British Expat Newsletter: October 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
October’s news started off with a bout of illness and ended with an epidemic of sickness.
Top story at the beginning of the month was Theresa May’s Tory Party conference speech. It started badly with a prankster approaching the stage to hand her a P45 purportedly from Boris Johnson, and went downhill from there as she struggled to cope with a fit of coughing. The upshot was that whatever it was she said (I certainly can’t remember what it was) was lost behind the fiasco of her delivery.
Party colleagues rallied round to praise her determination and perseverance to complete her speech through obvious illness. But the episode didn’t help her authority – though she was still able to see off a challenge from former Party Chairman Grant Shapps. (Remember him? He was forced to admit in 2015 that he’d been continuing to pursue a Web-based career as a get-rich-quick scheme marketer even after being elected to the House of Commons in 2005.)
The rest of the month was dominated by sex scandals. First of all Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s exposure by the New York Times as a sex pest, back on 5 October. Allegations of harassment, sexual assault and indeed rape have continued to emerge through the month. There’s enough substance behind the allegations for the police to be involved, in the UK as well as in the US. Weinstein has apologised for causing “a lot of pain” but denies the allegations of non-consensual sex.
On this side of the Atlantic the accusations have centred on life in Westminster, with MPs from both major parties coming under scrutiny for their behaviour towards their employees and others. House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has ordered all parties represented at Westminster to draw up codes of conduct. And Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has resigned, acknowledging that his behaviour had fallen short of the standards expected of the Armed Forces.
All pretty unedifying stuff. They don’t have any of these problems in Oman. Or if they do, you won’t hear about it in the papers. The Government gets to decide who can be a journalist and the press is heavily self-censoring. Which is a roundabout way of saying that this month’s Quick Quiz is about Oman.
Our latest Pic of the Week is from neighbouring Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. But it could be from a galaxy far, far away. It’s a view of a train on the city’s hyper-modern rapid transit network, heading along the elevated viaduct amongst the skyscrapers.
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.
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.
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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