survey for people in the UK.

I would like to VISIT London.

I used to be fiercely patriotic but twenty years of tory government cured me of that.

What's worse is that this current piece of sh*t Blair, has simply carried on where Thatcher left off, which is why in a very important by election last night the Labour party lost one of the safest seats in Britain.

If I were young enough to emigrate I would be gone by next friday. So to answer your question in emoticons this is it

Kev, What do you mean by "young enough to emigrate" ?

Hi Letty, younger than 55

Kev, I don't understand that. You mean if you are fifty five or older you can't emigrate? What has age to do with it?

I don't agree with Kev, I like it here.
And Tony Blair has got nothing to do with me (although I voted Labour, I didn't vote for what he has done)
When I go away from here, the thing I miss most is the BBC.
I think we're one of the free-est nations on earth. And, immigration: why do migrants pass through, or pass by, six or eight countries as a possible haven, and then try to cross the Channel? Not because of our creaky welfare system I think, but because we are thought of as fair, and reasonable people. They vote with their feet, and choose us. I take that as a compliment.

When I imimgrate, then to the UK.

(Although citizens from countries with more migrants could have other theories than McTag :wink: )

It' a long story Letty I'll get back to you.

Hi Mc Tag, How you feel about Perfidious Albion depends on a great many things, your age, your job, your financial situation your prospects and a great many more things.

I dont take it as a compliment that immigrants come here rather than other european countries, they dont flock here because we're a great nation they flock here because we're the only country stupid enough to take people who have contributed nothing into the system, and who then get free housing, all their bills paid and enough money per week to live better than they could working a 100 hour week where they came from.

If this generosity applied to the indigenous population who are now being told that retirement at 65 is no longer viable because there isn't enough money in the kitty, and we should expect to work until we are 70, I wouldn't mind.

Well, there are a lot of factors, that's for sure.
Francophone people from Africa tend to end up in France. (Then they come here and play for the Arsenal.)
People from former Dutch colonies gravitate towards Holland.
During full employment in Germany, many economic migrants went there.
For people whose second language is English, Britain is an attractive option.
Our welfare state and social security regulations are helpful: no-one need starve. That's a big plus, when starvation elsewhere is a possibility.

OK, Kev.

Walter and McTag. I think that it's impossible to totally take the country out of the person, nor should anyone want to do that. America has always been a nation of immigrants. Speaking of migrants, I was always amused that the state of West Virginia was the state that had the distinction of being the place where people might like to live, but no one wants to visit.

I'll go along with what McTag has said.
As I always say, Britain is not perfect by any means. There are deficiencies in a number of areas of our society. But we also have much to be happy with. It's the bad bits which make the headlines & the good bits that are taken for granted & never publicised.
McTag mentions the choise of immigrants to come here. What does impress me is the way our citizens/residents integrate the various nationalities . It is not at all unusual to see mixed relationships. It's not a problem & no one takes any notice of it. People of all nationalities work, live & socialise together quite happily. We have a good country that we live in & London is where my heart & soul is.

Well, OAK, I must admit there have been some beautiful songs written about London:

A Foggy Day in London town






A foggy day, in London town


It had me low, and it had me down


I viewed the morning, with much alarm


The British Museum, had lost its charm





How long I wondered, could this thing last


But the age of miracles, it hadn't past


And suddenly, I saw you standing right there


And in foggy London town, the sun was shining everywhere

Bong Bong Bong Bong
Bong Bong Bong Bong

Can't believe that David Bowie did that, too.

We've fixed the infamous London fogs by the introduction of the Clean Air Act (ca. 1960?) which, among other things, forbids the burning of solid fuels in domestic households which made the smoke which made the smog. Fog and smoke. Foke.

I feel a song coming on: UK, UK, so good, they named it Great.....

I'm confused. Is this a comment on immigration in the UK or the royal family?

How is the economy doing on the big Isle these days? The recent by-elections had the Euro referendum as one of the pillar issues didn't it? What impact will the election results have on that?

From the Met Office's website:

OK, on average, 1962. I was close, no?

When I was a boy, in the 1950s, you couldn't see the hills round Glasgow, except on Glasgow Fair Fortnight (end July) when the factories closed down for two weeks and most folk took their annual holiday. No smoke.
Now, it's clean.

I always thought that fog was a natural occurrence as in water vapor. I realize that smog is more of a man made condition. So what you Brits are saying is that your famous fog was caused by the burning of fossil fuels, right?

Letty, smog is a man made thing, as you have already pointed out fog is a natural thing (water vapour) smog was the product of burning coal, the sulphurous yellow smoke was so "thick" sometimes that anyone who was not in perfect health could well die, and often did.

As a child I've walked home from school with a scarf over my mouth to try and keep out the toxic fumes, and this was not the 1800's this was up till 1960 ish.

OK, Kev. Then my fog horn song is still viable, right? Fog does still float from the Thames like "cat feet" does it not? Harmless fog, the fountainhead of all ghost stories..... :wink: