Reclaiming British Identity?

[DavyR]

Their education system does seem good though, I grant you.

[corydoras]

Scapanapper:

I saw a BBC TV programme last night (Real Story, I think) that featured British EX Pats ( you will notice they don't call them selves immigrants) in Spain.

Amongst some horror stories of how these gentle folk had suffered at the hands of totally unjust local laws there were some interesting statistics quoted.

In a recent survey only 4% of the resident Brits described themselves as fluent in Spanish and only 40% said they had anything to do socially with the local community.

It was also said that 90+% percent of the bars were run by Brits who insisted on serving only British style food and drinks.

There was also some lovely scenes of life in Spain including bingo at the local branch of the Royal British Legion.

Does this ring any bells???

 

Cheers

Scapa

Hi Scapa, I saw this too and it gave me a bit of a wry smile. I made sure that when I bought my little bolthhole in France that it was in a part of the country that is not oft frequented by Brits for the very same reason. I don't want to have anything to do with the 'full-English and brown sauce brigade. Je suis bien intégré moi.

 

[ 09. August 2005, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: corydoras ]

[DavyR]

quote:

---

Originally posted by corydoras:

Je suis bein intégré moi

. [/QB]

---

Just can't spell "bien" very well!

[corydoras]

Originally posted by DavyR:

 

If I have to take medicines at all, I would prefer to swallow them in the time-honoured British fashion and not stick them up my bottom, thank you.

Sorry if I am a tad thick, but you will need to explain that one, I just don't get it. What I do get is being able to phone up my doctor for an appointment and he says 'come in this afternoon' not 'see you in a month'. An example; my father in law went in to see his GP one Monday morning complaining of pains in his chest, by Wednesday afternoon the same week. e had had a triple by-pass.

 

For the price the average Englishman pays for his poxy 3 bedroom semi he could just about buy a real castle, with portcullis, drawbridge, moat, the works in France.

 

This is a new stereotype that I have not heard before. 'All French people live in rented appartments' It's about as trues as 'all French people eat frog's legs'.

[Sportsman]

Tricky language "foreign"

[corydoras]

DavyR:

quote:

---

Originally posted by corydoras:

Je suis bein intégré moi

.

Just can't spell "bien" very well! [/QB]

---

No my French spelling is crap, especially when I am typing this stuff 10 to the dozen at lunch time.

[Sportsman]

I travel to Qatar to work a couple of times a year, but me, and the umpteen thousands of Brits like me are not economic migrants, we are "ex-pats" and proud of it. The fact that we live in gated communities (with an armed guard on the gate to keep tose "locals" out) doesn't mean that we are not as integrated as we want to be.

pass the HP

Dave

[DavyR]

corydoras:

 

Sorry if I am a tad thick, but you will need to explain that one, I just don't get it.

For the price the average Englishman pays for his poxy 3 bedroom semi he could just about buy a real castle, with portcullis, drawbridge, moat, the works in France.

 

This is a new stereotype that I have not heard before. 'All French people live in rented appartments' It's about as trues as 'all French people eat frog's legs'.

It was a sly dig at the French predilection for taking medicines "per rectum" in the form of suppositories.

 

An old friend of mine has recently bought a place near Limoges precisely because he couldn't afford anywhere reasonable over here, following the break-up of his marriage. It's a big, empty country with cheap property, compared to this crowded island, I know.

 

I was being a bit "sweeping" about the renting bit, but I understand that that it's a lot more common than owner occupation, especially in the cities.

 

I even like *some* French beer (Ch'ti and Pelforth)!

[DavyR]

[ 09. August 2005, 03:10 PM: Message edited by: DavyR ]

[Cranfield]

Why refer to people born in England as British ?

I am English and if I had been born in Ireland, I would be Irish.

 

Unless you take up a legal citizenship when entering a Country, surely you remain a citizen of the Country of your birth.

 

All over the World, there are "little Englands" populated by "ex Pats" who like a nice cup of tea, real fish and chips and make no effort to integrate in the local communities, except to drink their beer.

Yet we expect people to come and live here and integrate.