Indeed Paul, I think I must have watched them all.
He is on the left wing of politics and my inclination is more right wing
,but I find him to be such an impressive figure that I am questioning some
of my previously held beliefs
Oh well Iām no further on really - in my quest to understand why UK immigrants in France would have voted to leave to leave the organisation that the country they live in, and benefit from, is part of. I guess such folks will be over the moon to see Marine Le Pen as the next President of their adopted country orā¦is that me just being (and I quote) abusive, cheeky, stupid, arrogant and, when all said and done - a nutter!? 
To recap (wonāt take long!) - Iāve been recommended a book to read about perceived democracy deficiency and, Iāve patronisingly (i.e. by someone not knowing anything about my own circumstances) been reminded of the sacrifices made by others who fought for democracy. If those gems were meant to help me understand - they donāt.
I look to the future and the opportunities it holds in an open and tolerant society - so would I return to the UK - not bloody likely.
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Simon,
bless you, I have to advise you I donāt give a chuff what brought you to your decision! If you canāt get your head around why I would then, there you go - keep yourself awake at nightsā¦Itās been months since the referendum now, so really, move on;) Your stance and of certain other remoaners is what will keep the UK back from reaching a beneficial exit negotiation, but maybe thatās what you hope forā¦who knows?
As to moving back to UK, there are so many reasons for and against, this will turn out to be a very long thread, so maybe play nicely, instead of assuming weād all vote for far right politics and have intelligence inferior to your ownā¦
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Why so agressive @David_Evans? As for ābless youā - you sound like my Mother - cute. Anyway - itās the thought that counts so thanks!
You see - I do care about what brings people to their decisions - it helps me to understand, if not agree, their point of view. Although Iām none the wiser about UK immigrants in France voting to leave Europe - to me it seems like a juxtaposition. Thatās all, nothing more intelligent or deeper than that. I havenāt given any indication of why I reached my decision to remain - no idea where you got that from!?
As for playing nicely - reread your posts. Please cease and desist with the personal insults - I understand youāre rattled but thatās no excuse.
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Knitter, I totally agree with you. Mt experience of the French Health Service has been appalling and all because a French Specialist said my ill health was all in my head, whereas it was the onset of Toxic Shock Syndrome due to the medication he had prescribed. My reaction resulted in damaged lungs, asthma, arthritis, tendinitis, vision and hearing loss and my immune system is now almost non existent ā¦to cap it all after 6 months of struggling to even walk, I was informed that I have Farmers Lung and if I continue to work on our farm it will kill me. I have to use medication daily to assist me and my energy levels have returned but I suffer adverse reactions to almost all the medications they prescribe and so the life doing what I love has now got to end. The French Health System may be good to some but it has ruined my life completelyā¦ after we have sold our Farm. Whilst I was in Hospital I and my wife were treated appallingly and one one occasions when they thought I had TB (very similar symptoms) one of the nurses screamed at my wife that we damned British had brought TB into the Allier, when hey realised what I was suffering from they simply started preparing to move me to a specialist ward from Lung problems, the doctor totally refused to speak to my wife when she asked what was happening to me. I later (whilst still in the hospital) received a verbal apology from a Senior Lung Specialist who has now moved to another Hospital. We wrote to the Hospital asking for an explanation as to why I had been treated the way I was and we never received a response. My own doctors (now my ex-doctor) mistakes happen all the timeā¦but it is my life that is now totally screwed and not the specialist who misdiagnosed my problem in the first place. 
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There must be two different definitions of āFarmersāLungā if yours is a life changing condition, the one Iāve experienced is a short term one linked to breathing problems and asthma.
@Mike_Longhurst I just wanted to say how shocked I was to hear about your experiences. I know it doesnāt help to feel sorry for you but I really do - that and extreme anger at your predicament. Iād try my very best to sue the arse of the specialist who misdiagnosed you. Although s/hes probably untouchable like most of the medical profession here. Best of luck, onwards and upwards!
Simon you know as well as I do that most of what is on television is drivel. Donāt tell me everyone in your rural area is glued to Arte or BFM because I shanāt believe you. Obviously they have television because for many people it serves as background noise and moving wallpaper switched to les feux de lāamour, reality shows and Patrick Sebastien gurning away with a pinch of local news on Fr3.
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Are you sure you have Farmers Lung, because it cannot be cured and can be a killer! You might want to speak with your doctor about it because it is certainly not a short term thing, neither is it just Asthma ā¦
http://nasdonline.org/1654/d001538/farmer-039-s-lung-it-takes-your-breath.html :
Farmerās lung is an allergy caused by dust from moldy hay, straw and grain. In early stages of the disease, it can seem like nothing worse than a nagging winter cold. If ignored, the allergic reaction can cause permanent lung damage. The victim may be forced to give up farming and ā in some cases ā may suffer from permanent disability or even death.
Treatment of farmerās lung
Farmerās lung can be controlled, but it can not be cured. In acute cases, the symptoms can be treated with bed rest and oxygen therapy. Medication can be used to control symptoms in chronic cases. However, this can be dangerous, because damage to the lungs may continue without the victimās awareness.
The only proven treatment for chronic farmerās lung victims is the avoidance of contact with moldy crop materials. Just as there is no way of curing the allergy once it has developed, lung damage can not be repaired.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/298811-overview :
"Mortality/Morbidity
The mortality rate from farmerās lung is reportedly 0-20%. Note the following:
Death usually occurs 5 years after diagnosis.
Several factors have been shown to increase mortality rates in farmer's lung, including clinical symptoms occurring more than 1 year before diagnosis, symptomatic recurrence, and pulmonary fibrosis at the time of diagnosis. "
Farmers Lung is just one of the problems I now have, The TSS left me with impaired lung capacity, I have extreme reactions to ādustā from Hay, Straw the llamas coats, grass cutting, manure piles etc etc etc. Within 5 mins of handing hay I have immediate problems breathing, my eyes stream, my nose runs with water, I struggle to breath and often have to use my emergency inhaler.However, I react badly to the inhalers (I now have to use SERETIDE for COPD). So yes there must be different definitions of Farmers Lungā¦ Unfortunately I have to carry the hay for our llamas because the bales are to heavy for my wife, but she then spreads them. I react from just walking into the stables for a few minutes but I have to because I have to handle the llamas. The llamas are all up for sale now but we still have to run the farm until they are all gone and we sell the farmā¦ I never even suffered from a cold until I had TSS, there was so much poison in my lungs that they had to wash them throughā¦it was the most horrific time of my life and I was about 48 hours from death when they realised that I had TSS as a reaction to the drug āPentasaā.
What really angered us is that at my last appointment with the Specialist who made the misdiagnosis, the appointment was for 1500 and he made us wait until 1800 before seeing me and when I told him about all the different things that I was starting to suffer from (extreme night sweats, shortness of bread, extreme fatigue, problems thinking properly, etc etc etc) he actually said to me (in front of my wife), āM. Longhurst, there is nothing wrong with you, you are wasting my timeāā¦72 hours later I was in hospital fighting for my lifeā¦
There is a big difference between the two, āyoursā concerns dust and mouldy hay etc, āmineā involved the deep inhalation of particles while working hard, often linked to harvesting crops. The symptoms are very similar to an asthma attack but often with a patient who has no history of asthma.
Sorry but we do not and never have used Mouldy Hay, my reactions occur whilst I am topping the fields, working with hay (Fresh), Straw (Fresh), mowing the lawn (fresh grass) etcā¦ I am surprised to hear that your condition (whatever it is) is down to hard work and mine is notā¦
I was reading from your definition. Mine, diagnosed in 1980 was not long term and the point about āhard workingā referred to being in a position where you are inhaling deeper than normal, Iād imagine that is probably true to yours too. I think the real problem is referring to a condition in laymanās terms not a specific medical term. Two not dissimilar situations, one far more serious than the other.
Looking at your link it probably doesnāt help that weāre not even talking about the same country, two English speaking people in France one quoting American terminology and the other British.
I did return to the UK to Stalham, a place where every day I had to clear up the rubbish people threw in my garden. People also thought it fun to bang on my pavement side windows which would frighten me, and frankly, I was glad to escape back to France, where generally I find people to be more polite.
The health service in the UK in my experience varied depending on the problem. I had long been a patient at the Grayās Inn ENT hospital where service and treatment was excellent. But I saw my mother die in appalling conditions in Oldham Royal Infirmary.
When I had severe pains in my lower back in the UK, after one X-ray I was told there was nothing wrong with me and prescribed an anti depressant. I left the prescription telling the doctor that it was my bottom end that hurt and there was nothing wrong with the top end. I returned to France to have a series of Radios that showed plainly the scoliosis in my spine, the resulting crushed discs in neck and tail, and was able to receive appropriate treatment. The health service in France is well organised and serviced by intelligent staff as far as I can work out. Since I have been here I have had many operations in Bordeaux, Limoges and three different hospitals in Perigueux, so I have a fairly broad experience.
I am concerned about the effect of Brexit on my income here in France, and understand that we may even lose our personal allowances on income taxed in the UK, like my Government pension, i.e. circa another Ā£4000 on top of the 20% overall loss that has currently occurred.
I am also concerned that maybe GB will not continue to pay for our health cover in France through the S1 form, for those of us on that scheme.
However I am prepared to strive to stay. I am gathering the paperwork for French Nationality, and also I have registered a business here so that I am no longer covered by an S1.
Hello,
Iām in 86, Vienne. Possible one of the worst areas to be from what Iāve been told. Of course, you donāt know that until you move here.
I had my gall bladder and a fair number of stones removed about twenty years ago in a small rural town in the UK. I had other operations in the UK and in each the treatment and nursing care was far better than Iāve had in France with one exception.
In February 2016 I had a double mastectomy at Limoges hospital for breast cancer. The surgery was excellent, done by a very caring surgeon. The nursing was excellent by people who really cared about their patients.
I had refused to go into the main hospital in Vienne because the manner of the surgeon was atrocious and unprofessional and the nursing care during a previous stay was at about the same level.
After a relationship breakdown Iād considered moving back to the UK but couldnāt do it until my children reached the end of their current stage of education. I had three starting lycee so not a good time to move them. Since the referendum Iāve decided I definitely donāt want to go back. I donāt know if itās all the horrid things Iāve heard of going on over there so much as the thought that it could have to be permanent and I may never be able to change my mind and move back to France again. If I stay here then hopefully Iāll be able to continue to without too much change if the UK leaves the EU but if they leave and I go back, who knows what restrictions will be placed on movement in future? Possibly removing choice is an effective way of concentrating the mind on the benefits of staying where you are.
Youāre French. That was obvious even before you said it. Your name and the way you use English words makes it clear.
What is the use of your trying to take part in a topic that is obviously a question aimed at Brits? All you want to do is contradict whatever we say, claim that our problems are language-based and defend your country and its people unless they are rural ones whom you belittle by describing them as ill-educated. I live in a rural area near the border of Vienne and Haut-Vienne and Iāve found French people here quite easy to talk to even though the they speak very little English and sometimes have trouble with my English accent.
In fact, your use of our language is most peculiar at times so that I wonder that you have the cheek to criticize us.
Your remark about having a similar discussion with your mother as you have had with me is silly, and thatās putting it politely. Youāre French and quite possibly your mother is, too. Your upbringing was French and you clearly have a French-based bias. Given those differences how on Earth can you suppose that you are likely to have similar discussions with your mother and with me?
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What a strange post. In my experience Veroās use of English puts many other postersā to shame (me included) but actually, thatās not surprising given her life experiences and education. You have written before that your French is good enough to help out French people who cannot speak English very well. What a strange attitude. Surely as an Englishwoman living in France the onus is on you to speak French to a competent standard. In this post you comment that the rural population of La Vienne speak very little English. Why should they? While on the subject of La Vienne what do you mean by, āone of the worst areasā? I have lived in the department for many years and chose the location because of its calm rural nature but cannot understand how it could be considered to be one of the worst areas by any means. I look forward to youāre explanation.
Can we please keep discussions on track and POLITE please. And yes, I am
shouting and no, that is not a question hence the full stop. There have
been a few threads lately where I have thought 'ouch, this is not very SFā
and this is one of them. Please donāt make assumptions about each other
either. This isnāt just directed at you @knitter (although I do happen to
know that in this case you are quite wrong!) but at posters generally.
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Actually you know nothing at all about me. I am half British and half French, was educated entirely in the UK, as it happens, in Scotland where I did O and A levels because my school preferred to do the English exams, and then at Cambridge, where I didnāt read French. My parents lived in London.
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People who have had to cut their education short are to be found everywhere, there is, however, a preponderance of them in rural areas because of demographics. The same demographics explain the higher average age of people in these rural areas. It isnāt belittling them, it simply means they are less likely to be multilingual and less likely to have travelled and may consequently be less open to other ways of doing things, or less welcoming to strangers whether foreign or from another region.
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My mother lives in Germany (not her native country) and has been in a coma for the past ten or so years. If she werenāt in a coma, and were she as unhappy as you are, living in the back of beyond in a foreign country, Iād certainly be saying very similar things to her.
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Feel free to continue criticising my use of OUR language (English), there is, after all, always room for improvement.
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