lindal1000
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Posts posted by lindal1000
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One of my friends in UK was unfortunate enough to need emergency care over the new year. Nearest hospital was full and couldn't take any more in A&E, so he was driven 40 miles to the main hospital in the nearest city. An hour in the ambulance and then when he was eventually seen in the department the cubicle was still covered in blood from the previous patient. They described it as like a 'war zone', They said the medical treatment was good when they eventually saw someone, but all the staff were completely exhausted and run off their feet. On top of the winter pressures there are also difficulties recruiting staff, and cut backs in social care, that mean that there are delays in discharging patients that need home support,
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Personally no..but not many of my French friends do either. However our local catholic church lets the protestants use the building once a week so if I was religious I could choose. The local priest is Polish.
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I think in terms of rent and salaries it is about the same for a nurse or similar. I disagree that the cost of living in Paris is higher though.. I can never believe how much it costs just to get out of the door in London. Either way, to be a healthcare professional in any big city is pretty difficult. When I worked in London all my colleagues were Australians on their working holiday visas. They used to rent a small house between about 20 of them, take it in turns to sleep in the bed, do their 2 years and then go off somewhere else.
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I don't know the average price for a rental in Paris but I know a 2 bed flat in Battersea is £2000 per calendar month and £600-£900 per month for a room in a house, Take home salary of a band 5 nurse is around £1500 per month.. maybe a bit more with shift allowances..but not great, and a nurse earns more than the minimum wage. Plus add on bills, and fares etc to the costs.You have a better standard of living as a nurse in the countryside in France and the Uk because rents are much cheaper and salaries are only slightly lower. Perhaps not so exiting for a younger person..It was always like that though. I lived for years in London barely scraping above the minimum income level once I'd paid all my bills. I moved out, took a job with initially a lower salary, moved from a 1 bed flat to a small house, had no travelling to get to work.. and hey presto..I could actually afford to do things!
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And just to add, everywhere is constantly changing as populations and cultures move..so what you remember of France/UK/anywhere else a few years ago will be different to how it is now, so even if you 'go back' you have to be prepared to adapt your perceptions. I hardly recognise parts of the town I used to live in in UK 6 years ago. I'm a Londoner by origins and last time I visited I really couldn't recognise the parts of the East End I worked in 20 years ago. In the early 80s I lived in Canada for 2 years and when I came back to Uk I had to readjust. Similarly I remember when we moved down to this part of France 7 years ago, how the ring road and shops seemed quiet in the winter. Now you need to get down by 10.00 to avoid queues even in the week, and all the bigger shops open over lunch. I don't know whether I would describe where I live a rural France. I look out over the countryside, I'm 6k from a shop and I commute to Bordeaux for work sometimes.
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And all of this goes to show that we are all different and one person's ideal is another's nightmare..So... if you don't like where you are then move... life's too short to be miserable and too short to wonder about 'what if'. However, if you have problems, be them personal, your relationship, financial , health or just struggling with getting older..those problems move with you, wherever you go. So make sure that it really is your external environment that is making you unhappy and not something else.I could probably make a good go of it in most places for a while, and I'd certainly enjoy the adventure. We all move on eventually. On that note happy 2018.
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I work with one French colleague who refuses to bisoux and will offer long explanations as to why. The others think he's a bit odd. Bisoux of various numbers seem to be an accepted greeting all over Europe now.. including in some parts of the UK (although not usually in a work context). Why would LGBT people be virtue signalling about it? I didn't think it was a tradition linked in any way to sexuality? It's no different to shaking hands in that sense (and a lot more hygienic!).(Many more nasty germs on the hands than the lips and cheeks!)
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Population of France roughly same as Uk but France is double the size.
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Bordeaux airport seem quite stringent. My flight was diverted to take off from Bordeaux rather than Bergerac a while back and everyone going through the French customs point was checked off. Two passengers did not have the correct documents with them and were not allowed through the departures. This was in the little Billy departure gate, not the main one. The new post brexit passport will look exactly like the old one except it will be a bright blue colour. It won't be any more iconic than the current one.
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Well the UK is not part of Schengen and as an Island it essentially has borders with every country in the world. You cannot fly with a document that does not match your ticket from any non UK airport and data has been checked for years. When the London Bergerac flight arrives in Bergerac all passports are checked, taking at least 40 minutes, sometimes longer. People coming in on the flight from Rotterdam are not checked. That is the difference between Schengen and non Schengen traveling and with the new EU security measures designed to increase security of the Schengen external borders this is expected to get more stringent.You can take your chance at Eurotunnel if you want, but my guess is that now they have your car registration details as a regular user they know who you are anyway. If you suddenly turned up with 5 passengers you might have a different experience. Of course the tunnel and ferry terminals do have a manpower problem in that there were not enough border staff to enforce the regulations. Apparently they are recruiting to cope with the extra work post brexit.
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Have a look at the EU flag and then look at the example of the new passport on the government website. In fairness though it is actually the same colour as the USA passport. It definitely is not the same colour as my old British passport which to me looks far more black than blue.
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Irish passports are burgundy but still have harp on the front. Lucky you Chessie..you'll be able to apply for an Irish passport if brexit goes Pete tong.It was Maggie Thatcher's government that took the decision to change the passport to burgundy. I find it strange that the UK has actually chosen EU blue for it's colour, with gold lettering. My old UK passport was black. What won't change is the size, as that is governed by international treaties. They need to fit in the standard sized passport readers.PS..all passports will eventually carry more security info as the technology is updated. My new UK passport has more security features than the previous one. The EU doesn't stop that.
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I get the tofu from inter or LeCler . It's made by Bjorg, which seems to be stocked in most of the bigger supermarkets and it's long life packed stuff so keeps for ages. I would have thought the cheapest way to get bean sprouts is to buy the beans from the bio shop and sprout them yourself. That way the are always fresh. I don't like them much myself so never bother. But I might just give them a try again.
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I can get all the stuff from Lidl. Maybe not the ginger but it does keep if you chop it up and freeze it. Leader Price has even better stuff..Cheapest place for coconut milk, which is great for enriching vegan dishes. Lidl is also good value for nuts. I have a good recipe for a nut roast that basically has onion, chopped mixed nuts, breadcrumbs, stock cube, water and Marmite (not essential). A good vegan standby.
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Stir fry is what I cook to use up the left over veg and bits of meat. All ingredients can be bought in the local supermarket except for the 7 spice mix, which I get from the UK..lasts about year..Usual ingredients..any old left over onion, carrot, pepper, broccoli, and anything else in the fridge. Teaspoon of 7 spice mixed into a paste with garlic and a small piece of fresh ginger..For the protein bit.. smoked tofu, or cashew nuts or left over chicken/duck/pork. Stir fry whole lot, add a bit of lime or lemon juice, add either noodles or cooked rice and two teaspoons of tamari soy sauce (from the bio shop). Easy weekday dinner!
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I've seen them in Grand Frais and Intermarche and Auchan in Bordeaux
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An excellent summary of today's agreement here.http://www.remaininfrance.org/the-december-deal-is-it-good-for-me.html
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At the moment none of it is ring fenced anyway..so if ultimately the UK walks away whatever is agreed means nothing. It also has not been voted on by the European Parliament yet. If you want to see what all this means at the moment then look at the RIFT website or "Britain in Europe'. Alternatively if want to argue amongst yourselves about your interpretation the continue here. :)
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I have all sorts of tins and silicone bakeware. From experience, the silicone is best for moulded type cakes, flats bakes, breads etc. But most of the time I put them inside a metal tin to stop them wobbling around. For cakes I tend to use a good quality metal tin lined with baking paper. But..big fruit cakes are never precise in terms of how long they take to bake and can be up to an hour under or over the recommended time.
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Are share sales not covered by the double taxation agreement? Ie if you pay in the UK then do you have to pay again in France?
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Although in fairness the term 'rabid' was directed at the right wing press in general not eBay nut. Funny, I never had him down as a snowflake but perhaps he's more sensitive than he makes out.
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You must live in a different part to me! In fairness Nouvelle Aquitaine is a big region and the weather can be totally different from one part to another. The climate in Bordeaux tends to be bit milder..not so hot in summer and not so cold in winter, due to its proximity to the sea. My recollection of summer is that it was average. We certainly had some very hot days in August, a few storms, a cool two weeks in September and lately some lovely mild and sunny October days.
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What a strange view of women you must have Ebaynut if you think men jeering, groping and staring is in anyway enjoyable.
The NHS...is it that bad ?
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