tracy123 Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Nothing wrong with that mate. I follow Hearts in Edinburgh and look for news most days thanks to the internet. Aussies are pretty good travellers apart from the Oi OI Oi crap and quite a few do the opposite to me and settle in the Old Dart. As I've said before music, theatre, history or travel, why would you settle in Oz. And I'm sure many Aussies enjoy just that. I love Aussie and Kiwi and still enjoy going home to see the fam but I couldn't have done as well over there as I've managed here. I must confess though, the pommy winge-er is just that, and would complain wherever they lived. Good luck for next season. Big Sam should make his stamp on the club by then. Cheers, Syd this any better LOL its not the best video but you'll get the jist of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Actually Sydney, I think I have seen more affordable shows and been to more clubs in Australia than in the UK. I too love Australia and I certainly dont have rose coloured specs, when my times comes I will definately become an Australian and contribute to the country that hosts me.I dislike the term "living the Australian dream" you have chosen a different life style, dont like it then you should always have a contingency plan to leave, its so simple. Most of my friends are Australian and I have been blessed with being made so welcome. During my period of incareration away from the big A, I receive frequent e mails, parcels etc from people that have taken me into their homes and hearts from Australia. No bring on the blue passport I say lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracy1 Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 this any better LOL its not the best video but you'll get the jist of it Lol very funny and clearly taken by the English race with no malice and good heartedly. I wonder how many other races would take it the same way?:policeman: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boomerangpommie Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 My home is not my house or the area I live in or where abouts in the world i live but my family! As long as i have those the rest just dosen't matter. I agree with this to an extent and think that I should be ok as long as I am at least with my OH and children and can get used to seeing my extended family less. I also need my children to be happy and that worries me alot. I've been thinking about why I didn't settle alot (most of the time, in fact) and I think that it is largely because I never gave it the time it needed - I was only there 7 months- and I felt a bit like I didn't exist outside of my home and that was largely because I never had a job and I knew no-one there or felt part of any sort of community (like knowing all the other mums at school etc) but those things would have come with time. Also, I admit, hands-up, I wasn't as proactive as I could have been, I should have taken my little son to a playgroup or or joined the parent teacher association to meet other people and become more in the know about my local community or even just got a job in a cafe to at least get out and about and meet others or taken up a hobby. I got really hung up on the fact that back in the UK, I would always bump into someone I knew in the supermarket but never did there, but it really is so unimportant in the grand scheme of things and that would have eventually started happening anyway. I kick myself all the time that we've come and it's set the children back now as well - my daughter is so entrenched back in her old life here now, it's going to be so hard for her to leave again and she would have probaby been settling nicely now in Oz, had we stayed and my son's going to have to start school in September here and then change when we go and that could have been avoided as well. There's nothing I can do about it and just have to learn from hindsight and make a better job of it next time. At least I am doing my Open University course, which will sort out my job problems when I get back and I suppose I have learnt more about myself and what I need to be happy or at least content, so it hasn't all been a complete and utter waste of time...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydney Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 this any better LOL its not the best video but you'll get the jist of it Nice one Tracy. Brings back memories of Marsh, Lillie etc. It's amazing though, despite the internet and many more "worldly travellers" these days, we still get British famillies arriving with little idea of what to expect, when they could have booked a flight, (a scouting mission if you like), for not much more than a couple of holidays to Benidorm, to see what life's like in the big country, instead of arriving "cold" with no plan B. In defence of Brits though I have to say we mix very well. My biggest gripe over the past few years has been the Irish. (Sorry). But many years ago, as a young bloke, I recall we all had a few beers on a Friday night and it was like the United Nations, with people from all over including of course the Paddies. For whatever reason they can no longer be bothered with us and only knock around with themselves and assimilate less than these Lebanese chaps. They drink in pubs with plastic beams and signs in gaelic that say "Dublin 22,000 kilometres", but either they can't read their own language or they refuse to leave. Still a great country though. Oz that is, not Ireland.!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Oh Sydney, thats a bit harsh and Ireland is a beautiful country., and over in London we are surrounded by Australian pubs which is great, its a wee bit of home from home. I personally like to intigrate in whatever country I am living in and it does make for a more interesting living, so I dont find it necessary to search out fellow englishmen, I have met many Irish people on my travels, great travellers, great people and theres no harm in wanting a wee bit of Irish pub along the way lol ss x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydney Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 My home is not my house or the area I live in or where abouts in the world i live but my family! As long as i have those the rest just dosen't matter. I agree with this to an extent and think that I should be ok as long as I am at least with my OH and children and can get used to seeing my extended family less. I also need my children to be happy and that worries me alot. I've been thinking about why I didn't settle alot (most of the time, in fact) and I think that it is largely because I never gave it the time it needed - I was only there 7 months- and I felt a bit like I didn't exist outside of my home and that was largely because I never had a job and I knew no-one there or felt part of any sort of community (like knowing all the other mums at school etc) but those things would have come with time. Also, I admit, hands-up, I wasn't as proactive as I could have been, I should have taken my little son to a playgroup or or joined the parent teacher association to meet other people and become more in the know about my local community or even just got a job in a cafe to at least get out and about and meet others or taken up a hobby. I got really hung up on the fact that back in the UK, I would always bump into someone I knew in the supermarket but never did there, but it really is so unimportant in the grand scheme of things and that would have eventually started happening anyway. I kick myself all the time that we've come and it's set the children back now as well - my daughter is so entrenched back in her old life here now, it's going to be so hard for her to leave again and she would have probaby been settling nicely now in Oz, had we stayed and my son's going to have to start school in September here and then change when we go and that could have been avoided as well. There's nothing I can do about it and just have to learn from hindsight and make a better job of it next time. At least I am doing my Open University course, which will sort out my job problems when I get back and I suppose I have learnt more about myself and what I need to be happy or at least content, so it hasn't all been a complete and utter waste of time...... My past is a bit diferent to yours mate. I jumped on a ship in Liverpool in the early 70's as 16 yo and scrubbed floors all the way to NZ. On my first walk ashore in Auckland I saw these healthy looking Kiwi girls with long blonde hair and good teeth and couldn't believe how lucky i was. I was away from the UK,(apart from the occasional leave) for 6 years. Best thing I ever did and that was before Thatcher was on the scene. Life is what you make it and you get more than one go at it but not many more than that. In 78 I joined an old sugar boat in Seattle and 6 months later found myself in Geelong where I decided to stay. The Aussie Gov decided different and I was marched to Tullamarine airport because I'd forgotten the smallest detail of a passport and shipped back to the Old Dart. 6 weeks later I returned with a one way ticket and no job and no money come to think of it. For two years a worked two jobs and had a ball. I spent every penny and enjoyed Sydney. Life just didn't get any better. You have to decide, but soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydney Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Oh Sydney, thats a bit harsh and Ireland is a beautiful country., and over in London we are surrounded by Australian pubs which is great, its a wee bit of home from home. I personally like to intigrate in whatever country I am living in and it does make for a more interesting living, so I dont find it necessary to search out fellow englishmen, I have met many Irish people on my travels, great travellers, great people and theres no harm in wanting a wee bit of Irish pub along the way lol ss x Didn't mean to offend mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 no Sydney I am sure you didnt and I cannot boast of having any Irish ancestory, but I wouldnt like to offend a particular race in here. Lets face it the British can leave many a dishonourable mark all over the world but I wouldnt like to tar anyone with the same brush. Take care mate ss x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasia Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 My home is not my house or the area I live in or where abouts in the world i live but my family! As long as i have those the rest just dosen't matter. I agree with this to an extent and think that I should be ok as long as I am at least with my OH and children and can get used to seeing my extended family less. I also need my children to be happy and that worries me alot. I've been thinking about why I didn't settle alot (most of the time, in fact) and I think that it is largely because I never gave it the time it needed - I was only there 7 months- and I felt a bit like I didn't exist outside of my home and that was largely because I never had a job and I knew no-one there or felt part of any sort of community (like knowing all the other mums at school etc) but those things would have come with time. Also, I admit, hands-up, I wasn't as proactive as I could have been, I should have taken my little son to a playgroup or or joined the parent teacher association to meet other people and become more in the know about my local community or even just got a job in a cafe to at least get out and about and meet others or taken up a hobby. I got really hung up on the fact that back in the UK, I would always bump into someone I knew in the supermarket but never did there, but it really is so unimportant in the grand scheme of things and that would have eventually started happening anyway. I kick myself all the time that we've come and it's set the children back now as well - my daughter is so entrenched back in her old life here now, it's going to be so hard for her to leave again and she would have probaby been settling nicely now in Oz, had we stayed and my son's going to have to start school in September here and then change when we go and that could have been avoided as well. There's nothing I can do about it and just have to learn from hindsight and make a better job of it next time. At least I am doing my Open University course, which will sort out my job problems when I get back and I suppose I have learnt more about myself and what I need to be happy or at least content, so it hasn't all been a complete and utter waste of time...... If you want to come back I can offer two spare bedrooms.......in the short term - I am an inbetweener too - I have only mixed with Aussies and kiwis - in the throes of moving back do not want to leave my house - keep putting off leaving - anyway there's an offer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasia Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Think I clicked on wrong thing - sorry folks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasia Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Campelltown if on the up - it is changing - I would encourage Brits to move here - honestly - disregard my previous threads,. I would love Brits to move here - its still cheap and there's a bril train line into city and I have been told by reliable sources that suburb is going up 30% before year end..... I WOULD LOVE BRITS TO MOVE HERE - check out internet Cambpelltown - Minto - good investment for a really lovely house RIGHT NOw - get here PLEEEESE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 [quote name='Webbwebbies;512572100/200 years ago and even before that homo sapiens wiped out cavemen you know the ones with the big foreheads ne..and..doo something how far do you want too go back? QUOTE] Actually' date=' cavemen were homo sapiens and have just evolved to look the way we do today and unfortunately, the past has a very sneaky habit of coming back to haunt us, even if it is a way back - I wish it didn't cos then we as individuals and as a species could do all sorts of stuff and not pay the consequences.... I thought the term caveman was one of those images bought about by Hollywood. You know walks around with big club hitting cavewomen on the head with and dragging them off to his cave by the hair and going "urgh" alot. Modern man (homo sapiens) lived mainly on plains and woodlands. Neanderthals can from a much colder regions and are thought to have been a sub species of homo sapiens a not to have evolved into modern man. They were thought to have been stronger, with much shorter thicker bones and a smaller brain. One reason they died out was their inability to adapt. Modern man is also thought to have kill them over land and food and gave them diseases. Having said that there's afew who get down our local. (who saw that one coming?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracy123 Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Loving this Thread All this history, it's worderful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boomerangpommie Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 If you want to come back I can offer two spare bedrooms.......in the short term - I am an inbetweener too - I have only mixed with Aussies and kiwis - in the throes of moving back do not want to leave my house - keep putting off leaving - anyway there's an offer! Thank you so much for your lovely offer but our plans to come back are still pretty woolly at the moment, we have the beginning of next year in mind and are saving up for it, but nothing else more solid than that right now, but really do appreciate it. I know Campbelltown a little as my OH has an aunt and uncle living there and I have visited a couple of times, it seems quite nice. When are you thinking of returning to the UK and will it be permanent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boomerangpommie Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 I thought the term caveman was one of those images bought about by Hollywood. You know walks around with big club hitting cavewomen on the head with and dragging them off to his cave by the hair and going "urgh" alot. Modern man (homo sapiens) lived mainly on plains and woodlands. Neanderthals can from a much colder regions and are thought to have been a sub species of homo sapiens a not to have evolved into modern man. They were thought to have been stronger, with much shorter thicker bones and a smaller brain. One reason they died out was their inability to adapt. Modern man is also thought to have kill them over land and food and gave them diseases. I thought earlier homo sapiens were called Cro-Magnon and there's some idea that they lived in caves because of the drawings found in them and you're right, Neanderthals were a sub-species who eventually became extinct and I suppose Hollywood has helped our ideas about cavemen being somewhat challenged in the Art of Seduction.... Having said that there's afew who get down our local. (who saw that one coming?) During my teaching career, I have tried to share the genius of Shakespeare or the beauty of poetry with a fair few!!! lol!!:wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alimay68 Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 This is all stuff that worries me about returning to the UK on a permanent basis. However, my kids have never been in a nativity play in Oz, yet when we've been back on a couple of extended holidays to the UK and they attended school in my home town, they have been in a CofE nativity, even as recent as December 08. I think it's wonderful and I hope political correctness doesn't find its ugly way into little old Leek. All of the things you mention happen in Oz too. They are worldwide problems. My children have never been in a nativity play here in Oz and that included the 2 years they were at a Catholic Primary School. Traditional christmas hymns are not sung in school, instead we have ones about Santa on kangaroos's!!! Thankfully we have a local church that always has a carol night at Christmas in the local park for anyone who wants a bit of tradition. I wish you luck with your decision, Oz may offer you a better lifestyle but please don't think it doesn't have it's issues as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Alimay, The BBC appointed as Head of Religion & Ethics a non Christian Aaquil Ahmed. There were many complaints about this but the BBC's response is "It is BBC policy to recruit on the basis of experience and suitability to the post, not on the basis of faith or any other criteria." and "As the majority faith in the UK, Christians are and will remain the key audience for the BBC's religious television output.". Hopefully this kind, intelligent gentleman will see the benefit of Christians carrying out their faith of their choice , Muslims, Hindus, Buddists etc etc etc without hinderance. To my way of thinking Australia and England are Christian countries and occasions like the Nativity Scene are important to many, but also for the children to know about other religions I feel is important. Personally I feel there is no place for political correctness in religion, it is such a personal issue and each individual's right to exercise his/her religion should be respected ss x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boomerangpommie Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 yet when we've been back on a couple of extended holidays to the UK and they attended school in my home town, they have been in a CofE nativity, even as recent as December 08. I think it's wonderful and I hope political correctness doesn't find its ugly way into little old Leek. I don't think that the lack of nativity plays in state schools has anything to do with being PC, if anything, I think Oz is less PC than the UK. I think it's more to do with the government being less bound up in the Church than our own is and the society being more secular. The idea is that religion is there for those who want it and not pushed onto people, so that's why religious schools are fee-paying and they observe religious festivals as the majority of pupils in the school follow it. I think that makes more sense as everyone is then equal and no-one gets offended or left out. I noticed in Australia that there were more churches in the UK and statistically, they have a higher proportion of regular church-goers than the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spinkybean Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 hello boomerangpommie, ive just read your dilemma having just joined pio. i spent about 3 years in oz on 2 seperate occasions and am now gearing up to go again (this time with a husband and 3 kids in tow!) someone said about sliding doors - a very valid point, but its all too easy to glamourise what could/would have been and at the end of the day wherever you are, whatever you do youll never know what the absolute best option was for you. there are pro's and con's to both countries, in equal measure, it just depends what your priorities are (if its culture and humour, forget oz! if its beaches and sunny days forget britain!) its horses for courses! youve clearly put a lot of thought into the move and rightly so as you now have massive responsibility to your OH and kids but sometimes we can think it through to death! you did it the first time, it didnt work out. you know why. youll do it again (older and wiser!) and really you will have learnt from your mistakes, enough at the very least to give it a better shot this time and i absolutely think your happiness is paramount to your childrens happiness and their happiness is paramount to yours so choose the school very carefully. there are horrendous schools here (as you are more than aware!) but there are great ones too. likewise in oz. there are some fantastic parts of britain that maybe offer a bit of a half way house between where you are and australia, devon/cornwall for starters. i hear what youre saying about the weather but you can get some fantastic deals for flights to far flung destinations. its so much harder for a woman, we have that innate sense of responsibility, that whole guilt thing, that emotional, a thousand questions thing going on!! finally, be kind to yourself! its all too easy to give yourself a hard time, look around you and realise that most folk will stay (reasonably contentedly!) put for the rest of their lives and what the bloody hell is wrong with you? your wanderlust and itchy feet, but you are the way you are, celebrate that! so what if you to and fro! my mum is forever telling me ive got to steady up, settle down, put down roots, grow up, personally i think i can do all those things without spending forever in the same place. its not conventional but its all good life experience! one last random thought, if youre a teacher could you not try dividing your time between the uk and oz? house swaps present a good an cost effective opportunity to try things before you launch yourself and your family. lifes a funny old game really, but things eventually have a way of working themselves out and it will! good luck! x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boomerangpommie Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Spinkybean, thanks for your kind words of wisdom. We very nearly moved to Cornwall before getting onto this crazy Australia rollercoaster but now my OH says he wouldn't even go there for a holiday, it's been blown out by Oz. Funnily enough, people are always telling me to calm down, slow down, be content with what I have - and since I was a lot younger as well. I do believe I'm destined to be a malcontent and if that's the case and I need to 'train' myself to steady on, I think I would prefer to do that Down Under!!! I have thought about doing a swap for a year but, on the other hand, I just want to stop messing about and get back and start the business of us all settling down. It's a headache!!! Once again, thanks and good luck with your move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest treesea Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Once again....someone else that has missed the point of this thread!!Yes 'BRITAIN' IS a democracy and we can VOICE our opinions....thats not to say that they are being HEARD! As i have previously said we are handed the racist card on ANY opinion we might have, yet we see immigrants/foreigners that never had democracy in their own country literally getting away with murder. I am happy for people of any religion/colour/race to move to my country if their intentions are genuine. BUt if you don't think that our system is being severely exploited at the expense of the British people, then you are very naive my friend. Everybody wants to come here because of the 'benefits' and 'freebies'. Is this why immigrants came here 100 years ago?? NO! Irrespective of the UK's history.....this country has never been in such a state because of this reason. And IMHO - it will only get worse! If you choose to put your head in the sand and think otherwise, then naturally that IS your preogative. Like I said thats just one case of scrouging I know of. I never mention no ones race or colour.If you work and pay taxes and contribute why should anyone have a problem? What I notice about immigrants now I am back in the UK is that so many of them have come here for what are mostly economic reasons. The ones I have talked to since we came back have by and large said they preferred the lifestyle they had in their own countries but the price they paid for that lifestyle was feeling hungry a lot of the time, having to buy cigarettes singly - one guy told me he used to look for half smoked cigarettes on the ground, never having any money. If I were in their shoes and I had the opportunity to move to a place where I could get money, earned or otherwise, I would move. A lot of people coming to Britain these days aren't really interested in getting to know the local people or the culture. It's just an easier place to make a living - be it via benefits or working - than their home countries. The same goes with Australia. Rather than race or religion, I suspect the lack of desire to integrate into the local community comes down ultimately to having completely different interests. There are Chinese people, for instance, here in Edinburgh who have said to me they go to one of the various casinos dotted around the place three or four times a week, sometimes all night. Most Anglo Saxon/Celt Brits wouldn't go into a casino from one year to the next. A lot of Muslims think non Muslims are unclean. They don't want to mix with people who drink and eat pork, or who eat meat that hasn't been blessed before it was killed. They just sound like Western expats pretty much everywhere in the non English speaking "third world". Just because one moves to a foreign country, it doesn't mean one wants to "go native" or get to know the natives. One English guy, who has lived in Amman in Jordan for what must be now getting on for 15 years or so told me once he has never made any local friends, because all they do is "drink tea, play cards, and chain smoke their lungs black. What a boring lifestyle". He said he lives there for the money, the weather and the "great expat" lifestyle. I agree with those posting who say just because our forefathers did exactly this in heaps of countries doesn't mean we should have to put up with that in reverse now. I don't mind the people who don't want to mix in. If they are happy, good luck to them, and if not, then too bad. The door they came through to get into the country is equally open to let them out. What gets me is immigrants who come here and then try to impose their values on us. Or make choices against their own values, then spend the rest of their lives hating Britain and looking down their noses at us. For example, they don't want their children to mix with the local children at school, because they don't like our values, but won't make the financial and possibly relocation sacrifices (usually involving a move to London) so they can live in an area where they can send their children to a faith based school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bondi Pom Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 What I notice about immigrants now I am back in the UK is that so many of them have come here for what are mostly economic reasons. The ones I have talked to since we came back have by and large said they preferred the lifestyle they had in their own countries but the price they paid for that lifestyle was feeling hungry a lot of the time, having to buy cigarettes singly - one guy told me he used to look for half smoked cigarettes on the ground, never having any money. If I were in their shoes and I had the opportunity to move to a place where I could get money, earned or otherwise, I would move. A lot of people coming to Britain these days aren't really interested in getting to know the local people or the culture. It's just an easier place to make a living - be it via benefits or working - than their home countries. The same goes with Australia. Rather than race or religion, I suspect the lack of desire to integrate into the local community comes down ultimately to having completely different interests. There are Chinese people, for instance, here in Edinburgh who have said to me they go to one of the various casinos dotted around the place three or four times a week, sometimes all night. Most Anglo Saxon/Celt Brits wouldn't go into a casino from one year to the next. A lot of Muslims think non Muslims are unclean. They don't want to mix with people who drink and eat pork, or who eat meat that hasn't been blessed before it was killed. They just sound like Western expats pretty much everywhere in the non English speaking "third world". Just because one moves to a foreign country, it doesn't mean one wants to "go native" or get to know the natives. One English guy, who has lived in Amman in Jordan for what must be now getting on for 15 years or so told me once he has never made any local friends, because all they do is "drink tea, play cards, and chain smoke their lungs black. What a boring lifestyle". He said he lives there for the money, the weather and the "great expat" lifestyle. I agree with those posting who say just because our forefathers did exactly this in heaps of countries doesn't mean we should have to put up with that in reverse now. I don't mind the people who don't want to mix in. If they are happy, good luck to them, and if not, then too bad. The door they came through to get into the country is equally open to let them out. What gets me is immigrants who come here and then try to impose their values on us. Or make choices against their own values, then spend the rest of their lives hating Britain and looking down their noses at us. For example, they don't want their children to mix with the local children at school, because they don't like our values, but won't make the financial and possibly relocation sacrifices (usually involving a move to London) so they can live in an area where they can send their children to a faith based school. I think Britain struggles with immigration due mainly to the fact there wasn't any for hundreds of years. No one came and went apart from the odd war, and it's isolation in Europe because of it's location, probably contributed to the "Wogs begin at Calais" attitude. The influx of immigrants since the end of the war has had a huge effect on the UK. The first wave due to the break up of the Empire and the demarkation of India, through to the more recent arrival of Eastern Europeans, as quoted in a previous post, seeking a better life. The majority of Brits were, and still are unprepared for this "invasion". When Britain entered the European Common Market back in 1972 under Heath, it cut the majority of it's trading ties with it's commonwealth partners. Aust/NZ/Canada/etc. These countries NZ in particular struggled for many years to forge reationships with new trading partners and there a was a feeling of "being let down" by the mother country. In Australia whole farming sectors, e.g. Tasmanian fruit farmers were paid to destroy their trees because the UK stopped buying their produce. Many readers on here will remember as kids that tinned fruit always came from Australia. I feel quite strongly that cutting it's colonial partners loose was a mistake, and it's affiliation with Europe has come back to bite them. There's no doubt Britain is struggling to cope with the amount of immigrants pouring into the country, and will continue to do so. I was in Edinburgh last year and mistakenly bought a British newpaper that was printed in Polish. I later learned that 500,000 a day were printed. I have nothing against that of course, I mention it only to highlight the influx of a single nationality to the UK as an example, and I know Poles are legally entitled entry to the UK as citizens of Europe. In Austraia we regularly see news bulletins of illegal immigrants at the ferry ports in northern Europe trying to get into the UK. They don't want to stay in France or Belguim etc. they just want to get into the UK. I can only imagine the attraction for them is the generous benefits system and national health should they be successful in achieving residency. It's certainly not the weather is it ? How the country can afford it is a puzzle. My nephew who lives in Edinburgh and is unemployed gave up his rented flat in the city in November last year. When I asked where he would go he said with absolute confidence the council would have to find somewhere for him as it was their problem. And they did. They moved him into a small private hotel who charged 400 pounds a week and he's still there. He explains if he gets a job he'll lose his free accomodation status. In other words if he gets a job he's homeless. Hardly an incentive to find work and alleviate him as a burden on the tax payer. Personally I think he needs a hard kick on the @rse, but no doubt there's a huge burden of immigrants illegal or otherwise who cost the government a fortune in similiar circumstances. At least that seemed to be the opinion of many Brits when I was last there. Lots of resentment about foregners, and now I see the BNP has just won two seats in the Euro Elections. Always a worry when the Nationalists start to emerge. The financial crisis in Britain means a cut back in public spending for years and an increase in taxation to pay for the ever accumulating foreign debt that won't be paid back in my life time. I see the country is already in danger of losing it's international triple A rating for finance and credit. Which gets me to my point. A bit long winded I know. The problem isn't by how much immigrants should or shouldn't assimilate and learn to be British, it's more a question of Britain's inability to absorb the numbers intent on living there at all costs. The less upheaval caused by their arrival, the more they will be accepted. And by that I mean they should me means tested so they're not a financial burden. There should always be room for refugees in all countries whatever the cost, but turning up uninvited and skint fuels resentment and unacceptance. I can see why many Brits are p1ssed off. On the other side of the coin Australian backpackers are regularly turned back at Heathrow because they're deemd to have insufficient funds for a holiday. Australia has been at a global disadvantage for many years because of it's geographic location, but this allows the government to choose who comes and lives here. Some might argue government policies, but by and large the mass influx of new arrivals to this country over the last sixty years, including one million Poms, has been successful. Immigration to Australia was at record levels last year, and despite the economic downturn is set to continue. I think Britain has to set a sensible criteria for immigrants whether they be from the EU or not. Easier said than done I know, but something has to give. End of Rant. Bondi Pom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest30038 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 We very nearly moved to Cornwall before getting onto this crazy Australia rollercoaster but now my OH says he wouldn't even go there for a holiday, it's been blown out by Oz. My wife hails from Millendreath next door to Looe. I used to think it was idyllic there until the snow drifts piled up in those narrow country lanes and we were marooned for a week with an empty freezer..........guess who had to neck a turkey 3 weeks before xmas just so we could eat some meat. :biglaugh: kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tim Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Thread tidied up all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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