Little Britain - the state of England today

Mamie

Marmadoit you said: "Other European leaders shamefully did all they could to discredit the AZ". Not sure what it has to do with the OP but still.
Whatever was said (grossly exaggerated by the British press), surely pales into insignificance besides the refusal of the UK government to accept our EU double vaccination certificates as valid for travel to the UK.
Even Astra Zeneca doesn't count if it was not administered by the NHS apparently.
Would you like to explain why that is?

Surely you mean this. People have already been refused access to Malta

www.itv.com/news/2021-07-01/covid-up-to-five-million-brits-may-be-unable-to-visit-europe-as-eu-does-not-recognise-india-produced-az-jabs

Alegrias1; I had not quite left so the answer to your question is that my phrase has not been 'cooked up' with others.

I do have rational arguments which I think I have demonstrated from time to time. It is, though, difficult to argue with a wall of invective. So, farewell for now.

Probably not Ellianne, but would say if I do get things wrong I am very quickly put right by my daughter!
One of the upsides of Covid has been the instigation of regular lengthy chats on FaceTime with friends from all over the country. That helps. They in turn are gobsmacked by the real situation in France, compared to the reports in UK media.

Is this something that's been cooked up amongst those without a rational argument?

3 times today I've seen "I'm going to go and do something more interesting and leave you to it", or words to that effect.

Cunco ?I wondered about the fiend as well.The best typo I’ve seen for ages.Good to have something to smile about on here.

Fiends from other countries?

MaizieD just out of interest what evidence have you got that people who give of their time voluntarily to support others vote and support the current government? In truth, I find this statement quite offensive and hurtful.

Well, if you trust the views of fiends from other countries, what do you expect? I am not a fan of Boris Johnson but like millions of others, he was preferred to Jeremy Corbyn who, of course, was untouched by accusations of racism.

The fact is that it would have been a terrible 18 months for any government. Ours has made many mistakes and it can be criticised but repetitive, partizan slabs of invective do not encourage discussion and do little more than preach to the converted. I would have thought that lesson might have been learned during the Referendum and last election campaign; but apparently not. I will leave you all to your own entertainment and do something more useful.

I don't think anybody is saying that their adopted country is perfect and everything is wrong with the UK. I certainly haven't read that into any posts.
I agree with that Mamie and I would love to chat with you, over a glass of wine, about how we perceive our home country and the sometimes exaggerated, incorrect nuances we pick up from the media while living abroad.
But apparently this is not the thread to do so.

MaizieD

^I do take issue with branding England (and by implication all of us) as racist or uncaring. I actually don't think I know anyone who is. I regret the lack of balance in our media and on Social Media. It is creating division and frustration, heat and no light^

I'm afraid that the 'branding' of Britain is based on outsiders' perceptions of the nation. The actions of the government (and our disgusting football hooligans) have more visibility than the day to day experiences of goodness and harmony which people are rushing to describe.

If you can think of any benign acts for which our government can be praised, do let us know.

As it is, it is prepared to break international law, prepared to renege on treaties, encourages racism, allows corruption at the highest levels and is now unleashing a heartless and unethical policy of letting covid rip through the population with complete disregard for the deaths and ruined lives that may result.

That is what the rest of the world sees. It didn't view us like that in the past.

Good post. Following on from the Hancock debacle a fiend from another country said how sad, they had always viewed our politicians as respectable and dignified , far more than their own, but that this current government were a real letdown

Speaking from experience, when you’re out of your own country, it’s all too see the news of it as uniformly bad, and imagine things to be a lot worse than they are.

Plus of course there’s always a tendency of some media in many countries, including ours, to enjoy publishing any unpleasant news about another country, true or not, or just wildly exaggerated.

E.g. I still speak at least once a week to a Swedish friend who’s back in Stockholm after living here for over 20 years. Just the other day she said she’d either read or heard in the Swedish media that the reason Brits aren’t going on holiday to so many of the usual places, is because ‘they don’t want to give money to Europe’.
I’m other words, we’re a lot of nasty, insular, Europe-hating idiots.

Obviously this was rubbish - maybe a Swedish journo had found one person to say this, but IMO it was just a case of Brit-bashing - very likely in a Swedish equivalent of one of our more unsavoury red-tops.

I do take issue with branding England (and by implication all of us) as racist or uncaring. I actually don't think I know anyone who is. I regret the lack of balance in our media and on Social Media. It is creating division and frustration, heat and no light

I'm afraid that the 'branding' of Britain is based on outsiders' perceptions of the nation. The actions of the government (and our disgusting football hooligans) have more visibility than the day to day experiences of goodness and harmony which people are rushing to describe.

If you can think of any benign acts for which our government can be praised, do let us know.

As it is, it is prepared to break international law, prepared to renege on treaties, encourages racism, allows corruption at the highest levels and is now unleashing a heartless and unethical policy of letting covid rip through the population with complete disregard for the deaths and ruined lives that may result.

That is what the rest of the world sees. It didn't view us like that in the past.

I am not sure many of those "expat sites" exist any more in any real sense. As for living the dream / rose-tinted spectacles, I think most of those people packed up and went home a long time ago. In my experience, the people who have stayed are the ones who wanted to move to another country, not those escaping the UK.
I think it is a shame that this thread got diverted by whataboutery.
There is a danger that you get an overly negative view when you live abroad and just read news, Twitter, forums and watch UK television. That is why it always helped to visit family and friends and experience the good side of everyday life. Sometimes though, I think distance helps you see things a bit more clearly.
I don't think anybody is saying that their adopted country is perfect and everything is wrong with the UK. I certainly haven't read that into any posts.
I do think there are some worrying trends at the moment and I cannot think on current evidence that the present Westminster government has the intellectual or moral capacity to put things right.

MerylStreep

Surely there are plenty of expat sites where where people can bash Britain.

OP is entitled to post about her concerns. To call it bashing Britain is trivialising it. Such a knee jerk reaction, just as when the current government is criticised and in particular the PM, it’s immediately “oh no do stop Boris bashing”.

I am beginning to wonder if I live in the country presented by the media. I live in harmony with my neighbours of a variety of racial origins. Where I live, the majority of the population is white British but there is a mix. As it happens, in my GP practice, none of the 8 health professionals are white British; my dental practice is led by a man who is not white British; and a near-neighbour (who is also not white British) is a head master at a local school. There is no shortage of valuable role models for ethnic minorities.

At times when I have taken my grand children to school, it is a little like the United Nations; but parents and children seem to get along without friction.

Of course, I do not deny there is racism, poverty and injustice. Is there major country that can truly claim to be free of these issues?

I do take issue with branding England (and by implication all of us) as racist or uncaring. I actually don't think I know anyone who is. I regret the lack of balance in our media and on Social Media. It is creating division and frustration, heat and no light.

I read about some of Macron's comments in the Times this morning !
I feel so angry with the braying brand of Tory M.P. who don't seem to think that breaking a promise is serious; we are definitely being led by donkeys . No wonder we are a laughing stock .

Mamie

Oh sorry Marmardoit I had't realised. Macron's comments were not broadcast here so I haven't seen it live, but from reading the transcript in French, I thought it differed quite a bit from what was reported in the UK?
Anyway, water under the bridge, didn't influence events here and countered in practice by the senior French politicians having AZ vaccines.
The refusal to accept our vaccination certificates is stopping many of us coming to see our families.
To answer my own question there is no clear explanation about why the certificates are not accepted. France accepts QR codes or paper versions.
Sorry to go off topic.

I am still waiting also after having the two AZs. Talking to two young English holiday makers this morning, who said that had no problem getting into France this week. Holidays not work as M. Marcon said was going to be allowed.

I think that Tory MPs are simply out of touch with what is going on amongst those at the bottom of the heap. And they seem unable to use their imaginations.

A friend in another village assumed that as my OH was a doctor I would be a Tory voter and she was quite shocked that I declined the invitation to become involved with her party.

It is very hard for all of us to get our heads round the poverty in some communities and the stranglehold that the drug barons have on them; but it seems even harder for Tories, as evidenced by the absence of policies that make a real difference to these communities.

not all the Tory M.P.s are two faced

This one is, westendgirl

Assures their constituent, in a detailed letter (which can be read in the thread) , of their opposition to the foreign aid cut and then votes with the government.

twitter.com/andrew_goudie/status/1415010351469498371

Biscuitmuncher

We are not the same race of people we were 50 years ago

We are all still people trying to do our best though aren't we?

Can you expand on what you said Biscuitmuncher as I'm not sure where you're going with this.

We are not the same race of people we were 50 years ago

The dangerous situation in South Africa seems to have arisen because former President Jacob Zuma has been sent to prison for corruption.

Zuma was an arch-populist who whipped up support amongst the uneducated urban poor against the educated middle classes, described as "the elite", very much in the same vane as Trump and populists leaders every where. Their mantra of divide and rule succeeds by enciting hatred .

It does not seem to matter that Zuma, like Trump, is a corrupt billionaire, they still portray themselves "man of the people" and once their base of fanatical supporters have been fired up by rallies and rhetoric, all their ills are blamed on the "others" and such visceral hatred leads to violence. and destruction.

No country is better or worse, just different. They all have their problems, as I was pointing out looking back over the centuries. What we see is just a snapshot.
I would live back in France in a flash, I would laugh at the foibles of my own country back home, but I wouldn't constantly criticise and dwell on everything negative in England from my new lofty tower.
A lot of people do care everywhere you go and are trying to make a difference. That is why we object to stereotyping.

Don't assume that we don't care. There are huge efforts from many people trying to improve things all the time.
If you look closely into any country you can find it has as many flaws as England does.
It doesn't help that some people constantly criticise absolutely everything.
In my opinion England is still a fine country in many ways.

How many of you heard Theresa May speak yesterday ?Very angry, very disappointed that the government was breaking a promise.That is something that they do easily it seems. No wonder we are where we are. I really fear that until we can get rid of some of the present incumbents (not all the Tory M.P.s are two faced ) that we shall lurch from crisis to crisis , with mates of theirs doing very well .
I have seen reports of troubles in S. Africa on T.V. news Channel 4 news has good coverage.