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JANUARY 2012 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu
2 ♦ IN THIS EDITION
Welcome to
The Bugle
So, did you have a
good Christmas?
Once this edition
has gone to print,
I will be shutting
down my computers and
having a few well-earned
days off. This is our first
Christmas as a family of four,
and my eldest is just about
starting to understand that
presents are a-coming – she
is quite excited!
In my post-childhood, but
pre-family-of-my-own days,
Christmas was downgraded
to a bit of an inconvenience:
buying presents was a royal
pain in the proverbial, both
in terms of traipsing round
the shops but also financially
(suddenly, one present for a
friend had become 4 for your
friend, his wife and their 2
children – but you could bet
your bottom dollar you’d still
only get one back!)
There really isn’t much
in Christmas for a single
twenty-something, apart
possibly from double or even
triple time at work!
Now I get to live Christmas
through the eyes of my
children and they are starting
to get a bit more exciting
again. I may change my mind
in a few years’ time when
they are demanding iPods,
or even worse iPads, and
bouncing up and down on the
end of the bed at 3am on the
25 th . But I doubt it – for now,
it’s just lots if fun to see how
excited they get.
Christmas can be an
expensive time of year, and
it certainly hasn’t been a
great end to the year for the
economy.
It was a little alarming to
hear the sarcastic comments
from friends and neighbours
after Prime Minister David
Cameron refused to sign the
most recent rescue deal in
Brussels. It may or may not
be best for British interests -
I’m not going to get into the
politics of it all - but it has
certainly soured relations
Managing Editor: Steve Martindale
Editor-in-Chief: Steve Martindale
Registered Address: Les Quatre Chemins
23150 St Yrieix-Les-Bois
France
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between our two countries.
I suspect that my neighbours
are (mostly) joking when they
say that it will all be my fault
if the Euro now collapses, but
us Brits are not flavour of the
month at the moment.
I even read a story recently
about Bishop's Stortford,
whose Conservative council
have voted to break off their
twinning arrangement with
Villiers-sur-Marne in France
and Friedberg in Germany,
citing a “lack of interest”.
"The EU can,
if necessary, do
without Britain,
but Britain
would have
more difficulty
without the
EU" - Martin
Schulz, MEP
Euroscepticism is certainly
on the up in the UK and
apparently Bishop's Stortford
were not the first council
to do this, which is a bit of
a kick in the teeth to the
Entente Cordiale.
French politicians have
been putting the boot in as
well, reacting angrily to the
news that their credit rating
may be downgraded by saying
that the ratings agencies
should instead downgrade
the UK. One even compared
Britain’s financial situation
to that of Greece! The whole
spat was eventually reduced
to not much more than a
playground scrap as France’s
leading banker descended
to a cross-Channel “ours-isbigger-than-yours”
row over
the state of each country's
economy.
I’m sure that it is all just
political manoeuvring and I
very much expect that 2012
will see the end (if not at least
the start of the end) of the
financial woes of the last few
years, although recent events
do raise the difficult question
for expats of what to do when
your adopted country falls
out with the country of your
birth?
There was a shocking story
emerging in the days leading
up to print about the PIP faulty
breast implant scandal (see
page 6). PIP are the French
company that was illegally
using industrial grade
silicone in breast implants.
The company in question
saved itself an estimated €1
billion by using the dodgy
silicone, got caught and
the company folded. These
implants are now in 30,000
French women who must
have them removed or face
the medical consequences
of them rupturing, as a large
number already have. That a
company could get away with
this seems incredulous to me.
I could not find any ongoing
criminal proceedings against
PIP, but surely you can’t get
away with fraud on such an
industrial scale?! PIP also
sold their product abroad and
on the day that we printed this
paper, it was revealed that
as many as 40,000 British
women could also have these
faulty implants! Frightening.
On a cheerier note, I
would like to wish all of our
readers a happy, healthy and
prosperous New Year. 2011
was a bit of a rocky ride in
places, so here’s hoping for a
smoother run in 2012.
Until next month.
Steve Martindale
Editor
Directeur: Steve Martindale
Rédacteur-en-chef: Steve Martindale
Siège Les Quatre Chemins
23150 St Yrieix-Les-Bois
France
SIRET: 514 989 748 00017
Imprimé par: Rotocentre
348, rue Marcel Paul
45770 Saran
France
Tirage mensuel: 11,000 copies
Tous droits réservés. Toute reproduction, totale
ou partielle, des articles et illustrations du présent
numéro est strictement interdite.
Dépôt légal à parution.
The Bugle cannot accept responsibility for the claims of advertisers or their professionalism. We strongly advise readers to verify that the company
you are dealing with is a registered trading company in France or elsewhere in the world.
INSIDE this edition
News >>
1 & 3>5 Local News:
Figures show that November was the hottest
since records began. The region also saw less
rain and more sunshine than normal.
A next generation speed camera is being installed
on the A20 near Limoges. The warning
panel is also being removed.
6 men have been placed under investigation in
Germany for their part in the 1944 massacre in
Oradour-sur-Glane.
A huge transport project has been unveiled to
improve the Grossereix exit of the A20 and
widen the RN520 to 2x2 lanes past the airport.
6>8 National News:
Dominique de Villepin has thrown his hat into
the ring for this year's presidential elections.
The arch-enemy of Sarkozy has little support,
but has worried the main protagonists.
30,000 women have been affected by a French
company illegally filling breast implants with
industrial grade silicone.
The lower rate of VAT has been raised from
5.5% to 7% for many products and services,
although supermarket food remains at 5.5%.
Former president Jacques Chirac has been
found guilty of embezzlement for diverting fictitious
salaries to fund his political campaigns.
From the spring of 2012 all motorists will be
required to carry breath test kits in their cars or
face a fine.
A British conman has flooded a villa in the
south of France after breaking in to build a
love-nest.
A French newspaper was embarrassed after
running a story about a 100-year-old's birthday
party four pages before his obituary.
A French technology company is fighting back
against time-wasting by banning its staff from
sending each other emails.
French Life >>
9 >13 French Life:
Arthur Smith takes a look at the environmental
impact of beer and has some tips for how we
can all drink 'greener'.
Tel: 05.55.41.17.76
General: editor@thebugle.eu
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Subscriptions: subscriptions@thebugle.eu
9 >13 French Life:
Andrew Wignall is not going to be travelling
this Xmas, and he's not ashamed of telling us
why!
CONTACT us
The sales start in January, but when are they and
what are the rules?
Alcoholics Anonymous - we take a look at
this wellknown organisation that so few know
anything about.
Winter Warmer - Barry Creighton from StoveSellers
explains the rules surrounding Tax
Credits for the coming year.
If you are selling a house, Kevin Andrews from
Leggett Immobilier explains the current situation
surrounding fosses septiques.
French Music, Ça existe encore? Amy Wells examines
the relationship between French music
and the English Language and reviews a local
musician's latest release.
Directory >>
14-15 Classifieds. For Sale and Wanted.
Letters to the Editor >>
16 A selection from our post bag from the last
month:
More responses to November's 'Little England'
piece and a spam warning.
What’s On >>
17 Community Notice Board.
18 Clubs, Charities and Associations.
19 Market Days.
Games >>
20 Crossword.
Our usual easy, medium and hard Sudokus.
Caption competition.
Directory >>
B2-B8 The Bugle Business Directory.
Write to: The Bugle
Les Quatre Chemins
23150 St Yrieix-Les-Bois
France