Health Care Crisis in UK - NHS and Health Care

Paul - The depression syndrome is largely social but its spectrum covers mild effects right up to psychotic breaks. One notices that any article on mental health usually represents some sort of agenda. Even the caring ones, in fact they are the worst because sometimes people promote particular trends as if they were the whole of the matter. Personality disorders are not treatable with medication and having met some who have them their curse is they cannot be counselled or persuaded. The usual problem is that they are incapable of thinking, learning or reflecting on powerful emotions. It is social workers who push personality disorder as a mental health issue, mostly because they want to raid the mental health budget. Thus this article would be read among the people I have met who have had a label put on them with an eye to seeing which fiefdom profits, the inevitable cynicism of the old lag. We are withdrawing into... the broad daylight. If you can survive and behave yourself you may get to live to old age. No hard feelings about not being top of the political agenda. We like it. Drug users get all this time politically but they die, they become diabetics, their bodies at 29 are those of a 65 year-old. So, we will not draw attention to ourselves and live as I do as part of a wider town community. Those who start this "I'm right and 6.5billion others are wrong" seem to arrive at the cemetery quicker whether large sums of money were lavished on them or not. The issue with depression is whether or not one is in a terrible rage at oneself: this is about 50% of it but not all. If so, you may have to learn to channel it. If that is your actual problem and you know it and act on it you will survive, if not...you are going to hurt everyone around you at least. Depressed people sometimes do not seek help, they seek affirmation and that which prolongs their condition, a paradox of the condition. The depression epidemic cannot be a true mental health problem since how could so many people develop such a thing? Are you angry at your life? Are you sure that certain things are worth pursuing? Does the prospect of death fill you with a type of self-loathing? We are not all machines and media narcissists.


Existentialist - I was a schools counsellor for six years, until I was made redundant following heavy cuts in the funding to our service. During that time, a considerable number of the referrals I made to child and adolescent mental health services - another chronically overstretched service - were bounced back, even where the referral had followed a credible suicide attempt. In this world, it is not enough to be merely suicidal - you have to be "suicidal enough" to warrant referral to a service which frequently can offer no more than a monthly meeting with a case worker and the supervision of a psychiatrist.
We're averaging about one suicide per year of schoolchildren in this community of 100,000 - most of those who die are already known to the mental health services, but the resources simply don't exist to help them and save their lives. If they need acute care, the nearest children's psychiatric ward is two hours' drive away (and is usually full, anyway), so the options are either to admit them to a local adult psychiatric unit, or leave them at home.
As a professional in the field, I frequently despair of their prospects.

Is Population Growth Good or Bad?

Thoughts and opinions on population growth . Let's talk about it.

Swordman - According to the UN's World Health Organisation, 43% of all births on planet earth will take place in Africa by 2100. And as climate change will create mega-droughts lasting around 35 years, this percentage will be probably be scythed down by the Grim Reaper as famine stalks the globe.
Whatever happens, anyway, I'll be long gone by then and that's why I'm not talking about it. Selfish? Well, the time left between now and final extinction flies past, and I'd rather spend it listening to the Jacques Loussier trio.


Gardener - I read somewhere that it is often the case that people in POOR countries like parts of Africa may have lots of children as a kind of INSURANCE policy against their own future ILL HEALTH/HANDICAP.
Seeing as they don't have SOCIAL SECURITY as we do, and are thus probably terrified of being unable to work and support themselves, feeling that if they have children, then THEY would be able to WORK and support the PARENTS if they became disabled.

What is the solution to such a possible case? Well, guaranteeing some form of social security to those poor people?


Lord of The Lords - The liberal left establishment who control our lives from everywhere including the EU, UN, BBC, civil service, media and Labour, Liberal and Cameron's Conservatives, refuse to talk about the global population explosion because eh its ...say it quietly... being driven by black African countries. Indeed in the last 18 months the UN upgraded its population predictions for Africa by the end of this century from 3 billion to 4 billion, and then just a month or so ago to 5 billion.
The long hoped for tail off in Africa's soaring population is just not happening. Nigeria's population is set to hit 900 million.
Yes its a global disaster but as its .. say it quietly.. black Africans who are responsible, we're not allowed to talk about it see. Hope that helps. Ssh ssh, mums the word.


Mr. Aristo - I agree the growth in Africa's population, may well be storing up huge problems for future African generations, but Africa is still relatively underpopulated, when compared to the other continents (except Antarctica), as well as using up far fewer of the world's resources per person, than the average American, European or indeed Asian.
Certainly, population growth needs addressing, but only in context with other major issues, such as climate change; habitat loss; use, distribution and depletion of resources. To look at any one of these issues in isolation is futile and simplistic.

Being British - Feeling British - Talking British

Thoughts and Opinions of Unpopular People about 'Britishness"


Jack - To talk about British 'customs' and the 'British way of life' is all very well, but I would like to see some definitions of these concepts that most Brits could agree to. And more important, these would have to be different from those of other countries, in Europe for example, otherwise how could they be defined as 'British', as opposed to 'European' ?

I suspect that if a 'British way of life' or British 'customs' could be defined in ways that made them specifically British the definitions would be far narrower than most Brits' interpretation of these concepts.

Haggard - Social mobility in Britain is as good as nil and Britain has the least social mobility in the developed world apart from the USA (OECD report) so we shouldn't get too carried away with British values. If you are working class and ambitious for your children, you are still better off emigrating if you can.

BTW In this country, while the government is pushing more and more of the working population into poverty, the rich are getting richer. Yeah, Great British values. Sod 'em. We need new values.



Delon - If you have the skills and qualifications to back them then you can forget the UK and the EU for places to live with a high quality of life. You would do far better to go to Australia, New Zealand or Canada for where there are cities with far higher quality of life. The long term prospects for the UK and EU are poor due to ageing demographics combined with the world's lowest economic growth and ever rising unfunded liabilites that cannot be met.



King - I don't think Britishness is about everyone ascribing to a single culture but rather a wide range of cultures that exist as part of a certain narrative and have over many years achieved a degree of synergy without necessarily converging.

That is not to say that all cultures that come to these shores should become part of Britishness. Some will never be able to achieve that synergy and some will simply converge into existing practices.

Indeed many cultures that arose in this country did not persist, we had our own fascist movement you recall and before that Quakers and Brownists most of whom left for the USA as they did not fit in to Britain.

There is a long tradition of teetotal folk in the UK which is part of that synergy.

Most Popular Facebook Games

Most Popular Games on Facebook
The list of the most played Facebook games.

Candy Crush Saga
Pet Rescue Saga
Bubble Witch 2 Saga
Criminal Case
Dragon City
FarmVille 2

Trivia Crack
8 Ball Pool
Texas HoldEm Poker
Diamond Digger Saga
Papa Pear Saga
Top Eleven Be a Football Manager


Words With Friends
Pyramid Solitaire Saga
TeenPatti
Cookie Jam
Diamond Dash
Pool Live Tour

Banning E-Cigarettes Indoors - Good or Bad Idea?

Pupblic opinion on e-cigarettes are vividly divided.

Aaron - Depends on the situation and place. In pubs, if everyone around the smoker consents, then fine.. But nowhere around kids or food. It's not good to show kids its okay to vape, "'cause it's not smoking cigarettes", and it's unfair to be blowing vapour in someone's face when they don't want you to, or when they're eating. I've had a bad experience as an ex-house mate of mine used to use his e cigarette everywhere. Plus he had the most horrible smelling flavours. I know 90% of people are very considerate to others when using an e-cigarette, but there's always that 10% who take the pee.


Adrian - I also worry about the next generation who might be encouraged to get addicted to nicotine. I think they are a good idea for existing smokers, although I'm not sure of any harmful effects.


Kevin - The tobacco companies now virtually own all the "vape" supplies. When your heroin dealer starts selling methadone, you have to ask questions... Permitting vaping in public places merely normalizes the addiction, which can't be a good thing. Anyway, as an ex-smoker, I have no desire to ingest other people's spent narcotics.


Lance - This one's tricky. As a vaper, I would hate if vape stores would no longer be able to offer try-before-you-buy on the juices they stock. That new vape cafe in Shoreditch would have to close as well.
However, I'm not sure I'm keen on the idea of going for a meal out and having someone vaping a flavour I don't like sat at the table next to me.
I think establishments should be able to choose whether or not you can vape inside - like many do at the moment.
I also don't think you can blindly say that the vapour is not harmful to people nearby. People have allergies. PG allergies, even. Or allergies to the flavourings. I don't know whether someone that suffers from a peanut allergy would have a reaction to a flavour with a peanut base, but that could be quite serious.

Agricultural Commodities For Third World Consumers and Increasing Demand of West

Agricultural Commodities For Third World Consumers, Higher Food Prices and Increasing Western Demand

Comments and Opinions 

Nelson - For third world consumers, higher prices for agricultural commodities like coconut or quinoa are bad, but for farmers in developing countries, surely higher prices and export markets for their produce is a major benefit? In many countries the supply chain for fruit and vegetables is poor and a lot of produce is wasted - in Indonesia a grower recently complained to me that the price of guava was so low it wasn't worth taking it to the market - he and his family ate what they wanted but left the rest to rot since the 20 cents a kilo wasn't worth the effort.

Even better, if local companies in places like the Philippines can capture the value of processing coconuts for their milk and oil than more jobs are generated. For farmers it is better to sell for foreigner for high prices and generate higher income than to sell at low prices in the domestic market. That's as true for dairy producers in the west benefiting from higher Asian demand for cheese as it is for mango growers in Taiwan.

Local Consumers, Food Security and Economic Miracle

Amanda - Presenting this increase in prices as an unalloyed negative for countries that produce them is ridiculous. Yes, prices might go up for local consumers (many of whom may well also be producers) but rising prices also boosts export incomes and tax revenues. And it is not as if there are not local substitutes for these items.

Elements of this article, such as the suggestion that tourism development in Sri Lanka would lead to a food security 'disaster', seemed reminiscent of 'noble savage' romanticism. The thing about food security is you get it by eliminating poverty and increasing economic development, not by making sure everyone remains a subsistence farmer.


Oscar - But most local consumers are not also local producers. Therefore more local people tend to lose rather than gain on the deal. They also lose substitutes as more and more land is devoted to the export crop.
Sure, economic development and diversification is a way to equalise locals' buying power, but what do they eat while waiting for the economic miracle?
This is what you get when most locals don't have either access to the means of food production or any buying power relative to external markets.

Metal Stars

Tea Bag vs England

What is the difference between a tea bag and England?

A tea bag stays longer in a cup.
Sad but true.. isn't it?
England are our of World Cup.. yet again and again and yet again..

Submarine Racing

Watch Submarine Racing

Have you ever seen how the submarines racing? 

well they it it really rough. Submarine racing is always so intense. You have to see it. Here you can see one of the best submarine racing in 2014.

Vikings or Chinese?

A Chi-King Vessel

Who are these people? What kind of ship is this? is it Vikings and Chinese?

The Book of Genesis - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Creation of Eden, Pishon, Tigris and Gihon, Creation of Man and Women

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.

2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.

3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

5 when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up - for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground;

6 but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground -

7 then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.

8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches.

11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.

13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Cush.

14 The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;

17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."

18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner."

19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.

20 The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner.

21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.

22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

23 Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken."

24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

The Book of Genesis - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Creation, Heaven, Plants, Sky and Earth, Sea Monsters, Birds, Day and Night.

1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,

2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6 And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."

7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so.

8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

9 And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.

10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so.

12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good.

13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,

15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so.

16 God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars.

17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth,

18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

20 And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky."

21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."

23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so.

25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."

29 God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.

31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

And when the LORD smelled the pleasing odor - And the LORD smelled a sweet savor

What has happened between Noah and the Lord? God knows!
The Book of Genesis, Chapter 8 tells all about their conversations. It ends in a bit strange way as it says "And the LORD smelled a sweet savor" after Noah offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Why should the LORD like the smell of burnt food? I mean,  does god like or dislikes foods, like us?

Frozen River in Lithuania

In the winter of 2014, my friend Mete visited Vilnius, capital of Lithuania and took this video during one of his walks up the to banks of Neris River. Freezing waters of beautiful Baltics.

Ishtar and Easter

Origins of Easter and Eggs. 

Pagan-like celebrations yesterday and today. This is where the Easter comes from.. the origins of out religious festives

Flying Lithuanian - President Against Gravity

This man is flying! President Against Gravity

This gentleman is a candidate for Lithuanian presidential elections. He tried to show his cool sides, his energy and health conditions on a live TV show. He is against gravity! He was flying  all over as you see in the photo. Truly magnificent!

The Flying Lithuanian

Yes, I named this crazy man with fervent soul "The Flying Lithuanian"

150 Years Ago and 150 Years Later

An unpopular philosopher "I was thinking about how about how around 150 or so years ago we had slavery, and really not that long ago we had Hitler committing genocide of the Jews and only quite recently have equal gender rights and gay rights become accepted as standard, even if there are still struggles there. Got me thinking about how horrible the human race has been but also how far we've evolved in such a short space of time. 

Maybe one day there will be no animal cruelty and no massive class divide and no Ian Duncan Smith types and stuff like that. Maybe one day we'll evolve to be a really decent species if we don't cause the apocalypse with out own selfishness before then. It's a shame I won't be here to see it but imagine how great the human race could be in a thousand years time. We could all be really fucking lovely and shit"


Dan replies "It's a lovely idea but people will always hurt one another. In some countries now there is still genocide, homophobia, wars, famine and overall needless death. Personally I can't see these things ever stopping because people will always clash on something, even if it seems absolutely disgusting to us.

This got me think about Angel season 4 though, when the story builds up to a rogue 'Power that Be' appears in our dimension and puts everyone under a spell and generally makes everyone love her and everyone else and everything becomes a bit groovy. But world peace happens at the cost of free will. Also she eats people, but yeah....

But yeah, sadly there will always be what is perceived to be 'evil' in the world and the acts of cruelty we see on the news daily will never stop. People will always have different thoughts on things and some people aren't even willing to simply tolerate what they don't like."

Yemeni National Dialogue Conference

Yemeni National Dialogue Conference ended.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey on the subject of the message
Ongoing transition process in Yemen , which constitutes an important step in the National Dialogue Conference on 25 January 2014 We are very pleased to have successfully completed their studies .

On this occasion, Mr. President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi to exhibit strong leadership , the Government of Yemen and the National Dialogue Conference participants constructive contribution in the provision due to congratulate agreement .

In Yemen in the coming period the National Dialogue Conference, consistent with the results of basic human rights and freedoms shall guarantee the democratic constitution of the preparation of free, fair and democratic elections, stable and prosperous Yemen significant steps to believe that .

In Yemen, brother and friend Turkey in the coming period of stability, security and development will continue to provide support for .

New Tunisian Constitution

The New Tunisian Constitution

New Tunisian Constitution, 216 deputies in parliament with 200 'yes' were considered together . Join the adoption of a new constitution at the same time meaningful as the new Tunisia is defined. I quickly changed after the Arab Spring in Tunisia living is going to restructure itself with a new constitution .

In this regard the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey gave the following message :
Tunisia's National Constituent Assembly on 26 January 2014 We welcome the adoption .

Which is an important step in the process of political transformation of the Tunisian Constitution 2014, common sense and be completed through national dialogue , reconciliation culture of the Tunisian people and their commitment to democratic values, has revealed once again . This achievement is an example for the entire Middle East region .

Parliamentary and presidential elections held in the next period, and thus the completion of the transition process is important .

Turkey, brother and friend to the struggle of the Tunisian people for democracy and development will continue to provide all kinds of support .

You can read the new constitution in English HERE

Gothic Painting of Stand Church

Stand Church and Gothic Painting

Steve's review on John Bold's "Stand Church"
'This church is near where I live, in the area I've always lived. It was painted in the 70's or earlier [the artist died in 1979]. The houses in the foreground look unrecognisable to me.

I've visited this church a few times and pass it frequently, the architecture is very Gothic with huge arches, stone gargoyles and a large graveyard. It's a very Gothic church up close and personal. The painting depicts the rear of the church.

John Bold's Gothic Art at Stand Church, Manchester

Despite the church being in the background of the painting where none of the Gothic architecture is too obvious, this painting just looks so dark and Goth. The trees, the old houses and the grey skies really set the scene for what I consider Gothic art. The black cat is a nice touch too. 

However, I imagine the artist never considered his painting to be Gothic art.

John Bold - Stand Church, Whitefield From Phillips Gallery

Islam or Muslims? - Who is actually offended by Atheists?

After some atheists believe in that Islam is offended by some arguments of today's world, an unpopular friend of mine wrote this.

"I was born in a secular Muslim country and 80% of the people around me were Muslims until my 20s. and I never heard of any of those things offended anyone. Woman rights, free speech, democracy (especially), eating whatever you want, genuine human rights, gay marriage (it was not in any subject those times) and more less those kind of things have always been considered as essentials of life and our society. Then I heard almost the same or very similar words from some other Muslim countries too (Malaysia, Bosnia etc).  Therefore its not the Islam what is offended by those thins but some certain group believers. And this kind of thins take time to establish. For example, not too long, only 80 years ago there were many Western countries (like France in 1944, Italy in 1946, Greece in 1952,Switzerland in 1971 and more)  where women were not counted as individuals.

Economy, education, civil wars, etc etc play very important key roles in human development. We cannot expect everything in the world changes in seconds. Its like Orthodoxy and democracy. Technically there cannot be democracy in Orthodoxy, but it has to change, they have to find a way to bring them together. and this problems has been going on for centuries....

I lived in Britain for 10 years and stayed long time in Sweden, Canada, USA, Lithuania, South America and most of my friends are from Western world. What I noticed is: unfortunately, all these countries are full of extremists and terrorists.
Did you know, most of the most wanted extremists from every religion, any ethnic group, communist, Islamist, whateverist are living in countries such as UK, Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, USA? for example, that hook-hand Muslim extremist in Britain, you know that man, why did he go to European Human Right Court? He wanted to stay in Britain.. the reason is, if he returns his own country, or any Muslim country (except Saudi Arabia) he would be in prison because of his extreme activities. Isn't it interesting? There isn't any Muslim country on earth these kind of people are allowed (except like Somalia, Afghanistan, these are exceptional places).. but they are always very welcome to all western countries. How come?

 Anyway.. these are neverending issues"

A Young Western Girl in Trouble in China

How Cute Chinese Girls Scammed An Innocent British Girl

A beautiful young British girl works in China and one day... this happens;

"I was at Tian'anmen Square, just coming out of the National Museum of China (which was mega cool) and there were 3 Chinese girls taking photos of each other outside, in a touristy way. They asked me to take their photo all together, so I did. They started complimenting me (which isn't unusual with the girls here) and asked where I was from etc. They said they were from near Hong Kong and they seemed really nice. They said they were on their way to the food market and I asked if I could join them, they said "of course!" and we started walking there. On the way, after about 15 minute walk, one of them said they were thirsty so we stopped at a shitty little tea shop. It's the Chinese kind where you get a small room privately for your group, which looks like a prison cell with a big table and chairs inside. They ordered 2 pots of herbal tea and some coffee. I ordered a coke and also had a couple of cups of the herbal tea. We were chatting and laughing and it was all really nice. After about 20 minutes, one of the girls ordered glasses of red wine for us all to "celebrate making a new friend" and we all drank to that. I said I was looking forward to seeing the food market as it was apparently full of traditional Chinese food, along with the scorpions and spiders etc kind of stuff on sticks. They said "OK, let's go now, drink up!" so we did. We'd been in the room about 40 minutes, having a great time. One of the girls went out of the small room and came back in with the waitress and the bill. The bill was 2000 yuan, which is about £200. This is for 2 pots of herbal tea, a coke, 2 cups of coffee and some crisps that we shared. I immediately knew I'd been scammed and the whole thing was a set up, but I didn't let on. I was smiling and saying "wow, that's so expensive! Shall we split it between us?" They were smiling and said "Yes, that's what we normally do. We don't come here very often because it's expensive, but it's worth it because it's so nice". 

I put all my money into my bra and I put my phone in my knickers.

They said they were going to all pay by card. I dug into my bag and looked in my purse. I took all my money out except for 70 yuan (about £7) and put it into my bra when they weren't looking. Then I said loudly "Oh shit, I'm so sorry, I don't have enough money, I had no idea that it would be so expensive!" I showed them inside my purse and counted out the notes. I gave them every last bit of money I had in there and was apologising a lot. That's when it started getting nasty. They stood up around me while I was still sitting down and they started shouting and getting quite aggressive. One of them grabbed my bag and took out my purse to check for more money. She pulled out my Chinese bank card and tried to take it out of the room to try to pay with it. I grabbed her and wrestled her to try to get it back, but the others pushed me to the ground. I got back up and got my card back. I told them there is no money in that account anyway, which there isn't, as I haven't been paid yet. They got the card back off me and tried to pay with it. Obviously, it didn't work and they threw it back at me. They went through my bag to try to find more money, but there was none. They all went out of the room and locked me in on my own. I put my phone in my knickers! 

A Young Western Girl in Trouble in China

They left me locked in that room on my own for about 15 minutes, I was fucking terrified. The 3 girls came back in and there were 4 or 5 men standing at the door, looking kinda tough. The girls were shouting at me and pushed me to the ground again. I tried to leave but the men stopped me. After another 15 minutes of shouting and them insisting I had more money or a phone, they left and I followed them out. They said they were very angry and no longer wanted to go to the food market and they were going home. I walked (very fast) down the street towards the subway station and they followed me all the way there. I stood next to a security guard and they stood just a short distance up the street, looking at me. After about 10 minutes, they turned around and walked away. I ran and got onto the first subway train I saw. I burst into tears, shaking and nobody gave a fuck. Nobody speaks English and I was completely alone and helpless, it was awful."