Insignificant/ Significant things that BYP or just wind you up a little

[Pirahna]

if only I could get them over here to live

Irish passport so it should be easy. Or send him to Spain if he doesn't like the cold.

[Pirahna]

The pitiful state of my Spanish really pisses me of. For only two years here I'm doing OK'ish, I know a shit load of words and can string basic sentences together but could be a lot better, wifey gets a lot more practice than I do and is way, way ahead. What brings it into focus is stuff like the old bloke that lives across the road from the english bar in the village. He always used to sit outside his house with his wife, then one day, a couple of months ago she wasn't there and there was only his chair. I always go to say hello and see how he is, his family live in France and he rarely sees them. Today he wasn't in a good place, very tearful, wifey and I spent time with him.

I've mentioned him several times to people that use the bar or the shop next door where all the English get post delivered. Every time I say about him they all know him but nobody seems to know enough Spanish to go and say something to the old fella. I think my Spanish is bad, I've had comments from people that have been here for years wondering how I can get by so well. It's because I try you useless cunts.

[Noggin]

if only I could get them over here to live

Irish passport so it should be easy. Or send him to Spain if he doesn't like the cold.

TBF, she has an Irish passport (she was actually born there!! LOL) but he left it too late to apply for his, they changed the rules and spouses have to live in Ireland to qualify now But, they could move here and probably will at some point. Hopefully with the health to enjoy it!

[Noggin]

The pitiful state of my Spanish really pisses me of. For only two years here I'm doing OK'ish, I know a shit load of words and can string basic sentences together but could be a lot better, wifey gets a lot more practice than I do and is way, way ahead. What brings it into focus is stuff like the old bloke that lives across the road from the english bar in the village. He always used to sit outside his house with his wife, then one day, a couple of months ago she wasn't there and there was only his chair. I always go to say hello and see how he is, his family live in France and he rarely sees them. Today he wasn't in a good place, very tearful, wifey and I spent time with him.

I've mentioned him several times to people that use the bar or the shop next door where all the English get post delivered. Every time I say about him they all know him but nobody seems to know enough Spanish to go and say something to the old fella. I think my Spanish is bad, I've had comments from people that have been here for years wondering how I can get by so well. It's because I try you useless cunts.

Practice is the only thing that works. I've not worked out how much I spent (ok, government funded!) on lessons and courses. Nothing worked until I just sat and talked to someone everyday for a minimum of 30 mins. You'll get there because, as you say, you try, but it does take longer if you can't 'chat' everyday.

With the old guy - well, a mate of mine used to go and talk with an old French lady a few times a week. She spoke no english, so to start it was a challenge. But he learnt much faster than me because he couldn't bail. I've used DeepL or Google to try and help sometimes (even now at school, sometimes between us we can't work out what I'm trying to say!!).

The guy probably appreciates the company even if the conversation is stilted. Maybe, if you can fit it in, make it a regular thing to grab coffees and go sit and chat with him? Excellent for your Spanish and great for him to get to chat with someone. You'll probably learn more words than just sitting in a cafe too cos he's got a lifetime of things to talk about with you. Good on you for chatting, it will mean so much to him

[Pirahna]

if only I could get them over here to live

Irish passport so it should be easy. Or send him to Spain if he doesn't like the cold.

TBF, she has an Irish passport (she was actually born there!! LOL) but he left it too late to apply for his, they changed the rules and spouses have to live in Ireland to qualify now But, they could move here and probably will at some point. Hopefully with the health to enjoy it!

If they're married then the one passport covers both people. My wife has a British passport, me an Irish one, it's a ticket to completely ignore the Schengen rules that now apply to Brits. The longest we stayed in the Schengen zone was 207 days, the border bloke looked at wifeys passport and stamped her out, nothing was said. Coming back in a couple of weeks later her passport was looked at and again nothing was said because she was with me. There's a section in the Euro border guards manual that explains it, I'll send it to you if you need it. Becoming residents here the usual route for Brits now is the Non Lucrative Visa (NLV), an expensive and drawn out process. With an Irish passport I turned up at the police station with the necessary paperwork and a translator and was given permanent residency on the spot. Wifey then did similar and was given residency on a family reunification visa.

The NLV process for 3rd country nationals (the British) means that the first person needs to prove either £27k in savings or an income equivilant, the spouse needs £9k, so £36k for a couple. If accepted this gets you a one year temporary residency. The next step is the two year visa, per couple that's either £72k in savings or an annual income of £36k. After that it's the same again for years 4 and 5, then for year 6 they can apply for permanent residency. To apply for permanent residency each person will need to prove that they've spent the necessary amount of time in the country, that they've had continous health care, paid their taxes etc, otherwise it's a repeat of the two year visa process. The process in France will be broadly similar. It's surprising the amount of Brits that think you can just turn up in Spain (or anywhere in the EU) and live happily ever after.

[gremlin]

Pukka tea bags, notably the 'Three Ginger' ones.

Love the blend of turmeric, ginger and galangal...delicious...but FFS, could they not make actual bag robust enough at the top so that the contents don't come spilling out?

I reckon every 1 in 10 ends up with the bottom of my mug looking like I've emptied the bottom of a budgie's cage in it.

[MingtheMerciless]

The magnetic collar clasp on my Alpinestars Boulder jacket has gone AWOL. Can I find a spare, can I fook!

[Count Steer]

The magnetic collar clasp on my Alpinestars Boulder jacket has gone AWOL. Can I find a spare, can I fook!

Could you frig one out of something like this?

https://www.magnohealth.co.uk/magnetic- ... ments.html

[MrLongbeard]

Pukka tea bags, notably the 'Three Ginger' ones.

Love the blend of turmeric, ginger and galangal...delicious...but FFS, could they not make actual bag robust enough at the top so that the contents don't come spilling out?

I reckon every 1 in 10 ends up with the bottom of my mug looking like I've emptied the bottom of a budgie's cage in it.

They do a champion pie mind

[gremlin]

Pukka tea bags, notably the 'Three Ginger' ones.

Love the blend of turmeric, ginger and galangal...delicious...but FFS, could they not make actual bag robust enough at the top so that the contents don't come spilling out?

I reckon every 1 in 10 ends up with the bottom of my mug looking like I've emptied the bottom of a budgie's cage in it.

They do a champion pie mind

Yeah, but I have trouble finding a mug wide to fit them in.

[Count Steer]

Pukka tea bags, notably the 'Three Ginger' ones.

Love the blend of turmeric, ginger and galangal...delicious...but FFS, could they not make actual bag robust enough at the top so that the contents don't come spilling out?

I reckon every 1 in 10 ends up with the bottom of my mug looking like I've emptied the bottom of a budgie's cage in it.

I've switched from 3×ginger to lemon, ginger and manuka honey ones - and I chuck in some chunked up ginger root.

(I don't have a problem with the bags unless I'm cack-handed opening the little envelope and I use a tea bag squeezer rather than leave the bag in).

[MrLongbeard]

Yeah, but I have trouble finding a mug wide to fit them in.

A quick trip to Sports Direct will sort that out

[Yorick]

Yeah, but I have trouble finding a mug wide to fit them in.

A quick trip to Sports Direct will sort that out

Twice this thread you've made me giggle

[Sadlonelygit]

Autodoc
Actually decided to use them for some bits.
And we're waiting...........
If I'd have known they are 7-10 days delivery, I'd have paid the extra €20 and got the bits locally.
So used to Amazon giving me a 3 day delivery, that having to wait over a week, with the Moho balanced precariously on 3 wheels comes as a bit of a shock!

[Bigjawa]

Screwfix. Order something for "next day" collection in Thursday and get told it'll be here on Monday......

[Noggin]

Irish passport so it should be easy. Or send him to Spain if he doesn't like the cold.

TBF, she has an Irish passport (she was actually born there!! LOL) but he left it too late to apply for his, they changed the rules and spouses have to live in Ireland to qualify now But, they could move here and probably will at some point. Hopefully with the health to enjoy it!

If they're married then the one passport covers both people. My wife has a British passport, me an Irish one, it's a ticket to completely ignore the Schengen rules that now apply to Brits. The longest we stayed in the Schengen zone was 207 days, the border bloke looked at wifeys passport and stamped her out, nothing was said. Coming back in a couple of weeks later her passport was looked at and again nothing was said because she was with me. There's a section in the Euro border guards manual that explains it, I'll send it to you if you need it. Becoming residents here the usual route for Brits now is the Non Lucrative Visa (NLV), an expensive and drawn out process. With an Irish passport I turned up at the police station with the necessary paperwork and a translator and was given permanent residency on the spot. Wifey then did similar and was given residency on a family reunification visa.

The NLV process for 3rd country nationals (the British) means that the first person needs to prove either £27k in savings or an income equivilant, the spouse needs £9k, so £36k for a couple. If accepted this gets you a one year temporary residency. The next step is the two year visa, per couple that's either £72k in savings or an annual income of £36k. After that it's the same again for years 4 and 5, then for year 6 they can apply for permanent residency. To apply for permanent residency each person will need to prove that they've spent the necessary amount of time in the country, that they've had continous health care, paid their taxes etc, otherwise it's a repeat of the two year visa process. The process in France will be broadly similar. It's surprising the amount of Brits that think you can just turn up in Spain (or anywhere in the EU) and live happily ever after.

Here it's fairly simple if one has an EU passport - I think the other still has to get insurance to cover them for the first three months but after that my understanding is that they can apply for residency quite simply. Probably isn't quite that simple (it is France!) but it would definitely be simpler for them with one EU passport than none!!

[Mussels]

Screwfix. Order something for "next day" collection in Thursday and get told it'll be here on Monday......

Their cut-off times are easy to misunderstand, I've nearly been caught.
I'll go for Argos 'reserve and collect from store straight away', get there and get told they don't open for another half an hour.

[Noggin]

I'm signed into a VPN and the MotoGP is on live and it's still not in English. Nor was the Sprint yesterday but I figured that since I'd missed half of it, maybe it would only be in English if I see the start.

Seems not

I'll keep watching but it's bloody annoying that I've done everything I'm supposed to and still can't get the language I want!! LOL

[Pirahna]

I'm signed into a VPN to watch MotoGP without paying and it's not in English. I'll keep watching but it's bloody annoying that I've broken a ton of copyright and anti pirating laws and still can't get the language I want.

Corrected for you.

[Felix]

I'm signed into a VPN and the MotoGP is on live and it's still not in English. Nor was the Sprint yesterday but I figured that since I'd missed half of it, maybe it would only be in English if I see the start.

Seems not

I'll keep watching but it's bloody annoying that I've done everything I'm supposed to and still can't get the language I want!! LOL

Since you are being a crook how about looking into IPTV in a firestick. I can take my stick to euroland and watch all what is on offer back home. Just need a VPN, check and internet connection, Check