Shopping Trips to Enniskillen

darealtulip

It's probaly more risky to drive a car, more people die of that then this kind of thing.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

I was in Enniskillen just before Christmas and I can confirm - there were no road blocks, low flying helicopters or soilders marching around.


At least not in Asda anyway...

tuppence

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote: »

I was in Enniskillen just before Christmas and I can confirm - there were no road blocks, low flying helicopters or soilders marching around.


At least not in Asda anyway...

No not before xmas. We are reminincing about how it was in the bad old days at the height of the 'troubles'. We are all hoping that with recent events, it wont return there again. Must of that heightened security presence has been thankfully scaled down.
It has been peaceful for so long that some people may forget or havent lived through it before. Bomb scares in shops dont normally lend themselves to happy shopping even in Asda I would have thought.....

In the height of the war I 'd say alot of people of Northern Irealnd would have wished that it was just their road safety stategy to worry about.:(

darealtulip

tuppence wrote: »

In the height of the war I 'd say alot of people of Northern Irealnd would have wished that it was just their road safety stategy to worry about.:(

and this proves my point, Taking part in traffic is by far the most dangerous thing we do in our life. Strangly we still go in the car without a single thought, even when there are fatal accidents every week. I hear no one say "I dont go and drive anymore" but with a terrorist attack people go suddenly scared.

I googled how many people died in the troubles and that came down to 3527 of which 1857 civilians. I coeldnet get the exact figures of how many road deads there where in that period but I got figures from 1954 to 1963 and that's 3020. So in that a lot more civilians in a smaller time frame.

the links:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/h826181106303887/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles

Fact is that more people die in traffic then with anything else so it is a strange thing to get scared about getting killed right now unless ofcourse you're in the british army or a police man.

So yes maybe they should have thought about their road policy aswell.



My neighbours all survived their trip the north this few days.

By no means I'm saying the troubles weren't a serious bad time I just think it's a over reaction not to go to enniskillen because of that.

We are off for a weekend in Belfast and are not th se least cared except maybe for a accident on the way up there.

moral: be happy and shop till you drop!!! (up north!)

bicardi19

darealtulip wrote: »

It's probaly more risky to drive a car, more people die of that then this kind of thing.

Thank god a voice of reason.
Its only enniskillen we are talking about here not iraq. Why dont we start worrying about bombs when they actually start happening.
I grew up in Fermanagh during "the troubles" and am still around to tell the tale.
Living in Ballyconnell in cavan now and go to asda once a week. The shops in Ballyconnell have realised that most people are going to enniskilen for their shopping and have started doing good deals.
They are not as willing to rip people off anymore.

magnumlady

What I meant was it wouldn't stop me from going up there....it didn't before, but it will stop the other people that it stopped before.
I think that when your time is up it's up.

garth-marenghi

With regards to the dangers of driving I think we can all agree that there are too many people killed on the roads on a regular basis. It is for this reason that we make risk assessments and take safety precautions to ensure that we arrive in one piece. You would hope that most people would stay within the speed limits, not drink drive, think twice about driving in poor weather etc. A similiar logic can be applied to the issue of travelling to the North
No one can dispute that the political climate has changed recently. To what extent and how serious it is will only become apparent over a longer period of time. The reality is some people will now make a risk assesment about travelling north due to recent events. I would disagree that it is only security forces that are in danger. What about the pizza delivery guys, people who may be caught up in the crossfire of an assisanation attempt, bystanders who may be injured or killed by a bomb under a policemans car.
No one is arguing that the North has reverted to the levels of violence of the past or is akin to Baghdad. Its just that until the ramifications of the recent attacks become clear and whether the violent campaigns of the RIRA/CIRA continue people will perhaps think twice about travelling to the North and I wouldnt blame them.

bicardi19

oh we not talking about shopping anymore then!!!

darealtulip

garth-marenghi wrote: »

With regards to the dangers of driving I think we can all agree that there are too many people killed on the roads on a regular basis. It is for this reason that we make risk assessments and take safety precautions to ensure that we arrive in one piece. You would hope that most people would stay within the speed limits, not drink drive, think twice about driving in poor weather etc. A similiar logic can be applied to the issue of travelling to the North
No one can dispute that the political climate has changed recently. To what extent and how serious it is will only become apparent over a longer period of time. The reality is some people will now make a risk assesment about travelling north due to recent events. I would disagree that it is only security forces that are in danger. What about the pizza delivery guys, people who may be caught up in the crossfire of an assisanation attempt, bystanders who may be injured or killed by a bomb under a policemans car.
No one is arguing that the North has reverted to the levels of violence of the past or is akin to Baghdad. Its just that until the ramifications of the recent attacks become clear and whether the violent campaigns of the RIRA/CIRA continue people will perhaps think twice about travelling to the North and I wouldnt blame them.

I am not shopping at a army base. Besides that if you would do a risk assesment the figures a gave before proof that even in the highest of the troubles more people die in traffic. Point is if you allow yourself to be scared for every incident you cant do anything. You say you can do a risk assement in traffic?? The most road deaths in Ireland are because of people ending up on the wrong side of the road (for what ever reason) nothing you can do about that with risk assesment.

Most youths die in car accident but that doesnt mean i wont let my son not get his drivers licence. In fact I pay for it and will give him a car!

If you want to scaremonger it's your right to do so but I will not give in to a small incident and no, not even 2.

My point was and is that its not very rational to be scared to go to the north and I didn't want to start a what is worse discussion.

Up to enniskillen tomorrow and will keep going.

Can we go back on topic now??

garth-marenghi

darealtulip wrote: »

I am not shopping at a army base. Besides that if you would do a risk assesment the figures a gave before proof that even in the highest of the troubles more people die in traffic. Point is if you allow yourself to be scared for every incident you cant do anything. You say you can do a risk assement in traffic?? The most road deaths in Ireland are because of people ending up on the wrong side of the road (for what ever reason) nothing you can do about that with risk assesment.

Most youths die in car accident but that doesnt mean i wont let my son not get his drivers licence. In fact I pay for it and will give him a car!

If you want to scaremonger it's your right to do so but I will not give in to a small incident and no, not even 2.

My point was and is that its not very rational to be scared to go to the north and I didn't want to start a what is worse discussion.

Up to enniskillen tomorrow and will keep going.

Can we go back on topic now??

People who were caught up in the Omagh,Enniskillen,and Shankhill attacks were not shopping at an army base either. In my post I didnt make an argument stating that there have been more fatalities in the North when compared to road traffic accidents. I used the issue of road safety as an analogy i.e There are certain preventative things people can do that reduce risks in any situations. It might be puttting your seatbelt on in a car, wearing protective clothing in a factory etc etc.
I am not trying to scaremonger as you say. I am trying to understand why a number of people (not just me) would have some concerns (however alarmist they may seem to some people) in light of current events. It is not a matter of "giving in". In my opinion its about waiting to see whether the current situation improves or worsens.
I would have thought we are on topic as it relates to safety issues concerning travelling to eniskillen for shopping but that is for the mods to decide.

darealtulip

and I said that that is not very rational and if you dont scaremonger your falling for it since nothing happend to indicate that shopping in enniskillen is anymore dangerous then last week. So being scared to go IMO is definitly giving in!

And I dont think it's relevant to shopping in enniskillen at all. The only relevant thing is how rational you are and if you are you just go and shop there without a bother in the world.

And I dont see the reference to what happend in Omagh,Enniskillen,and Shankhill has to do with any of the recent events. There has been no bomb at all and it's too much credit to the people that did this. It were to incidents not even close to enniskillen! Did you not go into sligo when that guy got shot in the middle of the day in the middle of town? same thing only different motives.

Be scared as much as you like but dont try to tell me there is a rational reason to it.

tuppence

Enniskillin is a great place, thats why I visit there. Thankfully it has been a very safe place now too compared to times gone by. We are all hoping I wolud like to think, that the situation in Northern Ireland doesnt escalate. What I referred to was that I wondered whether people already will think twice before going up shopping now that the climate has changed. Some people including myself probably will adopt a wait and see approach.

People have had to be resilient and live in war torn places, though emigration abroad and down to the Republic during those times was high in the height of the war, the economy was in a bad way hence it got subsidised. Its just getting up on its feet now. (the shoppers from here helping too)

I grew up in Sligo and used to visit Enniskillin every Good Friday shopping with my family. (three teenage girls and parents) One evening in Belcoo, Fermanagh on the way back we got caught in a sniper attack on a RUC regiment. Werent doing anything just in the wrong place at the wrong time coming out of a pub. We were very lucky but it was a near miss, (thankfully the RUC was not badly injured in that incident) I am sure there may be a few people with anedotal stories like this. They too may being cautious about travelling at this time until the dust settles, as well as having empathy for our neighbours and relatives in Northern Ireland.

It didnt effect me going back (after a bit of a lull). I suppose what I am triyng to say that in times of war there can be civilian casualties. Also saying that if you do something enough, you can be unfortunate. Just hoping again that it doesnt slip back to the way it was. And nobody knows where there are pockets of the RIRA and how mobilised they are in the different counties. Its a bit of a lottery at the moment.

Last week I went to Enniskillin, but because of the events that have happened subsequently I will think twice and adopt a wait and see approach. This is not scare mongering, I am not tring to bring people along in my opinion. Its making a level headed informed decesion. Its anyones choice surely to do this, without prejudice....i would have thought. People are free to have a differing opinion and to travel, or not if they wish to.



Hey Bicardi 19 thats good news about the shops in Ballyconnell. Its a bit too far of a drive for me at the moment though! But keep us posted.

darealtulip

it is entirely up to anyone to go or not, the point is (again) it is not rational. I dont see a parallel with the past since there is only a little to no support for these incidents.

Not going is giving them what they want, and indeed it totaly up to yourself what you do. I'm not saying you should just saying it's not rational.

I was twice in a night club in Rotterdam when people started to shoot, still went out again. Not saying it's the same as the troubles but I don't want to live in fear for what might happen.

Your question if people are resilient to go: No I will keep going.

Did everybody see the sterling?? It's getting better and better for us again!

garth-marenghi

There has been no bomb at all and it's too much credit to the people that did this. It were to incidents not even close to enniskillen! Did you not go into sligo when that guy got shot in the middle of the day in the middle of town? same thing only different motives.

Be scared as much as you like but dont try to tell me there is a rational reason to it.

[/QUOTE] Dareatulip




It was the RIRA who carried out the Omagh bomb. They may be less of a threat than the PIRA was but are still an organisation with the will and potential to derail the peace process.
What relevance has the distance to Enniskillen have. I would say most people on here ( i would hope!) are not privy to the inner workings and decision making of the RIRA army council and where they wish to target. I am not trying to scaremonger or say there will be another attack. Like in my previous post I am just saying that some people will put off travelling to the North until the ramifications of the attacks are clearer. I would say that is not scaremongering, giving in, or been scared its adopting a rational policy of "wait and see".
Yes i did go into Sligo town. That was an isolated incident related to some kind of dispute. If the people who carried out that attack were to carry out similiar attacks on a regular basis then perhaps I wouldnt.

I dont think we are ever going to agree on this. My primary point is that i am trying to understand and put across some of the reasons why people may think twice about travelling to Enniskillen to shop. You obviously have no issues with travelling and I totally respect that point of view. It is however unfair to label people as scared and irrational because they have exercised an opinion that is contrary to ones own.

darealtulip

You're missing the point. The point is that it is a irrational process of thinking. To go back to the road dangers example it is a fact that you are in more danger there than in enniskillen. To put it in perspective I even provided the data. This makes the thought process of not going to enniskillen because of an incident irrational. The same fear or what ever you may call it as for flying, this can in actual fact can happen but it's not likely, so it's exactly the same. Even in the hight of the troubles when most people got killed by bomb etc. road accidents killed more people. Even while knowing this people still choose to drive and even buy cars that are less safe then others.

So to put things in perspective your more likely to get killed on the way to enniskillen in a road accident then by a terrorist attack in enniskillen. This is risk assesment.

And is spreading fear not the main objective of terrorism? So how is it not giving in when you fear for your safety.

I probably used the word scared wrongly and should have said fear (but I dont know the real difference between the two)

And no we dont agree and thats fine but again dont try to tell me it is a rational thought process because it's not. Your feeling might be real but the fear or the decission not to go and see what's happening is in fact not rational at all.

Again I'm not trying to confince you or anyone to do anything they dont want to do. All I'm saying it's not rational, even with all the history involved.

And now there are people getting united by this instead of divided, so I have hope.

I thought you and tuppence were expressing more a feeling than a opinion. Thinking you're not save somewhere is a feeling not an opinion.

And by the way there were more shootings etc in sligo seamingly by the same family. So how come you can put that one in perspective but when there are political motives not?

And hey the sterling is even lower!!!

jimmmy

darealtulip wrote: »

And hey the sterling is even lower!!!

Only downside is that shops are closing in Sligo / unemployment is going up / the UK government is getting the vat and income tax etc instead of our government.

darealtulip

jimmmy wrote: »

Only downside is that shops are closing in Sligo / unemployment is going up / the UK government is getting the vat and income tax etc instead of our government.

I agree but you see shop around the border already lowering their prices. Which is a result of people buying up north. Saying that we had some good bargains lately in sligo town. And the sterlng won't stay down for ever.

But you are absolutly right but I hope it's for the best in the long run. A lot of things were over priced like electronics, stoves, shower units and car parts. This are just thing I happen to know because I was looking for them.

I think we all want to shop localy really. It's maddness that it makes economic sence to travel for two hours to do your shopping!

Hey we agree again!!;)

hammer1

If the shopkeepers think about putting all their prices down because of us heading over to enniskillen then our cross border shopping will not only benefit us now, but in the future for the country as well, in a roundabout way, bringing down the mad prices here.

darealtulip

hammer1 wrote: »

If the shopkeepers think about putting all their prices down because of us heading over to enniskillen then our cross border shopping will not only benefit us now, but in the future for the country as well, in a roundabout way, bringing down the mad prices here.

+1 there are some really big savings to make and the savings are bigger then the VAT rate or cost from staff. A showerdoor I ordered was 50% cheaper and my telly was a whopping €400 cheaper.

tuppence

darealtulip wrote: »

So to put things in perspective your more likely to get killed on the way to enniskillen in a road accident then by a terrorist attack in enniskillen. This is risk assesment.

You admit theirs risks associated to driving to Enniskillin, You admit there were risks associated with being in Enniskillin in the height of the war. By exposing oneself to both, isnt that just piling on the risk. What does it matter, which one statistically is going to get you faster. i suppose if you got to go you gotta go! (You could always try driving to Enniskiillen in the height of an electrical storm on Friday 13th!)

Joking aside at least people have a choice whether or not they wish to go to Enniskillin and long may that last. (without prejudice ) Driving in rural Ireland is not a lifestyle choice as you imply, it is a necessity in the most part. There is no public transport that can get people from A to B. So people are dependant on taking the calculated risk of driving. (By the way for up to date stats on road safety in case you are interested for again: http://www.rsa.ie/NEWS/News/2008_Safest_Year_on_Record.html)

However, we have local shops albeit that they are somewaht more expensive. If people make a choice to go elsewhere and that will have a knock on effect on the local economy.
Saying that it appears that Asda has it own problems as there has been demonstrations from local tradespeople in Enniskillin about them. That is of course along with by all accounts their already poor track record of staff relations, and manipulation of suppliers from developing countries.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2005/oct/17/politics.supermarkets
I am conscious that this will open up an even bigger debate on ethical shopping, and I am aware that we all cant put our money were our mouths are all the time.
So whats the price of eggs in sterling then!:D

darealtulip

tuppence wrote: »

You admit theirs risks associated to driving to Enniskillin, You admit there were risks associated with being in Enniskillin in the height of the war. By exposing oneself to both, isnt that just piling on the risk. What does it matter, which one statistically is going to get you faster. i suppose if you got to go you gotta go! (You could always try driving to Enniskiillen in the height of an electrical storm on Friday 13th!)

LOL. I totaly agree with you on that one!

In conection to the shops, the spar and mace etc are multinationals, hardley the poor wee corner shop who has to charge more. Besides that by keep supporting your local rip off you keep high prices going. By going somewhere else you make them lower their prices. My advice is shop around!

Irish retailers are the only one in europe to higher their prices in the past 6 months!!

ps where did I imply that driving was or was not a choice in rural ireland or anywhere else? I'm the first to go by car anywhere and dont do public transport if I can help it! It is how ever a choice when and how much you use a car and you have a choice to buy a car with or without abs for instance. But that was not the point at all, and if I did, I did it without knowing!;)

bobcar61

Did anyone see in the Sligo Weekender that the Recession Bus company have gotten 0 bookings for their trips to Enniskillen,not looking like a great success.

darealtulip

bobcar61 wrote: »

Did anyone see in the Sligo Weekender that the Recession Bus company have gotten 0 bookings for their trips to Enniskillen,not looking like a great success.

didnt think they would, going by car is cheaper and easier. You need to do some great saving to get your money back aswell. Monday was unreal, it took an hour to get off the asda parking! we already did our shopping during the week thankfully. nothing but ROI number plates I heard from my mate who was stupid enough to go!:D We learned our lesson the last bank holiday!

Squidgie

the bus is now starting in Ballaghadereen, Charlestown, Tobercurry, etc. & Sligo for €20

bobcar61

Michelle007,

No need to post the same post three times.I see you have posted in the Galway City and County forums,that's the more appropriate forum. It doesn't have anything to do with Sligo so unlikely to get a response.

bobcar61

charlie22 wrote: »

'Borderbus' All I have is a no. xxxxxxxxx. Sean is the guys name

Did you read the charter Charlie?
I did a check on you and I'm nearly you're michelle007 from earlier and were banned for spamming.

madmoe

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Spotted in the Weekender.

www.recessionbustours.ie

The coach leaves here at 8am to be in Asda, Enniskillen for 9.30am, they take your trolley/s and pack them up (bliss) and deliver them to your door in Sligo (double bliss) shortly after the bus gets back to town at 2pmish.

e20 all in.

The service starts Saturday the 7th.

I shall be partaking, have a mid year school-uniform crisis, so worth it for the savings on that alone.

Hi all,
A word of warning about http://www.recessionbustours.ie/, they are a complete shower of idiots and I hope you do not have the mis fortunate I did in getting mixed up with them.

I ordered a piece of furniture in Argos in the North and wanted them to deliver it to me in Dublin. Firstly, I contacted them through the contact form on their website and asked how much it would be to get said item of furniture delivered to Dublin and I was told no more then €40. I sent them the exact link from the Argos website so they had dimensions, weight etc. Delivery day came and I was then told I had to pay €60 by another person, apparently the guy that runs the show even though I had the e-mail that said €40.
Apparently there are a number of people involved and differnt prices are given out....first warning sign!!

He arrived on his own with a van and my piece of living room furnitire in it, I had though he would at least have had one helper as the unit was big and in tow pieces )second warning sign). With no one else in sight I had to help him bring it into my place only to discover the top part of the unit was badly damaged?? Anyhow, Argos got the blame and he agreed to take the unit back up to the North with him.

Next day I called Argos and in fairness to them they agreed to send out a replacement no questions asked. So the delivery date for the replacement is set to the following week and they will pick up the damaged top half of the unit and replace with a new one. I called yer fella and told him the deal, he re-assured me that he would be back down to deliver the replacement unit the next day after it was delivered and that he would call me beforehand.

I waited, and waited and once again waited..... and with no word from him (not even that call he promised), I decided to call. Turns out Argos came, something magical happened and once again the unit was damaged.....He was unable to tell me who signed for the unit?? There is no way in hell that Argos would come to replace a unit with a damaged one and no way they would leave the new unit without it being signed for so all I can assume is one of his incompetent staff damaged it again if in fact that is the real story??

The moral of it all is that I would never ever use these shower again and would be worried for anyone else that would, especially when it comes to furniture. I have no idea what they are like with delivering anything else but I can sure as hell tell you I won't be finding out!!

Sorry to rave but you know it does good to get these things off one's chest!!

Cheers,
M

starbelgrade

I was in Asda at the weekend - first time ever.. stopped off on the way back from Belfast. Some of the booze is definitely cheaper, but only some of it... got some really cheap paper for the printer, but besides that, I didn't see much of a difference at all. At least on the foodstuffs I usually buy.