Page 3 | My soul aches for England

Supertatofortea · 2023-12-03T09:56:59+00:00

I live in another European country Seeing all the snowy posts and the variety of fun Christmas things to do has made me pine for it more 😢

Nimblesandbimbles · 03/12/2023 10:43

I enjoy this time of year & I also love England and the countryside despite being in London. I agree we’re lucky to live here despite our appalling government who hopefully we’ll kick out soon. But I’m a fan of seasons & I like the cosy nature of winter. That doesn’t mean I don’t notice the tents appearing outside our local tube station though 😢.

Autumnleavesss · 03/12/2023 10:44

Unlike most previous posters, I completely understand why you would be missing the UK. We have just come back home to warm up having spent 3 hours this morning sledging, having snow ball fights and generally just playing in the snow. People love to complain, but more need to make to most of it - it's a perfect time for free family fun

Vincent05 · 03/12/2023 10:44

It’s raining it’s miserable here!

OriginalFloorboards · 03/12/2023 10:45

We have snow this morning and I’ve got to faff about in it trying to see to my horses. Whilst it looks pretty I don’t know one equestrian who loves it. I’ve got to go up a ramp to shove the horse poo up it and I’m likely to end up on my bum.

Yes, it looks pretty.

No, I don’t want it one bit.

Maybe if I didn’t have horses I’d like it.

Autumnleavesss · 03/12/2023 10:47

OriginalFloorboards · 03/12/2023 10:45

We have snow this morning and I’ve got to faff about in it trying to see to my horses. Whilst it looks pretty I don’t know one equestrian who loves it. I’ve got to go up a ramp to shove the horse poo up it and I’m likely to end up on my bum.

Yes, it looks pretty.

No, I don’t want it one bit.

Maybe if I didn’t have horses I’d like it.

Horse owner here - horses love it and we love it. The kids and adults alike have had great fun playing at the yard this morning. Horses are happy to be out for the day with their hay

x2boys · 03/12/2023 10:47

This is mumsnet so you will.just get loads of answers about how terrible England and the rest of the UK is compared to the rest of the world 🙄

inamarina · 03/12/2023 10:47

Circularargument · 03/12/2023 10:08

It's cold and damp and it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere. What do people expect? Stay in and read a book, that's my plan😋

I know, right? The amount of people I heard complain about the cold, snow and fog in the last couple of days you could get the impression it’s March or April and not December.

RendeersDancingTowardsChristmas · 03/12/2023 10:51

If it makes you feel better. We have no Snow, temperature is 2°C with fog...
So it's cold, damp & miserable.

On the bright side, watching Christmas movies with the dog keeping me warm!
DC are teens so movies with parents are not cool

porridgeisbae · 03/12/2023 10:52

There isn't enough snow to do much with here. It's raining so it'll all disappear.

@Supertatofortea Remember social media isn't an accurate representation of people's lives. x

Maybe try and get up to something nice? Then you won't have FOMO.

TooShortToReachThatShelf · 03/12/2023 10:52

CalistoNoSolo · 03/12/2023 10:02

My soul aches for England (and the rest of the UK) too, but for very different reasons.

Me too

WestwardHo1 · 03/12/2023 10:53

I'm not going to dismiss your homesickness OP. The Welsh and Cornish have a great word for it hiraeth/hireth. It loosely means that longing you have in your heart for a place lost to you.

However bear in mind that social media and the media don't reflect reality. Here for example it's 9 degrees, grey and wet!

WowIlikereallyhateyou · 03/12/2023 10:53

TerribleWoman · 03/12/2023 10:24

The worst thing about middle class England is that we cannot see, despite the issues, how incredibly lucky and privileged we are to be living here.

It's a country that isn't too hot or too cold. It isn't too wet or too dry. It isn't dangerous; we aren't going to be washed away by a tsunami or have our houses shaken to oblivion by an earthquake. No volcano will spew lava over our cities. We can walk in the countryside alone without a bear or lion stalking us. We can put shoes on without a scorpion check and don't have to panic that any spider in the dark corners of the kitchen cupboard is likely to kill us.

Our government is a bit shit of course, but we have options to change that; and it's a bit shit as opposed to despotic or psychotic. Anyone coming on to draw a parallel between the Tories and right wing dictatorships in South America, don't go there. They are not the same.

We get healthcare free at point of use, and yes it's hard to get to see a GP but no one will go bankrupt because they got cancer, like in USA, or watch helplessly as their child dies from diarrhea for want of clean drinking water and dehydration sachets like in rural sub Saharan Africa.

We are some of the luckiest people on the planet in the grand scheme of things, and yet it's de rigeur to do our country down and moan continually. I don't understand why.

Spot on.

x2boys · 03/12/2023 10:54

TerribleWoman · 03/12/2023 10:36

It's less appalling than most countries in the world. This is the kind of thing I don't get.

My son is disabled. There is a system that enables him to have another person advocate for him even though he is an adult. I have secured him pip. He gets unemployment benefit and again the system has assessed that he is not capable of work yet so he gets additional payments. If he were capable of living alone he would be entitled to a one bed flat rather than having to house share, because of his disability.
Of course the system doesn't always work and individuals have poor decisions made against them- I particularly worry about those who have no one to advocate for them - but the principle of the law is not to just let people starve. Provision is made. It may not always work. You can't tell me my son would be better off as a disabled adult in India or Sri Lanka or most of Africa or South America.

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This us so true my son is also disabled and gets the highest rates of DLA and we have a mobility car for him because of it yes the system isn't perfect but I would rather live here with a disabled child r or than some other parts of the world
Also my oldest son was diagnosed with Diabetes in February and is insulin dependent for all.if the NHS,s faults I don't have to worry about having to pay for it unlike many other Diabetics around he world

PomsRun · 03/12/2023 10:55

Finlesswonder · 03/12/2023 10:11

I moved back to UK a few months ago and it's great.

The UK has always been down on itself, most of the chronic whiners can't quite bring themselves to try somewhere else...

Yep the chronic whining is tedious.

Wimpod · 03/12/2023 10:55

It's fine for playing in the garden and going for a nice snowy walk.

It's shite to try and get to work in it. 🤷‍♀️

gingercat02 · 03/12/2023 10:58

TerribleWoman · 03/12/2023 10:36

It's less appalling than most countries in the world. This is the kind of thing I don't get.

My son is disabled. There is a system that enables him to have another person advocate for him even though he is an adult. I have secured him pip. He gets unemployment benefit and again the system has assessed that he is not capable of work yet so he gets additional payments. If he were capable of living alone he would be entitled to a one bed flat rather than having to house share, because of his disability.
Of course the system doesn't always work and individuals have poor decisions made against them- I particularly worry about those who have no one to advocate for them - but the principle of the law is not to just let people starve. Provision is made. It may not always work. You can't tell me my son would be better off as a disabled adult in India or Sri Lanka or most of Africa or South America.

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I have worked in the NHS for over 30 years, so I am a huge advocate of free at the point of care and Social care and welfare benefits and all those things we do so well, but not as well as we used to! Totally agree with your point.
However, if you are actually poor in Britan, it is not a good place to live. Just because there are worse places doesn't make it right.

housethatbuiltme · 03/12/2023 10:58

I live on the edge of the pennines, its boring (nothing around and unsafe to go places) and freezing cold (costing a fortune we don't really have in heating) and unsafe (there have been countless road accidents all over, cars are sliding on ice into oncoming traffic etc...).

You aren't missing anything.

TadpolesInPool · 03/12/2023 10:58

I understand OP.

I live in the tropics. Yes we have sun all year round. Yes the nature is beautiful and so many different greens! Yes we are lucky enough to have a swimming pool and use it several times a week.

But:
Insects and wildlife in our house is tiring: mosquitoes (I literally kill dozens every day and we get bitten all the time), lizards, cockroaches, several insects I haven't identifed and fuck off massive spiders.

Everything gets ruined by the heat and humidity: clothes, furniture, books, electronics, cars, roads and buildings.

It is SO expensive here. Food in France is way more expensive than the UK. Well here it's 30% more than France! (Studies are done frequently). The poverty here is horrific.

We are so far away from anywhere else. Not just Europe. Travelling is very expensive and very time consuming.

We are making the most of it but are lookong forward to moving back to Europe.

IBegYourBiggestPardon · 03/12/2023 10:59

My soul aches for somewhere bloody warm!!

Zamzamzamdeedah · 03/12/2023 11:00

I like how weather/snow post turns into politics and prices and NHS and stuff😂

cardibach · 03/12/2023 11:00

AhBiscuits · 03/12/2023 10:15

It's a lovely time of year.
Being a miserable fucker is a typical British / Mumsnet thing.

Christmas is great. It’s not exclusive to Britain.
The time of year otherwise - just no, thanks. Freezing, damp, grey, miserable, dark.

cardibach · 03/12/2023 11:03

Amazedtobesane · 03/12/2023 10:23

I get you, OP. For a few years I worked in Taiwan where there are barely noticeable seasons. It was hot and humid almost all the time and my mind often went to England. One night I had a dream about snow and woke up to find it was 30C and I was drenched in sweat, I could have cried. My soul ached for England too. After coming back to the UK, even the chilly dampness is acceptable. Pavements sparkling with ice are glorious. I love being fully dressed and not overheating and I love being able to wear socks all year round. Yes, it's cold in winter but it's easier to warm up than cool down. With all its faults, I love England and wish to live nowhere else.

Just shows we are all different. One of my pet hates about winter (well, about a good 8 months of the British year) is having to wear socks. I bloody hate them. And the faff to leave the house! Socks, solid shoes, scarf, coat…I live just slipping in a pair of sandals and leaving.

willWillSmithsmith · 03/12/2023 11:04

Give your soul a well deserved rest, nothing to see here.

Allthatwegotisthispalebluedot · 03/12/2023 11:05

TerribleWoman · 03/12/2023 10:24

The worst thing about middle class England is that we cannot see, despite the issues, how incredibly lucky and privileged we are to be living here.

It's a country that isn't too hot or too cold. It isn't too wet or too dry. It isn't dangerous; we aren't going to be washed away by a tsunami or have our houses shaken to oblivion by an earthquake. No volcano will spew lava over our cities. We can walk in the countryside alone without a bear or lion stalking us. We can put shoes on without a scorpion check and don't have to panic that any spider in the dark corners of the kitchen cupboard is likely to kill us.

Our government is a bit shit of course, but we have options to change that; and it's a bit shit as opposed to despotic or psychotic. Anyone coming on to draw a parallel between the Tories and right wing dictatorships in South America, don't go there. They are not the same.

We get healthcare free at point of use, and yes it's hard to get to see a GP but no one will go bankrupt because they got cancer, like in USA, or watch helplessly as their child dies from diarrhea for want of clean drinking water and dehydration sachets like in rural sub Saharan Africa.

We are some of the luckiest people on the planet in the grand scheme of things, and yet it's de rigeur to do our country down and moan continually. I don't understand why.

I kind of agree. Our government is more than a bit shit though, and we do need to be careful that we don’t accidentally sleepwalk into a nightmare for the most vulnerable in the country because say, north korea is worse.

I think there is a danger of that happening (eg Rwanda plan, taking tents away from the homeless, mentally ill people actually starving to death on benefits). We must absolutely get rid of them at the next election. I am not saying the opposition will wave a magic wand and things will be marvellous, but I am 100% sure that the tories will only get worse if the country votes them in after allowing them to OPENLY treat the entire country with utter contempt over the last few years.

cardibach · 03/12/2023 11:05

TerribleWoman · 03/12/2023 10:24

The worst thing about middle class England is that we cannot see, despite the issues, how incredibly lucky and privileged we are to be living here.

It's a country that isn't too hot or too cold. It isn't too wet or too dry. It isn't dangerous; we aren't going to be washed away by a tsunami or have our houses shaken to oblivion by an earthquake. No volcano will spew lava over our cities. We can walk in the countryside alone without a bear or lion stalking us. We can put shoes on without a scorpion check and don't have to panic that any spider in the dark corners of the kitchen cupboard is likely to kill us.

Our government is a bit shit of course, but we have options to change that; and it's a bit shit as opposed to despotic or psychotic. Anyone coming on to draw a parallel between the Tories and right wing dictatorships in South America, don't go there. They are not the same.

We get healthcare free at point of use, and yes it's hard to get to see a GP but no one will go bankrupt because they got cancer, like in USA, or watch helplessly as their child dies from diarrhea for want of clean drinking water and dehydration sachets like in rural sub Saharan Africa.

We are some of the luckiest people on the planet in the grand scheme of things, and yet it's de rigeur to do our country down and moan continually. I don't understand why.

While all you say is true, I’m not really in the mood to be grateful that my government, with the resources of one of the richest countries on the planet, manages to not bankrupt me for health care and prevent children dying from diarrhoea. That’s a very low bar.