Moving to UK

It sounds passable.

Indeed, I'll have to stop off there when I'm next in France. )

 

maybe you ought to stop hanging around with the Streetfighters crowd -
most of the people in the UK are OK, actually.

 

That's because your style is to present opinion as fact.

I mean... look at the fora/forums debate. There are numerous
dictionaries and websites using fora. There are numerous organisations
using fora but they are wrong.

However, in this case we're meant to accept your opinion as fact since
you backed it up (in the initial post) with one magazine/paper
reference.

What relevance did the amount of 'immigrants' have on the point you made
that the English (and I note English, not British) lived in groups
without integrating with the local community?

Actually looking at that particular source I can't see where you got
your "English" point from. That refers to the UK as a whole I believe.

It doesn't really. You're now seriously expecting us to believe that
you have a true academics view of the whole issue of emigration to
France based on lengthy and detailed research.

This is in addition to your in-depth study of the English language
(which qualifies you to have a more valid view than most dictionaries).

Yes Des, right. You are wrong on this point and you know it.

 

I hate footie on the telly. My problem is my French is so poor I find
people to communicating with the locals very difficult.

If I was immersed in French day in day out I'd learn it, but a handful
of days a year, and not knowing anyone that actually speaks french
locally - no chance.

 

My English is great though, particularly when I think 2 sentences then
write half of each one.

 

**** 'em. Let the cunts learn English. Speak slowly and loudly to help
them.

 

Good point, that works.

I wish there was a way to write things so they came out slowly and
loudly.

 

Ginge wrote:

T H E R E I S Y O U T H I C K C U N T.

hth

 

O H

I

S E E !

 

I think you have mastered the art of speaking in CAPS already, mate.
Not as well as Blaney when pissed, but well on the road.

 

Actually, I have met too many dishonest cunts, and probably more than
most people, but that doesn't change what I've seen...

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
V&S Extreme Photography http://www.bikehouse.demon.co.uk
Extreme Racing http://www.veggie-dave.co.uk
Put Out The Lights On The Age Of Reason

 

Fortunately that's a thing of the past.

 

We've already agreed that if we win the lottery we'll still live in
the north east of England - but not for quite so much of the time.

 

I found it interesting to read the amount of anti-UK sentiment I have
received since I made the original post. I've been to the UK many times, and
I even married a Scot. So here's is some pro-UK sentiment from an outsider.

I actually love the UK, and I also love Australia - it's quite possible to
have a warm fuzzy feeling about both. There are things about the UK that
make me cringe, but there are definitely things about Oz that make me cringe
as well, and the balance is fairly even. There is still plenty more to love
about each place.

Yes, the weather is shit, and even in comparison to other major world
cities, London can be a really miserable and unfriendly place. I spent the
loneliest 6 weeks of my life in London the first time I went there. (Things
have improved since - London is a place that requires more effort than most
other cities, but you get there in the end).

However on subsequent trips I got out of London and have met some of the
friendliest, cheerful and generous souls I've ever found. I once wound up in
Birmingham for work reasons, and even though it is not the most picturesque
city, it is full of some of the nicest people I've encountered. Since I
posted this original thread I've had half a dozen offers from various kind
souls to show me around when we arrive - and I don't think UKRM is the sole
source of decent Brits. There are areas of amazingly beautiful countryside
in Britain, and unlike here, you can get there in less than a 10 hour drive.

There are many things about Britain and the British that I strongly admire -
deep down most Brits have a strong sense of national pride, and hence I
understand why you feel such profound disappointment when your sports teams
don't perform well. From a historical point of view, there is no particular
reason why a pissy little bunch of islands with crap weather should have had
such a profound impact on global affairs (including in the present day) and
the fact that it has should be deeply treasured as a source of tremendous
national pride. Australia, on the other hand, is like a cute but insecure
teenager, still trying to impress it's far more mature and significant
peers, and sometimes in a rather gauche fashion. We are developing our own
sense of identity, but we are still very confused about who we are and where
we fit in to the grand scheme of things (or if we even do).

The UK has not only its own deeply embedded culture(s), but easy access to a
glorious variety of other cultures within the rest of Europe. Here on the
other hand, I need to fly for 7 hours just to get somewhere where another
language is spoken. (I often need to fly for 5 hours just to get out of my
own country).

And if all that wasn't enough, you are all within a 2 hour flight of half of
all the MotoGP events, whereas I get access to one per year, and need to fly
for 8 hours to the second nearest (Sepang) and 13 hours to the third nearest
(Joburg or Tokyo).

So to all of you who have been disparaging about the UK: well it's not my
place to tell you what to think, but to me the UK is, on the whole, a lovely
place.

Cheers
Manning, Sydney Australia

 

Manning said....

Paging Champ

 

I wouldn't say only English do so, in Spain some communities do exactly the
same (not only English). It is also true that among foreigners Brits are the
most active in learning Catalan, for instance. A London born Matthew Tree is
currently one of the most active Catalan writers, although he is not
mainstream. And still remember an Andy Morris who was learning guitar to
play flamenco.

By the way, this Morris by 1991 when we were in Grenoble told me "I'll try
to sell a shite bike I own and try to get some francs". The day after he had
an offer of some 3000 quid. "Which shite bike, man?" "Er, don't know
exactly, an early 70's Triumph". Seems like the French appreciate more
English bikes

 

Thoughtful, insightful, balanced, leve-headed comment. You'll never fit
in around here.



(I agreed with nearly every word, btw)

 

I don't think the UK is class-ridden any more. Class is one of the
tiniest of the UK's problems.

"Borderline third world"?
UK: Average annual income: US $25,120 (World Bank, 2001)
France: Average annual income: US $22,730 (World Bank, 2001)

 

Des Coughlan was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

I beg to differ - I've had to learn both French and English at school,
French as my first foreign language and English as the second. Well,
some people would say I'm still learning English (and I know I am) but
if you're judging the ease of learning a language by how long it takes
you to be able to read and understand either an intellectual newspaper
(Le Monde comes to mind, but I sometimes struggle even to read Le
Monde Diplomatique which is written in somewhat simpler French) or
even (gasp!) literature, I think you'll find that it's easier to get
to this point in English. And I'm not talking about something like
low-brow "read on the train" type throw-away books, but the proper
stuff, where you have to be able to pick up the subtleties of the
language itself. The latter is the really hard part - reading between
the lines isn't easy at the best of times as you'll always be missing
out one some part of the socialisation process that the average native
has gone through.