Cerise

Well put Norman. I lived in the UK and I was very happy. I certainly don't recognise the miserable picture you paint Ron. Cornwall was beautiful, even in Dunstable we lived backing on to the Green Ways and had lovely views every day, super neighbours, good jobs and a fine life. We moved to France for an adventure, initially for 5 years. We stayed 10 years, made loads of excellent friends, had fun, husband learned new language and new trade. I became a member of the council and local associations. We ran our own businesses (and that was the bit I hated with mind numbing petty bureaucracy and the unreasonable and infathomable charges) but over all I was happy and had fun. Then we moved on (not back) to Derbyshire where I am also very happy. Overall I prefer living in the UK because it offers me so many more opportunities. I often felt frustrated with the complexity of dealing with even the most simple thing in France Try going anywhere on holiday that is not France! Expensive and complicated. Ou best French friends have just done the reverse and have moved to the UK for an adventure - they arrives a couple of weeks ago and it will be interesting to see how they find it. But at the moment they are full of wonder about how easy things are and delight in the beauty of the country. Happiness is within. No where is perfect and criticising the bad aspects of a place does not make you miserable just realistic.

But somehow the UK manage to send European Health Cards to all those pensioners who are affiliated to the French Health Service with an S1. Why should it be different the other way round.

I think you will find that idun is still a French tax payer despite living in UK. Anyone who finds French bureaucracy OK cannot surely have ever worked in France. Having spent 10 months trying to get the Caisse de Congés Payés to pay us OUR money I finally resorted to speaking to the Prudhommes who said 'Vous êtes très tenace Madame, le plupart des gens laissent tomber'! And we were talking about 2000€! The French medical system is a postcode lottery the same as the UK. I've sat for hours in a French A & E and I know those who have done the same in UK. However I broke my ankle in March here in UK and was seen, X-rayed, plastered and returned home with a specialists appointment for the follwing day, all within 2 hours and the care and the staff were all excellent. It really does depend where you land up. Most French officials I have dealt with have been perfectly pleasant and completely and utterly inefficient.

Hey Betty - I could have said that, but maybe not quite so eloquently.

Well Norman, that all sounds quite doable - errr perhaps not! I actually don't think it is beyond the realms of possibility that Marine Le Pen could do well. However objectionable her party may be there is no doubt that she is well spoken and convincing sounding. People who I think are otherwise OK seem to be persuaded that she is OK. Here in the SW there has always been a largish NF following but the endemic racism seems to be getting worse and worse. Yesterday in my stint at the library I sat through and anti-immigrant rant by several of the good ladies of our village and when I tried to protest was given to understand that it was the likes of me and my wishy washy anglo saxon ideas that was causing the country to fall apart. I was informed that the majority of immigrants were such that they could NEVER be assimilated. The violence and unpleasantness of it by a bunch of middle aged middle class elderly ladies really took me aback!

Yes, that is a bit how I feel idun. 3 people have been killed, just down the road, and no one is making anything of it. How could you take such a crime anything but seriously?

It's seriously unpleasant but what I find a little odd is that it seems fairly unremarked. Even though it is our Prefecture town it is not the talk of the village.

That is fantastic - will you change yoru name to SkinnyBanana? Well done anyway!

Favourites - from an American guest 'A 14th century bridge? Gee, we didn't even HAVE a 14th century" and How recently did they build that medieval castle? And from an English guest (true) Oh, I'm surprised you take French.

Frenchie - I didn't mean to be insulting, but I live in La France Profonde and sadly locally much of society DOES still condone domestic violence _ or at least not speak out against it. Of course it is a problemin the UK too and I don't think anyone would deny it but I do think we have a cultural difference now (it was different 40 or 50 years ago) which makes it easier for women to get out. One of the reasons cited for wanting to live in france is that it is like the Uk 50 years ago - well as member of local CCAS I can confirm that there some very dated attitudes to things like domestic problems, handicaps etc. I have a local friend who has a handicapped son and though she is lovely, intelligent person people still make stupid remarks about it must be something she 'did' to have this son. Of course, there are lots of nice, kind, enlightened people too. For the majority of foreigners the fact that the rural French don't easily discuss problems with anyone outside their own families means that much of this is hidden.

I don't think that is what Pat is saying at all. In a society which still thinks it is Ok to beat your wife and ill-educated, unhappy person may do it - it doesn't excuse it, but may explain it. Same thing with drugs really. There is a huge and I mean huge problem of drug taking among French farmers who haven't got wives (possibly because younger women are bright enough to realise that a life of being a drudge and possibly beaten is not that attractive!). Now you could say no-one forced these lonely chaps to be farmers but the traditional inheritance thing makes it very difficult for them to do anything else or get out whil Maman et Papa are still alive. We come from a different culture. What Pat is saying is that while there is not an excuse they may see this as a reason.

Sadly sweet17 this is an all too common part of rural life here. What upsets me almost as much, is the fact that the others, friends neighbours etc don't even seem to find it shocking. There is still the attitude 'She probably asked for it....'.

All the shops in our village here in France were open on Christmas morning. So I guess the answer to your question is 'the French'

All the rouelle I have ever seen has been pork but not gammon. Even trying to explain to the charcutier what gammon is has not yielded the correct thing. For all that you can buy jambon braisé in restaurants so such a thing must exist. The nearest I managed is porc saumuré _ anyone got better ideas?

My thoughts exactly cooperlola[:)]