DraytonBoy

It's called gender dysphoria Ken which is a medically recognised condition.

It's the speed at which this is unfolding that has surprised me and also the lack of opposition from the Russian army.

@Ken, I don't know what the problem is but there is simply no need for the constant rudeness, put downs and aggression in many of your posts. Would you converse like this around a dinner table with friends?

I just don't get the 'bile' coming from certain people, we're all entitled to our opinions but can they not be expressed politely?

I've lived here long enough to know that the type of Brit you describe doesn't choose rural France as his/her home.

It's a difficult one, should people be allowed to take selfies at Auschwitz?

If they're on holiday maybe but that doesn't describe the majority of Brits living in rural France.

What has the lack of your fellow countrymen locally got to do with rain?

We have four children all very close in age (less than six years between youngest and oldest) who were brought up to show respect to everything and everybody, now as adults in their late 20's/early 30's they all have different takes on life which sometimes differs from how they were raised. When they behave inappropriately is that really our fault and if so what the **** can we do about it?

It's not just France, I think this is a worldwide problem. Over the last couple of decades the 'value of life' has diminished to such an extent that killing someone resulting in possible life imprisonment is no longer seen as something that only harden criminals would contemplate so it's now not unusual to see anyone commit murder often with very little provocation. I do believe though that gang violence is out of control in many cities and this has greatly increased the volume of violent crimes that we're seeing here and elsewhere.

The only time I was asked for my CV was when I was leaving and that was just to settle the bill.

I had an op last week and during my two day stay no one asked for any ID.

OH and I are currently debating whether to get another booster. We were due one in December but both caught Covid late November and were told we'd have to wait until May so can get a jab now but having already had five jabs plus suffering from the virus itself can't really see the point anymore.

The Charente Maritime.

Given the size of the population it's shocking that Trump and Biden are again likely to contest next year's election, is that really the best they can produce to run the world's biggest economy?

Exactly what my OH has done, she only worked for 5 years in the UK but with credits for bringing up children and paying 17 years of Class 2 contributions she now has close to a full state pension.

If you've been living and working here you can pay additional Class 2 NI contributions @£3.15 per week to top-up your UK state pension.

No, I'm saying that even without those arriving on small boats they'd still be over 100000 stuck in the asylum processing system because it's completely broken.

At the end of 2022 their were 166000 people stuck in the 'asylum backlog', this has nothing to do with illegal boat crossings.

Given the scale of the organisation required it is disappointing that the country struggles so badly in other areas such asylum processing or building a high speed rail track. I can only assume that yesterday's event had very little governmental input.

OH informed me at the weekend that she wants to watch it, looks like I'll be working on my own.

As I mentioned above my multi millionaire former employer (not friend) is also entitled to many other benefits so my question is would you like to see these means tested as well as doing away with the State Pension in it's current form?

And the other benefits?

I'll use a personal example regarding the wealthy, benefits and means testing. I spent 20+ years working for a man (and friend of the current King) who's family are always in the Sunday Times rich list, his only income was dividends from the profits generated by the various family businesses. The guy has four kids so was eligible for child benefit, now that he has reached retirement age he can receive the Winter Fuel Payment, the state pension and a free bus pass all free of means testing. Clearly with a personal wealth in the tens of millions and with an annual income of £10 million on average he doesn't need any of the benefits he's entitled to so means testing would seem appropriate. However, if you did it for him you'd have to do it for the whole population and that would cost the taxpayer a huge amount of money every year for very little gain.

So where would you draw the line, on income only or income and assets?