British Expat Newsletter: April 2017
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In this issue
- This month: British Expat update
- Write for British Expat
- British Expat Amazon Shopping
- How to subscribe
This month
Those of you who are safely away from the UK must be wondering what’s going on, as political life continues to bump along from shock to shock like a boxer on the ropes. Having spent virtually her entire term of office so far insisting that she wouldn’t be calling a snap election, Prime Minister Theresa May made a liar of herself by doing just that in a surprise announcement on 18 April. The vote will take place on Thursday 8 June.
With Labour still riven by internal divisions over their Marmite-like leader Jeremy Corbyn, most pundits are all but ruling out any result other than a thumping Tory majority. The prospects appear vanishingly small that any single party other than the Conservatives will win the most seats, let alone a majority. And both Labour and the Lib Dems have said that they won’t participate in any kind of a “progressive alliance” with other parties nationally – although the Greens and Lib Dems have reached one or two agreements locally not to stand against each other.
But what does this mean for Brexit? The Tories from May downwards are offering “strong and stable” government. With the manifesto not yet written it’s hard to tell exactly what they mean by that. But it’s a fair guess that what they’re really after is a free hand to negotiate whatever deal they can without needing to have Parliamentary approval for it – and to simply walk over the cliff edge if they can’t reach agreement with the EU-27.
The commentators are wondering out loud whether UKIP will implode now that they’ve apparently secured their key goal of getting the UK out of Europe. It’s a lovely thought. But it’s not entirely unimaginable that Leave supporters might not trust their local Tory and be persuaded to vote UKIP in an attempt to hold the Government’s feet to the fire over Brexit. In which case we could face a scenario where the Tories are forced to rely on UKIP and Northern Ireland Unionists to continue in government.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. We’ve been busy behind the scenes with our new Scoffopedia website, and the good news is that we’re now ready to launch it. As you might guess from the name, it’s an online encyclopedia-cum-glossary about food and drink. In a nutshell, it’s the language of food and drink – explained! So next time you’re in a restaurant and are stumped by a menu term, you won’t have to embarrass yourself in front of your dinner companion by asking the waiter for an explanation – just visit Scoffopedia and all will be revealed. You can visit it here:
http://www.scoffopedia.com/
To celebrate the launch, both of our regular features have a food theme. Our Quick Quiz asks about the culinary meaning of five quirky terms that also have a non-food use. And our Pic of the Week is of a fruit market stall in Indonesia.
Write for British Expat
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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 Expat Amazon Shopping
Amazon don’t just do books, you know. We’ve teamed up with them to bring you the ultimate in online shopping—from a micro SD card to a garden shed! A great way to do your shopping online, especially if the shops aren’t up to much in your part of the world.
BE Amazon Shop: UK & EU | BE Amazon Shop: non-EU
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
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