General Discussion
I'm new to the area and I think that this website and these forums are an excellent community resource. I wondered if the boards are moderated? If so please could the moderator step and remove posts that are clearly attempting to incite racial hated and disrepect for others. It's very offputting for people new to the area, or wishing to visit, to see so many posts of people banging on about benefit srcoungers and how corporal punishment was good for them. It's making Dawlish look like a place full of miserable resentful people who have nothing better to do than enjoy being outraged and tutting about things. I hope my new neighbours are nicer than this.
As you say you are new to the area. If the people on dawlish.com wish to discuss something and it is not breaking the law so be it. Sadly the right to freedom of speech has been eroded greatly over the decades and as such people are less able to express their feelings as openly as they would like to. This does not make these people miserable, resentful people who have nothing better to do. I think it's you who needs to take a step back, rather than charging around like a bull in a china shop.
But surely there's nothing constructive or helpful being said in many of these posts. Nothing relevant to Dawlish in particular. You could go join forums discussing 'the awful state of multi-cultural Britain' elsewhere and leave these forums for things that are helopful for local people and visitors.
I may be 'charing around like a bull in a china shop' but I honestly want to grow to love Dawlish, and raise my children here. I want the area to be seen in a good light by others. Visiting these forums makes me feel sick that if my skin was a different colour or I spoke another language or needed to claim benefits that I would be looked down on so serverely.
I came to these forums looking for a local knitting group or wanting to set one up but half of the posts are terrifying in their nasty sentiments.
I'm not saying that everyone in Dawlish is horrid and miserable, only that from reading this forum it comes accross like an unwelcoming place.
I did look around for another forum to try to find/start a knitting group and look for things to do with my toddler but I couldn't find any other forums. So I honestly thought this forum could be tidied up a bit and used as a community notice board rather than an airing ground for people's narrow minded views. I'm genuinely asking for a moderator to sort this out. It's not appropiate to leave this the way it is as everyone who googles Dawlish will link the pretty area with a bunch miserable idiots.
Its a pretty town but the people let it down by not being forward thinking, certainly dont welcome new people. Glad I got out!
Try the knitting shops in Newton Abbot near ths station they would help. Bigger towns have more going on.
@smella, if there is a post you are not happy with you can report it and the webmaster is very quick at responding. i don't agree with a number of the posters on here but i wouldn't stop them airing their views as long as they remain within the law and are respectful to other people after all this is a discussion forum not an advert for dawlish.
I'm afraid some people who move into Dawlish have a distinct view of what they think the people who live here are like and what should happen in the area. A bit more respect towards people who have lived here a number of years would be appreciated.
If you're looking for information regarding Dawlish and what's going on try Facebook's Eye of Dawlish and Teignmouth Oracle.
Well Smella , perhaps your name gives the game away. I have lived here for almost three years and have found the people here very warm and welcoming.
Drivers are more polite and shopkeepers are helpful. Go to the pub and integrate, you'll soon find friends.
Thank you for some nice balanced and helpful replies. I might have been a bit hasty in my distressed posts! I've always lived in and around London (very diverse!) and I love inclusive and accepting attitudes.
I'll have a more through look for local groups on facebook. And I'll definately visit some of the knitting shops nearby, thank you!
I'll just use the reporting buttons in the future as generally this forum looks very helpful and I would like to be able to use it lots. I do want to join in with the community. I think elvis presley is very insightful there seeing that I'm just worried about making new friends in a new area! As for my username, it looks like me and OLD FART should be best buddies!
BTW: I think this thread should be deleted along with some of the others, it just adds clutter and negativity that doesn't help anyone.
@smella, if you go to the events section you might be surprised at what Dawlish has to offer.
I also lived and worked in London for many decades and when I came to Dawlish I needed time to relax from living in a big city environment. When I first arrived I saw kids by the brook throwing things at the swans, in london it would have been bricks, down here it was bread. Another time I saw a vehicle slowly moving and keeping pace with a pedestrian and the pedestrian looked like he was having a go at the drive, no it was just two people having a chat, just a lit loud. I has taken me several years to aclimatize myself to what is very much a lovely little town in a sleepy valley by the sea.
I moved here from London to get away from the issues caused by certain topics you discussed earlier. Am I a racist to want to live a peaceful way of life with what I see as my type of people?
Thank you ZIGGY, I'm really looking forward to joining in and meeting people. The town is beautiful and I'm so pleased to be living somewhere so pretty with great resources such as the museum, theatre, leisure centre, library etc. I'm sure I'll love it in Dawlish and the welcoming people too!
I didn't mean to get off to a bad start on this forum. I just feel that this valubale resource should be used well to benefit everyone. I know that it's a discussion forum and not an advert for the area but I did find some of the threads very pointless and quite upsetting. People interested in Dawlish will find this site right away. If people are sharing articles criticing Islam (for example) as though they are of particular interest to the people of Dawlish, then it is a concern for me. I think that it is the people who post these silly threads that are disrespecting the people of Dawlish.
Just because people live in Dawlish it doesn't mean they have no interest in what goes on the rest of the country, or the world in general. This is a discussion forum, if you don't like the content I suggest you stick to the knitting pattern forums.
@burneside it's only because i want to consider myself a proud part of dawlish that i'm speaking up about the way this forum is used and the impression that it gives others.
@smella - welcome, this is a lovely part of the world and I hope you settle in well. Don't worry, not everyone is parochial 
. As mentioned above, if you're on Facebook you might find Eyes of Dawlish more helpful.
smella If this forum only had as you request things appertaining to Dawlish it would be empty very little happens hear and thats how most folk like it. It has been said that we are a bit behind the times but mostly we are country folk who dont want the diversity of London OLD FART put it very well i to want to live with my type of people and long may it last.
Smella, this forum is like having a chat in the pub. Topics come up some agree some voice their own opinions that's the way it is... If you were to go on other local forums up and down the country you would see the same discussions going on. Some of us like to spill their guts like me, some just put a one liner response. It's about community. As this forum knows I'm not happy here for many reasons, but i respect other people's opinions. It was my choice to move here and i have no one to blame but myself.
It would also seem to me that you just can't relate as to what some of us OLD FARTS went through growing up. You can move anywhere you want to it's a free country ( or is it ). Yes it was me that talked about corporal punisment in school growing up. Just get on with your life and do whatever you wish.
Ps What gives you the right to demand ANY thread get deleted !
@Mcjrpc thank you very much! i had to look up the word 'parochial' as i'd never heard it before, it does sum up my worries! i've found and joined the eyes of dawlish group on facebook. i think that group will be more helpful for me. i haven't wanted to upset the users of this group.
Welcome to Dawlish smella.
You said "It's making Dawlish look like a place full of miserable resentful people who have nothing better to do than enjoy being outraged and tutting about things. I hope my new neighbours are nicer than this."
I guess those miserable resentful people are likely to use this forum to express their feelings. Most of us just get on with life without feeling the need to come on here and whinge. But asking for moderator action is not welcome: as many people have said above, this is a free forum where freedom of speech still rules, I hope.
I dont think the posts should be removed ..they give people away from the area a good clear representation of what the kind of people are like living in the town, I bet estate agents trying to sell properties wish thus forum was not here lol...
I think that many of these posts should be removed as soon as they appear. I don't think it's censorship. I understand that this is a community board for discussions. It is not like a chat in the pub. These posts stay here for anyone to read. If someone in the pub said something along the lines of disliking people who aren't born in England I'd probably ignore the person and pity them. But if they post these things on a forum that, whether you like it or not, will be judged as representing the area, it's a different matter.
Some of these posts reflect poorly on Dawlish and can cause upset or put people off moving here or visiting. Some of these posts are completely irrelevant to Dawlish in general. I would not start posts saying 'look at this knitting pattern' on a board that is for the Dawlish community. So why should I have to see 'look at this hateful article about immigration'? It's a subject that is not of interest to me and I also find it disrepectful.
May I respectfully suggest that if you dont like it on here , that you remove yourself, nobody forced you to come on here. If something doesnt interest me I dont participate. And as Ive mentioned before this is the www and anybody from anywhere can post on here, not necessarily from Dawlish
Smella ..if you go to under your original thread and hit delete I assume all following will be removed., I have a feeling you have made a decision on Dawlish!
This is a general discussion board, open to all subjects, it is not specific to Dawlish town or events (try Eyes of Dawlish for that). You are being somewhat arrogant in trying to impose your values on this forum, and close down any discussion which is not to your liking.
@smella. (and anyone else who may be interested)
As you are into knitting, you may be interested in visiting the Craft Fair upstairs at the Royal British Legion in Park Road
tomorrow, Saturday 30th, 11am -4pm ish.
I believe that there will be greetings cards (home made and professionally printed) for sale, artists materials, canvases, software to assist you in making your own cards, and many other items.
Well worth a look.
in my opinion this forum should be used like a notice board and to discuss local issues. i don't want to have to trawl through hate and misery just to find out what's happening in my area. i don't want to have to ban my kids from using their town's local website because i'm concerned that it's full of unmoderated racism dressed up as 'concern for tradition' or whatever. i hope that @wondering is wrong about dawlish.
then just stick to the Events,News,Societies,Services section or go on Eyes of Dawlish, Teignmouth Oracle, Starcross News, Spotted Dawlish,Spotted Teignmouth all on FB
There are other areas of this website that act a noticeboard, such as the Events tab for example, there really is no need to enter the general discussion area if it troubles you so.
Smella, you made a reasonable observation and got flamed for it with the lowest common denominator argument of 'if you don't like it you know where to go'. It's on a par with 'freedom of speech means I can say what I like'. If this site isn't properly moderated it will become increasingly irrelevant, which is a shame. If you have the stomach for it, stick around, even if it's only to be a thorn in the side of the bigotry.
smella unfortunately you are predictably someone who has decided to come and live in a new area and decided that YOUR values and YOUR opinions are the only ones that count and that how YOU want Dawlish to be is the way it should be. Well we've got news for you, Dawlish does not belong to any one person, it is a town made up of thousands of diverse people from different parts of the country, as well as plenty from families who have been here for many generations. It is full of diverse opinions and values and many of those are expressed on here. Just because YOU want a nice polite totally bland notice board does NOT mean you have the right to come on here and demand one. If you want to create one then feel free, nothing to stop you creating your very own forum/noticeboard on the subjects that interest you. And as others have said, if you don't like what you read on here then don't read it. You coming on here and stamping your feet making demands isn't going to endear you to anyone. Absolutely no better way to put people's backs up.
thank you @Mcjrpc! i haven't meant to cause such an arguement and i do understand that i have come accross a bit strongly. i honestly didn't notice the reporting buttons to use to report posts to moderators but i will use these in future. i don't want to be driven away from using the site. i understand that discussion is good and healthy. i understand that people will have different views to mine and i can accept that. i still object the content of some of these threads but i will use the appropriate channels in future.
After reading through this forum post, I can only say that you are one of the minority of people in this country who shout Racist at the most trivial of matters.
You sound like the footballer Rio Ferdinand, who apart from being black (will I be called a racist for using that word?) is one of the most racist players in that game.
My advise is forget where you came from and settle down into the west country way of life and live the life that how it used to be, long before the PC brigade and H&S exec RUINED this country, and stopped people from saying what they feel.
Oh, and BTW, we are NOT racist, we just like to have a good bit of banter, but only needs one, yes, just one person to completely spoil it for all by playing the Racist card.
Hope you eventually enjoy living here and realise that we ALL get on with each other.
@Carer - you read those posts as banter then? They weren't, they were racist. Any more and I'll pass them on to the police, they can decide. I'm that serious about it.
Oh dear look at this British Yank shaking 
and i have no problem people calling me that, so there I'm not going to play anymore. If my Dad was alive i would tell my Dad about you!
Proud to be English.
Oops, flying the cross of St George in my own country.
Does that make me a racist and NON PC as I might offend someone?
No, not all, but possibly very stupid if you can't distinguish between patriotism and racism.
Now I do admit to judging people on that! Is stupidist a word?
I have not meant to cause any argument or make people feel censored or like they can't express their opinions. I just wanted to find out more about Dawlish and join in with the community. What I saw on these discussion pages put me off using the site and so I wondered why it hadn't been moderated. This is a community site and I think that everyone should feel welcome to use the site. Instead I believe that it's being used inappropriately by some people and thereby excluding many others.
The moderating buttons are for reporting posts that are irrelevant or hateful (amoung other things) so why would anyone worry unless their posts are considered to be irrevelant or hateful? Anyone who cares sbout how Dawlish is seen by others should care about the use of this site.
I think that the running and moderating of a site discussion board must be difficult. But anthing irrelevant or hateful should be removed immediately. Otherwise the site ends up putting off people who want to use it maturely in a sensible and helpful way. The site becomes a place for expressing negative personal opinions and a bad advert for the area. That's my impression of what's happened here.
I don't consider myself very PC, just open minded and kind hearted.
I rest my case! Now I really must log off. I need to rent my house out and the deadline for the Muslim Evening News is 9pm
I'm really rather suspicious about the new profile created on here today, and wonder what the real agenda is behind it. We are led to believe the person stumbled on this site while searching for a knitting group (yeah, right), yet has wasted no time in insulting forum members generally while putting up the pretence of "not wanting to upset users of this group". I'll be watching this new member with interest.
thank you @jools88! i do love that this site is so active, just wonder why some of the irrelevant threads are on a community board.
@burneside i love knitting, what can i say?! i wanted to find a knitting group or start one in dawlish. i looked through some of the events/services/societies and also looked at some of the threads here. i was getting put off using the board and admittedly started ranting a bit, but only because i care, not to upset anyone. i really don't think i've insulted anyone but i'm sorry if anyone feels that way.
Today you have used the terms "full of miserable resentful people", "horrid and miserable" and "a bunch of miserable idiots" to variously describe the nature of other forum members. I call that rather insulting, and you know exactly what you are doing. I can see straight through you, you don't fool me for a moment.
Whilst SMELLA has made some relevant points that I think some on here would do well to reflect upon, unfortunately her message has been totally lost in the noise of her unwarranted insults. That said, judging by one or two forumers rude/impertinent comments on other threads, maybe she'd be right at home here! 😀
I used those terms to describe how people could percive some of the things being said here.I was descibing my experience of looking through the forum and the impression that I got from some of the posts. I did not directly descibe anyone or any place using those words. I only said that, from reading some threads, people might be led to think those things. It was in reponce to threads that upset me and probably others such as 'Islam at it's best', 'should england have a say', 'did angola really ban islam?', 'is gender segregation okay but racial segragation not?' and the one about the Philippines. I haven't judged the people who wrote these things just the things that were said in those occasions and my concern about how it makes the community look when these things are left up for all to read on the community forum.
The subject of the threads that so upset you were perfectly valid topics for the people who originated them, I really don't know wny you think the folk of Dawlish should live in some kind of PC bubble and not discuss such things. I am also rather astonished that you apparently moved from London to Dawlish without knowing much about the town at all, perhaps you should have done a bit of reseach first.
Smella just give up . just enjoy Dawlish and the beach and the sea and all the other nice stuff . life at the seaside is GREAT .
enjoy enjoy enjoy............................
Well being an Englishman should I not be allowed to ask the views
of others.After all on this occasion it's the Scots who want to seperate
from the U.K.Now your upset again.
Is the lack of the capital d in Dawlish deliberate,smella? As I can tell you are an articulate well educated lady.
Not at all! I keep writing things with capitals at the beginning of sentences and when I've used the word 'I' and for Dawlish -but when I post it all goes to lowercase on some of my posts. I don't know if I'm pressing something wrong somewhere. I'm sure I'll love Dawlish and its people as much as I love London and its people. (Both place names are in capitals as I write this!)
@smella. i have that same problem.but if you edit your posts you can put any lowercase back into capitals. and incidentally i only holiday in dawlish every year.i have come hear since i was 16 now i am 54. the people hear are lovely and i suggest you get talking to them make new friends and you will find dawlish is a good place to live.
Smella, trying to intergrate into any community is always difficult and making freinds even harder. I myself having spent 30 years in America. I have and still do find it difficult. I would consider myself to be English but moving back to the UK having spent half my life in the States I have found myself like a fish out of water. My Wife has found it harder than i she being a true American from Brooklyn New York, so i'm sur.e you can imagine how difficult it has been for her........... One thing i will say about the people on this forum without them i would have felt more isolated. I love to hear the moans and groans, and then the good things as well. Yes we all have our opinions and more often than not a thread starts with opinions. They are all good home grown people, well i think so. Dawlish is a nice little town but very little to do i'm afraid. So when you post on here you try in your minds eye to get some idea as to who you are responding to. For example i see ( jools88 ) to be a somewhat younger person, then i sesee ( Mrs c ) as a somewhat older person who wants to know everything. I see ( Flo ) as an older person who may like craft work. I see ( Ziggy ) a man that loves photography.
( Freddbassett ) this thread is only obvious by his absence and he can be very out spoken, and i just love it. All of the forum poster's are all very diverse and i just look at their names i can pretty much figure them out......... As for me i tend to do long post's i just get carried away.
But i can tell you this Smella they are ALL good folks. Just don't come in like a bull, figure people out pick your battles and have a good natter..... Like i say i have fond regards to all that post here.
John (AKA) ( Brooklyn Bridge )
As for you ( Elvis ) i see a person that like's Elvis Presley, and loves music of the era, Duh of course.
@Brooklyn Bridge yep, i did charge in all crossly, and i should've been a bit more delicate. i think i do have a valid point about some of the posts that stand out amoung all the nice sensible posts on the main discussions page. these posts are not just friendly chatting; some of it is very offputting, upsetting and excludes other people. as i read it part of my brain was thinking, 'it's a good thing i'm a white english person or my family might not be welcome here' and it made me angry that i was even thinking like that because it shouldn't be like that. 
But on the whole it's so nice to see a community interacting. You mostly seem like a lovely bunch of people.
I quote you.
"It's a good thing i'm a white english person or my family might not be welcome here"
I suggest that you make a visit to the Ghurka restaurant in Park road.
They are not 'White English people' and ask them how they have been welcomed by 'us racist miserable resentful people of Dawlish', and that goes for you too, Mcjrpc.
They have been welcomed with open arms in this town.
Also, FYI, we even had a black Mayor some years ago and no one complained about that.
FYI Carer. Many religions have a minority of dangerous extremists and assuming that it applies to all followers is at the crux of this. This whole issue kicked off following a number of inflammatory posts about Islam which I and a couple of others found ill-informed and offensive. I spoke up for the majority of 'those people' who just want to live a peaceful life. What's wrong with that?
I'm not sure what you're being defensive about now. It's very simple, if you don't make sweeping generalisations or judge a person because of their religion or race you're not racist. If that's you, no problem.
Well said MCJRPC. Just because there are examples of Christian extremism, it doesn't mean that we should be calling for Christianity to be banned!
I think by now Smella will have made up her mind on Dawlish people.
Difficult to believe this post is suppose to be about kniitting.
Mrs C ex Anglicav Bishop last week said 'in 25 years the Anglican church will be no more unless they do something' ...Christian religion is man made and thats why its not being followed as much based on its scare of judgement. Its not working. Just do the best you can in life. And anyone who knits has to be nice!
It's quite obvious smella is a plant in this forum, he/she has no interest in knitting and is here for one reason only, to stir things up.
I wonder what sort of plant she is? Probably not Phellodon sinclairii. Flipping foreign flowers, send em back. 🌻
@Mcjrpc 
That's a standard rib often used for cuffs etc.
I'm slightly scared of identifying myself if I've made so many people cross, but you're sure to see me knitting in town. I'm always knitting everywhere! I am nice, I promise. I've never played the race card before. It just concerned me on this forum that is so public and so obviously linked to my new hometown.
So, you havent played the race card before, but from the actions of the extreme minority, you, after living here for '5 minutes' have made you tiny mind up that we are all 'racist, miserable, and resentful people'.
Your words.
Well done. I hope that you are proud of yourself. (sarcastic BTW)
row 1 cast on even stitches then knit 1 purl 1 row 2 start with purl 1 knit 1 repeat these 2 rows until you have achieved what you want cast off in moss stitch 
@Carer those aren't my words. not at all. i'll explain once more to see if you can process it. i am concerned that some of the posts on the main page would give the impression that dawlish is linked to people who are racist/miserable etc. if you are so open to other cultures, as you claim to be, then you might have simmilar concerns.
@Carer but i would like to say that i'm sorry. i did barge in all angry and i see now that it was wrong of me to do that.