Can anyone explain this anomally....

[R1Geezer]

We are always being told by our EUphile friends that our standard of living is terrible and France etc are the fluffy bunny wonder Utopian dreams that enjoy a stratospheric standard of living whilst us poor Brits live a life akin to your average dung beetle. Yet migrants of all kinds mass on the French coast hoping to join the rest of us "dung beetles". Why do they not apply in France or one of the other countries they must have travelled through? I'm stumped! BGB's available of course!

[jake-the-peg]

They speak more English than French Geezer

And I think I said that I thought the standard of living was pretty comensurate between the UK and France and Germany.

[jake-the-peg]

No I don't think we do know that Billy

Maybe it's just you

[jno]

erm... who exactly is saying all these wicked things about Britain, geezer?

As jake says, the standard of living in the early EU states is not too different (which was one of the reasons the EU was set up). Newer members, it is hoped, will also see their standards of living rise.

[R1Geezer]

Countless times when the EU is discussed, the EUphiles harp on about the better standard of living over the ditch, that's all. I often wondered why they don't move there!

[Sqad]

I agree with jno.....who says that living in the UK is akin to living with "Dung Beetles?"

Wherever you live there are pluses and minuses.

[Gromit]

R1Geezer

My recollection of the Euro argument is somewhat different than yours. It is usually Europhobes saying we in a terrible mess because of the EU, and it is usually us Europhlies who come on here and say how wonderful Britain is doing. I don't recall anyone bigging up France?

Migrants want to come here because we had job vacancies. It was just a symptom of our economy doing rather well before the credit crunch. Now the jobs are going, the migrants are going. 255,000 non-British left last year.

[nokiaman]

In 1973 a guy called Jo Anderson recorded the action as it happened at a small 1.5 Kg pile of Elephant dung on the African savannah. In two hours that small pile of dung attracted 16 000 dung beetles of various shapes and sizes, who between them had eaten and or buried that dung completely in just those two hours.

[Sqad]

R1Geezer.

Let me help you.
Generally speaking....European countries are clean. The UK is filthy.European Countries have better weather than the UK. Health service is as good as, or in some cases, better than the NHS.

Old people probably are looked after better in the UK.

Now you have something to get your teeth into.

[R1Geezer]

"EU countries are clean, UK is filthy" - and I get pilloried for sweeping generalisations! Not sure what you mean by that, sqad, examples please!

[R1Geezer]

I think they are 2 distinct points, you asked how many, I'm asking why do they want to come here!

[Sqad]

R1Geezeer.

I prefaced my post by saying "generally speaking.

!) Ask foreigners who travel the world their opinion of UK cleanliness. In my opinion it is negative.
2) Go to the toilets in a standard cafe...clean on the Continent.....filthy in UK
3) Hospitals in Europe immaculately clean....in the UK ....variable depending on post code.
4)MRSA and cl difficile lower in the rest of Europe than in UK.....index of cleanliness.

Do you want me to continue or have you got the general picture.

5) Refuse collected at LEAST every week in Europe.....not so in UK

Generally speaking.

[R1Geezer]

1) but what is actually "dirty" in the day to day encounters of a typical visitor

2) Well I went to kazi in Barcelona and It was as bad as anything I've seen. France? you don't even a hav apan to sit on, just hopld the handles and try and aim better than the last guy who cr&pped on the floor!

3) Hospitals all over Europe are too hot, incubating bacteria, visually I see not dirt in my local hospitals which I have visted 2 of in the last month.

4) Ok but hey but they do exist outside UK

5) My bins are emptied weekly, however some councils are lacking especially where the bin men are on strike!

Where do you live sqad, I just wonder if you are not looking through so rose tinted specs from somewhere on the continent!

[jake-the-peg]

I'm thinking about the toilets in French service areas and I'm thinkig sqad's never been to one!

[Sqad]

r1Geezer....I am mistaken....you have convinced me that the UK is not deficient in any of the points that I have raised.........!!

[R1Geezer]

I'm a little dissapointed that no one has earned the coveted BGB yet!

[jake-the-peg]

I think the Danes topped the happiness stakes a while back

Never been to Denmark though