A news story reflecting the joys of wearing an expensive watch in London these days https://www.standard.co.uk/news/cri...-knifed-financier-for-75k-watch-a3935911.html

 

Two attacks? Sounds like he was being specifically targeted.

 

Maybe or maybe not. If you hang around Knightsbridge in a Bentley or Range Rover I'd say you are a full time target the way things are going in London these days.

 

London is suffering a prolonged and increasingly violent period of mugggings and general nefarious behaviour The home Secretary, stopped the police Stop and Search powers. Now, every scrote ( translates to punk for our American cousins) can carry knives, bottles of acid, guns etc with impunity. There have been multiple serious assaults and murders involving people being robbed of their high end watches. Entirely coincidentally , Mrs My advice? If you’re travelling in London, don’t wear a watch unless it’s a cheap Casio! It really is that bad :-( I was a police officer in London in the 90s and it was bad enough then. Mates who are still in or recently retired only confirm this utterly ridiculous and very scary state of affairs. The current weapon of choice is the aforementioned bottle of acid sprayed into the face and specifically aimed at the eyes of any unfortunate target of these feral, cowardly c***s. Apologies for the c word but that’s nowhere near strong enough an adjective for them.

 

I have a friend who lives in Ealing and he is desperate to get out of London now. He's lived there all his life but he's sick of it now for the reasons mentioned above and more beside.

 

Sounded more like a statement of fact than a political statement

 

Exactly! It was aimed at the “personal safety advice” side of the debate. Personally, I’d appreciate being given a heads up about the dangers before I visited? As Mr Blond says above, everything in my previous post is just a statement of fact that’s entirely checkable with a quick Google search. No offence intended but I stand (Well, sit in my case !) by my post. Feel free to PM me if I have infringed any forum rules but I was under the impression that genuine opinion was encouraged here? I look forward to hearing back from you.

Kind regards,

Steve

 

No problem here at all.

 

Bernie again?

 

As with anything anywhere, not just London, it is prudent to avoid ostentatious displays of valuables, such as a £75K PP watch

I do feel sorry for the victim, and I’m certainly not blaming him, but in any big city, and I don’t live far from where this occurred, we all do our best to minimise risk and try to remain alert to it.

Sorry if I sound too sanctimonious

 

Not sanctimonious at all mate, just sensible

 

i was hoping to visit london soon for vacation with one of my watches. but after seeing this, i may reconsider when it comes time

 

I agree I feel sorry for the victim... unless it was Bernie again... he mugged too many whole cities for me to care... (note this is not US politics but the former owner of F1)

 

Just bring the usual trio you might take on any holiday

 

We went to London and Paris recently for for my wife's birthday. There have been a slew of stories in the press - helpfully linked to by Drudge - of knife and acid attacks in London, so I was pretty wary and left my Omegas at home. There was a story the week before we left of a little girl blinded by an acid attack by some thugs in a supermarket. I definitely had my guard up when we were there. We stayed in a pretty nice area (Regent Street) but I was still nervous and aware of my surroundings with my wife and son in tow.

That is some bad luck for the victim in the story in the original post. Attacked twice in a span of 6 months? He was either targeted personally or his cars drew a lot of attention. The Bentley I could see but Range Rovers are everywhere in and around central London.

 

I may be a bit jaded with the place after 40 years but there are so many nicer and safer places to visit in the Uk, one of the reasons I moved to Ireland. What a place! Lots of rain mind you but a price worth paying for the people and the scenery I’m glad you had a safe trip though I loved Paris too but it has its own share of problems, like many big cities I guess.

 

I think you are all spending to much time reading the tabloids. Don't believe the hype.
I have lived in Central London for most of my life and I am yet to be mugged or sprayed with acid. I feel safe wearing my watches, although they aren't diamond encrusted or huge golden beasts.
My area(around King Cross has never been safer or nicer. Lots of urban regeneration and new shops and markets. For some reason there is a large part of the media dedicated to making people afraid of the unfamiliar. I think it helps control the masses.

 

Violent crime is extremely infrequent in London compared to other cities, and falling.

 

I should probably stop holding meets in London for all those watch collectors and their watches.