If, after all this Brexit nonsense, they come to send me back to England; I shall refuse to go. I'm not bloody going!
They can snap the cuffs on me, drag me to the airport, tie me to a seat, and have half a dozen Gendarmes accompany me back onto Albion's soil, but I shall kick and shout all the way there.
Then, after some hard-pressed local authority have housed me, fed me, and given me plenty of spending money (as they are bound to do), I shall buy an inflatable boat, and sail heroically back across the Channel. I want to remain living right here!
I've lived for over two thirds of my life in France, and I've been a good citizen. I've committed no crime (I'm not that type), I've never asked for any financial assistance, and all my spending money has been imported. I've saved an ancient house from falling into ruin, and I shall eventually leave behind a pleasant home in which discerning folk will live for many years to come. I also pay all my bills on time. In fact, I'm the perfect étranger.
Somehow I don't imagine they will come for me; I'm too much a part of the scene. I'm quiet, reserved, and I blend in with the landscape.
So, Macron, just forget that I'm here. I won't tell anyone, and I promise to continue to be good.
Macron's contingency plans if no deal do not say you will be expected to leave.
ReplyDeleteMy mayor said we'd have to go; but I think (hope) he was joking.
DeleteDo you plan on leaving French soil at all, say for a visit to the U.K.
ReplyDeleteWe're planning to over-Winter again in England in a couple of years time. Central heating appeals.
DeleteWhy not put central heating/or easier heating into your house in France?
DeleteIt's not really convenient. It's a small house with very thick stone walls, and would be very difficult to install. We're OK as we are, but it does involve quite a lot of log sawing; which I don't dislike.
DeleteYou're an ideal import. I hope you stay put as long as you want to.
ReplyDeleteYesterday's post was delightful. So worth saving all those little treasures.they bring back so many wonderful memories
It's true, I am the ideal foreigner. If the whole country was made up of similar people, France would be a much better place. No criminals, no spongers, everyone financially self-sufficient; it would be heaven.
DeleteWith all the EU's faults, it seems to be more capable than the Uk's government right now.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that EU countries will be more lenient than vice versa towards British immigrants.
I suggest you get yourselves a pellet stove. Easier to handle and very energy efficient.
A friend of mine has just installed one, and seems very happy with it. Actually I'd be quite happy to take out the woodburner, and return to my huge fireplace with metre-length logs. I always loved it, even though any sparks could prove a tad dangerous.
DeleteThey are just about to ban most wood burning stoves in the UK
DeleteLife is less complicated having one home now in the UK but I am really going to miss not returning to our French idyll every summer. You will understand how I feel.
ReplyDeleteYours was such a beautiful house too. I'm sure you'll miss it, if not the complications.
DeleteYou are doomed, governments always pick on the law abiding, it is less trouble. Best get a lorry load of tyres, store them behind the idiot with the shipping containers then if the worst happens, drag them out, coat liberally with petro and oil waste and light. Play the marseilles and get a yellow vest. You will be fine and voted a pillar of the community.
ReplyDeleteWhat you say is probably true. There's safety in rioting and setting light to cars or ambulances (preferably both).
DeleteDoes Lady M often photograph you in handcuffs? Do you have more than one pair? Just wondered.
ReplyDeleteI'd been a naughty boy and was being punished. Ooooh matron.
DeleteWith your jeans on?
DeleteI feel so bad for what the people of the U.K. are going through at this time. I wish the best for you all and hope that you and your family will be able to stay in your beloved home.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure we will, the UK may not even leave the EU!
DeleteHave you considered French citizenship?
ReplyDeleteI have considered it, and it would make sense. But somehow I feel it would be disrespectful to my family; especially to my late parents.
DeleteA wise decision if I may say so Cro looking at the state of affairs here at present.
ReplyDeleteIn a 'Pascal Wager' sort of way. Yes.
DeleteI'm not leaving either Cro. I love going back to the UK but they would have to drag me kicking and screaming to live there again. I follow BIE (Brits in Europe) and yesterday they posted about how France has declared that people in our situation will have a year after Brexit to apply for a carte de séjour (rather than 3 months) and for those of us with over 5 years residency it will automatically be the 10-year long-term resident card and (I believe) the income restrictions will not apply - so no minimum income). Like you, I'm a "good import", own my own house, have a pension and medical insurance and don't cost them a penny. To be honest, there are whole villages in France, and more particularly in Spain, that would probably sink if the Brits upped and left and the local mayors know it. Anna
ReplyDeleteWell, I have to agree with everything you said here, Anna. Without the Brits, and Brit tourists, the place would almost collapse. Macron's threatening UK ferries and 'planes, was one of the most stupid things I've heard from a French President ever!
DeleteI must be a little unpleasant to live in such uncertainty. While you know the logic and the practicality, things aren't always logical or practical, but so often political.
ReplyDeleteMrs May has promised that all EU residents in the UK have their residency assured, so I imagine that the EU countries will do much the same. Even so, the threats are there.
DeleteThe best decision Cro...all power to your elbow!! Keep writing and reminding us....
ReplyDelete