I think it just depends where you are standing, I call myself an expat, the french call me an immigrant....
Most in London, a lot in Cambridge, especially Silicon Fen, according to a friend at Geordie Uni (French woman) the 'colony' there is growing fast. I believe some might actually have been allowed into Essex as well ;-)
Jane, that reminds me of something I have recalled before, Whilst at the pony club with my daughter, I overheard the owner who is a local farmer retired from riding classes but still farming with another farmer who had just brought his granddaughter. As with all local people they used the local patois which is a mix of their version of French and Occitan. They were talking about 'foreigners' (étrangers) coming here and pushing local people about. As the conversation developed I picked up that they meant people from urban France but the Paris/Île-de-France region particularly. In the passage of their chat I eventually picked up that they both knew Anglais living in the commune who they thought were nothing like the French foreigners...
My real ambition is to become a recidivist and go 'black square' ! God, how I envy those personae non gratae !
Just been thinking, if the Peruvians DID play rugby I would imagine the line-outs would be a disaster ? Assuming their average height is about 5' 8" then Richie Gray would win the line-outs on his knees.
What, as in fire distinguisher?
Good to hear and very sound advice.
I asked our French neighbours at dinner this evening if they thought of us as immigrants and they were totally perplexed. We are just Jane and Jim.
Mind you we all agreed to be careful of any car with 75 plates.
Brian, when it comes out be glad if you let me know. Sounds right up my reading street that one.
Thanks
Just because we haven’t been beaten by Peru Yet. I have very high hopes for the Scotland team in the upcoming World Cup. They are actually looking quite good. If they could just cross the line and score the points, we’d be on a winner.
Amazing how i've managed to retain my boyish good looks !
Maybe but they're better than Peru !
Had to laugh at the rugby aside.
Yes, by the time you look back at grandparents and great grandparents the mixture of nations starts to appear. It's never been the same since 1066.
Like the new photy Pete. You look sort of distinguished. Which in a certain way, you are.
Billy, eloquently put. When people get on their hi-horses about, I’m from here but they, over there, are strangers, I always come down to, how English/French/Scottish/Peruvian/Malagache/Sri Lankan (take your pick - liste non exhaustive - as they say) are you really? Is not mankind one and the same?
I have some friends in the South near Carcassonne who are very extreme right wing and adamantly Marine Blue French. They accept me fine and second, the killer question I always ask when the discussion goes there:
"So, tell me again where are your grandparents from?"
I know it’s a small argument, but it serves a purpose. We are all children of the world.
But Scotland’s best! Except at rugby.
Plus I correct myself; I know of two retired French language teachers in the North West.
Quite agree Billy except for the french in England bit. Most french are probably in the London area but I know french people living and working in places like Salford, Hull and two in Cambridge.
I like this thread so much I actually read everybody's comment, unusually for me. On an aside is an Englishman living in Scotland any different to an Englishman living in France. Or to follow one comment, what about us Geordies, you can find a Geordie almost anywhere you go. The same applies to Irish and Scots, I haven't met any French who live in England then again I don't think London should be used to define England, which is where I suspect most French expats work and live. In my little world I know a South African - Afrikaans actually, Peruvian, and English and at no stage is any derogatory immigrant or skin colour term used amongst them. Mind some Scots don't like the auld enemy, but for the majority it doesn't matter a jot. The friendliest of Scots seem to hail from Glasgow, treating you as an old friend even on the first meeting. The French themselves seem to have regional divides and I think those from the south regard those from the north with suspicion. I stand ready to be corrected. But yes in general immigrant seems to apply to those who come to a country in the 1st generation to work and settle there; their children grow as native to that new country but with links to the country of their, or their parents birth. Expats to me denotes a tone of English (yes English, meaning any British person, since other nations call us all English) living in a foreign country as a transitory residence. Even if that then evolves into immigration. So my summary ? Expat or immigrant applies to "English" abroad. It's how anyone wishes it to be based on their experience.
A New History of Life: The Radical New Discoveries about the Origins and Evolution of Life on Earth
by Peter Ward and Joe Kirschvink is out this month. The one you read, Harari is a historian at that, is apparently not bad in the view of my lot. The new one is getting a few people twitchy. A lot of science boffs are arguing the toss over whether we share 95% or 98.5% of DNA with bonobos, 94% with gorillas and so on then I stuck my oar in a while ago and pointed out that the remotest mammals from homo sapiens is 92% shared DNA, even the housefly has about 45% shared DNA and despite many metabolic differences from humans most simple plants share 18% of DNA. Yeasts, although single cell organisms are over a quarter shared DNA, an amoeba far more. Take any two human beings and we are 99.9% (the .9 recurs many times) the same and it is only that tiny little difference that makes us different one from the other. The chromosomes are differently arranged as you say and whilst a few have an extra chromosome such as trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome), 13 or 18, we are pretty well as much alike as two worker bees. Except some go to the girls' room and the boys eventually try to get in there. Well, unless they are happy with the boys' room and all the rest of that. Da-da!
All this difference stuff because two primates on different sides of a bit of water or an imaginary line make different gutteral tones and build identity around that, pigmentation, adaptive body and physiognomy features is all rather wasted energy. But hey ho, these primates have been trying to beat each other to pulp through to making nukes for a couple of hundred thousand years and I doubt whether a Guardian article will change that.
The trouble with being an anthro is that we occasionally read this stuff. At least it has always helped me nod off very quickly ;-)
Brian - "Like a lot"
Probably not in your league, but just finished reading "Sapiens - A Brief History of Mankind". Gives a lot of detail of different genus, species and race. Puts a lot into context about whether, black, white, brown, yellow tartan or peach, we really are one and the same. The only distinguisher (is that something to put fires out?), the only distinguisher is a chromosome to tell if you go into the little boys or the little girls room.