being stranded or getting lost due to the temporary name change. Funny that.

Yeah, conclusive (!)

 

[Dougal2345]

If you want somewhere that’s guaranteed to be worse than all of the above, try Gillingham.

Would that be (Kent) or (Dorset)?