Durham, UK
January 1, 2017
Anthony Wolseley’s pathetic moaning about the UK leaving the EU is something those of us who voted to leave the EU find highly offensive. We voted to leave, so spit your dummy out and man up.
I live and work in the UK (England, to be precise) and until recently owned a property here in Spain. And guess what? I wasn’t allowed a Spanish vote.
You chose to leave the UK, but you still think you should have a say in its future. Well you shouldn’t, as I/you shouldn’t in Spain. Other EU members want to leave, realising the EU is an ailing private members-only club whose unfair business attitude and draconian laws are elitist to say the least, barring those lesser mortals (countries) outside the supposedly magnificent EU free trade amongst its neighbours.
The taxes I paid having sold my house in Spain were pure unfair extortion compared to if I were Spanish, and we were in the EU at the time.
I’m afraid it is one law for the Spanish, another for us. To be European we should be all treated equally. We aren’t and never will be. You may speak Spanish, eat Spanish cuisine, enjoy the climate and other perks living here bring, but at a price.
Don’t think for one moment that leaving the EU puts you in peril. We are far too valuable to the Spanish economy for them to put any restrictive covenants on UK citizens. In fact, it may just make them think. You know that England may not be the land of soft-headed nincompoops that Anthony Wolseley Wilmsen and the Spanish thought we were.
John Cumberland
Oh dear,John(no not one of those letters;but could be!)I do think you are in a bit of a tizzy.I have been resident in Spain for 30 odd years,came before Spain was in the EU,to operate a business.Previously had been self-employed in England & Scotland.So you could say I have experience in seeing both sides.Now retired of course but still here because I know which side of my bread is buttered.Please do not assume I am not a patriot.I served in the armed forces,swore allegiance to our Queen.Have you?Were you one of those National servicemen that I gave out their postings to,to distant foreign places-Singapore,Aden,Christmas Island,Cyprus,Germany even Scotland?Probably not because you don´t seem to have much of a handle on things in Spain.If you imagine we Brits.are so valuable to the Spanish economy,perhaps it´s as well you have returned to the north of England.We retired ex-pats are the poor amongst the other nationalities,Believe me;I have paid into both systems so can”do the maths”.In UK we do not pay at the same rate as the other Europeans do during their working lives.Hence our poor basic retirement pension.If ,John,you imagine Spain will lose out on our spending as tourists,just go & walk around Benidorm.The beach is free as is the sunshine,but the usual British tourist will make straight for the British bar for his British beer & a British menu at a British owned restaurant.The fact that I left my home country,where I have close family members,does not mean I have cut all ties.If we follow your reasoning,John,do you think we should discontinue,for Britain,our exploration into space?What could we possibly say if we met an Alien?Hey you,get back from where you came?Since you find it unacceptable for people to relocate across a stretch of water(the Channel)perhaps you should buy a holiday home in my stretch of the woods,the west country,where you will be welcomed as a buyer but forever “A grockle” Alice