The song 'Imagine'

Slightly off subject, but I hate Disco's. When we were courting ( we met young ), we would never bother to go to a club, dance hall or even a pub unless there was a live band. We still do search out the live bands, however good or bad they are. During our courting days we used to go to the Royal Ballroom in Tottenham at least twice a week, as I remember Tuesday was ballroom night and Saturday was a big band, Johnny Howard and a rock band, Jeff Rowena. We also used to go to the Ilford Palais, Baslidon Locarno (following Dave Clarke Five).

There were so many up and coming bands in the 60's that are now famous.

pompa I used to go to Battersea Park I remember seeing Aker Bilk there and maybe Geno Washington! Also Wimbledon Palais. Still love live music.

anagram Hendrix was pretty tricky to see from inside the fences too! We got so wet we spent last night in a B&B room at a pub in attempt to dry out. Not sure where I told my parents I was but they did not know I was camping with my boyfriend (now DH) at IoW festival!

penny your dad had good reason to like the sentiments of Imagine.

I thought it was perfectly obvious that I was referring to mega-rich people who could quite easily afford to live in their home town, but prefer to live in America. Fine, if that is what they want, but why go on about how wonderful the land of their birth is?

And I wonder how many of the people singing the praises of taking holidays in Britain actually jet off to sunny climes themselves? Stephen Fry, for example.

What's wrong with praising our own shores for holidays and taking holidays abroad, too Greatnan. Isn't that something that lots of us do? I am still discovering parts of Great Britain and could spend the rest of my days doing just that, but I want to see the rest of the world, too.

If I was mega-rich, I would have a home in San Francisco and one here and move between the two.

Going on about how wonderful your land of birth is is a regular pastime for many people. Sadly, for some people it is often only when we live further away that we can look back at our country and see that it's not such a bad place, after all.

Regarding living in your own home town, I remember responding to my teenage daughters' request to 'take us to see Mark Owen's house, mum - pleeeeease!' As I was driving to Oldham and they knew whereabouts his house was, we stopped by. There were hoards of teenagers being moved on by the police, someone with a loudspeaker announcing that no Take That group members were currently in the country, but on tour, and that everyone must move on or be arrested for disturbing the peace. The poor neighbours were trapped in their houses and cars were at risk of damage because children were sat on them. He moved soon after, to the outskirts of Oldham, then moved again. It must be very difficult to stay in your home town when fame and adulation become so intrusive.

Surely having pride in your country of birth, regardless of whether you live there or not, is something to celebrate, not pour scorn on? I am lucky enough to have a little cottage just outside Rhodes town, and it is bliss to go there and enjoy the sunshine which is something that has been sadly lacking here recently. DS took his family there for a break over Easter and came back totally refreshed. However, they will take a summer holiday in the UK as they want DGD to get to know this country too. Best of both worlds!

Well, I like 'Imagine' even though John Lennon wrote it. He was very talented. but not a nice person in many ways. I don't care. After all I listen to Wagner, and to Beethoven conducted by Von Karajan - both nasty men - much worse that Lennon.

I live at the other side of the world from England, but still love Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Dales, the Peak District, and all the history of my home country. I can't see anything wrong with that - to me it is normal. I probably couldn't live back in England though, as I would not understand the changes over three decades, and would not fit in any more. But I would love a holiday over there - if only....

If we had no other ties (family & friends ) (and the money) we would probably go
for a cottage in Pembrokshire overlooking the sea and a house in a Tuscan hill town. BUT where would we go for some winter sun ?. have to give that some thought if the time comes.

whenim64, your story of driving over o/m reminds me of doing 'the radiohead tour' round oxford and abingdon, driving for my daughter and her friend. and her friend is a cousin of mark owen.

I must have missed something here - what has "Imagine" got to do with 'Singing sentimental songs about a place you couldn't wait to leave'?

Nothing as far as I'm concerned, but we all have different views

greatnan can we assume that, as an expat, you do not have a good word to say about blighty? Or are you saying you would like to live in UK but cannot afford to?

I would love to move to somewhere warm. But
I have a granddaughter
It's not a good time to sell
I am disabled

I LOVE my house and it's adapted for me!

I can remember driving my daughter round E17 looking for East 17!!

I love many parts of Britain - in fact, I am going to visit my sister in Manchester next week before bringing her back for a holiday in France. I will be taking her to The Lakes, The Dales, The Peak District and the Trough of Bowland. I live in France because the climate suits my health better and also because I want to travel widely throughout Europe and it is much easier without the hassle and expense of getting ferries/planes/trains.
I never criticise Britain (or France) except in jest, so your assumption is incorrect.

Jeni

I think that there has always been a tendency for some people to assume that if you choose to be an expat you don't like Britain. This is quite untrue in many cases - it can be just itchy feet, the need to travel and explore, the love of world cultures - and the fact Thatcher got elected.

And I'll always love 'Imagine', especially as the words of it got Lennon an FBI file! (All the best people have such files: I had one myself, a secret police file, during an extreme right-wing era here in Queensland in the 1980s, just for writing anti-government letters to the editor

Ooh, I didn't know that Joan. And well done you for your letters. I and some friends who systematically wrote Amnesty letters in the late 70s found that some of our mail had already been opened when we received it.

Nice to know we can rattle our security services now and again!

when, I often wondered if my Amnesty activities got me noticed - or if some of the letters I wrote even arrived. They have gone all electronic nowadays - texts and emails, enabling an instant response.

Annobel there was a lot of suspicion about political prisoners being supported by UK citizens in those days. At least we can sign petitions on line, and message instantly with facebook and twitter, even in China, though they have been trying to stop it.

Just spotted your post, nanaej about the Isle of Wight pop festival. DH and I lived in one of the cottages opposite the site so we have many memories of that event. I was changing my baby son's nappy when Tiny Tim, in a hot air balloon, sailed past the open window. We listened to the Doors, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix et al sitting on the window sill. We thought Joan Baez was disappointing.
When it was all over I watched the buses filing slowly down Freshwater road in the misty rain, picking people up to take them back to the ferries. It was eerily quiet. DH called them cattle trucks. I'm not surprised you took refuge in a B&B to dry out. We had quite a few distressed young girls banging on the door in the morning. They were mostly cold, in need of a hot drink and worried to death what their parents were going to say when they got home!!

Was not being anti expat..just responding to GreatNscomments about JL living away from Liverpool & talking nostalgically about it. I have several friends & family who are now living all over the world and for many different reasons! I lived overseas as a child as part of an expat community and love to travel as a result so I appreciate the pros and cons!

Years ago DH & I got sent a 'warning' letter from his brother (in RAF) to stop our political activities. Not sure how he knew what we were up to ..he lived abroad and at the time was deployed to NATO Think we were a threat to his promotion.

merlot

It was those awful toilets that got us down! Holes in the ground with precious little support around them. We went into the nearest village to find a public convenience and the queue was winding round the block! There was also a lot of theft at the site - one of the DJs was so sickened by it all he resigned over the speakers.

Going by greatnan's last comment, am I to take it then, that it's perfectly acceptable for normal (for want of a better word) people to live abroad because it suits them, but not for celebrities? Don't understand the logic of that.

I didn't say it was not O.K. for anybody to live anywhere they like - just that I find 'professional' Scots or Scousers a tad irritating when they bang on about how marvellous their place of birth is but they choose not to live there.
I doubt if any of them read Gransnet, so I am sure they won't be upset by my opinion.
I cannot see why my innocent post should lead to assumptions about my personal reasons for living abroad. I am beginning to feel distinctly under attack - it is a good job I don't take offence and flounce off.