lindal1000

The handmaid's tale is becoming less like fiction every day..although I'm not sure how an employer would know.

You could make that comment about anywhere. My brother lived in a very nice appartement block near Harrods for a while. There was unfortunately one lad who lived there with mummy and daddy who was a bit of a yob, and broke the lift one weekend when his friends were there, set off fire extinguishers another time, left broken bottles in the lobby. As you say you only need one, but that didn't mean the block then refused to put in fire safety features. They did chase up the parents for the money, but as the yob was over 18, they weren't liable and I don't think they ever managed to get the lad himself to pay up.

Most emergency lighting can be fitted into the wall so that it pretty much vandal proof..and I don't think I've ever seen lights painted over. Lights at floor level would not help drug dealers. And what makes you think that high rise flats are full of yobs? Mostly families, disabled people and elderly people.. or are you just being silly?

The installers (apparently) according to OH, were formally declared bankrupt a year or so after they did the work. They owed £1million pounds. The company was then taken over by another company who had the same director as the previous one. Of course that doesn't mean the panels they used were faulty or below spec, but it doesn't bode well.

My house was a former council house. I bought it off someone who bought it under right to buy, and the estate was about 50/50 council /owner occupied.People have strange ideas about council tenants. Mostly they are people working in lower paid jobs such as nurses, or carers, disabled people and elderly people. My experience of council blocks in London is that they are about the same..50/50 council, owner occupied. However even for owner occupied flats the council is the free holder and responsible for the buildings insurance, which is recouped via service charges to private landlords. The flat dwellers are responsible for their own contents insurance. So it would be the councils insurers who would have to foot the bill for the leaseholders, eventually. If you are made homeless due to a fire, whatever the circumstances, the council does have a duty to help you find emergency accommodation. It isn't free if you have an income. These are usually so awful that many people decline and stay with friends and family if they have any.

What an unpleasant post Ebaynut, with the implication that some people's lives are more valuable than others depending on various factors defined by you.

Bergerac airport is very convenient for many of us and flights have actually increased in recent years..BA now fly from City over the summer and there are many more flights to other parts of France and Europe. Summer months you are spoilt for choice and the new works are a big improvement on what was once no more than a tin hut for arrivals and departures. However, no one moving to this part of the world needs to worry about the airport closing or reducing flights as Bordeaux is only an hour away where you can fly just about anywhere all year round. When OH picks me up from Bergerac he waits til I call him from the arrivals hall before setting off.

It has got worse recently because of increased checks that are being applied to people coming in and out from non-Schengen countries as part of the measures in increase security at Schengen borders. Apparently they have employed a few more customs officers but there are still only two check points. Also Bergerac doesn't have an automatic scanning system, so as you say, all numbers have to be typed in manually. On a full flight it can take over an hour to get everyone through.

https://youtu.be/88rr6bGkdFE Just for you ALBF. Stage 11 of the TDF..starting point 'Eymet'

only a matter of time I think.. negotiations start in 10 days.. that should be fun.

I agree it's a Hobson's choice but the damage that TM could do with a big majority and no opposition even from within her own party would be unbearable. Labour cannot win an overall majority, but TM could find that she still needs to be accountable..and that for me is safer and a reason to vote Labour.

Patf..potential terrorists are not just from Muslim backgrounds. I think I have written before of our friends son, a Canadian, who had never been in a Mosque until he was in his late teens. He was radicalised by various means, without her being aware, and then he went to Syria where he was killed. She has formed a group of mothers in similar positions to look at trying to understand how radicalisation occurs and what can be done to prevent it. Her situation is far from unique. People susceptible to succumbing to radicalisation can come from all walks of life and all backgrounds.

I think for me the issue is that Theresa May herself made it a campaign issue the day after. Having decided to stop campaigning as a mark of respect she then immediately got in there with 'enough is enough' and 'we are too tolerant to extremism'. 'Enough is enough' was in fact the phrase used by protesting policemen the year before, when she was home secretary and cut their numbers. That must be where she got it from. France has responded very differently. As far as I know police numbers weren't cut, and in fact a State of emergency was declared and is still in force, giving French police powers that would probably worry even the Daily Mail. Voluntary conscription is still encouraged, with the conscripts being used to assist with routine work, allowing the police more time to concentrate on protection. It did not seem to be a big issue in the French elections by any part other than the FN, who didn't really offer any other solutions. You are correct though, as it hasn't meant that there have been fewer attacks, so maybe the harder line taken by France is no more effective.

Well everyone has a different reaction I suppose. I have told my nearest and dearest that should I be unlucky enough to meet my demise at the hands of a terrorist I would expect them to treat it in the same way as any other of the many ways I could go. The parents of one of the victims was involved in the planning and actually chose the songs that she though her daughter would want to hear. As far as I know none of the performers were paid. There will always be people such as yourself that will not find these things helpful, but that did not seem to be the view of those attending.

All ticket sales and donations during the concert went to a fund for the victims and their families and the red cross. It showed those wishing to terrorise that they can't and haven't. It showed solidarity with those affected (some of the injured were able to attend). It was something positive for those that like concerts (most of the victims). On top of that I thought it was one of the best concerts I've seen in a while. I didn't know who Arianna Grande was but she is a pretty professional performer for one so young. Cold Play and Noel Gallagher were good, Robbie Williams less so, and Pharrell Williams and Black Eyed peas also good.

I think for me the issue is that everyone should have the right to vote somewhere. It's what Emily Pankhurst and her colleagues starved themselves for, endured torture and chained themselves to railings for, so that I could vote. It is a responsibility that I take very seriously so to be denied it does rile me. (I still have a few years left to fall foul of the 15 year rule). Andy is correct that not everyone who wants French citizenship can get it, even if they may have lived here for years. If their centre of interest is still considered to be the UK, because that is where their income comes from, then they will not qualify, even if they have been happily and legally living in France for years. Of course there are plenty of countries that do not agree with universal human suffrage, but I sort of hoped that the UK was not one of those. And many cannot just move back.. if work takes you to somewhere like France it is a big decision to quit your job, uproot your family etc when you have moved legally to another country. To give you the other side...My BIL works for a company that has bases all over the world. He was offered a promotion but it involved moving to Singapore for five years. He decided to decline due to family commitments in the UK. He is now first on the list to be made redundant and at 55 there isn't much chance of another job with the same money. Yes we have choices but sometimes they are not as easy as we think.

My gay friends have a crush on Macron! Not sure that it is just wine and foxhunting. I have not been a fan of Corbyn but I've been listening to them all over the past few weeks. I was waiting for the manifestos..they appeared. The conservative one was full of waffle and some really nasty policies and absolutely nothing for the NHS, education, disabled people, young people a..it offered no hope except for the dream of brexit. The labour manifesto was more like a typical labour manifesto, but at least it concentrated on the groups that are really struggling even if it is a bit unrealistic. And then I actually listened to JC in interviews. He was lucid, humorous, humble even and came across as authentic..and I started to ask myself whether it would really be that bad compared to the invisible Maybot. So that's me..if many more start thinking like that between now and next week, who knows..

Well France is part of the EU and the EU negotiating principles are the same for all member states. No discussion on trade before the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens in the EU have been agreed, and until the settlement terms have been agreed. Now whether they will stick to that once the negotiations start we don't know but it would have been very odd for the president of a key member state to go against the negotiating principles signed by his predecessor. Macron seems to be doing quite well and latest polls suggest he will get a majority in the legislatives. I like him..I think he will be good for France.

I'm sure you're not the only one thinking that Idun. Just out of interest, what is it about housing that is bad, from your perspective. I know people complain that with the prices going up it is virtually impossible for young people to buy, but then I have heard others worried that they are going down. Rentals seem a problem in the South. You seem to have to be earning a good salary before you can even get a look in..

But as all those who voted for brexit said.. 'It isn't about the money but about the kind of society we want to live in'

I haven't heard the overgenerous public pension argument for a while. The average NHS pension is £8000 pa. Most people in the public sector do not earn as much as those in the private sector. Most public sector workers do not work for the full 40 years required to get a full pension. I will have 20/80 of my final salary when I retire. My final salary was around the average wage. If I bought a house and rent that in the UK and that would bring in more than my public pension. Being able to transfer pensions just means that it is easier to manage as it all comes from one place. As the pension is now based on career average rather than final salary it is sometimes better not to transfer and to just take two pensions, especially if you move to a lower paid job.

Project fear woolly.. Actually Corbyn stands very little chance of forming a government but TM stands a very good chance of not increasing her majority by enough votes to make it possible for her to do what she wants. That was after all her reasoning for calling the election in the first place. There were an awful lot of people who voted to leave the EU that were labour voters. They don't just switch parties overnight, especially when the manifesto from the Conservatives contains worse things than foxhunting, from their point of view. Similarly there were very many conservatives who did not vote for brexit, and whilst they might be loyal and resigned to the result perhaps they don't like the hard version of brexit that TM is proposing? And we all know what happens to arrogant politicians who call elections or votes thinking they are certain to win.

I do think the result of the general election will have an influence on British citizens living in France. Many have pensions and income derived from the Uk and government policy affects that.. In addition many people have all their family in the UK, are perhaps paying for Children at Uk universities, or have businesses in the UK but live in France, or go back to the Uk regularly to work. People don't always vote for their own self interests but those of their children, parents etc. And there are many people who genuinely have interests and commitments in both countries and their residency is purely decided by what country they spend the majority of their time in.

They're cr*pping themselves over on Leave EU and Get Britain Out as latest polls have narrowed the gap to 3%. She really does herself no favours by refusing to actually debate anything. No one gets given an election..you have to fight for it..and she seems completely disengaged. I wonder if there is any credibility in the rumours that she is planning to resign, whatever the result? Even Trump fought for the presidency.

[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]I find that hard to believe. The thing about wine is that it is very heavy. A pallet of wine weighs 800 - 1000 kg so there is a limit how much you can carry on a van. Maybe two pallets ??? Now, when we doing the wine runs in France on an artic we were only getting 50-100 euros a pallet back to London. Which is great on an artic but rubbish in a van. So how does he make money ?[/quote] It's not a van, it's a bloody big lorry. He brings all sorts of things down as well as Tesco deliveries. I guess he makes his money the same way any other lorry driver does.