Hello, and welcome to those of you who have recently signed up.
In this issue
This month
In light of Boris Johnson’s claim that he’s proroguing (suspending) Parliament to enable an exciting programme of domestic legislation to be tabled, here are a couple of memories I’d like to share with you.
Remember back in April after the EU and the UK had agreed to put back the deadline of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU to 31 October, and the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said, “Please do not waste this time”?
It’s true that it’s normal procedure for Parliament to be prorogued before a Queen’s Speech sets out the new legislative programme. But Parliament’s already been in recess for the last five weeks. Boris Johnson and his government have had at least that long to work up legislation. (Arguably Johnson’s had much longer – at least since he decided to stand for the Tory leadership, and conceivably since he left the May government over a year ago.)
It’s also true that there’s normally a three-week recess for the party conference season. But many MPs have been suggesting that with Britain facing its biggest challenge since the Second World War, the conference recess should be ditched this year.
So, if it’s such an urgent matter to get new legislation underway, why is the Queen’s Speech not happening until 14 October?
Which brings me to the second memory. Back in January, in this newsletter we mentioned Jacob Rees-Mogg’s proposal to have the Queen prorogue Parliament to force through Brexit without debate. As Leader of the House of Commons, Rees-Mogg is now in charge of managing the Government’s business in the House. Draw your own conclusions.
We enjoyed compiling last month’s pub quiz-style Quick Quiz so much that we’ve decided to come up with another one. This one covers snooker, ABBA, birds, butterflies and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Have a go!
And our latest Pic of the Week shows the four members of ABBA in an unusual pose…at the bottom of a tree in Canberra, immortalised in garden gnome form.
Are you ever flummoxed by fancy foodie words, mystified by menus, or confused by culinary terms? Then head on over to Scoffopedia.com and become enlightened by our quirky A-Z of food. And it’s got cartoons in it! Don’t forget to tell all your friends about it too.
Write for British Expat
Would you like to write for British Expat? Sorry, we don’t pay for articles but if you have a website we’ll link to it in the author’s blurb below any of your articles we publish. We use all sorts of content as long as it’s useful and/or interesting to our readership.
Besides articles, we also publish quick trivia quizzes—five questions about any subject. So, if you’d like to write for us but don’t feel like producing a literary masterpiece, then why not try writing a quickie quiz about your city, country, or even your hobby? Please use our contact form to get in touch.
British Corner Shop
British Corner Shop is the award-winning online grocery store for British expats around the world. Whether you miss Marmite or crave Warburtons crumpets, they can deliver your British favourites straight to your door.
Their website stocks over 10,000 products from Britain’s most loved brands, meaning you can enjoy the British food you miss, wherever you are in the world.
And if you sign up to their newsletter, you can save 15% off your first order. What’s not to like?
British Corner Shop
So there’s a round-up of all that’s been going on. Come on over and see for yourself! Don’t forget…
Visit the BE website and join in with our lively community!
Till next time…
Happy surfing!
Kay
Editor
British Expat—the definitive home for British expats
PS: Please do comment and help us to give you what you want from the newsletter.
How to subscribe:
If you like what you’ve read here and would like to sign up to receive your own newsletter, please click the link below and enter your name and email address on the form there:
Sign up for the British Expat Newsletter!