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Saturday, March 30, 2019

The morning after the night before

French Village Diaries bollox to Brexit soirée
Bollox to Brexit

The morning after the night before

And we are still hanging in there. Following 33 months of uncertainty, fear, and anger at a situation we were thrown into without being given any reliable or reassuring information, or answers to any of our questions, and unbelievably the 29thMarch has been and gone and nothing has changed.

The 29th March was always going to be a difficult day for me; a dark day, a day to retreat within and block out the world, but at least I thought by now we would know; deal or no deal, date of exit, the new rules we will now need to abide by. But no, nothing.

There has been no ring-fencing of citizens’ rights, there has been nothing the British government can agree on and we are no closer to understanding what happens to our futures and how we can run our business and live our lives. That is 33 months of nothing.
 
French Village Diaries bollox to Brexit soirée
Let the party begin
Whatever the final outcome, the damage has been done; hearts have been broken, families and friendships fractured, and Britain has become a divided rather than United Kingdom. I trust no one in UK politics to unravel this mess they have created; in fact, I doubt they could even organise a piss-up in a brewery. I on the other hand, along with some equally fed up Brits in France, certainly can. A few weeks ago (when Brexit was still due to blindly happen on 29thMarch) six of us were having lunch. The Brexit issue reared its ugly head, as usual, and one friend offered to host an evening on 29/3, so we wouldn’t have to sit alone and mope. Adrian then suggested seeing if the village bar was free that night, so we could invite a few others and the idea of a karaoke was suggested.
 
French Village Diaries bollox to Brexit soirée
Fish & Chips at the village bar
The bar was free, and we were offered a fish’n’chip supper with dessert for 10€ a head, and in a matter of hours, word of mouth had filled all 40 seats and our Bollox to Brexit soiree was born. That, Mrs May, is how you rally the troops.

Last night forty lost souls felt slightly less alone as they celebrated the good things about life in France; the sense of community, the village bar and the wine. For one night we gave ourselves permission to let our hair down, to sing loud and forget our Brexit worries; it was a night of music and laughter, a much-needed pause in the madness. It is difficult to laugh when the world you’ve worked hard to achieve is unravelling, but laughter is a great medicine and one we all needed last night.
Today we are back to waiting, wondering and worrying, but we at least are a little bit more united than we were before.

Vive la France and the good old village bar.





This post has been linked to the Lou Messugo #AllAboutFrance link up.

Lou Messugo

15 comments:

  1. Bravo you Brits! In spite of the mess your government is in, the people of Britain have always known how to rally the troops. The uncertainty placed upon all expats throughout this dreadful ordeal should not be happening. We live in hope of the right resolution for all.

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    1. Thank you for your support Patricia. So many things may change, including how we invoice our clients, and we still have no idea. We couldn't risk disruptions this week, so Adrian has no work planned for the beginning of April, yet another financial impact for us thanks to Brexit.

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  2. 😐 no words regarding the situation but all our best wishes the situation ends favourably for us all xx #revokeremainreform ...

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  3. What a fantastic idea to have a Bollox to Brexit party ... yet I cannot believe we are still in the same position of uncertainty as we were when this whole sorry Brexit idea was dumped on us in such a spectacularly chaotic and unplanned manner. I'm glad I won't be studying modern history in a few decades time as Brexit will take some explaining for teachers and students alike. #revokearticle50 #AllAboutFrance

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    1. It is just crazy isn't it and like you say is going to take some explaining to future generations!

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  4. What a hideous mess we're in right now. I have a feeling there will be at least a couple more deadlines like this that turn into non-deadlines. It's all so depressing. An excuse for more soirees, non? I felt a lot less alone when I marched for the People's Vote the other day. It really helps. #AllAboutFrance

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    1. Thank you for marching! Sadly couldn't get back for that and would have been more than awkward staying with my parents for the march as they voted leave and still can not see the damage it is doing!

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  5. The whole situation is ludicrous, scary and bewildering. I'm so angry with David Cameron for having the referendum in the first place - it has caused such division and I can't believe people think we can easily leave without decades of integration to unpick.
    We decided to celebrate 29 March too - it was the date my husband, Dougie, was retiring. He was counting down to the date of his 'Dougxit' and left in an orderly fashion! #AllAboutFrance

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    1. Happy retirement to your husband! I bet he was glad his date wasn't extended!

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  6. I feel your pain - this referendum is the most divisive thing our country has ever done. Thankfully we also celebrated on 29 March as my husband retired on that date! He left in a much more orderly fashion than the UK is likely to do! #AllAboutFrance

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  7. A wonderful idea, I would have enjoyed being at your Soiree. Our trip to Paris was timed to be in Europe the day after Brexit. We have just had an amazing week there, Brexit is so sad, such a mess.
    Wren x

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    1. Thank you and it was a great fun night, to enjoy being with friends and relax just a little.

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  8. Ugh, don't get me started! What a tragic farce the whole thing is. I think your village did exactly the right thing, but it's just so absurd that there's still no clarity. I think Nell is right when she says there'll be a few more deadlines come and go which just adds to everyone's stress. Thanks for sharing this with #AllAboutFrance

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    1. My stress and anger have been recorded at new levels! I just think now it is morally unacceptable to throw the country into such an unknown, whether it happens this Friday, or in June. Time and reflection and common sense need to be applied now!

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