trt
You didn't ask a question on this thread, but I have to agree with you. There are pockets of absolute grimness all over the country, as evidenced by a documentary on CH4 shown earlier this year called 'Skint'.
It's a completely different world...
There are some on the right on AB who constantly make snide references to us liberal coffee-shop Islingtonites, but to be honest, I'd rather live here, where the the biggest issue is our local artisan bakery running out of ciabatta on a Saturday afternoon, than some of the places we read about in these stories.
(Fully aware of how bad that sounds).