Many of us were dubious about the Oven Ready best ever deal ..

You should have seen the OOOOHAH about driving licences!

It is the norm that EU people can use their licence in other EU countries- but non-EU people have to re-take once resident. As I had to pre EU- if you went to live in the UK, you had 6 months to re-take, in full, in English, no discussion!

Kali2

Agreed- and yet the tabloids think it is all sooooooo unfair of bad, nasty EU!

If only it wasn't for that nasty EU we would have all these wonderful brexit bonusses that were promised instead of all this pain, cost and grief.

It's just not fair!

We even married again under French law to make the business in France work for us! Sadly we couldn't go to the restaurant to celebrate because the two dogs were sitting in the boot of the car after a 10 hour ferry crossing. The lengths you go to!
Yes, our children stayed in the UK for their education. They were at private schools and at university but came for the holidays.
From a business point of view we were told that after 7 years the UK tax office was unlikely to check back on the accounts, but we had boxes stored in various lofts to prove. The French paperwork was 10 times that which we had in the UK!
As Urmstongran says, it isn't worth sleepless nights to do otherwise. Who are the ones who aren't going by the book and why?

Many also kept their UK cars on UK plates, illegally, for years- and with insurance which, if anything happened, would have been invalid- and just drove the car home to do MOT when required.

I hope some ‘lurkers’ reading this are blushing now Kali2.
They and others ‘let the good times roll’ ... but off other people’s backs.

Kali2

Many also kept their UK cars on UK plates, illegally, for years- and with insurance which, if anything happened, would have been invalid- and just drove the car home to do MOT when required.

Surely that’s down to the enforcement in the Country these drivers with their illegal cars are in. As with anyone, from and wherever they live, if they can get away with illegality they will.

Sad to say, but one of the reasons there are many UK plate cars on the road in France is that the driver is not insured. Until recently we paid a full year's insurance on our French plate car that we left at our holiday home even though we only used it for 4 weeks of the year.

You’d think the police (gendarmes) would just pull them over for a spot check? They must’ve been easy pickings surely?

Lincslass

Kali2

Many also kept their UK cars on UK plates, illegally, for years- and with insurance which, if anything happened, would have been invalid- and just drove the car home to do MOT when required.

Surely that’s down to the enforcement in the Country these drivers with their illegal cars are in. As with anyone, from and wherever they live, if they can get away with illegality they will.

And Brexit means that they can't get away with it- and they are up in arms over it and calling the EU bullies! That is the point.

If they are not insured (even if they still pay insurance in the UK)- and have an accident and injur others- the insurance will not pay out!

And all those who do not de-register from their GP means they are clogging up GP lists, with GPs continuing to be paid for them.

Urmstongran

You’d think the police (gendarmes) would just pull them over for a spot check? They must’ve been easy pickings surely?

They did do that and warned the drivers/owners that they needed to get their cars re-registered in France. One assumes that, like in the UK, the police have better things to do. Although the gendarmes are quite scary.

Although the gendarmes are quite scary.
My son (pretty good at French) got stopped once and when the gendarme asked if he spoke French he was so scared that he replied, "Oui, un petit pois!"

Kali2

When did you go to school? Was a foreign language not always compulsory at school? I am surprised.

I totally understand that learning a language can be challenging for some, however the foreigners that come to live in the UK are expected to learn, and most of them do, and very well. And they often even have an alphabet or way or writing which is totally different, and it must be difficult ++++ for them. There is truly a 'British exceptionalism' present - 'ah well, they all can speak English, so why should we bother'.

But Lincslass, if you regularly spent significant amounts of time in a foreign country, if you had a holiday home there, or if you emigrated and lived there- would you not think it would make sense to learn the local language? Not just to get by ordering in a restaurant, but to communicate with locals, try and understand how it all works, the culture, and, tbh, as a form of respect?

Once you do speak the language well enough to go beyond just 'getting by'- even if you make mistakes- your whole relationship with locals changes, and they truly appreciate you making the effort, taking a genuine interest. I have no intention of going to live in Italy, but we go regularly, and it is amazing the difference speaking some Italian makes.

My husband is a scientist, and only scraped his French 0'Level- but he has earned so much respect from everyone here for making the effort from day one- people love his British accent, and forgive all his mistakes, correct him gently, or pull his leg. If he had made the decision to just shout louder in English, he would have never made the friends he has here.

I always remember a German business man who came to speak to my 6th Formers. He was quite witty and when a student asked him about the difference speaking German for a British business when conducting transactions. He smiled, and replied 'We are very happy and competent to speak English to you when we are selling. When we are buying- it is a different matter. We are much more likely to award a contract to a business that is prepared to negotiate in German.'

No, I went to school in the 60s, secondary modern , no languages unless you went to Grammar school. Self taught German, not fluent but enough to get by and be understood. I don’t think it is our fault that English has become the language of business. Perhaps more countries should insist on their own language being learnt by incomers. DS taught herself, when emigrated, using crosswords and dictionary. No luxury of lessons for her. I agree people miss out if they don’t learn the language of a country they choose to live in. I include people who have lived in the UK for years and still can’t speak the language. Not only the British who don’t learn the language of the Country they choose to live in.

'' I include people who have lived in the UK for years and still can’t speak the language. Not only the British who don’t learn the language of the Country they choose to live in.''

goose, ganders. I know Brits who call themselves 'expats' as 'immigrant' is not good enough for them- who do not speak the local language after years, decades even, and just live in expat bubbles. But they are the very ones who go nuts about foreigners in the UK who do not speak English.

Most of the immigrants I know in the UK DO speak English, as well as several other languages. Sometimes they choose to speak their own language when with others from their own community, and that is fair enough. But they are totally able t switch to English when they want to or need to, or to be polite and respectful.

Josianne

^Although the gendarmes are quite scary.^
My son (pretty good at French) got stopped once and when the gendarme asked if he spoke French he was so scared that he replied, "Oui, un petit pois!"

I bet he died of embarrassment afterwards Josianne! ?

Actually, people who are sucessful at learning a language accept that embarrasment is just part of it - I could make a long list of clangers I have made when I learnt English - but I was bilingual in 6 monts- full and total immersion, 24/7 until your brain hurts- it works. Same with German and Italian. The worst the mistake, the more you laugh about it, about yourself- and never make the same mistake again.

My students used to say to me 'I daren't- in case I get it wrong!'- and my reply always was 'what is the worst that could happen? We could all share a good laugh and not make the same mistake again' - it worked.

or when I was learning English ..

Succintly said- boom boom

fb.watch/8SG9f0zhJt/

Seen today:

''if you are constantly told you need to suffere now to et some vague future paradise, that is not politics, it is religion.''

brilliantly said. I am NOT religious btw.

'suffer now to get ...

This grotesque situation is certainly giving us some of the best dark humour in a long time, and some of the best cartoons and stupid jokes, but so so close to reality. And this all over the world, in so many languages too.

Just had to laugh:

How many Brexiters does it take to change a lightbulb?

None, as Johnson just tells them he has done it, and they all sit in the dark, clapping!