Jump to content

tegwini

Members
  • Posts

    743
  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never

Posts posted by tegwini

  1. Hi W-B's brother

    Neither Jura, (nor myself)  have put out a tirade - it's more a lament & regret for what has happened in Africa & especially in my case in southern Africa- my  husband's family roots go back there for hundreds of years & it's hard to accept what is happening there,

    Empire loyalists probably have not really helped, not only did they not understand Africa, but their loyalties & interests lay elsewhere & not in Africa.   And now many in the UK  think the Commonwealth ( the empire now liberated) ,  is wonderful,   functions well,  is democratic, full of economically sound countries with well-principled & honest leaders.  Some of this is misguided guilt.  And we know that the commonwealth is really full of  leaders who are despots, incompetants,  & often see their country's wealth as their own.

    That's what this lament is about & that we are helpless to change anything.

    regards

    tegwini

    ps it's also sad that so many think Mandela is a saint, his first (abandonned) wife,  Evelyn (mother of his 4 children, none of whom he helped) disagrees.

     

  2. Katie

    Problem soil can be improved - needs turning over & stuff dug into it.  Horsey poo sitting on top won't do much good unless dug in - but improving your soil  can take ages ...

    I make compost - kitchen/garden stuff, almost anything which I find helps.   Last Autumn we piled leaves on the veg garden in Wiltshire (couldn't find anywhere to put them as we had so many) & not only did the leaves keep down the weeds which would usually be sprouting by now, but since the leaves have vanished I can only assume rotted in/worms comsumed or pulled under by worms???  Seems like R&D work, hopefully this makes sense to you!

    Gardening is such trial & error...

    regards

    tegwini

  3. Yes  Jura,   I agree, but how awful to sit by & allow Mugabe (or Amin) to murder & ruin a country & do nothing beacause of race or P.C!  You sound as cynical as I am about the role of governments & especially the UK government's role in Africa - or anywhere else for that matter.  They do nothing about human rights in China or Saudi Arabia- too powerful, too useful ?  and SA & Rhodesia were punished as much as possible.   My parents lived in Bulawayo during the terrorist war, my 2 brothers served in the war,  (war of libraration???) and life was better for Blacks then than now, and no one starved.   Britain had war ships off LM to keep out oil tankers with oil destined for Rhodesia.  They punished a tiny country, but do nothing about large powerful countries with murderous dictators- or Blacks killing Blacks.   Look at Darfur now - the Arab/Muslim government commiting genocide in the Christian south, and it is tolerated.

    I used to hope that South Africa's mineral wealth would help, but as long as someone mines it , it matters not that chaos is setting in.   Democracy does not work in Africa, tribalism rules & they vote tribally,  Zim is about tribalism- Shona vs Matabele, South Africa is similar. Or,  as Ian Smith said : African democracy = one man, one vote, once.

    Sadly, although we give away our rights & tax to our governments they rarely represent our views.  And,  they can barely protect us from terrorism or imported crime these days in some parts of the UK.   In the long run we must look to our own future & security.

    Oh,  for a desert island with sunshine &  stuff to eat & something interesting to do...

    tegwini

     

  4. Spot on Jura, and yet it is mainly Black children & babies being raped/gang raped - horrific!

    The world has lost interest in SA now that the Black majority rules - tragic in Zimbabwe- SA to follow? 

     This is why over a million white, maybe 2 million,  South Africans (& some Indian & Coloured South Africans)  have left, as well as almost all white Zimbabweans.

    Amazing how quickly things have changed in southern Africa, but sad ...

    tegwini

  5. Cathy

    we've had that for about 8 years - and 24/7 - thankfully now she's more independent &  working & at present skiing in France, so I can't be shouted at or have to put up with numerous arguments-   you bring 'em up to be polite, but once they start school (espec.in UK) they mix with rude, grim kids & become like their peers. And, you are no longer the Boss these days, in the UK the state has taken on that role.

    Your have to grit your teeth for the teenage years -   mine have been gritted so much I often wonder how they have survived it all.

    Bon courage

    tegwini

  6. Katie

    You should prune Clematis annually, BUT the timing depends on which one you have - early or late flowering.

    I suggest you google it to try to work out which one you have & also do you remember when it flowers?   I don't do mine very much, they're on a trellis, and grow like mad, gorgeous when flowering - they like their 'heads' in the sun, roots in the shade. I tend to 'tidy' them a bit - nothing more.

    Surprised to hear of passion flower growing - presumably you are in the south?  does it fruit? (so many varieties of these too)

    regards

    tegwini

  7. Yes Gluestick, no interest on debt sounds great (how do they do it?),  - but would we want to take on board all the other stuff?  (It would  certainly  kill off the City of London's predominance as the world's financial heart ).

    Trouble is, the middle name of the British should be  'compromise',   and sadly that is often seen as a weakness by those who don't really understand us.  The pace at which the UK is changing is quite scary-  and we continually give in to demands & weaken our own future & that of our children & grandchildren.

    Tegwini

    ps - Gluey - watch out for misusing the name of  Mr M ......, they might send someone around to visit you!

  8. Yes Hagar, you have a point- it may be 'potentially' £10 milion, BUT do we really know what the government spends, what the trade deficit is, how much government borrowing is happening, & what the national debt is now & what it will be in a year or two? But,  just the thought that they might spend that much really annoys me.

    It's still money wasted whilst we have pot-holed roads, a health service that cannot afford to treat cancer victims, & has waiting lists, (I have just been on one for something relatively minor, but not to me, &  it was for 5 months);  soldiers minus the appropriate equipment in Afghanistan (recently one died unnecesarily due to a lack of helicopters!),  UK pensioners on very low pensions,  and so on  - ad infinitum ...

    It's also objectionable, and I agree with Russethouse here, and really believe that laws have to be consistently applied to everyone to be fair, to make sense, to be respected ...

    It's also a slap in the face for British women. who had to struggle to get equal rights, which included fairness in marriage & divorce.

    Tegwini

     

  9. 1000 = 'tiny' small  number ?   

    It is, apparently,   £10 Million,  = 2 schools etc, And, in Salisbury loads of schools with tatty, shed- like buildings (mobiles) badly insulated or sound proofed etc., and the LEA has no money to build proper buildings!

    And, loads of pennypinching in the NHS.

    Not forgetting  that polygamy is illegal for the rest of us.

    What a crowd of wasters we have at Westminster!

    Tegwini

  10. Hi Sarah

    Sadly only in France 14-23 March.

    We're NE of Poitiers nr Chattelerault ,   I will try to do something about storing them - if it's not too far to fetch them - do pse let me know.

    Never had laurel before as a hedge - quite like it, evergreen, lovely bright colour, slow growing I think, tough I think, Vienne also cold in Winter, I think I have at least 20 plants- approx 12-18 inch

    Regards

    Tegwini

  11. We're hoping to buy the land over the road from us - it's not for building, in fact cannot be built on, we just want to start an orchard & have access to the river to paddle in on hot days ...

    Do you have to pay Tax fonciere/D'habitation & how does the Notaire's fee work - is it a %,     & is it different for land?

    Any information appreciated.

    Regards

    Tegwini

  12. I would avoid conifers or anything large.  We have a laurel hedge which is attractive & evergreen & seems ok,  I hope,  as far as the fosse is concerned.  Slow growing I believe, but if you want I have some small plants that I need to remove from my future ve garden.  Need to go during  2 wk of March. (in the Vienne).

    BUT for 2 yrs now we have had root problems - some conifers & perhaps a large oak, but it caused an overflowing toilet/.NO toilet and needless emptying of the fosse.  The 'emptying man' found roots - lots of, and we have unnecessarily put in a new toilet which also failed to work, and le plombier at last believes me that it is roots in the pipes.  Hopefully sorted soon.

    Not sure why - here in the UK no problem & surrounded by large trees.   But be careful,  what you plant,  not easy to have no toilet, especially on Christmas day as we did!

    regards

    tegwini

  13. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/a_level_gcse_results/

    Bonjour Mackyfrance

    Do have a look at link-  many changes(list is for 2007) in 'top schools' & I believe that in the next decade or so many more schools will offer the IB/Bac.  And it is significant that a larger % are in fee-paying schools in the UK, and I do not compare the ecole prive which charge a tiny amt. The average school fee these days is £2000- £3000,    per term, and more, and, day only.                                       Winchester over £25 K pa !   I have met a couple of Wykhamists - nothing special - except rich parents. 

     So many state schools in the UK are appalling. Yes, likewise in  French banlieu, but appalling here in the shires, leafy suburbs & expensive to live in county towns. 

    It's not perfect here, that's why this ex-pat forum exists!

    regards

    Tegwini

  14. Sprogster

    Lots of changes in SA - I know, I have heard of illegal immigrants to SA from the rest of Africa - eg Nigeria (many of whom are involved in crime in SA), but I had not heard of Indians from India.  SA has a large Indian population (Hindu & Moslem) brought there by the British 150 yrs ago,  but hadn't heard of Indians from the Indian sub-continent going to SA.

    It would be a shame if visas were needed for white SAfricans who have always travelled to the UK & beyond - and for that matter UK citizens who holiday in SA- or buy property there to have to worry about visas.  SA 18yr olds  used to have the rite of passage of travelling, often to the UK,  after completing their Matriculation,  and of course many have parents,  grandparents etc who have UK ancestry even serving in the UK forces in both wars.  

     SA airmen flew in the Battle of Britain, and were part of the 'Great Escape', and of course Field Marshall Smuts was in the British War Cabinet and after WW1 was responsible for setting up the Smuts Commision which founded the RAF.  They were volunteers,  even for WWI  when the British government & Army, only a few years before,  had committed some very serious & tragic mistakes in the concentration camps in 1899-1901  where  40,000  innocent Afrikaner(Boer) women & children died.  I know a man whose Grandma lost almost all her siblings & mother in one of these camps near Bloemfontein- those memories remain with him.

    Doubtless PC and the need to be colourblind is forcing such changes. But, I hear of many places in Europe where there are 'open doors' to all kinds of illegal immigrants, most of whom have little chance of supporting themselves and fitting in- unlike South Africans who often do very well indeed. 

    One should note that UK/Europe is not the first choice of SAfricans leaving- that is Aus/NZ/USA   -   the UK and certainly France are well down the list!

    Tegwini

  15. Frenchie

    J'aime beaucoup l'image de Kermit- je cherche  une image comme ca svp-  mais ou?

    Pardon - je n'a pas des accents ici!

    Merci beaucoup, j'a vu beaucoup des mots  nouveaux- j'espere qu'ils resteront dans ma tete - mon mari ma dit 'you are loosing your marbles' - qu'es ce que c'est en francais?

    bon nuit - c'est plus tard, est je vais chercher 'les marbles'

    tegwini

     

     

  16. The IB is being taught at many schools including some top ones.  I am not convinced that Harrow & Winchester are top schools when one looks at their results.  Dozens of LEA grammar schools have better A level results- with fewer resources, and kids needing to have some type of job.   Reluctance by many good schools,  mine including,   is more about cost than doubt over the broad range of subjects needed for the BAC/IB.   Many teachers,  myself included,  think that children are being forced to choose subjects & hence careers far too young. A broad syllabus is a major advantage & allows students to choose careers at  17/18 rather than at 15 /16.  Around the world few countries test school leavers at 18 in such a narrow range of subjects.

    The National Curriculum now insists that all have to do Maths, Science & English for 5 years at secondary school and this is an improvement from the past when some kids dropped maths for example, as young as 13,  only to regret it later.  You can study more than one language at many schools these days - but generally it is the brighter kids that do that.

    This is a topic that many disagree on,  but clearly change is happening & for once the UK is starting to look elsewhere & is starting to consider that perhaps  its educational  'gold standard'   (A levels)  is becoming a mite tarnished.

    regards

    tegwini

  17. Jura- I am aware of the PM facility.

    Here is rural Wiltshire there are loads of SAfricans - mainly professional people - my dentist, & vet are South Africans, I know specialist medical consultants at the district hospital who qualified there, as well as many in business.  A disproportionately high % of the top jobs in the City of London are held by South Africans.  If they can make it here & acquire UK nationality they can then go to France if they choose to.

    The original poster might or might not have these choices- who knows ?    A visa is more difficult to get these days, but thousands managed for the rugby cup final in Paris, and the MIL has been given one even though she's nearly 83.  Since she dislikes the cold she never stays after Autumn. I almost wonder why other Commonwealth countries eg Australia & Canada do not need a visa,  white South Africans, many with French blood, have to have a visa, is it something to do with being in Africa? ...

    Tegwini

    ps this post is addressed to you Jura.

  18. I can only describe what I see & have knowledge of after teaching for over 30 yrs.  It is now common knowledge amongst teachers that standards have declined.    It is now possible to pass with only 20%  with some examination boards.  Recently a pass with the Edexel examination board C grade in Maths only needed 16%, and AQA 20% .  Somehow A level has followed this trend- A* grades now so commonplace that the universities are starting to arrange their own assessments.   And yet some 'universities'  are admitting students with D grades and lower.

    A university degree is not only to enable a student to acquire a professional qualification, but also to learn a discipline-  coherent thinking etc.   It is doubtful that 50% of the population has the necessary IQ to cope with a university education. 

    And, what's wrong with techical colleges training those wanting to learn a trade?  Not many plumbers around here - perhaps we should look forward to more Poles arriving in this part of the UK?   I don't hear of Polish plumbers in France - or a shortage  in France as in the UK.  And, ironically we have lots of young people in the UK - with 'degrees' ending up with  'Mcjobs', disillusioned & with university loans & debts after years wasted.

    I realise that many young people in France cannot find work, and that French education has its problems too.  However, the BAC is admired here and many top & independent schools now offer  the International Bac instead of A level & top UK universities now welcome it. 

     

  19. Thank you ClarkKent for reminding us the statistics can be  - 'lies, damn lies and statistics..."

    And Mackyfrance, who says the JT list is the one to believe in?

    I can only comment on what I see here-  & since it is possible to go to a university with what would have been mediocre/poor results then one must assume standards have declined.  Perhaps the French are doing similar, but I don't hear of them planning to send  50% of school leavers to university,  nor of no or few facilities to learn a trade in France as it seems to be in the UK.

    Tegwini

  20. Thanks to Quillan & others for pointing out that loads of French are now in the UK - recently I read of 400,000.   All to make money & presumably re-patriate it.  Even a few in my small village in southern Wiltshire & some I know at school; one even with a UK grant re-qualifying to teach here- no jobs for her in Normandy.

    We Brits bring money into France, employ French artisans, spend our money on house removations, etc & etc

    THAT, post must be wind-up, can't possibly be serious!

    Tegwini

  21. Sanibonani Tania,

    Don't be put off by negative comments.

    Lots of Non-Eu nationals need a Visa for France,  South Africa is not alone.  But long-term planning is necessary.  I would also suggest you attempt to establish if you have grandparents born in the EU.  Or, short-term living in the UK - easier to acquire EU  status.- 4 years,  I think, at present.  Loads of SA citizens in the UK, (quite a few in France too) many with top jobs, often heard on the TV/Radio, but you do have to grit your teeth in winter.    Parts of France as cold - or colder. Certainly compared  with Durban/JHB which we were used to!

    Happy to discuss further is you want to PM me.

    Bonne Chance

    Tegwini

     

     

×
×
  • Create New...