Grab a chair, kick off your shoes, chill and chat.For the first time in three years I visited the UK to see family and friends. A fortnight of which I can't say was the favourite two weeks of my life despite the pleasure of seeing people after such a long period. Started with a flight with Ryanair on one of their new Boeing Max planes, subtly renamed 737-82000 or something. Nice plane, as long as it behaves itself, which it did, but unfortunately flight delays as we waited for it to escape the clutches of Manchester airport and arrive in Limoges. At least it arrived. Delays also on the standard 737 coming back despite the airport seemingly not too busy on a monday morning.
I got a shock at prices also. Shopping with my daughter in Tesco and thought "her trolley will be about £50". No, £75 and she didn't seem to have that much.
Tales of the abysmal health service from family members and the impossibility of getting a doctor's appointment.
Hotel prices are ridiculous, the hotel at the airport normally used has doubled from c. £100 TO £200 in 3 years so a cheaper option was the Brittannia Airport Hotel in Wilmslow around £94. Good food but expensive and poor quality rooms.
The traffic is horrendous, we taxied from the Midlands to Manchester on sunday evening, and the motorways were solid with traffic. Where the hell are they all going. Speed cameras everywhere and no pleasure driving.
I was glad to be back to a green and pleasant Correze looking out of our upstairs windows at our nearest neighbours, Limousin cattle with their offspring.
Go back ever permanently? Not in a million years!
After 3 years!
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exile
- Posts: 2741
- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 9:57 pm
- Location: Auvergne Rhone Alpes
After 3 years!
Bumped into acquaintances earlier in the week who have a holiday home here. Not seen them for a couple of years. They too were berating the state of the UK but I just put it down to typical grass is greener syndrome. Having read your post - maybe not. Maybe the grass here really is greener. Not that we have any intentions of returning either.
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niemeyjt
- Posts: 4920
- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 6:34 pm
After 3 years!
I drive to avoid the hassles - or most of them.
Shopping - biggest surprise for me was quality of some of fruit and vegetables. I think the shops buy inferior to keep prices down. Avocados here are double the size (but cost!)
But for me the most depressing is watching to see which arable field has just been turned into a housing estate.
Shopping - biggest surprise for me was quality of some of fruit and vegetables. I think the shops buy inferior to keep prices down. Avocados here are double the size (but cost!)
But for me the most depressing is watching to see which arable field has just been turned into a housing estate.
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exile
- Posts: 2741
- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 9:57 pm
- Location: Auvergne Rhone Alpes
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Pathca
- Posts: 2733
- Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2021 11:50 am
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Wilbro
- Posts: 947
- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 7:22 pm
- Location: Correze
After 3 years!
On the train one saw fields but so often housing estates with their little postage stamp gardens and then the empty properties in the town centres.
To rub it in I came back with a stinking cold caught two days before my return. My worries were allayed when two covid tests proved negative.
The one benefit? A pint of good English Beer which is the one big win over the fizzy lager rubbish!
To rub it in I came back with a stinking cold caught two days before my return. My worries were allayed when two covid tests proved negative.
The one benefit? A pint of good English Beer which is the one big win over the fizzy lager rubbish!
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Spectrum
- Posts: 846
- Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2021 7:59 am
- Location: 16
After 3 years!
We go back in September for the first time in six years, we are only staying three nights in Hotels, but while sort of looking forward to see our daughter, don't like or get on with her partner, we expect to see some changes in the UK probably for the worst. As a ex CAMRA member the good part will be having a good few beers, perhaps too many 
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Hotrodder
- Posts: 3382
- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:31 pm
- Location: Brittany 22
After 3 years!
A few years ago I went back and visited my best friend living in Kent. I had lived there for years but due to all the new building and roads I managed to get lost several times. Even outside of "rush hour" the traffic was constant. I gave up trying to even get near the house I once lived in.
On my headstone it will say: Please switch off mobile phones. I'm trying to get some sleep.
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A.N.Other
- Posts: 323
- Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2021 7:02 pm
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L Austin France
- Posts: 2206
- Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2021 1:47 pm
- Location: sw 29
After 3 years!
I was last back in the UK just before covid struck.
It took me over an hour to fill up with diesel at a station probably 300m from our kid's house.
Drive 100m down their road & wait to be 'let in' to turn left on very busy main road. Drive 200m & wait again to turn right across road into station. Fill up. Wait again to be let out onto main road into traffic flow. Wait again to turn across traffic into kid's road.
Hard to imagine that used to be our way of life before escaping to Brittany nearly 20 years ago.
Bugger that for a game of soldiers now.
It took me over an hour to fill up with diesel at a station probably 300m from our kid's house.
Drive 100m down their road & wait to be 'let in' to turn left on very busy main road. Drive 200m & wait again to turn right across road into station. Fill up. Wait again to be let out onto main road into traffic flow. Wait again to turn across traffic into kid's road.
Hard to imagine that used to be our way of life before escaping to Brittany nearly 20 years ago.
Bugger that for a game of soldiers now.