It isn’t just those in Spain, I’m almost daily shocked by people living here, often for 20, 30 or 40 years who tell me they can’t speak French!!!
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How do they manage?! And how sad as they must miss out on so much…
I dont’ know Jane, I really don’t, they must just live in a bubble with maybe a handful of English friends, English visitors, people who like just to say in their couple (so wouldn’t matter where they were!).
Yes I remember now there was a woman on here whose husband had died and she neither spoke french nor could drive, and was in a complete mess. I hope she managed to sell up and go back to the UK where she could at least understand what’s going on.
At what point are some of you going to get over the result .Five years down the line and still looking for a scape goat.
To suggest that it is the fault of someone , is becoming tedious to the extreme.
So people who have lived in france for 20 ,30 years can’t speak french, is it really any concern of yours . Let them get on with it !
I manage really well actually, I used to be pretty fluent in French up until I had a bad accident and two strokes, I can still mostly understand French but due to the effects of the strokes cannot now speak it, that part of the brain just does not function well now.
It took me nearly two years to learn to speak English and walk again, but I manage without any problems here and have for many years, i use Google translate on my phone if I need to have a two way conversation, use it when I need to ask anyone to help me find anything in shops and mostly don’t have a problem with anyone doing this.
If it is something I know I might have problems with due to a lengthy conversation I translate and print things out before hand, we have French friends who know and understand my problem who do not and have never had a problem with this.
If there is a problem in a shop they usually are quite happily and will go and ask if anyone speaks English to help me.
Some people just don’t have an aptitude for learning new languages, I know of one person who has tried to learn French for years as it exasperates them but just cannot grasp the language but they like myself get by.
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It isn’t easy to ‘just get over ‘something that has major ,even life changing effects. Why come on a forum which is obviously anti Brexit and start telling the vast majority to get on with it
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Not an unfair comment!
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Well, it IS ‘someone’s’ fault isn’t it?
And therefore those people that voted for Brexit ARE responsible. I don’t doubt that some of them were misinformed, misguided and manipulated but they must shoulder some of the blame.
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I just think its sad… aren’t I allowed to be (very mildly) concerned that they are not getting all the benefits of moving here? And potentially putting themselves at risk if they can’t understand speech/written warnings or make themselves understood in medical situations. Google translate is a bit slow in an emergency.
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Yes but its the sweeping statements of its the fault of northerners or the uneducated that gets my goat.Every person who voted had that right but to be slagged off five years after the event by people who made a life choice to live elsewhere really takes the biscuit.
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I think you will find that Brexit votes are being ‘slagged off’ by quite a large number of UK residents too.
Do you think it hasn’t affected my life, its finished , nothing said here will change anything .I as , you, have a right to an opinion whether it be this subject or the NHS.
The time has passed to act, nothing will change whats happend .Uk won’t be back in the EU in maybe the next 50 years if ever.I think its time to let it drop.
That is your opinion and you are perfectly entitled to it. It is however, one which neither I nor many others, share.
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So we should forget about talking about the transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and leave them to it? Or stop teaching about 1789 in schools?
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Well maybe it does some people good to talk about it and share how Brexit has impacted on their lives and how it will continue to impact on them. I have learnt a lot on here over the last couple of weeks re the impacts and action that can be taken. A post was opened today regarding the transfer of funds, questioning whether it had changed post Brexit and it is useful to know about the impact. The change to TV is another one that I read about and perhaps didn’t even think about until it had happened. As for ‘nothing said here will change anything’ is IMO incorrect because it can change plenty (just not the result).
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As I remember Jane, regardless of the woman’s sad/awful situation many SF’s gave her lots of helpful advice, without judgement.
I also hope she is doing well.
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I am a northerner from not far south of Teeside and can tell you that from personal experience and discussions that a lot (but NOT all) of those who voted Leave did not understand the implications, were not able to understand the financial impact, couldn’t or didn’t want to know, just wanted to kick Cameron, certainly didn’t know of the benefits of EU membership conditioned by years of EU bashing by the Mail, The Sun etc, certainly weren’t concerned how it affects Britain in the EU.
Even now it won’t really impact adversely or positively on their lives beyond a bit of paperwork if they ever wanted to arrange an independent European jollie beyond package tour to the Costa
…meanwhile we have to make the best of it and its made our lives more complicated and bureaucratic.
And I repeat I lived in this region.
If this were true the brexiters would have just accepted the result of the previous referendum and ‘let it drop’. Surely, their own logic leads to the conclusion that it’s now up to the remainers precisely to NOT ‘let it drop’!
My own view is that the UK will be back in the EU in 10 years - 20 years tops!
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