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Off Topic Brexit has made living in France impossible ...

Discussion in 'Sunderland' started by Smug in Boots, Apr 11, 2021.

  1. Smug in Boots

    Smug in Boots Well-Known Member

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    Cheers mate, answer as above :emoticon-0100-smile
     
    #81
  2. Draig

    Draig Well-Known Member

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    Welcome back @Smug in Boots !

    I hope the move hasn't been too stressful. How have things gone? Have you had to quarantine?

    We're beginning to open places right up again so how does the covid situation compare with that in France?
     
    #82
  3. OldNewtown

    OldNewtown Well-Known Member

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    Well there goes the neighbourhood

    :emoticon-0102-bigsm

    Hope all has gone according to plan and that you can put your feet up for a bit, relax

    Very stressful moving home only coming after marriage death and supporting SAFC
     
    #83
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  4. Smug in Boots

    Smug in Boots Well-Known Member

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    Cheers for all the messages and pms from everyone, very humbling.

    We're in a 7pm to 6am curfew and limited to a radius of 6 miles for non-essential travel. I've had to print out quite a lot of fake paperwork to get us through France, through the borders and up to the Cotswolds.

    We leave on the morning of the first Lincoln game and eventually arrive in Mansfield just in time for the second leg. It'll be the first time I've seen my 5 year old Granddaughter, since March last year, a fifth of her life! And it'll be the first time I'll be able to pick up my new Grandson

    What a time to be alive ...

    ... back in the UK, seeing family & friends and just in time for Wembley <party>
     
    #84
  5. Dave_39

    Dave_39 Well-Known Member

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    welcome back smug
     
    #85
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  6. Smug in Boots

    Smug in Boots Well-Known Member

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    We're ticking around 8 of the top 10 stress boxes <laugh>

    Moving house
    Moving country
    Driving 1000 miles under curfew
    Crossing borders with fake papers
    Ending a contract
    Starting a major new project
    Etc
    Etc
    Etc

    All that and sharing a ferry with people who seem to think it's brave not to wear a mask or keep their distance <doh>
     
    #86
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  7. Sidthemackem

    Sidthemackem Newcastle United 0-1 Cambridge United
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    Good to have you back, old bean!

    Now, enough of the sentimentalism, you got any tickets for Wembley....? ;)
     
    #87
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  8. Smug in Boots

    Smug in Boots Well-Known Member

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    please log in to view this image
     
    #88
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  9. Sidthemackem

    Sidthemackem Newcastle United 0-1 Cambridge United
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    Good work, fellah! I'm assuming we get past Lincoln, which is a bit rash with our current form, but it's about time we were at Wembley for a win!
     
    #89
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  10. Smug in Boots

    Smug in Boots Well-Known Member

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    Sod Lincoln mate, we've already stopped them going to Wembley once.

    They were 4 points clear at the top, at the time, and failed to go up.

    We have enough to beat them twice tbh.
     
    #90
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  11. The Exile II

    The Exile II Well-Known Member

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    Sounds like a hostile environment to me.
     
    #91
  12. Smug in Boots

    Smug in Boots Well-Known Member

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    It's not what it used to be, that's for sure.

    What's sad is that my little granddaughter decided she'd like to speak French which, for a 5 year old, was pretty cool. Post Brexit she can no longer just decide to leave Uni and go to work in Paris or wherever. We've taken that away from our young people and I'm not too sure what we're getting in exchange ... time will tell I suppose.
     
    #92
  13. Sidthemackem

    Sidthemackem Newcastle United 0-1 Cambridge United
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    None of it's helped by that little twat, Macron. He seems to think Brit-bashing is the key to re-election next year.
     
    #93
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  14. Smug in Boots

    Smug in Boots Well-Known Member

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    I'm not too up on politics but isn't that how Johnson won such a large majority.
     
    #94
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  15. clockstander

    clockstander Well-Known Member

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    Good point. And welcome back. <ok>
     
    #95
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  16. Sidthemackem

    Sidthemackem Newcastle United 0-1 Cambridge United
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    You're right. You're not too up on politics! <laugh>
     
    #96
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  17. rooch 3

    rooch 3 Well-Known Member

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    No I don’t think he had any Brits beaten up.
     
    #97
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  18. Expat-Cat

    Expat-Cat Well-Known Member

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    Not for all of us. I guess it depends on the part of France you live in.
     
    #98
  19. Smug in Boots

    Smug in Boots Well-Known Member

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    I'd agree with that mate.

    When we lived on the Riviera there were lots of expats and tourists so the locals were used to the Brits and highly dependent on them for income. Most spoke English and worked together on the yachts etc. This place is quite isolated, high unemployment and insular, we've not met anyone in the village who speaks English. But the strangest thing is something we were warned about by the owners of this property. They said there were still divisions, in the village, from WW2 when some families collaborated and others were in the Resistance. I thought that was a bit far fetched but we've noticed some of the old people crossing the street, or turning their backs in the shop, when certain characters appear.

    So I read up on that period here and it must have been a dreadful time. The local police worked hand in hand with the SS, some villagers denounced others as 'subversive' and old grudges were settled by shopping neighbours to the occupying forces.
    There are sad little homemade roadside monuments to people arbitrarily executed by the Germans, mainly in 1944 as they retreated and killed people out of spite because they knew they'd lost the war.

    Puts my minor experiences into perspective tbh.
     
    #99
  20. cumbrianmackem

    cumbrianmackem Well-Known Member

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    We spent five years in rural Charente in a small village with very little English spoken and the WW2 fallout was exactly the same there, families ignored those who collaborated with the Germans. There were a lot of resistance and we saw many small monuments whilst out walking in woods and forests to those caught and executed, but our experience with our fellow French neighbours were all positive and they were genuinely upset when we had to return to England for family reasons. We had five excellent years there.
     
    #100
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