British Expat Newsletter: June 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
Blimey. Who saw that coming? Theresa May’s bid for a blank cheque from the British electorate saw her lose the Tories’ narrow working majority. Meanwhile, Labour managed to up their share of the vote and their number of MPs, but still not by enough to put Jeremy Corbyn in reach of No.10. So we’re faced with a minority government for the first time since the Lib-Lab pact of the late 1970s, only this time it’s the Tories running the show and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to whom they’re beholden for “confidence and supply” votes. Apparently in return for an extra £1bn spending in the Six Counties, which some wags have said makes each of the DUP’s MPs more expensive than Manchester United’s Paul Pogba.
And the consequences for Brexit? Initial signs are that May is doggedly insisting that “no deal is better than a bad deal”, despite efforts among her Cabinet colleagues to persuade her to moderate her line. And she’s finally started to show her negotiating position in a little more detail, starting with the terms she’s willing to offer EU citizens living in the UK. The Conservatives initially described those terms as “generous”, hastily amending their description to “fair and serious” when it became clear that the EU had been expecting (and offering to UK citizens living in the EU) something rather better.
Those of you who are living in EU countries, or planning to, will no doubt be concerned about the implications of whatever Brexit deal (or lack of one) we end up with. There’s an interesting discussion underway on our Malta forum. Some of it, naturally, is Malta-specific, but there’s also info and discussion there which may be relevant to any of our readers who are EU residents.
(Meanwhile, of course, the forum continues to provide information on a wide range of expat issues, as well as the opportunity to socialise with like-minded people all around the world. You can see the full range of discussion boards here.)
Some Europeans seem to have already made the mental leap to the post-Brexit world. The Daily Express reported rather huffily the other day that a guide to the EU for French schoolchildren had whited out the UK from the EU, talked of the EU only in positive terms and made no mention of Brexit. (On the flip side, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that the Express has talked of post-Brexit Britain only in positive terms and would prefer to pretend the EU didn’t exist.)
A little further afield, we’ve received reports that Spanish courts are insisting that the English Breakfast and Englsh Pubs should have Protected Denomination of Origin and that those terms should be applied only to breakfasts cooked in England and pubs in England. You can read all about it on the site – make of it what you will…
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.
Our Quick Quiz looks at British wildlife. Most of us probably had some nature studies classes at primary school, so this is a chance to see how much of those (hopefully) happy childhood memories you can dredge up!
And our Pic of the Week takes us to Provence, famous for its lavender fields – although, perhaps surprisingly, lavender doesn’t form part of Provençal cooking tradition.
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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