There's No Easier Way To Find What You - The Bugle

JANUARY 2012 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu
16 ♦ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters to
The
Editor
More response to Little England debate
Steve Buckley
By Email
Dear Editor,
I
always read the letters
page of The Bugle
with interest, to learn
of other people's experiences
and also to try and
avoid some of the mistakes
that others have made during
their time in France. I
have disagreed a number
of times with some of the
ideas expressed but never
enough to be motivated to
write, until now!
The letter complaining
about the cost of living
here really got to me. It
is true that some things
are more expensive here
like paint and tools, but
I have found them to be
better quality. As for food,
the budget we set aside
for food each month has
never been exceeded in
two and half years of living
here. All the supermarkets
run offers at certain
times and that is when
we stock up. Buying the
cheaper cuts of meat and
making casseroles and
stews is economical and
Nigel Yeldham
By Email
Firstly, I would like to say how
much I agree with both your
correspondents under your
headline 'Little England' in your
December letters section. An effort to
integrate is vitally important and I do
wish that TV programmes and glossy
magazines could be stopped from
pedalling the myth that Mr Stringwell
speaks of. I appreciate they are trying to
sell a product but at the very best they are
economical with the truth. People may
they are very tasty. The
supermarket own brands
here are also worth trying
as we find them better
than their UK cousins.
We have not, and will not,
use the online shopping
service, because we feel
that paying the TVA is
part of our contribution
to the French economy,
and helps keep the society
running that we enjoy
being a part of so much.
The acknowledgement
by your contributor last
month that we may have
better value land and
housing, some!!! cheaper
wine, and probably pay
less in local taxes appeared
to be grudging at
best. The wines are exceptional
value if you avoid
the brands and try some
of the less well-known regions
that can be very well
priced. When was the last
time a medal winning wine
was available in Britain at
£1.30 a bottle? Our house
would have cost at least 4
times the price in England
and our local taxes, electricity
and water charges
are almost 30% less than
in the UK. These are significant
benefits and sav-
become disillusioned and unhappy when
they discover that their money does not
go as far as they were led to believe by
the media.
More importantly, my thanks to Mrs
Quinn for her letter, and indeed you for
publishing it, because I too had been
'had' when I checked following her
advice. I believe that Orange's behaviour
is scandalous. I have no idea whether I
received an email because I tend to treat
the almost daily emails from them as junk.
Yours sincerely,
Nigel Yeldham
ings and I think everyone
should spend the maximum
they can in their local
economy. We still get
tea bags when we are in
the UK as my wife has
not discovered a French
version she likes yet (has
anyone else?) I only drink
coffee and the supermarket
own brand here is
more to my taste than Nescafe.
We love our French
life and like your other
contributor last month
we are trying to fully integrate,
although we are
struggling to come to
grips with the language.
While putting keyboard
to email I also have a suggestion
for your reader
who is having problems
with his UK pensions exchange
rates. I am only
guessing but I think he
took the decision to have
his pensions converted
on a monthly basis by the
government in the UK
when he moved here, or
began to receive his pensions.
We were given a
choice and opted to have
our pensions paid into a
UK bank account in sterling.
We then move money
in bulk at a time of our
choosing and get the best
rate we can at the time. If
your writer still has a sterling
account in the UK I
would suggest he ask the
UK government if he can
change his original decision
and have his pensions
paid in sterling in future.
There are plenty of companies
around who will
change the money for you
at very reasonable rates
and low commission and
at least that puts you in
control of the situation.
For what it is worth the
days of 1.60 euro to the
pound may never return
and it is probably best to
work on 1.10 and then
anything more than that is
a bonus. Who knows, we
might be back to Francs
next year if the euro's illustrious
leaders don't
make a decision soon.
That's off the soap box
for now, cheer up everyone
the weather is lovely.
(ED I think you mean
was!)
Regards,
Spam scam involving Orange
Dear Sir
Following our
t e l e p h o n e
conversation the
other day, I have pleasure
in sending you a photocopy
of a scam email purporting
to be from France Orange.
As I said, they have already
confirmed that it is a scam.
If you look at the top
Steve Buckley
Steph Willetts
By Email
Dear Ed.
Edward Friend
By Mail
Thank you to George Stringwell
whose letter 'hit the nail', endorsed
our feelings re the cost
of living in France v. UK and validated
reasons for personal shopping for our
groceries (there is no difference here
between countries importing their comestibles
from other countries instead
of using home produced goods).
Thank you also to 'Anonymous'
Brian Richman
By Email
Dear Editor,
of the email you can see
that it is sent by someone
with an Arabic name, but
from a website in Tuvalu,
Polynesia!!??
Below this page was a
form to fill in with one's RIB
and we should be grateful if
you would inform readers of
what is occurring.
Yours sincerely
Edward Friend
Having read the two letters in the
November issue, I feel moved
to write to your excellent paper.
Firstly, let me start by saying I am
firmly in the same camp as Anonymous.
We moved to France in 2008, and
made it our business to improve our
French and to integrate into the French
community as quickly as possible. This
we have done very successfully, which
was, of course, subject to the normal
French system of calendars set at six,
twelve and twenty-four months!
I totally disagree with Mr Stringwell
in most aspects. Yes, DIY products,
electrical goods and some clothing is
very expensive here, but he is totally
wrong about day-to-day living. He
admits that local taxation is “rather less”
here; rather an understatement, when
our local taxes and water have fallen
by a factor of four, for a larger property.
Day-to-day shopping is certainly no
more expensive than the UK, if you
shop around, use the promotions
sensibly and eat seasonally; after all,
does one really need strawberries in the
middle of winter?
I wonder what Mr Stringwell’s
attitude would have been if, when
living in the UK, he noticed truckloads
of goods arriving on a weekly basis
for endorsing our feelings re Little
Britain. My only concern is that he
speaks of xenophobia and racist
emails, demonstrating the French are
as human (or 'inhuman') as the rest of
us.
We moved here some years ago,
to be close to members of my family
who chose to quit Britain 20 years
ago or more, when the Limousin was
still a Virgin and even the French considered
it their 'Coventry'... only the
exiled (verb 'limoger') came here with
nary a loud, English-speaking Brit in
sight!
Sadly, we joined the ranks of im-
ED - I am regulary contacted
by readers about scams similar
to this. Some are more
sophisticated than others,
but the common factor is always
the same: the promise
of a small re-imbursement
for an overpayment. It is
VERY UNLIKELY that Orange
will ever contact you
like this about a refund. Keep
your wits about you and most
importantly NEVER part
with financial information by
email... EVER!!
from Eastern Europe or Asia, to allow
immigrants NOT to have to shop at
Tesco. I suspect he would have said that
the immigrants are doing nothing to
assist the local economy – and he would
have been correct. I am also aware of
some British people getting bread and
cheese from UK supermarkets – if
that isn’t a case of “taking coals to
Newcastle” I don’t know what is.
Like most rural communities, the
French are very tolerant and friendly,
but they do resent foreigners who only
appear during the summer months,
who buy all their shopping from
another country, who refuse to learn
the language and shout and gesticulate
instead, and also who constantly
criticise everything about the country
they have chosen to live in.
The French also resent seeing some
of their bars become British drinking
places, full of loud-mouthed, shavenheaded
men and large tattooed women
shouting and swearing. Luckily, there
are many bars and restaurants who
discourage such custom by refusing to
understand English.
Of course, France has its faults,
as anyone who has had to deal with
France Telecom will know, but I doubt
it is any worse than UK telephone
companies. The French health service
is vastly superior to the British health
service, despite having to make some
contribution.
As you may now be aware, we would
never want to return to the UK, other
than to visit relatives and friends and are
completely happy and contented here in
France.
Yours sincerely,
Brian Richman
(a resident of the Limousin)
migrants, but we learned the language,
communed with nos voisins
and discovered that the French are no
different to anyone else in their prejudices....
Yours sincerely,
Steph Willetts