I do exactly the same with street beggars in France as I used to in my native city of London: totally ignore all of them. I dare say that some of them are genuinely deserving, but I cannot sort the wheat from the chaff myself. whether they be children playing accordions on the Tube in London or elderly Islamic ladies crouching and praying on French pavements. It is a tragedy that so many people fall through the social security and charitable nets. There is also the question of both substance abuse and mental illness. I used to have a mentally ill cousin who begged on the streets while spending his social security on football pool coupons. He had discharged himself from a psychiatric hospital. Moreover, since retiring the only way I have been able to pay my way it to cancel donations to all the charities to which I used to send a little.
Can't remember whether there was enough grass in Gaberones for a cricket club, but rather surreal for a land locked parched country we did have a sailing club
Yes Peter re Rugby Clubs - and the local Cricket Club was invariably English lol
Is that not reverse snobbery?
In time past those who passed their 11 + were called snobs by those who had not.
What about your remarks about lumping all of one type of people together?
My memory isn't what it use to be, that pile of cash is around here somewhere, think I popped it in the same place as the Cathar treasure and the Holy Grail.
I don't give money to beggars either. I don't like the ones who come up to me at traffic lights with a scrap of cardboard (I always make eye contact, say hello, then 'non'), or the women crouching by a fence with a 'baby' swaddled up next to her who looks like she comes from the eastern bloc somewhere.
I don't seem to see people who are really in need. Just pretend beggars and illegals.
or do they just think they've come back to reclaim what's rightfully theirs (110 years war) and so have a right to act like that...? again apologies from me too to all those nice SFN members in the Dordogne!
" They were more English than the English, almost like a 1950 sitcom parody- sort of Carry on Up the Raj set in Southern Africa."
Or even "Carry on Up the Raj set in the southern Dordogne"........
With apologies to all you SFN members in the Dordogne!!!
Ha Ha I remember them, I lived in Botswana as a kid in the 80, the Golf Club was an S.A English Language haven, as opposed to the Rugby Club which was very Boer.
It was at the time when the first Maggie Govt was in trouble so they enfranchised a whole raft of Expats who had never really been home, 99.7% voted Tory. They were more English than the English, almost like a 1950 sitcom parody- sort of Carry on Up the Raj set in Southern Africa.
I think it's got something to do with the Empire and all that - my late grandmother was incredibly like that. My mother hasn't been out to see her grandchildren here for years now, the last time she did I had to ask her to stop shouting (in English) when walking through town as I was so embarassed!
Fortunately I think things are changing all be it rather slowly!
When asked when I'm next going to "rentrer chez toi" I simply say mais je suis chez moi ! oh tu veux dire 'rentrer en angleterre'
or even "aller en angleterre" if I really want to make a point!
I think that these self opinionated prigs - mainly British unfortunately - are found all over the world! When we were in South Africa, many of the English speaking South Africans, whose families had been there for over 100 years, used to say "Back Home ----- we did it THIS way or THAT way". Almost every sentence was preceded by Back Home; the odd thing is that most of them had never ever set foot in England in their entire lives :-) I am sure the same situation exists with Brits in Canada, New Zealand, Australia -- wherever they migrated to.
And there's us worrying about how to fund SFN.....we should have come to you for advice Peter :)
Well as someone who does lives on a mountain side in the middle of no-where in a falling down farm house, and use to live in a squat in Stoke Newington I second that emotion. But it is true I have moved up in the world now at 400 metres and can now look down on all I survey.
Mind you the only folk that drop by are not Brits but lost walkers, hunters, their lost dog and Gendarmes looking for cannabis farms. My plants are now well hidden, as are the illegally trafficked women, machine guns, and piles of drug money.
Very true Susan and we're all very different leading different lives here in France, but i think we all know exactly who the previous remarks are aimed at and Catharine's example is a classic ;-)
and going off subject... that's where we usually end up having the best discussions ;-)
I wonder why most sites catering for expats, seem to assume that they are all English? OK, some of them are but many are from all walks of life, from all the corners of the world. So, some will have gone UP in the ladder of life by coming to France, but there are many who have downgraded their life styles.
Naturally then, there are going to be good expats and pain-in-the-you-know-what expats. We are all DIFFERENT from each other and this is what makes life interesting and worth living.
We seem to have strayed off the subject of How to Handle a Beggar :-)
Ha Ha, it's years since I've seen a copy of the Daily Mail, but things obviously haven't changed much!
I doubt that you have ended up on the Daily Mail letters page, Andy ----- the spelling, grammar and grasp of the information being given are way too good here.
Totally! We actually overheard that conversation once - expat A telling expat B that they had left the UK 'because they had gone to the market and not heard a single English voice' - they really did not see the irony of repeating this whilst sitting in a French cafe, surrounded by people speaking ahem, French....!!!
Spot on James, and they're usually the ones who complain about 'all the indian and west african immigrants in the UK who can't even speak english' yet try and suggest that they are now the immigrants who can't speak the country's language... :-O
very true and repeats the sentiments expressed on the "what type of expat are you" thread - they seem to be out to ruin things for the rest of us