capdagde

Ditto!

Thanks Monkeyman. Always good for a chortle. "hardened gamblers" etc. heuheu.... had to be done! Bushcraft gave me a new adjective - benighted country, (looked it up) means BLIND, SIGHTLESS, SURPRISED BY THE NIGHT, PLUNGED INTO IGNORANCE - that's a hell of a lot for one word. Andy Cap

Only working class people who got to fly in WW2 were fighter and bomber pilots, bomber crew, glider pilots and parachutists - a fallback plan? Rationing for only 9 years afterwards. Ah, Winston: "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." https://richardlangworth.com/democracy - FN Voted him out at war's end, back in 5 years later...... I lied about it being my last post - it's so fashionable.

Well done accyboy. I wasn't offered the chance to buy. It"s a bus service - takes off AND LANDS. Shite is when they crash surely? Well THAT is the ultimate argument - Mrs May says to the EU "my deal or no deal". That's pretty tough talk in my book. "If anything bad results from Brexit it will be the EU's fault", say you. We have met atlas2 - is this a troll post? This is not a POLITICAL game as the Brit politicians are party-politicking it - it's a LEGAL one and the repercussions are ECONOMIC and are already affecting everyone in the UK. The Q&A of the above videos gives you your answer at 41m (towards the end gets a bit remoaner - you have been warned). This is my last post on this subject. As Bushcraft said last time I saw him "I don't have a dog in the fight" anymore. I'm working on outcomes for my kids.

Here are a couple of speeches..... the first one is about economics, preparedness and project management and is therefore 'boring' (no soundbite flourishes about sovereignty etc.), but needs to be listened to The second one is more stand-up...... and people might not like it but there you go.... I can't find anything other than soundbites from politicians or anyone else. If anyone who is an ardent Brexiteer can find one called "How Brexit is going to work" or something like that, I'd love to see it. Ryanair has published its April-onwards timetable but no tickets can be bought - Flo's sister wants to come over in May = on topic. Peace and Love, brothers and sisters Andy Cap

Hi jacko I'm afraid the years of "Je suis un Rock Star" by Bill Wyman have gone, when "in the good old days" the IMF were knocking at the UK's door and there was 83% top rate income tax causing "voulez-vous partir with me?" My Dad never paid that working on the railways https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_exile To become French we had to show our French tax returns for the last three years, get a letter from the Tax office saying all our local and national (income) taxes were paid up to date, show all our property deeds and the leases of those rented out, a letter from the bank saying that every last cent that we took in rent went through the bank (no black money), as we both work our work contracts and salary slips for Oct, Nov et Dec for the past three years, officially translated ORIGINAL birth, marriage and death certificates for both sets of parents and ditto birth and marriage for ourselves, photocopy of every page of our passports, a Ministry of Justice attestation, one each, showing that we had not been found guilty of any misdemeanour EVER.... I might have forgotten a few things.... oh yes, as we are under 60 and don't have a French Baccalaureat or Degree, a language test... Quite a lot of our Brit acquaintances who love "to keep under the radar" can't supply a lot of that stuff, so they're waiting and seeing. Apparently there are still Brits wanting to buy here, even at 1.13€ to the £ !?! I'm teaching an estate agent tech English this afternoon (more cunning linguism) who specialises in golf course properties - no gazumping, copropriety instead of leasehold etc. I'm using the graph below to show property ownership mindsets. Some French people believe the urban myth here that the Queen owns all the property in the UK - not too bright some of them. The worst thing you can do in France is have your own business (I had a limited company for 5 years) - the paperwork and demands for money from the government are horrendous. BE SALARIED or even better a salaried civil servant, like Flo. Her French nationality now guarantees both her right to work and her civil service pension (We weren't waiting about to see the politicians screw it all up for us). We left the UK in 1986 aged 25/24 so only a few bits and pieces of pension over there. I hope that answers your question. Butch - as you know the media only show the bad bits of any story - plenty of former French colonial subjects are extremely well integrated here. Of course, if people only listen to Marine Le Pen and her newly-named RPF, they will only get one side of the story. British Quitters seem to only think about the POLITICS..... "taking back control", sovereignty (the UK parliament has always been sovereign - what do people think they do?) and protecting borders (from people - nobody counts them in - AND imports?). Anyone got an EU "law" they don't like? Nobody has ever told me which laws they don't like..... the UK will have to duplicate all the research laboratories and reintroduce the British Standard Kite Mark - all at great expense - to ensure that stuff going out and coming in is "up to spec". The UK has an enormous amount to lose ECONOMICALLY and COMMERCIALLY - one only needs to read paragraph 3 of article 50 to realise that: "3. The Treaties shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extend this period." Trade with 27 EU countries and 60 countries with which the EU (incl. the UK) has treaties. Further treaties are almost completed after years of negotiations. Liam Fox and the PM with her "robot" have achieved zero since the referendum.... we'll see. Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and France... you brought them up... 1973 Greece, Spain and Portugal were dictatorships 1974 Portugal's "Carnation" revolution and end of junta in Greece 1975 Franco's death in Spain 1976 Greece, Spain and Portugal were no longer dictatorships 1981 Greece joins EU 1981 Spain suffers an attempted coup d'état 1986 Spain and Portugal join EU These accessions were clearly POLITICAL moves. More POLITICS In 1946, France, which had been a collaborating power more than many would like to be mentioned, saddled itself with the 4th Republic constitution, very similar to Italy's (Axis power) 1947/8 constitution which is still in force today - proportional representation and perpetual weak government and coalitions - to avoid a return to Fascism, a dominant single party. Even the left and right populists in Italy have had to form a coalition..... De Gaulle shook things up in France and the result was the Fifth Republic in 1958. De Gaulle then became an "almost dictator" which led to the riots in 1968 and all that. Then CdG was bundled off to retirement and things settled down. France is okay. I pay my taxes and get more out than I put in - peace of mind over health, 3 years (over 55) of dole at two thirds of salary if fired or laid off, tax breaks if you study the government websites hard enough. The unemployment seems high but that's down to ZERO HOURS CONTRACTS being banned (quite right too). Zero contracts - there's a Great British Tradition - the shame. ECONOMICS - the 3 countries Greece, Spain and Portugal had a lot of catching up to do. All three joined the Euro in 2002. Greece then bought all the toys in the shop and forgot to pay for them, gave out unrealistic pensions from age 50 (hairdressers because of the "rigour" of their work), "forgot" to tax the shipping magnates and "forgot" to repay their loans (the people forgetting were politicians) - one day the creditors would call in their debts, no? Whose fault? Spain went all out for boom or bust and got both, but are now in recovery (nothing in the mainstream media about that) Portugal is ticking over nicely.. nice retirement packages available there. http://www.makethemoveportugal.com/news/article/10/tax-free-pensions-in-portugal Even the boom years were not all bad - all the "poorer" southern European countries and Ireland benefitted from surprisingly large owner-occupancy.... Some surprises there. Interestingly, the Jeermeunz rent - too many memories of rubble transmitted through the generations. Admittedly some of these houses will have been repossessed after the credit crunch of 2008- ...but a lot of catching-up was done. Never trust politicians in ANY country (Greece, Spain, UK, France.....). They'll put themselves first and fcuk you up! Ah, I see a Ryanair flight coming in to land at Béziers from my office window = ON TOPIC! I've had about enough of it too - no progress. Andy le Cap

Thanks for that info about the airline ticket....... It's all wait and see as you and Sam say. I'm not a Stayer, a Remainer, a Remoaner or a Gloater (which could only happen AFTER the exit). I was just letting my imagination run wild in my post. I wasn't allowed a vote and have now got myself 2 passports a result. I don't trust politicians to get things right for me. I saw the opportunity, took it and I've taken back control of my life.... let's see if the UK can on your behalves. Andy Cap

555 Puuya Baan ! Let them drink Irish! If there's no food on the shelves at least the Brit populace will be able drown their sorrows with Scotch and all those artisanal gins....! Still nobody got a plane ticket post-29th March? Andy le Cap

Looking from the outside now I'm amazed by the Quitter Brits (e.g. on "Question Time" from Dewsbury last night) who have adopted a "head-in-the-sand ostrich attitude" since June 2016, despite all that has been learned by EVERYONE (incl. Boris, Liam, Jacob, David, et al) since then - borne out by the recent Govt. Technical Advisories. It seems to me, that entrenched attitudes ("I voted ....., and I CAN'T have been wrong") are the order of the day. My old Mum asks me "Why can't the EU just be nice?", citing two world wars etc., but she's 84 and didn't vote. A quick read of article 50 says why - but I don't browbeat her with it. No bloke in the UK under 76 years old did National Service, so where is all this good-old-days let's-all-go-down-with-the-ship-singing-Rule-Britannia island mentality coming from? Feed people on shit and keep them in the dark (apparently NOT how mushrooms are grown)? I've never ever been big on Schadenfreude but a part of me wants to see 'No Deal' to see what happens..... No flights (aha! On topic!). Brits buying decent inflatables, lifejackets and outboards for Kent to Nord-Pas de Calais, then trading them on the beach at Dieppe with UK-bound refugees in a never-ending shuttle? The British have landed....(better outcome than in 1942). The famous football-terrace jibe "In your Liverpool slums" (where our son lives), people looking in dustbins and a dead rat could be a treat? If anything bad happens blame it on the "Jeermeunz".... Anyway, back to where-chchchchch.... Andy Cap

WORST In 1985, I was working with a PR company in London and, at a meeting of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce, got the company a tourism feasibility contract with Khartoum Safari Tours. The idea was that KST would pick-up tourists in Aswan, Egypt, and take them along the Nile to Khartoum in Sudan, where the Blue Nile meets the White Nile in Omdurman. The boss and I flew out to Aswan, then after a ferry from there to Wadi Halfa, we had a bumpy week driving through the desert to Khartoum (there was ZERO asphalt except in a town called Dongola), sleeping where we found shelter, or not, with two Nubian guides and a Nuban driver, getting intel for the report (pyramids, steam trains, towns and villages etc). After a night in the now-dry Khartoum Hilton (Nimeiri had just been deposed... but I digress), we took a Sudan Airways flight to Cairo. My boss was an extremely well-travelled man of a certain age. He woke me up as white as a sheet. We had landed in Cairo but he said it was the absolute worst flight turbulence-wise that he had ever had, and that he thought we were goners several times. I was so knackered I had slept right through it! BEST In 1997-8, I was working for the Saudi company that had the franchise for Disney Corners (mini-Stores). The father of the two guys that ran Disney Middle East and Disney Corners was the former personal secretary of 2 Oil ministers - Zaki Yamani and Hisham Nazer - and must have had a couple of cents on the barrel, as he had a house that was a full-size replica of the White House and a Gulfstream jet - with a permanent crew living at the Sheraton in Jeddah. Every now and again I would get taken on internal or international flights (as the tame token westerner) by the Disney Corner boss in the Gulfstream. I always got to sit in the jumpseat for landing (Dubai, Bologna, Heathrow), and they always had lobster to eat onboard from the Sheraton (lobster for breakfast - I'll have some of that!). VIP terminals for departures and arrivals - Heathrow was a Portakabin at the time, bit of let-down. A highlight of the international flights was on take-off at whatever time of day it was, with the leggy blonde uniformed stewardess mountaineering up the central aisle, seat back by seat back, from the back of the plane, with us still at a more-than-jaunty angle skywards. The bosses always sat at the front so she got to me first... "I've unsealed the bar - gin and tonic Andrew?" Priceless, and not a Mastercard in sight. Andy Cap

The island of Great Britain has a big bottom (the Land of Lard?) so many might prefer the "if you look out of the left/right window you can see Gloup" route.

Ah, "Triple drat!" - if you had only written "I assume" Fireman Sam! All the UK's treaties and agreements for the past 40+ years have been in a job-lot bundle as part of the EU. Paragraph 3 of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty http://www.lisbon-treaty.org/wcm/the-lisbon-treaty/treaty-on-European-union-and-comments/title-6-final-provisions/137-article-50.html means that all that ends on Brexit (deal or no deal - with deal giving 2 more years to sort out the spaghetti). "It is not just a matter of flying inside Europe. It is through the EU that we have secured beneficial deals with key countries across the world, not least the USA with which the EU has an “open skies” agreement enabling EU or US-based carriers to fly any transatlantic route between the two. This has been particularly beneficial to our non-London airports. Should we be forced to fall back on our previous agreement (the 1946 and 1977 Bermuda agreements) we would be lumbered with a document that would only allow a restricted number of airlines – and flights into London airports alone! So we will also need to negotiate – and negotiate quickly – a new deal with the USA and many other countries." https://www.richardcorbett.org.uk/brexit-briefings/brexit-and-aviation/ The 1946 and 1977 Bermuda agreements, eh? Who knew? "The Bermuda agreements were replaced in two stages on 30 March 2008, and 24 June 2010, by the EU–US Open Skies Agreement between the European Union (representing 25 European countries) and the United States, providing for an Open Skies regime even more liberal than Bermuda I." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_Agreement If a BM has "anything-but-rose" coloured spectacles (Richard Corbett being a pinko ................ (insert uninformed colourful comment on the dotted line), Google offers little that does not come from one media outlet or other - and journalists are lazy and will précis (steal) copy from colleagues online.... so "it's the same old song". So I repeat my question.... Does any BM have a ticket for a flight leaving the UK after 29/03/2019? Everything's gonna be alright..everything's gonna be alright..everything's gonna be alright..everything's gonna be alright.. No woman no cry! Andy Le Cap

It's a BAR. There SHOULD be a lot of alcohol! Have a good one Adam. Andy & Flo

Still not possible to get a Ryanair flight into or out of UK after 30 March 2019 - go and try, I just did (anybody bought a flight ex-UK through another airline post-30 March? Here's my tenpenneth Sam! House prices - redundancies, fewer people have money to buy, fewer migrants or immigrants will buy, but some people will when the prices come down 35%, as will young folks frozen out of the market up until then, not having enough for the deposit. Always buy at the trough in the market. The trick is not-to-need-to-sell! Bah, humbug. At least the Mogg has got his money in Ireland and gone short on a good spread of UK stocks. The braindead working classes will vote for the wickdipper Boris's campaign for number 10, "'cos I like 'im when 'e's on the telly. Remember 'im wi' that banana - heuh, heuh". BTW Jaguar Land Rover is Indian owned (Tata - and might be just that) - "the shining light of the British automotive industry". Methinks Bristol, Morgan and Lotus remain... (any others in a different thread!!!!! Sorry The Fiend - quiet day at work). "Don't worry, everything will be fine" with everything..... planes, trains and automobiles. .... but things might be fooked with trucks! Monsewer André Capp

I'm sure the Brexit fallout will have been hoovered up by then. Can't get a Ryanair booking yet for post Mar 29 to or from UK. In our experience they usually hold flights up for home airline arriving and leaving situations if the stopovers are tight - i.e. Austrian outward and Swiss inward. Someone with your name on a board whisks you straight to the departing plane. It avoids free hotel, meals and the compensation....

Toon turn in good performance but lose = Tennents.. . Better to come.

First day of our stay-at-home holiday - no LOS this year but the Toon are on later so no stress from Flo in front of box there then... I have to agree on Man U/Leicester - verging on boring for most of the match. Like I kept saying during the World Cup, "If you don't shoot, you don't score!" You don't ALWAYS have to score from 2 yards, a walk-it-in or from a set piece FFS . In fact that was the difference between England and France. So the English don't love the French and vice versa, eh? We are both dual nationality now, so as Flo is snoring in bed having a lie-in, a particularly English part of me is going to interface with a French part of her.... Better "get the leg 'ower sharpish like" 'cos there are 5 more Premier League matches on RMC 1 this weekend (we even get a Saturday 3pm match!). So much for viewing the naked ladies on the beach . Wehey! Andy Cap

So it's "Tennents Lager" then...... (that's Scots for "same again").

You left out Newcastle United! WTF?

6.5% for Tapper. Isn't that the same as standard Chang or is my memory poor due to my alcohol intake?

Nice to see So's Place has expanded. We ate there a few times last trip (2016) and found the price/quality excellent. We appreciated the small portions as we are not big eaters. Andy Cap & Flo

It's true they must look similar from behind with their ears clamped. (No "answers on a postcard"......? We could send them via La Poste....) BTW - Bam was never interested in me when she was sober, but was the only TG who ever called me, regularly at that, around 3.30am, not to ask if she could come over (I wish), but to come to where her and her friends were and spend my budget! Never went, but she kept on calling.... Glad you lads are still living it up together!!!!! Andy Cap & Flo

Ooer missus!

By the look of things for once it's a case of "we keep changing the name(s) but the food is still great!" Two threads which always give me an appetite. Big thumbs up. Andy Cap

Evil eats at Kiss? Shock, horror, probe! A must-read! As I expected....