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Ivor Nidea

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Everything posted by Ivor Nidea

  1. I think some members misunderstood the whips message about delaying the bill. I particularly like the man in shirtsleeves right at the end of the clip, riding into battle. I cannot see George Osborne doing well in the same scenario, nor perhaps Michael Gove. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20712207
  2. As I find posting anything on here really difficult I have to use shortcuts wherever I can to avoid spending ages on one post. So, again, it was just used as an illustration. There is a programme on TV at the moment putting forward the notion that everybody should boycott Google because they pay very little corporation tax as it's morally wrong for Google to do so, even though they act within the tax laws. I wonder how many of those that boycott Google (or any other big company) offer to pay more tax than the tax laws dictate. Good on you CDL for not having to claim benefits of any kind, if ever you find yourself having to, you will be able to safe in the knowledge that you are only taking out what you have paid in.  
  3. Mr CDL says The people who complain about these companies not "paying their fair share" of tax would be the same people who then complain that the companies got rid of a load of staff because they have to pay a higher tax bill.   On the other side of the coin the ones who say these companies are simply paying tax according to the tax laws have, in the past, thrown their hands up in disgust at "rich" expats living it up in France and claiming winter fuel allowance. This is not aimed at Mr CDL, just used as an illustration to point out double standards. If you have a memory like mine it's vital you keep singing the same tune and not to change them according to newspaper headlines. Big companies and their tax affairs IMHO is another example of smoke and mirrors to effect a swerve away from the unfairness of tax changes.
  4. I hope this expat had French lessons before coming here to socialise or people will be furious! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-20692049
  5. I am in awe of their picnics, of the kind produced at sporting occasions. Groups of mates carry cold boxes stuffed with bottles of wine and cider, whilst the others follow with their boxes containing pate, cheese, cold meats, tomato's and butter. The children carry the loaves. I get out my plastic bag containing my cheese and pickle sarnie then stand back and watch while the women plaster the butter onto the bread and stuff the baguette's with cheese, ham and pass then around the group. The men meanwhile pass the topped up plastic cups of wine to everybody. My picnic is over 10 minutes after 12, whilst the French ones continue until 2pm. Apologies for any mistakes in the text. The cursor seems to object any upward or backward movement.
  6. I was not especially referring to Idun's comment but to the general tone of looking down on anyone who has not got a very good grasp of French,   doesn't want to socialise or has moved here without wishing to embrace all things French. I didn't particularly want to embrace all things English when there for most of my life...just going with the general  flow wherever I happen to be. I assure you I am not underplaying my grasp of French, which has led to some strange situations rather more than frustrating ones. Like the one at my doctors where unknown to me he had decided to conduct my very first prostate inspection. I am sure he explained exactly what he wanted me to do but I only understood the bit about getting all my clothes off (apart from socks, which was kind of him) and clamber onto his couch. On my back I lay, then first on one side then the other until I understood about face down. If he had used the word chien at some stage I would have understood what he was on about. The frustrating part about it though was I was unable to find the French words for "I don't usually go this far on a first date!" I have others, many others but it's all part of life wherever you happen to be, as long as you accept we are all different in what we want out of life. As far as the programme goes, I am sure we all realise that those sort of shows are heavily edited in order to show participants in a particular way.    
  7. Quite why some of you are obsessed with the idea that you have to socialise is a concept that has passed me by for most of my life, so forgive me if I don't change now. Back in the UK (prior 2001) I wasn't desperate to spend my precious leisure time in somebody elses gaff swopping small talk about things that seemed important to the others but irrelevant to me or my life. We had one or two couples that we used to enjoy the company of if we felt the need, or if they thought they might enjoy our company. Other than that we survived quite nicely with getting pleasure out of our childrens activities up until the time they left home. They all became independant and left home in their late teens or early twenties which, as I write this, has me now thinking that maybe they couldn't wait to get away! Ironic that some of you should wonder how it would be to survive the loss of a loved one out here, when the one missing was the one with the language expertise. Well...I can tell you, it's blooming tough. Much harder than I would ever have thought possible. But if you possess strength of character, living in France is no big deal, and most probably no tougher than it would be back in England under the same circumstances. I have a few friends who seem to enjoy my company (none French) whenever they or I feel the need. The French people that I know are every bit as friendly as any English people and do not seem to object to the fact I am not fluent in their language, at least that is my impression on meeting them face to face, and I have had the pleasure of dining with two separate neighbours at different times before I moved houses a year ago. I pay all of my due taxes and health costs and have managed so far to deal with any bureaucratic problems. At times, apart from getting grumpy at all sorts of strange things, I go through stages of being cross about the number of brits driving about on UK plates and boasting about not being "in the system". But I let the feelings pass as I have found that life is too short to worry about what other people get up to. So, in closing, socialise by all means if you want but it's really not my thing. As France is a nice place to live in I like living here and shall continue to do so, happy in the skin I am in.  
  8. Sorry I can't help myself! It's always been your thing ever since I remember being on this forum. John Franklin cannot speak French after being here for six years...what??? I've been here for over eleven years now and still cannot hold a proper conversation with my two neighbours, and one of them is English[:-))]
  9. Lovely coat, I wonder if it's real mink. Betcha watch it a second time! http://elrellano.com/videos_online/4624/circo-roncalli.html
  10. I've been here 11 years, never watched French news or read a French paper. I went to French classes for a term or two but gave up because I couldn't remember anything. I have French neighbours who appear to tolerate me, he even banged on my door a few nights ago to ask me to help with his canapes! I never had him down as a chap who spends a lot of time fiddling with little "fancies"...come to that his wife spends most of her time tending her massive veg patch, so imagine my surprise when I had to help him down the stairs and out the front door with a huge sofa. Perhaps I should have stuck to the French lessons. This is a reply to Idun, I don't seem able to do quotes.    
  11. Bit confused about gum chewing and Grommit, was it Ed Balls or Ed Miliband chewing, Miliband or Balls chewing .....which is which? No matter, as a lot of things have me confused nowadays....I am over 70, did I tell you? Whenever I see Ed Balls in an interview he appears to me to be a very angry man, made worse by a hair style that resembles a highwayman's cocked hat. God help meeting the man in a road rage situation. But back to the cynic part of me (which is just about all of me). I don't think I could ever see my way to thinking good things about any politician who has never held a proper job in his pocket filling life. I thought it a bit ironic that Ed Miliband spent some time as a researcher to a TV programme called "A week in politics".  
  12. My favourites were the Hotspur and Adventure. Alf Tupper (The tough of the track) was brilliant. He trained on fish and chips, none of the isotonic drinks for him, and he carried his spikes and shorts in a brown paper parcel. They don't make em like that anymore. Rockfist Rogan and Limp along Leslie were other heroes of mine, which none of you kids will remember.  
  13. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1c7_1354378358
  14. I see the Salvation Army are now advertising. Just give £19...what! Nineteen blooming quid for what? The advert includes scenes of Salvation Army bods talking to an elderly lady who apparently lives alone. I bet there is a brass band in the background playing "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam". Living alone (aaahh), I can just imagine them knocking on my door and all barging in, or inviting me down to some draughty hall to sit alongside hundreds of lonely people smelling of p..... no thanks, I think I will leave it at that.
  15. Sorry to keep you dangling Idun, I had to do a bit of thinking to come up with a solution for you. I think I have it. In last nights programme the tights had bungeys that sort of hooked onto the fabric of the upper garment. In the absence of said under dungger you could try a couple of suckers, like the ones that you fix a Tomtom to your windscreen with. Be careful not to yank the suckers off though as it's likely to leave a big ugly mark. Hope this helps.
  16. Quite agree about the spruce although you can't beat a nice smell of pine for making an impact. My own favourite outfit is a purple shell suit over the top of a string vest with slip-on rubber gardening shoes. Only problem with the shoes is I have to keep them on with luggage straps as they are a bit big for me. Did you watch Dragon's Den last night? I thought the bungey strap idea to stop tights falling down was a rather nifty idea. Can't get rid of the thought of a bra twanging away when the wearer tries to whip the tights down without thinking.
  17. Sorry to add to this subject but I couldn't stifle a few sniggers upon hearing the news on the radio this morning. Apparently George Osborne (never had a proper job before becoming UKs accountant) feels that Google-Amazon-Starbucks (GAS) are immoral by legally not paying much tax. This revelation was followed by the news that Foreign Office admin staff take an average of 5 weeks sick leave per year. Gag the press I say, as I am fed up with hearing about things like flipping 2nd homes, duck houses and MPs spouses putting porn films on expenses. On a slightly different note, what's the deal about Starbucks anyway? In my day a spoonful of Nescafe in a cracked mug accompanied by an egg banjo in Ted's caff was as good as it got, as long as you remembered to drink from the opposite side to the lipstick. I only visited Starbucks once and I found it a bewildering experience. It took ages to find out which one was a white coffee and it cost a fortune. Admittedly I had my name scribbled on the cup, although the non-English speaker had never heard of Aloysius!
  18. Enjoyed reading your replies on this topic (I don't get out much). It would appear that this (J.Barton) fine young man is really quite intuitive in zeroing in to the psyche of how to conduct an interview with the foreign press. As reorted here... http://www.channel4.com/news/joey-bartons-french-accent-a-sign-of-a-sophisticated-mind Indeed he is so sophisticated he can adapt, at the drop of a hat, to any situation. As seen in the video clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAGiGT89G24 Edited. Apologies for the links. Blooming software!
  19. The spokesman for Laden,  Alan Kaieda (or Al as he is better known) reports that the range of domestic products has been discontinued ever since the CEO Ben Laden was struck off the list of directors.   The Laden's were always difficult to find, although they advertised their products extensively, even taking the credit for rivals products at times. Their IED range suffered from an inherent defect in construction which meant they sometimes blew up as the fitter installed the product.
  20. If and when the end comes I wouldn't want to be one of the survivors. Imagine storing all the stuff neccesary to survive, then emerging from your shelter after letting the dust settle only to find all of those sensible people (nutters) were the only ones left.
  21. I would be interested as to what your reaction is to this interview of Joey Barton talking about his experience in the French football league? I believe he comes from Liverpool and normally speaks with a strong Liverpudlian accent. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2012/nov/26/joey-barton-english-french-accent-video
  22. Oi! Can we please get back to irritations as I have been prevented from airing them on the artificial animal bonking site/sites due to suffering from Norman's complaint....being banned! The current fashion of having more tattoo than skin, nose jewelery that looks like a zit. Starting a comment with "D'you know what" or "I'm not gonna lie to you." Any mention of Facebook. Americanism's:- Hi (what's wrong with hello?), math, or erb instead of herb...it's HERB, got it! Text language in some forum postings. Forum answers ending in simples! And postings in English with the odd French word thrown in just to show superiority. Apart from that I am quite easy going for a grumpy old git.  
  23. I have to own up and confess to trying to have a little fun. In my post on 20/11/12 at 10:46 I attempted to brighten my day by having a little fun with you. After reading the posts "Am I getting old and intolerant" and "Was this guy right or wrong" I couldn't help but send a posting. I have been a contributor for some considerable time (back in the Furry Knickers and Dick Smith days) but life has changed for me somewhat over the last few years which stopped me contributing for a while. Having decided to come back I found difficulty in logging in, mainly because of an email address change...and I forgot my password! So unfortunately I now have a change of identity. It's really good to see many of the faithful posters, probably because like Norman you are banned elsewhere. I was really saddened to learn that Deborah was no longer with us. I see that many of the old names are no longer posting either. It appears to be a little difficult to use the forum as well. It takes ages for the cursor to appear, if a mistake is made and I want to move back in the text it's very difficult to do so and posting a link I find is just about impossible. What's happened?
  24. Trouble is that nowadays it's generally seen to be taboo to tell it as it is in a straight forward way without beating around the bush. It's really getting my goat about all the namby pamby posts on here where everybody agrees with everybody.
  25. If you go into Lidl what do you expect? Stretch pants and high heel shoes, and that's not on the shelves!
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