That’s grounds for a divorce! Ultimate passive aggressive…
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As an Anglo(Lancashire)-Saxon(Sachsen-Anhalt) I just sooooo get it!!!
As an Aussie I do too… now! It took me a while, I thought we were speaking the same language when I arrived in the UK in the late 90s (idiot 
)! I sitll sometimes miss the UK ‘humour’ 
.
I spent months in the early days of my relationship with dh going off for a little cry in the bathroom sometimes as I thought he had been mean, turns out you folk use something called sarcasm 
. We were told at Aussie boarding school that sarcasm ‘is the lowest form of wit and the highest form of vulgarity’ so so was something we never used!
May well be. l was astonished at the village commemoration the day after the Charlie Hebdo attack, when the six-year-olds from the local school turned up en masse, carrying ‘Je suis Charlie’ posters which they had made themselves. l don’t think a British school would have instigated that.
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I think you are right it is a huge generalisation, there must be areas in France where people are more outspoken than in other areas, or become more heated about politics and it carries into their relationships. That said there are also areas in Britain and England where people can be upset by others professed political and cultural beliefs to the point of making sure they avoid said people like the plague or become confrontational, I am one of them but would not dream of running away from potential discourse conflict.
I do take issue with “esp as they all drink so much they are likely to be a bit drunk”… but that may be as most of the heated conversations I have had regarding politics have been with people drinking tea.
As for clothes I have never been the type of woman who needed another to tell me their opinion of what I had tried on I could not imagine anything worse. Most of my friends chose their own clothes without assistance from another it is just something we fit into our lives when it is absolutely necessary.
But then that probably comes down to differences in culture and education, we are all rather strange and yet magnificent .
That is the point, we like arguing, it is part of our national way of doing things. We don’t get upset, we don’t avoid, we discuss sometimes heatedly and often for British people it sounds like arguing, but it is how we like it, most of us.
I am sorry to say there is a well-documented drink culture in the UK which doesn’t prevail here. But as I said, massive generalisation
Oh dear. Obviously nobody of sound mind needs validation from external sources but it is interesting to have an objective opinion and it makes clothes shopping more fun when you do it with friends (and eg go to a café as well), rather than something you fit into your life when it is absolutely necessary. It doesn’t have to be drudgery and it doesn’t mean you are an airhead either. So yes differences in culture and education.
Thank you for your response, I would agree there does seem to be a well documented drink culture amongst some of the young in the UK but then nothing sells like bad news. One of the first things we noticed at fete and events here where there is alcohol sold, was how people behaved towards each other - it was refreshing to say the least.
With regard to shopping for clothes no it is not something I enjoy at all - I think it has a lot to do with the fact that myself and my friends are cloth snobs - we love really good materials and well cut and made clothes and do not very often find it off the rack (nor in the UK). I do not think people who enjoy shopping are airheads it just does not fascinate me at all - I do think that a lot of French women like to shop and it is almost an art form for them (no offence meant). It is something that mothers and daughters do together also which is lovely. After all everyone talks about French chic. I love couture clothing and admire the work done in couture and watching material being cut etc., I just have issues with settling for mass produced clothing hence it is fitted in only when necessary. Also my sheep do not worry what I wear and I seem to spend most of my time trying to find wellington boots that do not leak after a month.
I like the differences that we all have in our upbringing throughout our countries and thank you for the time you have taken to respond.
I have a lovely purple pair that I got from Decathalon, they are surprisingly good and been going strong for a good few years now, good grips, comfortable and fairly thick.
I have 5 daughters, need I say more 
I sympathise, finding well-cut clothes made of good natural materials isn’t easy, but it is doable. One thing many of us do is get our clothes tailored, hems, sleeves, waists etc often benefit from a nip or tuck.
My mother and previous generations had everything made by their couturière.
Have you tried Le Chameau?
Thank you I had green ones from Decathlon and they just gave up.
I am a spinner and weaver and knitter of very many years and sew and have friends who tailor well. I just have found that I do not need a lot of clothing and prefer to make my own these days. I very often pick up clothes in shops and shudder at what they are made of, there is no quality to the material at all and acrylic - no lets not go down that road.
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I’ll second Vero’s suggestion of le Chameau, I have a pair of their waders & all well & good for the last 10 yrs, used for fishing.
https://www.lechameau.com/fr/
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We got our wellies from local agricultural shop 12 years ago…still going strong.
How marvellous! Do you do it commercially? Have you got a website? Do you spin just sheep’s wool or fibres from other creatures too? There’s someone I see on the market in Issigeac who has alpacas, spins and knits their wool, and I know someone in Scotland who used to spin and then make fantastic knitted shooting waistcoats out of deerhound hair (she bred them, my grandparents had one, they are super furry).
So wonderful to know how to make things. @Jane_Williamson is Queen of knitters too.
Thank you. I have been spinning all sorts of fibre for the last 40 years, weaving for about the same time but in between working so no, not commecially.
I have in recent years worked with rare breed sheep fleeces to make samples for breeders and items for auction to add to funds for breeding one particular breed of sheep. I prefer working from the fleece than processed fibre and have spun and woven alpaca.
It is wonderful to know how to make things but it has a downside in that you know when things are not “the ticket” i.e. good quality but that’s another tale.
I wil look for Jane Williamson - thanks.
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