As you still have no Bratwurst.
Lidl and Aldi I think I saw some in (one definitely had a jar of Bockwurst, which reminded me of your plight, and they have something German which I think of as being Bratwurst in the chilled sections)
As you still have no Bratwurst.
Lidl and Aldi I think I saw some in (one definitely had a jar of Bockwurst, which reminded me of your plight, and they have something German which I think of as being Bratwurst in the chilled sections)
Getting back to the arts. They bring in more money than sport (as has been mentioned) and they have kept us going by streaming plays, opera, dance and musicals during the pandemic.
The way artists are treated makes me hate this government even more than I thought possible.
Apparently the Home Office vetoed the comprehensive agreement on cultural exchange proposed by the E, as it would have let too many foreigners in. What a surprise!
I'm seriously starting to think I don't want to live in this country anymore. What a horrid little narcissistic, petty-minded, philistine, mean-spirited failed state we've become. With our third-rate politicians wanking off over the Union Jack as a substitute for leadership.
Unfortunately emigration just got a lot more difficult and I'm too old and crocked anyway.
I'm seriously starting to think I don't want to live in this country anymore. What a horrid little narcissistic, petty-minded, philistine, mean-spirited failed state we've become. With our third-rate politicians wanking off over the Union Jack as a substitute for leadership.
Unfortunately emigration just got a lot more difficult and I'm too old and crocked anyway.
We are feeling the same and having some serious discussions about moving to Germany. We’d rent this house out to rent a small flat there, so should break even.
The thing that’s giving us pause is our age. Our friend has just had a knee replacement which has gone badly and we have all rallied round to take his meals. There would be no such support network over there for us. So, what would be a simple decision, isn’t.
With our third-rate politicians wanking off over the Union Jack as a substitute for leadership
This.
It drives us both mad when a minister comes on TV with swathes of flag in the background. 🤬😡
Yes. The effect it has on me is furious grief at the loss of options and the unmitigated xenophobia and pretty small minded triumphalism which has broken the surface and now flourishes.
Let me out of here. I want to return to civilisation.
Yes, it's not so much Brexit, as that which accompanies it, a kind of cultural vandalism, and a politics built on lies and xenophobia. I'm too old to emigrate also, and I don't want to just succumb to a cantankerous old age.
Apparently the Home Office vetoed the comprehensive agreement on cultural exchange proposed by the E, as it would have let too many foreigners in. What a surprise!
Does anyone else find it rather ironic that such ghastly racism can be perpetrated by someone whose parents were (quite rightly) welcomed here as refugees?
I do wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Patel are proud of their daughter.
I seem to remember that the trouble was that the EU proposal would have covered baristas, which was felt to be going too far.
If this is the case, then I have a hard time considering coffee shop staff as part of a "cultural" program. I'm a fan of open borders, but if you're not, then a cultural exchange program that includes the person who sells you a cup of coffee looks remarkably like taking the piss.
I seem to remember that the trouble was that the EU proposal would have covered baristas, which was felt to be going too far.
In which case we should have come back with a counter-proposal which was more acceptable to us. It's called negotiation.
Not that I personally have any problem with someone from the EU coming here to work in a coffee shop. Or for any other reason, as long as they obey the law and pay their taxes.
I seem to remember that the trouble was that the EU proposal would have covered baristas, which was felt to be going too far.
What's the position in mainland Europe of those Britishers who wish to open tea shops? I can see a couple of days negotiation on such fine points, as well as Mail or Express headlines which point out the nastiness of EU countries wanting to take away jobs from "our young people".
Of course, the underlying problem was that the UK had set a totally unrealistic deadline which didn't allow time to iron out the overhanging details before all concerned were completely exhausted and exasperated with each other.
I hope that the supplanting of Gove in the EU hot seat is an indication that the UK is gearing itself up for a further round of negotiations. I can only pray that the EU will regard Frost as more worthy of trust that either Boris or Gove.
But why? What's so dreadful about that? Apart from offending racists/nativists, of course.
'cause there's nothing cultural about working in a shop.
I'm a proponent of open borders. I'm entirely happy for baristas, and all other workers, to travel wherever they want to find work. But there's no cultural content in having my coffee served by an Italian or an Ethiopian rather than a Brit.
Of course, the underlying problem was that the UK had set a totally unrealistic deadline which didn't allow time to iron out the overhanging details before all concerned were completely exhausted and exasperated with each other.
I hope that the supplanting of Gove in the EU hot seat is an indication that the UK is gearing itself up for a further round of negotiations. I can only pray that the EU will regard Frost as more worthy of trust that either Boris or Gove.
Frost was the other fat bloke at the Fish Dinner who looked as though he'd been thrown out of a pub, wasn't he?
But why? What's so dreadful about that? Apart from offending racists/nativists, of course.
'cause there's nothing cultural about working in a shop.
I'm a proponent of open borders. I'm entirely happy for baristas, and all other workers, to travel wherever they want to find work. But there's no cultural content in having my coffee served by an Italian or an Ethiopian rather than a Brit.
Hmm. That may depend on where the said Italian or Ethiopian is working. If it's in a place where they serve genuine Italian or Ethiopian coffee (and food! ). then there may be a positive cultural content IYSWIM.
But the draft agreement (pdf link) said absolutely nothing about barristas - the exceptions for travel were:
This category should not cover:
— businesspersons, i.e. persons travelling for the purpose of business deliberations (without being employed in the country of the other Party),
— sportspersons or artists performing an activity on an ad-hoc basis,
— journalists sent by the media of their country of residence, and,
— intra-corporate trainees.
So whichever of our national media is peddling that particular story is continuing to trade in untruths of the like of Johnson's journalistic tenure reporting on the EU. Or is totally in the pocket of the Government.
But the draft agreement (pdf link) said absolutely nothing about barristas - the exceptions for travel were:
This category should not cover:
— businesspersons, i.e. persons travelling for the purpose of business deliberations (without being employed in the country of the other Party),
— sportspersons or artists performing an activity on an ad-hoc basis,
— journalists sent by the media of their country of residence, and,
— intra-corporate trainees.
So whichever of our national media is peddling that particular story is continuing to trade in untruths of the like of Johnson's journalistic tenure reporting on the EU. Or is totally in the pocket of the Government.
So whichever of our national media is peddling that particular story is continuing to trade in untruths of the like of Johnson's journalistic tenure reporting on the EU. Or is totally in the pocket of the Government.
Obviously my recollection must be faulty. For whatever reason, the present Culture Secretary says the Home Office thought the EU draft covered too wide a swathe of people. Perhaps, like the Duke of Wellington, they simply don't like encouraging the lower orders to move about. Reading between the lines of the press report, the Culture Secretary just doesn't carry enough clout to influence the decision, and nobody else was able to co-ordinate the departments involved and reach a sane result. Such are the times we live in.
There is a decent article here from freemovement.org.uk.
Essentially, the EU's position offer was not framed as a cultural exchange. The baseline would be that anyone exercising their 90-day visa-free rights would also be able to do short-term work during those 90 days - so that would include musicians, but also young people working the season in Ibiza, and indeed baristas. Any individual member state could add conditions to that permission, in which case the UK would be able to reciprocate for that member state only.
The UK rejected this because it looked too much like free movement, but attempted to negotiate an alternative visa exemption that would have worked just for musicians. Nobody knows exactly what the UK offered because the negotiators aren't telling us, but the site above thinks it would probably have been rubbish anyway.
Hmm. That may depend on where the said Italian or Ethiopian is working. If it's in a place where they serve genuine Italian or Ethiopian coffee (and food! ). then there may be a positive cultural content IYSWIM.
We generally treat things like Indian restaurants wanting to hire only ethnic Indians as waiters in order to provide a positive cultural content as racial discrimination, don't we?
Nobody knows exactly what the UK offered because the negotiators aren't telling us, but the site above thinks it would probably have been rubbish anyway.
Given the general calibre of our political leadership, "probably have been rubbish" is highly likely.
Though, of course, any thing short of the freedom of movement we enjoyed within the EU is a crap deal anyway, significantly curtailing the ability of all of us to live and work throughout the EU. And, restricting hiring options for UK businesses to all our loss - maybe we can live without skilled baristas to put fancy patterns on cups of coffee, but the long term prospects with less skilled scientists and engineers, doctors, or agricultural workers aren't very rosy.
The sooner the UK ditches this experiment in anti-democratic stupidity and rejoins the EU the better. It's the only good deal.
The sooner the UK ditches this experiment in anti-democratic stupidity and rejoins the EU the better. It's the only good deal.
The problem is that while it looks like there's probably be a majority for rejoining the EU in a referendum, given the distribution of votes round the country it seems that for any party other than the Tories and the SNP putting a referendum to rejoin the EU on their manifesto would be courageous. Possibly even courageous and foresighted.
The sooner the UK ditches this experiment in anti-democratic stupidity and rejoins the EU the better. It's the only good deal.
Why is it anti-democratic to remain out of the EU?
Joining, leaving, remaining in or out of the EU does not have any significant democratic attributes per se. The process by which the UK left the EU was not exactly a triumph of democracy, though, and I suspect it is that process which Alan is griping about.
The sooner the UK ditches this experiment in anti-democratic stupidity and rejoins the EU the better. It's the only good deal.
Why is it anti-democratic to remain out of the EU?
Joining, leaving, remaining in or out of the EU does not have any significant democratic attributes per se. The process by which the UK left the EU was not exactly a triumph of democracy, though, and I suspect it is that process which Alan is griping about.
This is where I disagree. It was far more democratic than when we joined
This is where I disagree. It was far more democratic than when we joined
The 1975 referendum was a model of clarity and openness compared to the 2016 thing.
You may wish to protest that you, or others, thought that you were joining a trade bloc, and the EEC gradually morphed into a political project. That's not really true - the bones of the political project are in the original founding documents - the Paris and Rome treaties - but I'll acknowledge that the perception is there, and quite popular.
Hmm. That may depend on where the said Italian or Ethiopian is working. If it's in a place where they serve genuine Italian or Ethiopian coffee (and food! ). then there may be a positive cultural content IYSWIM.
We generally treat things like Indian restaurants wanting to hire only ethnic Indians as waiters in order to provide a positive cultural content as racial discrimination, don't we?
It depends on whether the staff are there just to look authentic or if they genuinely do have skills not possessed by the general population. E.g. I agree with you about waiters, but I understand there is a severe shortage of tandoori chefs because most British people, regardless of ethnicity, grow up without access to a tandoor, and therefore don't know how to use one. Hence there was talk about creating a 'vindaloo visa' to allow tandoori chefs to immigrate from India and Bangladesh.
Why not just establish a Tandoor Training Centre in the UK????
There have been attempts. I think part of the problem is that while the pay is quite attractive for someone moving from India or Pakistan, it's not much for the training and skill involved for someone raised in the UK.
Why not just establish a Tandoor Training Centre in the UK????
As I understand it, the first generation of Indian immigrants, who set up restaurants and opened corner shops expect their children to study hard and become high-status doctors, lawyers and engineers, not low-status cooks. While I'm fine with the idea of white folk making my authentic Kashmiri curry, it seems that the ethnicity of the cook is important.
Comments
Lidl and Aldi I think I saw some in (one definitely had a jar of Bockwurst, which reminded me of your plight, and they have something German which I think of as being Bratwurst in the chilled sections)
Or tasting of unadulterated tripe.
I have been loyal to Morrisons for years
I think I should point out that shopping at other supermarkets isn't quite equivalent to adultery. Just sayin'.
I would not betray my delivery drivers just for a german sausage.
The way artists are treated makes me hate this government even more than I thought possible.
Unfortunately emigration just got a lot more difficult and I'm too old and crocked anyway.
I did at one time contemplate moving to Scotland, but work commitments, and an aged parent, prevented me.
Later, after I retired from work, I thought of moving to France, in order to be the mad Englishman in my sister's village...
Too late now, alas.
We are feeling the same and having some serious discussions about moving to Germany. We’d rent this house out to rent a small flat there, so should break even.
The thing that’s giving us pause is our age. Our friend has just had a knee replacement which has gone badly and we have all rallied round to take his meals. There would be no such support network over there for us. So, what would be a simple decision, isn’t.
This.
It drives us both mad when a minister comes on TV with swathes of flag in the background. 🤬😡
Could the ark not be towed to the Clyde?
Or taken by wagon! My brother did with his Dutch barge (not to the Clyde, to Glasson) 🙂
Well, it's an idea - but I may have to give up the Ark soon, anyway, and move ashore...which, of course, could just as well be in Scotland...
Let me out of here. I want to return to civilisation.
Does anyone else find it rather ironic that such ghastly racism can be perpetrated by someone whose parents were (quite rightly) welcomed here as refugees?
I do wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Patel are proud of their daughter.
If this is the case, then I have a hard time considering coffee shop staff as part of a "cultural" program. I'm a fan of open borders, but if you're not, then a cultural exchange program that includes the person who sells you a cup of coffee looks remarkably like taking the piss.
In which case we should have come back with a counter-proposal which was more acceptable to us. It's called negotiation.
Not that I personally have any problem with someone from the EU coming here to work in a coffee shop. Or for any other reason, as long as they obey the law and pay their taxes.
What's the position in mainland Europe of those Britishers who wish to open tea shops? I can see a couple of days negotiation on such fine points, as well as Mail or Express headlines which point out the nastiness of EU countries wanting to take away jobs from "our young people".
I hope that the supplanting of Gove in the EU hot seat is an indication that the UK is gearing itself up for a further round of negotiations. I can only pray that the EU will regard Frost as more worthy of trust that either Boris or Gove.
'cause there's nothing cultural about working in a shop.
I'm a proponent of open borders. I'm entirely happy for baristas, and all other workers, to travel wherever they want to find work. But there's no cultural content in having my coffee served by an Italian or an Ethiopian rather than a Brit.
Frost was the other fat bloke at the Fish Dinner who looked as though he'd been thrown out of a pub, wasn't he?
Well, we shall see - looks may be deceptive...
Hmm. That may depend on where the said Italian or Ethiopian is working. If it's in a place where they serve genuine Italian or Ethiopian coffee (and food!
So whichever of our national media is peddling that particular story is continuing to trade in untruths of the like of Johnson's journalistic tenure reporting on the EU. Or is totally in the pocket of the Government.
Well, he ate Fish at the same table as Ursula and Michel, so yes...
Now, why am I not surprised to hear this?
Any reason it can't be both?
Essentially, the EU's position offer was not framed as a cultural exchange. The baseline would be that anyone exercising their 90-day visa-free rights would also be able to do short-term work during those 90 days - so that would include musicians, but also young people working the season in Ibiza, and indeed baristas. Any individual member state could add conditions to that permission, in which case the UK would be able to reciprocate for that member state only.
The UK rejected this because it looked too much like free movement, but attempted to negotiate an alternative visa exemption that would have worked just for musicians. Nobody knows exactly what the UK offered because the negotiators aren't telling us, but the site above thinks it would probably have been rubbish anyway.
We generally treat things like Indian restaurants wanting to hire only ethnic Indians as waiters in order to provide a positive cultural content as racial discrimination, don't we?
Though, of course, any thing short of the freedom of movement we enjoyed within the EU is a crap deal anyway, significantly curtailing the ability of all of us to live and work throughout the EU. And, restricting hiring options for UK businesses to all our loss - maybe we can live without skilled baristas to put fancy patterns on cups of coffee, but the long term prospects with less skilled scientists and engineers, doctors, or agricultural workers aren't very rosy.
The sooner the UK ditches this experiment in anti-democratic stupidity and rejoins the EU the better. It's the only good deal.
Joining, leaving, remaining in or out of the EU does not have any significant democratic attributes per se. The process by which the UK left the EU was not exactly a triumph of democracy, though, and I suspect it is that process which Alan is griping about.
That's what SHE said.
This is where I disagree. It was far more democratic than when we joined
The 1975 referendum was a model of clarity and openness compared to the 2016 thing.
You may wish to protest that you, or others, thought that you were joining a trade bloc, and the EEC gradually morphed into a political project. That's not really true - the bones of the political project are in the original founding documents - the Paris and Rome treaties - but I'll acknowledge that the perception is there, and quite popular.
It depends on whether the staff are there just to look authentic or if they genuinely do have skills not possessed by the general population. E.g. I agree with you about waiters, but I understand there is a severe shortage of tandoori chefs because most British people, regardless of ethnicity, grow up without access to a tandoor, and therefore don't know how to use one. Hence there was talk about creating a 'vindaloo visa' to allow tandoori chefs to immigrate from India and Bangladesh.
There have been attempts. I think part of the problem is that while the pay is quite attractive for someone moving from India or Pakistan, it's not much for the training and skill involved for someone raised in the UK.
As I understand it, the first generation of Indian immigrants, who set up restaurants and opened corner shops expect their children to study hard and become high-status doctors, lawyers and engineers, not low-status cooks. While I'm fine with the idea of white folk making my authentic Kashmiri curry, it seems that the ethnicity of the cook is important.