We’ve all discussed the pros and cons of France and the things we miss from the UK (as in food stuffs) but what about the things we don’t miss!
The obvious one for me is the weather (especially if you lived in Cumbria)
The traffic - it's horrendous!
I do not miss the M25, M40 etc etc the screaming children let alone the parents bawling each other out, the unfriendly people in supermarkets, a smile would crack their face, the older generation are equally as bad as the teenagers , most let doors go in your face , drop litter and think the world owes them a living, I do miss going for a drink in a good country pub with friends, the shops that you can buy clothes that actually fit and my grandchildren . I am very happy living here with my lovely French and English friends , but of course do not love the rain we are having at the moment.
Yes I do remember, we were lucky then too, with nothing more than a few plant pots blown about.
We do seem to have had more wind than usual this spring, but nothing terrible, roll on summer!
Whereabouts is your house Tony? We’re near Mirande.
And the only answer I can give really is ‘what storm’!
We’ve had a few bits of thunder and lightening but nothing significant. Certainly nothing to worry a out. There you go, I’ve jinxed it now haven’t i!
Because you can't feel & smell what you are buying & because I have troops to get to school & work is 20 odd Km away... ;-)
We also have an ever increasing amount of speed cameras in the Gers, and like you say Brian, very little tolerance.
We love it here, already knew the area as I had been coming here via school link from Ovingham Middle for 30 years.
No intention of going back … and if I could just get my house in Prudhoe sold I would be a very happy bunny.
The space !
Have to go a fair way to get to see a fixed camera here. The valley does have the occasional speed trap but you are normally warned by other motorists. Can only think of a few chicanes / speed bumps around here.
We do however have a lot of the "training cameras" that will tell you what speed you are doing and the fine you'd pay but I've found that if you go past fast enough, they don't work :-)
This is all so negative! Everyone patting themselves on the back because they have left behing their pet hate! Turn it around, what do you appreciate about being in France? the weather? the lack of traffic jams......;etc etc be more positive folks!
totally agree -I definitely feel less risky cycling here than in the UK - simply there's more space, less cars per kilometre.
M25 style nose-to tail gridlock
no affordable public transport
always having to use a car and cause gridlock, because of no affordable public transport
Why don't more people use a supermarket delivery service and cycle? they're all mad.
There's little wrong with Le Havre. It's an ordered and cleverly structured example of post war architecture though clearly influenced by the ideas of the Bauhaus. It's for that reason it is listed by UNESCO as world heritage site and recognised as the master work of Auguste Perret. It also has one of the only two works in France by the architect of Brasilia, Oscar Niemeyer. The Whale. The other being the HQ of the French Communist Party in Paris. It can be quite smart and it always seems to me not a bad place to live.
http://whc.unesco.org/fr/list/1181
Quite a contrast to the mess that is modern Portsmouth.
Traffic; NHS;totally negative politics; anti-European attitudes.
The grey skies which invade North Yorkshire for about 6 weeks every winter.
The dishonesty, smoke-and-mirrors and downright lies of financial services.
As a cyclist, it is such a freedom to ride in France, knowing that most drivers are aware of and sympathetic to cyclists. In England, however...
As someone famous said "nostalgia ain't what it used to be" so, getting back on topic the days of the seafront activities like the pedal cars, Punch & Judy and the crazy golf etc were in the days when Yarmouth truly was GREAT. prosperity from the tourist trade & herring then the oil & gas business.
A coupe of years ago the town was shamed when it was said to be the fifth most deprived area of Britain ! How the mighty fall ...
Speed cameras and traffic calming measures every 50 metres.
Hi Brian
Interesting to note you are from rural Northumberland now living in rural France. I’m a Prudhoe lass now living near St Palais in the Pays Basque profond.
Yeah! "The Windmill" ruined many a card for me on Paignton Green. Knocking a ball out of bounds in a fit of peak didn't help also ;-)
errhh, the Crazy Golf on Yarmouth seafront actually !!!
Very challenging all the same...I never did manage to master the windmill !