ebaynut

That is not rubbish, they have just had a delivery ;-)

RH, Thanks for clarifying that. I thought it may have been because she receives attendance allowance, which is exportable or that she is over 80 and therefore may have been available for people who live outside the UK. I guess another good reason to have had a new conservatory and get below the limit for being eligible , than leave the money earning nothing in the bank.

If IDS thinks "these EU rules are ridiculous", then perhaps he would be better to spend some of his time persuading DC to hold a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU. If the UK is in the EU, then they must abide by the Laws of the EU.   As regards to WFA, does he not realise that AC units in hot countries use fuel, this is after all called a winter fuel allowance, not a winter heating allowance.   Will people outside of the UK also receive the cold weather payment?  That's when the temperature goes below a certain figure for a prescribed time in the UK and everyone who is entitled to WFA also receives an extra £25.00. My mother received about five of these payments one winter, and are paid automatically into her bank account.

You may find this link interesting. It tells you why you pay National Insurance, and what it goes towards.

FYI, National insurance (NI) goes towards benefits a person receives from the government. Pensions, job seekers allowance, child benefit, incapacity benefit, sickness DLA, working tax credits etc, it does not pay for the National health system which is funded from general taxation. ( VAT etc)

The French President is sitting in his office when his telephone rings.   'Hallo, Mr. Sarkozy!' a heavily accented voice said. 'This is Paddy down at the Harp Pub in  County Clare   ,   Ireland   . I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring war on you! We voted to reject the Lisbon treaty!' 'Well Paddy, Sarkozy replied. How big is your army?' 'Right now,' says Paddy, after a moment's calculation, 'there is myself, me Cousin Sean, me next door neighbour Seamus, and the entire darts team from the pub. That makes eleven!' Sarkozy paused. 'I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100,000 men in my army waiting to move on my command.' 'Begorra!' says Paddy. 'I'll have to ring you back.' Sure enough, the next day, Paddy calls again. 'Mr. Sarkozy, the war is still on. We have managed to get us some infantry equipment!' 'And what equipment would that be Paddy?' Sarkozy asks.   'Well, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm tractor.' Sarkozy sighs amused. 'I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 6,000 tanks and 5,000 armoured personnel carriers. Also, I have increased my army to 150,000 since we last spoke.' 'Saints preserve us!' says Paddy. 'I'll have to get back to you.' Sure enough, Paddy rings again the next day. 'Mr. Sarkozy, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne! We have modified Jackie McLaughlin's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys from the Shamrock Bar have joined us as well!' Sarkozy was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. 'I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100 bombers and 200 fighter planes. My military bases are surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I have increased my army to 200, 000!' 'Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!' says Paddy, 'I will have to ring you back.' Sure enough, Paddy calls again the next day. 'Top o' the mornin', Mr. Sarkozy! I am sorry to inform you that we have had to call off the war.' 'Really? I am sorry to hear that,' says Sarkozy. 'Why the sudden change of heart?' 'Well,' says Paddy, 'we had a long chat over a few pints of Guinness and packets of crisps, and we decided there is no f****n' way we can feed 200,000 prisoners.

An updated version of an old classic.....     > SOCIALISM > You have 2 cows. > You give one to your neighbour. > > COMMUNISM > You have 2 cows. > The state takes both and gives you some milk. > > FASCISM > You have 2 cows. > The state takes both and sells you some milk. > > NAZISM > You have 2 cows. > The state takes both and shoots you. > > BUREAUCRACY > You have 2 cows. > The state takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then > throws the milk away. > > TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM > You have two cows. > You sell one and buy a bull. > Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. > You sell them and retire on the income. > > ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (VENTURE) CAPITALISM > You have two cows. > You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters > of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a > debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all > four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. > The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to > a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder > who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. > The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option > on one more. > You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving > you with nine cows. > No balance sheet provided with the release. > The public then buys your bull. > > SURREALISM > You have two giraffes. > The government requires you to take harmonica lessons. > > AN AMERICAN CORPORATION > You have two cows. > You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. > Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead. > > A FRENCH CORPORATION > You have two cows. > You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows. > > A JAPANESE CORPORATION > You have two cows. > You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow > and produce twenty times the milk. > You then create a clever cow cartoon image called a Cowkimona and > market it worldwide. > > AN ITALIAN CORPORATION > You have two cows, but you don’t know where they are. > You decide to have lunch. > > A SWISS CORPORATION > You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you. > You charge the owners for storing them. > > A CHINESE CORPORATION > You have two cows. > You have 300 people milking them. > You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity. > You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation. > > AN INDIAN CORPORATION > You have two cows. > You worship them. > > A SPANISH CORPORATION > You have 2 cows but owe Santander for 6. > Nobody drinks milk. > You have a siesta and read about the collapse of the Euro > > A GREEK CORPORATION > You lease 2 cows and pay somebody 3 times the going rate to milk > them using borrowed money. > You refinance the 4 cows to secure the services of Goldman Sachs. > They sell the future milk production of the 60 cows and fund your lifestyle. > You retire to anywhere that doesn’t use the Euro. > > A BRITISH CORPORATION > You have two cows. > Both are mad. > > AN IRAQI CORPORATION > Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. > You tell them that you have none. > No-one believes you, so they bomb the cr_ap out of you and invade your country. > You still have no cows, but at least you are now a democracy. > > AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION > You have two cows. > Business seems pretty good. > You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate. > > A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION > You have two cows. > The one on the left looks very attractive. > > AN ARGENTINIAN CORPORATION > You don't have any cows. > But you claim sovereignty over the ones belonging to your neighbour > > IN SLOVENIA > You have two cows, but one left for Germany and other escaped to Australia > > ECOLOGICAL ORGANISATION > You have two cows. > You swap them for Soya Bean plants to prevent global warming.  

A scouser walked into the local job centre, marched straight up to the Counter and said 'Hi, I'm looking for a job'. The man behind the counter replied 'Your timing is amazing. We've just got one in from a very wealthy man who wants a chauffeur/bodyguard for his nymphomaniac twin daughters. You'll have to drive around in a big black Mercedes and wear the uniform provided. The hours are a bit long but the meals are provided. You also have to escort the young ladies on their Overseas holidays. The Salary package is £200,000 a year'. The Scouser said 'You're bullshitting me!' The man behind the counter said 'Well you started it!' ____  

If you log into your PayPal account, then click on "send money" on the top line. On the new page which opens up, about half way down there are two boxes one is "purchase" and the one to the right of it is "personal". Click on personal,  new page opens. Enter the email address of who you wish to send payment.  Tick the box that says "gift", then continue. On the next page you will see the fee if sent from one UK account to another UK account is 0.00. If the payment is for an overseas account there is a small fee, which the sender can pay or the person receiving payment can have the fee deducted from the total sent. If a preson sends a payment request, it cannot be a personal payment. You must send the payment direct to be able to do this, the receiving party cannot request a "personal payment". Hope this helps.

I might just vote UKIP next time after watching this  

Norman wrote, The point is that for a few years British and other European immigrants to France have had a privileged status with respect to other non-European immigrants, and been sheltered from some of the difficulties that these people face. This has included the fact that no 'carte de séjour' is required, that British people can vote in local elections, that their health care is often paid for by those working in Britain, and that no test of language ability or knowledge of France is required. There are also double taxation treaties, and OAP increases are paid. These things are because of membership of Europe, not because the French particularly want these concessions. They create a belief that Brits are not really immigrants, more 'ex-pats' and that they are somehow on a higher plane than other groups. If the UK were no longer part of the EU this might well all change, forcing British immigrants to wake up to their real status...as immigrants. While I am always open to reasoned argument I fail to see why stating the obvious is synonymous with uttering from my nether regions    But surely when the French go to live in the UK, they also receive an even more  "privileged status". They receive TOTALLY free healthcare, no one is asking them to take out top up cover, which may weed out the sick ones and stop them moving to the UK.  No, the UK will pay the lot, all they have to do is decide to live here. No CDS or its equivalent is required by them, all they have to do is decide to live here. The UK lets them vote in its elections, allows double tax treaties. These things are possible because the UK is a richer country than France, people in the UK work harder and longer than the average French person, and have of course enjoyed the spoils of war over the centuries, but of course to do this you must first win the war, not something the French have a lot of knowledge about. :-)

Some years ago a small rural town in Spain twinned with a similar town in Greece. The Mayor of the Greek town visited the Spanish town. When he saw the palatial mansion belonging to the Spanish mayor he wondered how he could afford such a house. The Spaniard said; "You see that bridge over there? The EU gave us a grant to build a two-lane bridge, but by building a single lane bridge with traffic lights at either end this house could be built". The following year the Spaniard visited the Greek town. He was simply amazed at the Greek Mayor's house, gold taps, marble floors, it was marvellous. When he asked how this could be afforded the Greek said; "You see that bridge over there?" The Spaniard replied; "No."  

Ditto.

Try the fuel filter in the tank, they get blocked every now and then.

At least that is one thing I don't have to worry about here in the UK with my local council. They have soOOOO much of the rate payers money they can afford to invest it in Icelandic banks, as clearly they had no other plans for it.

I am glad my situation made you laugh SW17. But that is nothing to what happened about a year ago. I was upstairs late one Friday night when I heard a noise from within the garden. I looked out between the curtains and I could see there were two men armed with crowbars about to break in through my door. I immediately phoned the police station, but when I explained what was happening was told that no one was available at the present time and it could be several hours before someone was free. The station then hung up on me. I waited a few minutes and phoned the police back, saying that there were two men armed with shotguns in my garden trying to break in. Within three minutes there were 10 police cars, 30 armed officers and a helicopter overhead. They soon caught the two offenders. The officer in charge came over to me shouting "I thought you said they were armed". I replied, "and I thought you said you had no one available" :-)

Last night I was awoken by a noise downstairs in my house. I crept down the stairs to investigate and there was this young man searching through all the drawers and cupboards in my living room. I asked him WTF he was doing and he replied he was looking for cash. I told him I would give him a hand and if we found any we could split it 50/50 ;-)

It could be, do you have ten children??

[IMG]http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/ebaynut/dave/behindyou.jpg[/IMG] Dont worry everyone, Dave has it "sorted".

[quote user="BIG MAC"][quote user="ebaynut"][quote user="Mr Coeur de Lion"] That makes no sense whatsoever. [/quote] . But to say I should not be allowed to comment because someone does not like my post and I am not an immigrant to France is crazy. This Forum's not only for people who reside in France to post on[/quote] I would hate for that someone who finds your distaste for fellow UK citizens to be considered alone in finding your remarks reprehensible therefore let me nail my colours to their right minded mast. There are many citizens of the UK whose forebears have worked for, fought for and paid for your right to espouse racist vitriol and continue to do so. Your subscription to the magazine which supports this web facility is doubtless appreciated however I would take a guess that the recipients of your benevolence may not share your views. For someone on a France Forum with a monniker derived from a Colonial Web Auction site...you seem to be a tad confused...either that or the latter part of your nom de plume could not be more apt. [/quote] So perhaps a "monniker" derived from a Colonial dead cow shop may be more apt for a French forum???

[quote user="Mr Coeur de Lion"] That makes no sense whatsoever. [/quote] As you know, this forum is run by Archant. It makes its money for this forum from among other things the sale of magazines like Living France. I subscribe to this publication and have done for many years. I wonder how many posters on here subscribe and there by help to support this forums upkeep? Not all do of course, but their contributions are very welcome, and I have learnt many things about France from them. But to say I should not be allowed to comment because someone does not like my post and I am not an immigrant to France is crazy. This Forum's not only for people who reside in France to post on

[quote user="Gardener"]Mods are you really going to allow Ebaynut's rampant and blatant racism to continue unabated. These comments on a forum for immigrants, of which ebaynut is not one, are IMO are beyond the pale.[/quote] Just because we do not agree on this subject does not mean I cannot put my point of view forward. Please remember that I contribute financially to the running of this forum, do you?????

[quote user="Will"][quote user="ebaynut"] ...perhaps so many BRITISH people would not be thinking of leaving their home country.[/quote] At least as far as France and Spain are concerned, I currently see as many, maybe more, British people returning to Britain than there are emigrating. [/quote] Perhaps there is hope that life in the UK will improve now that Mr Blair/Brown have finally been shown the door.

[quote user="KathyF"][quote user="ebaynut"][quote user="Gardener"][quote user="ebaynut"][quote user="Clair"]I watched images of the "protests" on the  French news and couldn't help but be reminded of the poll tax and Moss Side riots back in the days... [/quote] Moss side, Toxteth, Broadwater farm, all good reasons for the UK to have closed it boarders years ago IMHO. None of these can be blamed on the English.[/quote] It happened in England so whose fault was it?[/quote] The UK governments fault for allowing people from outside the UK to live in the country.....[/quote] The government didn't just allow immigrants to settle in the UK, ebaynut. Back in the 50s they actually invited them to do so, to fill the pressing need for more workers, especially workers willing to do the dirty, low-paid jobs the English (since you seem not to be talking about the British [;-)]) no longer wanted to do themselves. Once you've invited people, you can't really kick them out when you don't need them anymore. [/quote] Its a shame that many found drug dealing, mugging and crime in general more to their taste. If they had stuck to what they were brought here for in the first place perhaps so many BRITISH people would not be thinking of leaving their home country.

[quote user="Will"]So once again a discussion about French current affairs degenerates into Daily-Mail-style UK bashing, particularly directed at immigration. Perhaps the mods would care to move it to a non-France-related section of the forum? [/quote] I think you will find if you re read this thread it was a mod who first brought up the UK!!!!!!