Disturbing

[Keith Tindell]

Well, I managed to get over my problem of dislike for Oz, my wife’s brother lives in Caloumdra, north of Brisbane, spent some time there, not nice, so to overcome the problem of visiting, they flew down to Christchurch, and we spent time in that beautiful city, prior to the earthquake.

[j.sabourn]

The thing that struck me Cappy was the freedom to do things with out having to go to some council office and ask to put a shed in your backyard , you just went ahead and did it, you knew the building regulations .If you didn’t a neighbour would tell you. But like most civilised country’s as the years go by , officialdom tries to worm its way in , however there is still a feeling of independence which I never felt in the UK , and doubt they ever will. It’s still a country with plenty of breaks to. Make your way in the world. I wish I had had the life here to bring the kids up. JS

[cappy]

the thing that struck me cappy was the freedom to do things with out having to go to some council office and ask to put a shed in your backyard , you just went ahead and did it, you knew the building regulations .if you didn’t a neighbour would tell you. But like most civilised country’s as the years go by , officialdom tries to worm its way in , however there is still a feeling of independence which i never felt in the uk , and doubt they ever will. It’s still a country with plenty of breaks to. Make your way in the world. I wish i had had the life here to bring the kids up. Js

i felt there was a sense of freedom there in my youth which certainly was not prevelent in the uk at that time .....in fact thought of emigrating after marriage ..but things started to pick up in my world ...pat wasnt keen to go but did like it in later years when we holidayed there if any of my children showed an interest in going to live there i would have give them my blessing as they grew up and the same to my grandchildren.....but im now a proud old true brit and happy with that r683532

[j.sabourn]

When you think back to when we were kids ,council members weren’t even paid, just out of pocket expenses , it was considered an honour to sit on the council and work for your fellow towns people. It was a part time job . today it is a highly well paid job full time , with probably the same work load. JS

[cappy]

When you think back to when we were kids ,council members weren’t even paid, just out of pocket expenses , it was considered an honour to sit on the council and work for your fellow towns people. It was a part time job . today it is a highly well paid job full time , with probably the same work load. JS

It Is believed there are certain council leaders earning more than the prime minister......IT IS COMICAL IF NOT SO SAD R683532

[Stan Carter]

In the 58 years I have been here in Canada, I have never for one moment regretted it. My decision to come was helped by the fact that my sister, a war bride was living in the Brockville Ontario area on the St Lawrence, this gave me a base to start my new life...As a condition of the assisted passage, I had to come alone, get a job and accommodation for my family. all this checked by the government before they were satisfied and issued travel warrants for my family to come... This took three months. Also I had to start repaying the cost of travel for all of us... I arrived in Montreal on a Wednesday in April 1964, and stayed there with her friends until the saturday.. Put on a train for Brockville, I arrived without a hitch later that afternoon... She had set up an interview at the factory where she worked for the following Monday morning... After a successful interview, I started work the next morning...Not bad for being in the country less than a week... I was put in the machine shop on punch presses, making parts for telephones for Nortel... A good friend of my sister was in the Police force and he was also British.... His advice was seek out a good job with prospects and a pension, like the police.....Not having any paperwork to prove my education standings, and to meet their criteria, I had to approach the local high school to be allowed to sit in class and take their grade eleven exams...Once everything was met, I was accepted and went to police college in November 1965, the start of a 30 year career....Now retired for over 27 years, life is good, except for health problems. We became Canadian citizens years ago, and have so much to thank this country for all it has given us and a chance to better our way of life...... regards, Stan...

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Stan
I have heard of and seen people who have emigrated to NZ and Aus , who mainly through their wives have been discontented with leaving the old country, and had to return back home. So I was glad to read your positive story, it's a story of so many people who took the chance for a better life than the one they were living, this is not a criticism of the UK as obviously many people got good breaks there so had no need to leave, one was my brother who said he would never leave and good on him.
I bet as a youngster you wouldn't have thought you would end up in a Canadian school at your age LoL, I bet you had Eco's of your old teacher shouting, like mine , "Pay attention Stanley, or you will get nowhere in life."
HOpe like me you are enjoying your retirement.
Cheers Des

[happy daze john in oz]

My brother , some16 years my junior, came out in 2005.
He has never looked back runs his own business as a sparky, his two daughters had a better education than in UK and are both working in good jobs.

Some years back I worked with a guy from Yorkshire originally.
Out here for about ten years then they went back, wife not settled well.
Within two years they were back, as he told me the old country was not what he knew and they did not like the way it was going.

Each to his own and as they say,

Two men looked out through prison bars
One saw mud the other saw stars

[Stan Carter]

Hi Des, #27,..... I was 26 yrs old when all this started to get going... I was somewhat apprehensive in taking this on and being out of school for so long...But I found the school was very accommodating in helping me fit in. Looking back I think I was there three times taking different subjects, each time sitting at the back of the class. Of course there were a lot strange looks from the kids... I had to give a lot of credit to my nephew, who scrounged text books for the grades I was taking. At night we would sit and study together, he was a great help...All that put me in good stead for what was to come 18 months later at Police college, boy, that was brutal, so much to absorb in three weeks orientation course...A further 3 months came later after the probation period... But I stuck with it and now reaping the benefits.... life is good in paradise.... Cheers.... Stan..

[Gregor Ross]

As a brit living abroad I have no interest in voting in the UK - well past the 15 years so no longer on the electoral roll.- The UK electoral system is crazy.

I am Scottish born but can't vote in Scotland , only in South Wales and my vote would only count in that S Wales constituency not nationally. I am not eligible to vote in either the Scottish parliament or Welsh assembly elections, where my vote might actually count. I was not allowed to vote in the last Scottish independence referendum

However - If I were a signed up member of the conservative party (not very likely I should add), last month I would have been able to vote directly for the UK prime minister and my vote would have counted. How bizarre is that?