I realize I kind of tossed off the statement about a stabbing down the street from the bar we were in...this morning, I've remembered what Jo was telling us about Poole in the cab ride home. Evidently Poole is almost the largest natural harbor in the world, second only to Sydney. And even that is in dispute because they have artificially made Sydney harbor bigger. But anyway, Poole has a history of (you can probably guess it) smuggling trade. And Jo was telling us that by and large, Poole is a very safe area. But if there is any trouble, as there was Saturday night, you can almost guarantee it's connected to the old smuggling pubs that still draw some shady characters I guess. Pretty fascinating, huh. Here's a bit more info if it catches your imagination the way it does mine...
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dvisor/poole.htm