26th June 2016

Have you signed it yet?   https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/131215 
Everyone says you have to accept the democratic vote of the people. But, was it democratic when up to a million living in Europe for 15+ years (like war-veteran Harry Shindler) were denied their vote - something no other democracy does?  Just think: if Harry and all those others had cast their (probably Remain) votes, that would have changed the whole ball-game!  Well, the above petition is growing exponentially on the internet, getting more than 1,500,000 signatures a day, a rate of c.1,000 per minute. It reads  'We the undersigned call upon HM Government to implement a rule that if the remain or leave vote is less than 60% based on a turnout of less than 75%, there should be another referendum'. Current no. of signatures 2,800,000!  A parliamentary debate must therefore  take place, by law.  Before Clause 50 is triggered, an enabling act by Parliament needs to be launched which grants leave to a new PM to do just that. Once the Votes-for-Life Bill is tabled and passed, those excluded British citizens would be given a new chance to voice an opinion in a referendum which demands a good majority. Will the government wriggle out of it? Let's wait and see.

29th May 2016

Suppose everyone has weeks like this.  The French strikes didn't help. Every time we needed to go out, would the petrol stations on our journey have any fuel at all?  And over on the referendum front, Harry Shindler - a WW2 British veteran - suffered another setback when his top-flight lawyers lost the final battle with the UK's Supreme Court of Appeal to allow British expats away for 15+ years to vote.  But no, it was none of these things. Him indoors slipped and fell in heavy rain, breaking his knee and spraining his ankle so severely the whole leg was hot, red and swollen. After several trips to the Urgences in Albi, he now has a plaster cast and must learn to use crutches for several weeks. Didn't help that, on return from hospital, one of our 'wonderful' neighbours left a phone message that our dogs, in the cool cellar, had been barking!  Good thing the annual visit by son Jon has helped to keep me sane. Amazing help. And me? I've learned the French for crutches (cannes anglaises!) and that the nurse wasn't injecting Him indoors against stones (cailloux) but against blood clots/phlebitis (caillots)!  You see how dangerous it is living with another language? Oh well, next week things can only get better.......

1st December 2013

December already. Below zero. And not just the weather. Tensions between British expats in the EU and the mother country are chillier by the minute. Lately there's been conflict over the freezing of the so-called 'winter fuel payment'. The crux of the matter: this payment is part of the old-age pension and, as such, cannot be deleted on a whim.  War veterans like 90+ year old Harry Shindler in Italy are courageously mounting their own personal crusade. You see: it's not the amount; it's the principle that what you've paid for you should get. But now it looks like there is even more artillery being mounted by the anti-EU brigade in the UK. NHS costs are ever-rising against the insidious slide of services. Fundamental really. Bevan's original, wonderful concept of free health care for all simply can't cope with the current overburdened population size.So, how to claw back costs? It's proposed to pay EU states less for expat health care, meaning we must in future return to the UK for non-urgent 'elective' care.  So, who's going to pay our travel and accommodation costs for this?  For pessimists like me, things couldn't get worse could they? Oh no, there's that awful Marine Le Pen from Le Front National on the cusp of winning great gains in France in the Spring.   Him indoors: time to hit the bottle.

19th February 2012

So many opinions about British expats are stuck in the dark ages.
For some time a small group of British expats have been campaigning to get the Winter Fuel Allowance for British pensioners who don't qualify, like me. One of them, Brian Cave who lives in Gourden, reports how at long last the plea has reached parliament via a House of Lords debate from Lord Lexton.  They need to know what conditions are like for some of us. Truth is, there's 54000 of us here in France, many having moved because of the cheaper house prices, many existing solely via their British old-age pensions. 
What does citizenship mean? Shouldn't working and paying taxes all your working life guarantee payback at pension age (wherever you subsequently live?).  If I take out insurance from a private insurer, country of abode at payout time is irrelevant. It's clear that the citizenship of British expats is recognised by paying the basic state pension, so it's therefore illogical to discriminate by withholding add-on benefits enjoyed by pensioners still resident in Britain. Other countries, like France, even give their citizens living abroad their own government representatives.  

How to change the way the resident British public view the Briton Abroad?  We all should follow the lead of 90-year old veteran Harry Shindler in Italy, who has a case before the European Court of Human Rights.  He's visiting England in May to meet some MPs. Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!' 


(Olga needs to take a break:  see you all again in 3 weeks).