A letter to my MP regarding Brexit

Below is a letter I wrote to my MP back in the UK regarding the UK referendum to leave the EU. It is the real letter, I really sent.

So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu...

So the UK has voted to leave the European union.


I don't even know what more I can say.

I had a dream. Brexit viewed by a Brit in France.

Last week I had a dream

I dreamt that the UK voted to leave EU. I dreamt that the French Police National came to my house, demanded I pack my things, and escorted me to Gare du Nord where I was held with other "illegal immigrants" who had come to France under EU free movement. We were kept in pens as we waited for more and more British people to arrive from across France, and were guarded by Police 24/7 until the British Gov't could arrange for us to be deported back. It took forever because the system was backed up with all the retired Brits coming back from Spain, as well as the other 2 million british people living across the EU. We were not allowed out of the pens to buy food, and our bank accounts were suspended. All our employment had been terminated because we were now "illegal immigrants." Some were sick and pregnant and couldn't get treatment because we no longer qualified for French medical benefits and our EHICs were void. We were hungry, cold, and mocked or pitied by the French passing by.

Then I woke up, and realised it perhaps wasn't a dream...

European Flags Fly High

I know (/hope)that is not how it would go down if we left EU, but as an expat it was genuinely gut wrenching, and I woke up clammy and nauseous.

Full Warning - This blog is goign to get long, and involve discussions of EU law and politics. Not for the faint hearted. I promise a blog about face cream or museums soon. I'm so sorry.

L'As Du Fallafel

There are plenty of fancy restaurants in Paris, delightful cafés, and boulangeries where you can grab a lunchtime baguette the size of your arm. But sometimes you just want something a little different. The french may be renowned for their gastronomy, but there are two types of food that the Parisians do not handle so well - vegetarian food (or at least some form of it that does not involve cheese) and spicy food. After filling up my arteries with crêpe au fromage when I need a savoury hit on my touristy travels, I was aching for something with the crunch of vegetables. In addition to this, I was craving something with a bit of a kick.

So I headed to the historic Jewish district of Le Marais and joined the throngs of people queueing at L'As Du Fallafel.

T'aimes le flânerie?

The sun is shining over Paris today, for the second weekend in a row. That's it, I'm calling it. Spring is here, and it's the perfect time to learn a new french word.

flâneur

A flâneur is someone who strolls around, observing society and soaking up the atmosphere. Balzac described flânerie as "the gastronomy of the eye", and Baudelaire explained it thusly:

For the perfect flâneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite. To be away from home and yet to feel oneself everywhere at home; to see the world, to be at the centre of the world, and yet to remain hidden from the world...

— Charles Baudelaire, "The Painter of Modern Life" - Originally published in Le Figaro, in 1863. 

I'm an au pair, not a mother in training

What I am about to say may surprise you. It may even offend some of you. But I think it's worth being honest about, as it perhaps goes against many of the stereotypes of being an au pair.

I'm not really interested in being a mother. I'm not even that interested in children.

Ok, I can almost hear the gasps and angry comments being thrashed out on poor unsuspecting keyboards - let me explain.

I'm just looking forward to the day when my handbag isn't full of compote.

L' Éventail Bar-Restaurant

L' Éventail means two things in French. First of all it means a fan, the type you hold in your hand and use to stay cool. But it can also mean something else - the range, usually price range. So, cool and price range - something to consider when considering what may be one of my new favourite places to grab a bite to eat in Paris, L' Éventail Bar-Restaurant.