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    Brexit Fiasco Continues....

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    What a bloody shambles our country is in with Theresa May at the helm! Yesterday while MP's debated the proposed 'Brexit' bill in Parliament, we were told the vote was going to be deferred. After 164 MP's had spoken, it was unceremoniously suspended, leaving the House of Commons shocked and angry. The PM had accepted that MP's would not vote in favour of this deal, after spending weeks saying she wouldn't change her mind and would force this vote through anyway. Speaking about her decision, Theresa May assured everyone that we would still leave the EU on the 29th March 2019, just like she assured us the vote on this bill would go ahead today. Nobody believes a word this discredited Prime Minister says anymore. If one speaks to the average man and woman in the street, they, like me are clear....She is just trying to save her own skin and buy herself some more time!

    Since returning to the UK, I have seen just what a mess this country is in where Brexit is concerned. As a nation we are being asked to accept a deal that isn't in our best interest and have made concession after concession to the EU. The people of this country voted to leave this shameful organisation and our vote is being ignored. The PM and Westminster are trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, so the people of Britain get so fed up and disheartened, they  will vote to stay in Europe after a future EU referendum is arranged. Mark my words that is what this Government wants. Theresa May was a 'Remainer' and she wants to stay in Europe, she doesn't want us to leave and the reality is, she is trying to sabotage this process.

    I am firmly of the opinion, that we need to walk away from these deeply flawed negotiations. As a country we have given enough. Europe and the distasteful bureaucrats who run it are trying to punish us for a democratic vote, in which we decided to leave and forge our own way in the World, once again. These faceless people are undemocratic, unelected and without a mandate, yet they want to dictate our destiny, a destiny now perpetuated in the vote to leave.

    Watching back to back news coverage is something I have always done, I have a keen interest in politics, having studied it at University, so I am well aware of the implications of what I am witnessing on television. With the Country in such disarray, I have seen very little of the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, who should be riding high in the polls right now. He is not challenging the Prime Minister in a way one would expect him to, at such a terrible juncture in British politics. He is tinkering around the edges of disaster, calling for a debate on the PM's handling of the Brexit negotiations. Mr Corbyn should be taking charge of this volatile situation and giving people like me, who feel totally disenfranchised by the whole process a voice, instead he is barely audible over the cries of treason from a bitter nation.

    Today Theresa May has flown to Europe to try and get more concessions from the EU, to allow her to win the Brexit vote, at a future date, as yet undetermined. It is likely she will fail and all of us will be wondering what happens next. The 29th of March deadline is looming and Theresa continues to delay the inevitable....It really is about time, someone who can run this country steps forward and leads us all to freedom and finally lays this sorry episode to rest!
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  • Published on

    Christmas Thoughts - Debra Rufini!

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    On Friday December 7th, I wrote this poem on my return train journey which had been delayed due to someone throwing themselves in front of an earlier passing train.

    This supposedly ‘selfish act’ had inconvenienced passengers who had been held up on their average daily routine. For one man or woman, this was not an average day – it was the hardest or bravest day of their life.

    We sometimes regard suicide as self-centred or inconsiderate, but altering another person’s daily routine is the furthest thought from their mind at that precise moment.
    “Why didn’t they speak to us?” their nearest and dearest ask . . . . . . but what would you have said?

    This poem explores.


    What Would You Have Said?
     
    Today, I took my life.
    Today, I chose to die.
    How different would your wording be
    if you had seen me cry?

    From where I am, I can hear you say
    how you wish that I had spoken.
    But what would you have said to me
    to mend something so broken?
    Would you have told me off to put me off,
    or to pull myself together? –
    “For goodness sake, snap out of it –
    you’re only under the weather.”

    What would you have said to me
    before you judged my action? –
    “Think of those you’ll leave behind.
    Imagine their reaction.
    Think of us, not of yourself.
    WE need for you to live.
    Although you’re empty of yourself,
    WE need you still to give.

    Everyone else does Christmas –
    you’ll have a good time when you’re here.
    You don’t want to be six foot under the  ground,
    when you can feel festive cheer.”
     
    I didn’t contact you before I was dead.
    If I did, what would you have said?
    It’s easy for you to say anything
    when you can’t see the gun at my head.
    It’s easy to tell me this side of life
    to whom I should have turned.
    Christmas has waited far too long
    for Jesus to return.

     
     
    Copyright Debra C. Rufini 2018
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  • Published on

    2018 Year In Review - Gran Alacant!

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    Wow, what a year 2018 has been. If I look back to January, I would have never imagined I would be sat here in Britain, living with my Aunt, while Darrell is living in Australia caring for his Mother. I am still existing in a strange World, getting used to English customs and ways once again, as well as the busy life I now lead, so different from the one I left behind in Spain. In today's blog entry I wanted to talk about my final few months in Spain and just how my life changed so dramatically so quickly.

    Up until January, Darrell and I were very content with our life on the Costa Blanca. Darrell's job was going well, better than either of us expected and although my employment wasn't giving me much satisfaction, I was at least bringing in some money to tide us over during the winter months. As a couple we were able to survive quite comfortably with what we earned but neither of us were ever going to be wealthy. Existing in Spain was always about lifestyle and keeping ones head above water, nothing more and by February the difficult Spanish system was beginning to bite.

    Darrell had surrendered his British driving license in late 2017, necessary when resident in Spain and also to allow him to keep his driving job at Alicante Airport. We assumed there would be no problem with this simple procedure, but nothing could be further from the truth. In order to get his UK license, Darrell had already relinquished his West Australian driving card many years before to the British authorities and unknown to us at the time, he wouldn't be able to hand in this exchanged UK document for a Spanish one; however it wouldn't be too long before we found out. It was classed as a third party license and since he had never taken a driving test in Europe and Spain had no reciprocal agreement with Australia to transfer its driving permits, it would in all probability be rejected. We soon discovered he would have to undertake Spanish driving lessons and a test at great expense and they would have to be carried out in the native Spanish language. This would prove to be an impossible task given our limited understanding of the local dialect; once again our unconventional relationship was becoming a problem!

    By March we had decided to leave Spain. We had both worked extremely hard to stay, followed the law, jumped through Spanish hoops and did everything to legitimise our life in Gran Alacant. Of course the driving license fiasco was an issue, but it was more than that; life in Spain for both of us was very lonely. We had very few real friends and didn't constantly drink in bars like others; we kept ourselves very much to ourselves, fed up with the constant back stabbing from certain elements in the Expat community and had become disillusioned with our life on the med. Although Darrell enjoyed his job, my position was very different, another reason for me to leave at least. I had discovered that I had been removed from my contract of employment without my knowledge. I hadn't seen a wage slip in over two months and my boss had become evasive and bitter towards the square in which his bar was situated. Constantly listening to the ramblings of someone who clearly had no idea how to run a bar let alone be civil to those who went to his establishment was becoming increasingly burdensome and I wasn't going to stand for it any longer!

    During April and May Darrell and I pressed the rest button once again, beginning our journey leaving Spain, I would depart first and he would stay on for a while, to finish his contract at the airport. Our intentions were to eventually relocate to Australia, so we advertised everything we owned and sold it to fellow Expats in the community in which we resided. The hardest part was rehoming our two new cats Mollie and Wildling, who had become an important part of our life, but we were reassured by their new family that they would be well looked after. By April they were gone and we finally got to the end of selling our possessions. What little we had left was shipped on to Australia and we began the process of saying goodbye to those we still hold dear today.

    I had become homeless with no goods and chattels, a complete contrast to my hoarding life before. With nothing left, I felt like a weight had been lifted and Darrell and I could finally leave Spain and restart our lives somewhere new, somewhere that we could finally regard as home and somewhere we could forget about the pressures of surviving in Europe without the support we so clearly needed. Both of us were beginning new chapters away from each other, as I made the decision to return to the UK immediately and live with my Aunty, where I could be close to loved ones. Little did I know at the time, but my relocation would be more important than ever and my life was about to change once again!

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  • Published on

    Reflection!

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    As we approach the end of the year I always find that it is a good time to reflect on what I have achieved and what I want to achieve in the forthcoming year.

    I have had to do a lot of soul searching this year and there have been some really tough moments. There have been times when I have felt that I was not good enough in certain situations or where I have been really hard on myself, beaten myself up over things, and dragged myself down quite a bit.

    I hit a downward spiral this year and it hit me really hard. I think it was the culmination of a few tough years and suddenly I became overwhelmed with things and events. I think it has made me a stronger person but not always a better person though. I still feel that I let people down at times and also let myself down.

    There are times when I seem unapproachable and ‘prickly’ though I do not intend to be that way. I’ve thought about this over the last few weeks and I think it is because I have a habit of putting the barriers up as I try and figure out how I am feeling about things. When I do this I have a habit of completely shutting people out and that is not always a good thing.

    A couple of months ago I was on the verge of moving away and starting again somewhere else – I don’t think that it would have changed much though. Same issues, different location.

    Quite a few people told me I was making the wrong decision and I can see that now.
    I have lived in Portsmouth since last August and have made some really good friends down here – they know who they are and I appreciate them being part of my life and my world.

    I’m looking forward to 2019. I’m not placing any expectations on myself or what the year will bring. Instead I am seeing it as a totally blank page and I am determined to fill that blank page with achievements that I will be proud of and finish the year feeling I couldn’t have given any more.

    I achieve my best when I am pushing myself well outside of my comfort zone and I am determined to push myself a lot in 2019.

    It isn’t just about running the ultra in August. Although that is really important it is just one goal I have next year and is an important part of the overall journey.

    I need to challenge myself professionally and push my career onwards. I enjoy my job and I am good at what I do but I need to progress in order to grow.

    I need to challenge myself personally. I can be a bit of a creature of habit a lot of the time – part of that is due to being organised and liking a routine.

    I don’t want to get to the finish line of the ultra next year and be thinking ‘now what?’ which is why it is important that I have other goals to work towards.

    As I reflect on 2018 and how some of it has been tough going I do feel I needed to go through that so I could look deep inside of myself and ask myself some tough questions and see what I am really made of.

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  • Published on

    Christmas Thoughts - Alex Franklin!

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    "A festive period high jacked by Coca Cola and just about every retail business and greetings card company on the globe. Promoted at the season of goodwill to all men (i've not seen this little statement re-written by the P.C. Brigade), it's become a season ever more fueled by greed, selfishness and the desire for more material possessions.

    pressure turns children into 'at home beggars', often causing their parents to get into an ever bigger spiral of debt so their kids can have the latest must have games console, trainers, mobile phone etc etc. What happened to the simpler times? People were happier with less and had more respect for others; kids were less demanding there was absolutely no bloody social media to ruin your day, week, month, etc etc etc. On that note, Happy Christmas everyone!!"



    Alex Franklin

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