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'Little England' will you be watching?


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I am not winding up at all, sometimes being told about this 'other' world feels like I am having 'my' leg pulled though.

What do I see on here, I love France and moved to France and then I see a program like that and think, yes, Little England, why move?

 

I moved to a fairly normal bit of France where people got up for work and because of the 2 hours lunch break would end up doing very long hours which didn't always suit their lives, but that was the way it was and they got on with it and the pay was not always great either.

Normal people going to work, is that really so strange? It felt like perfectly normal to me.

 

Sounds like the Dordogne is wealthy and yet Insee says it isn't, certainly less well off than where I lived.

 

  Dordogne, pretty, but it's not next to the sea, or the mountains, so en regle generale, not for me.

 

And cooking stuff I like, why not, no one has to cook anything, but if I fancy something, I go for it.  Maybe it is just because I cook, I want, I cook.

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There are quite a few ex pats in this area of Brittany,but most looking to integrate.

I and some of my English friends go to an English owned french bar along with a lot of locals.We also go to a conversation club where we read and sing (badly) in French.

It was not the reason I came here to live in a Brit enclave.My wife and I try to get involved in village life and if that involves being with ex pats as well as local people so be it.
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'Sounds like the Dordogne is wealthy and yet Insee says it isn't, certainly less well off than where I lived.'

I didn't see the programme so I don't know how they gave that impression. It sounds like a typical tourist's vision. There is genuine hardship and much employment round here. Those who have a job to go to are the lucky ones. Most of the people I know have inherited tiny farms from which they try to make a living. In the summer some try to supplement it by doing things in the tourist trade others by doing contract work for other farms. Things have been made even worse lately by the reduction/abolition of the subsidy on tobacco growing. This hasn't just affected the farmers but has resulted in the loss of 120 jobs in the nearest tobacco factory.

Anyone who doubts this should try visiting the local markets in wintertime where the secondhand clothes stalls are heavily used, not by people looking for designer labels, but for warm serviceable clothes.

I could go on about homes without water supplies or sanitation although I suppose that in this respect we're not too different here from many other parts of rural France.

Hoddy
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We watched it - not impressed so far. Hopefully over 12 or so programmes we will be treated to more detail and interesting facts and topics relating to each "family" and how they came to settle there and see whether they have any misgivings, as well as seeing some part of their normal everyday lives. Having a few paltry facts - names, dates of arrival, what they do now, a few shots of the landscape and then moving on - is not my idea of entertainment, more of a survey or shopping list. And Geoffrey Palmer? Why him? The Grumpy Old voiceover doesn't work here because we are waiting for sarcasm, irony, p$*s-taking or just plain irritation to pop up. This doesn't sit well with the programme content in my view, unless of course it's wanting to aim a spiteful dig at those of us who seem to have deserted a fast- sinking ship and fled to pastures new. Maybe it will end with some drama and tears :as a salutary lesson to those currently fed up with England and living there in less picturesque areas with iffy weather - A "see what can happen if you decide not to stick it out in good old Blighty?" sort of thing! The Dordogne area is beautiful and we have many friends there, so even watching just to enjoy the scenery is tempting, but I hope that the voiceover doesn't make us switch it off in frustration. Not a great start, I feel.
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I too hope that they will show some of the realities of living and running a business here. When will somebody mention the C word?

Will all twelve episodes be about sunshine, wine and sunflowers? Will it ever be winter? Will anyone say that they wished they had stayed in England? Will they tell us about how many people go back having lost a lot of their capital in a failed venture? I doubt it.

PS Cotisations, cotisations, cotisations...
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I don't live in France but I do have a holiday home in the NE of Dordogne, and I am very protective towards it, I hate the way people call it Dordogneshire it is so derogetary and I'm sure it is not called that by the people who live there, but by people who just want to have a dig at it!

[quote user="idun"]Sounds like the Dordogne is wealthy and yet Insee says it isn't, certainly less well off than where I lived.

Dordogne, pretty, but it's not next to the sea, or the mountains, so en regle generale, not for me.[/quote]

I won't comment on the wealth of the Dordogne in comparison to other areas as I don't know, but in the last 12 years that we have been holidaying in France we have noticed all areas that we drive through or stop off in seem to have improved at a steady rate, no more so than in Dordogne.

'Dordogne pretty' well that's a little understatement, hundreds of thousands of people who choose to holiday there can't be wrong, I compare it to the UK Cotswolds, one of Englands jewels along with others like the peak district, lake district, Shropshire Marches, all of which are not next to the sea or have mountains, but each having its own true beauty, but no area can please every one. [:P] 

  

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[quote user="EmilyA"]I too hope that they will show some of the realities of living and running a business here. When will somebody mention the C word? Will all twelve episodes be about sunshine, wine and sunflowers? Will it ever be winter? Will anyone say that they wished they had stayed in England? Will they tell us about how many people go back having lost a lot of their capital in a failed venture? I doubt it. PS Cotisations, cotisations, cotisations...[/quote]

Watched 5 minutes or so about a couple of cabbages from baërlin whould been living in sin for 50 years and turned off with abject boredom.

Your post implies that jonesenfrance will not be participating, so I'll just give it a miss.

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I thought some of the cinematography (is that the right word? Is it even a word?) was nice. Lots of castles and things.

And everyone seemed quite cheerful, eating their fish & chips in the sun, so good luck to them.

Running a business here isn't all beer and skittles, I'll admit, but there are upsides: running it here, for a start.

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Charly, give us a break, quit the sinking ship and all that poppy rot.

Dear me, give me a penny for all the bitter expats who say that and I'd be considerably richer than I am now.

 

Just start reading french newspapers and watching french tv and listening to what is happening in the cités in France, the banilieus and for working people and then would could have a proper conversation about sadly the bad things that happen in BOTH countries, instead of one liners that just leave me with thoughts I would not write on here.

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[quote user="idun"]

 quit the sinking ship and all that poppy rot.

[/quote]Yup.  With you there.  I still don't get the "we've left Britain because it's cr*p" attitude.  There's a lot wrong with France in socio-economic terms too.

Idun, whilst I don't always agree with your take on life, at least you are never dull!  This programme was though, firmly in the ditchwater department!  Yawn-o-rama.  However, I do think it's a very beautiful part of the world and I fell for the Lot when I was there in the spring so as a travelog it did work for me.  But if it had been about a few couples running small businesses in the UK it would never even have been made.  Must try harder!

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Just watched it and had to rewind a bit. I am sure that the Dordogne chippie who has been here for years has a UK plate on the chippie trailer! That would make it illegal when being towed by his French registered Jeep. If they flout the laws on trailer registration then do they do the same on French food safety legislation?

Some one please tell me that I am wrong and there were French plates on that trailer.

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Did it look pretty?

   Yes, it did.

Were the people happy, in good health and wealthy?

   Of course.

Did they mention any downsides?

   Not as such, unless you are one of those who regard fish and chips, bingo, cricket, English shops etc in a negative way.

Did it look like a fair reflection of life?

   Not convinced.

Was it an interesting programme?

   Not really.

Will I watch any more?

   Maybe.

Did it make me want to emulate the participants?

   Not in the least.

Was it full of stereotypes?

   To bursting.

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I've been  following this thread, and found the range of expectations very interesting. I obviously got it totally wrong, as I thought it was on French TV! Great surprise when it popped up on my UK TV last night!

I thought the scenery looked very beautiful, which it is, and found the fish and chips people and meat man very interesting. They had the gumption to spot gaps in the market and went out and filled them, successfully, it seems and happily too - so well done them! It helps balance all those French people around the London area who have set up businesses selling French food to their compatriots and others!

The other couple seemed like spare parts - what a lot of twaddle about that couple who'd been concubin(e)s for so long. I would watch again to see if there were more people making a go of it and having a good time, and maybe some who'd tried their best but didn't succeed, but we return to France next week, and we don't have TV - and the computer isn't too happy!

 

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[quote user="Bob T"]Just watched it and had to rewind a bit. I am sure that the Dordogne chippie who has been here for years has a UK plate on the chippie trailer! That would make it illegal when being towed by his French registered Jeep. If they flout the laws on trailer registration then do they do the same on French food safety legislation?
Some one please tell me that I am wrong and there were French plates on that trailer.
[/quote]

Oh dear!! But who really gives a monkey's?

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Why are so many people so critical?  If the programme had been about a load of expats who had upped sticks and gone to live in Ulan Bator, we would have applauded them for their ingenuity in managing to make a living from making and selling English dishes, or from farming animals, or, yes, from providing a particular service for which there is a demand (in this case weddings.)  We would be thrilled that their children were speaking both languages.  And we would applaud them for their courage in taking the Big Step.

Of course the German couple were milking the prog for all the publicity they could get for their location.  Of course there are people struggling or living in hardship just around the corner.  Yes, it does rain in France and there are miserable times.  Yes, not everyone portrayed is my idea of a close friend.    I don't think that's the point.

I enjoyed it, I love Geoffrey Palmer's grumpy old voice and I will probably watch more.  I won't be alone!

If some of you are that b****y purist.............. er.............. why are you watching a UK TV prog anyway? 

Chrissie (81)  (Grumpy as she has a filthy cold caught from a BRITISH visitor.[:P])

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Yes Riff-Raff Cinematography is the correct term,   and I'm sure that the Cameraman will be chuffed that you noticed his good work. As for the Fish and Chips in the sun; wonderful. Personally I didn't see the program but reading some of the comments on here is entertainment in it's own right. [:D]
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[quote user="nomoss"]

[quote user="Bob T"]Just watched it and had to rewind a bit. I am sure that the Dordogne chippie who has been here for years has a UK plate on the chippie trailer! That would make it illegal when being towed by his French registered Jeep. If they flout the laws on trailer registration then do they do the same on French food safety legislation?

Some one please tell me that I am wrong and there were French plates on that trailer.

[/quote]

Oh dear!! But who really gives a monkey's?

[/quote]

Perhaps the local French people who see Brits coming here to make as much as they can from France without sticking to the rules themselves.

Perhaps someone who gets food poisoning because they don't think that they need to comply with French food regulations either as they have a UK plate on the food wagon.

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[quote user="Bob T"][quote user="nomoss"]

[quote user="Bob T"]Just watched it and had to rewind a bit. I am sure that the Dordogne chippie who has been here for years has a UK plate on the chippie trailer! That would make it illegal when being towed by his French registered Jeep. If they flout the laws on trailer registration then do they do the same on French food safety legislation?
Some one please tell me that I am wrong and there were French plates on that trailer.
[/quote]

Oh dear!! But who really gives a monkey's?

[/quote]

Perhaps the local French people who see Brits coming here to make as much as they can from France without sticking to the rules themselves.
Perhaps someone who gets food poisoning because they don't think that they need to comply with French food regulations either as they have a UK plate on the food wagon.
[/quote]

[IMG]http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab131/nomoss/Posted%20on%20Forums/Windup.jpg[/IMG]

[:D]

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