tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10184229226169170492024-03-18T12:57:32.977-07:00Get Real FranceMy name is Karen O'Reilly and I've lived and worked in Perpignan for the past 11 years.
Have just moved back to West Cork in Ireland and I'm lovin' it!Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.comBlogger291125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-64997072048505737992015-11-29T14:09:00.000-08:002015-11-29T14:09:12.059-08:00Getrealfrance on the Marian Finucane Show<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-asmsDlcGyzI/Vlt2fXX46jI/AAAAAAAAEiY/sMXTiKPxbeY/s1600/marian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-asmsDlcGyzI/Vlt2fXX46jI/AAAAAAAAEiY/sMXTiKPxbeY/s400/marian.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marian Finucane - Image from RTE</td></tr>
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<br />
On Saturday we met with Marian Finucane in RTE and chatted about moving back to Ireland from France - you can hear the interview <a href="http://www.rte.ie/radio1/marian-finucane/programmes/2015/1128/749886-marian-finucane-saturday-28-november-2015/?clipid=2043357#2043357">here </a><br />
<br />
We also got a chance to talk about the launch of our new business EMPLOYMUM which will launch in January 2016. We are very excited about launching our new FLEXIBLE RECRUITMENT agency aimed at supporting and empowering STAY AT HOME MOMs<br />
<br />
You can read all about it here on our new website ( feedback very welcome )<br />
<br />
See our new website here ; http://www.employmum.ie/Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-78617554485535392992015-06-09T04:09:00.001-07:002015-11-09T02:13:16.554-08:00Have you overpaid your tax in France?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3ZYuEqwTHZs/VXbIl36VaKI/AAAAAAAAEhY/LzT9A9hvq8k/s1600/hollande.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3ZYuEqwTHZs/VXbIl36VaKI/AAAAAAAAEhY/LzT9A9hvq8k/s400/hollande.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from the Telegraph</td></tr>
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If you are a non resident of France and have any rental income there, you may have inadvertently paid extra charges on that for the past couple of years.<br />
Francois Hollande, that champagne socialist president of France brought in social charges on all capital income, even for non residents on income from 2013 onwards.<br />
This has now been deemed by the European Court of Justice as illegal as social charges should not be charged to people who do not live in the country.<br />
If you have paid this, you are entitled to a refund. Sneakily, this charge would have appeared on your tax bill and not a separate social charges bill...<br />
You will not be informed so you will have to chase this up yourself.<br />
<br />
Here is a link to a very good article ( in English) telling you what to do to reclaim your social charges<br />
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Click <a href="http://www.connexionfrance.com/news_articles.php?id=7366">here</a> for a read of the article<br />
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You can buy me a pint of guinness when you see me next!!!<br />
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<br /></div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com1France46.227638 2.213749000000007134.9722085 -18.440547999999993 57.4830675 22.868046000000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-12124172655127999762015-06-01T13:05:00.000-07:002015-06-01T13:05:33.556-07:00Article in the Irish Times - Moving back to Ireland<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<section class="header" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #515151; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><hgroup><h1 property="headline" style="color: black; font-size: 33px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.1em; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 10px 0px 5px;">
‘We wanted to be back in Ireland for all the big events, good and bad’</h1>
<h2 property="description" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
Returning to Ireland Q&A: Karen O’Reilly and her family have no regrets about moving home to Clonakilty from France</h2>
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<img alt="Karen O’Reilly with her husband Brian and children Alannah (10) and Dylan (8)" class="responsive-img" data-desktop="box_620_330" data-mobile="box_300_160" data-tablet="box_620_330" height="212" src="http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2230629.1432894580!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_620_330/image.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" title="Karen O’Reilly with her husband Brian and children Alannah (10) and Dylan (8)" width="400" /></div>
<div class="update_and_social_holder" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(222, 224, 224); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(222, 224, 224); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 10px 0px 20px; position: relative; width: 620px; z-index: 6;">
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<a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/cmlink/the-irish-times-life-style-1.1319214" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #003399; display: inline-block; height: 15px; outline: none !important; overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" target="_blank"><span class="rss_feed" style="background: url(http://www.irishtimes.com/assets/images/article_pages/social_share_icons.gif) -298px -1px; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 16px; width: 16px;"><br /></span></a></div>
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</section><section property="articleBody" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #515151; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>Why did you decide to return from abroad?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
We moved to France in 2002, and lived near Perpignan on the Spanish border until 2013, when we decided to move back to Ireland. Our children were eight and six, and we felt it was a “now or never” moment before they got entrenched with friends.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
We were both running our own businesses but felt we were being held back by the anti-entrepreneur mentality in France, especially with Francois Hollande at the helm.</div>
<div class="article_middle_box" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(98, 97, 97); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 4px; border-top-color: rgb(98, 97, 97); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 4px; float: left; margin: 7px 20px 10px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; width: 136.390625px;">
<ul class="icon_list business_news_list" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; line-height: 18px; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/generation-emigration/planning-to-return-to-ireland-here-s-everything-you-need-to-know-1.2231326" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; color: #515151; display: list-item; outline: none !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: none;">Planning to return to Ireland? Here's everything you need to know</a></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; line-height: 18px; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/generation-emigration/returning-emigrants-can-benefit-economy-if-we-can-attract-them-home-1.2230942" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; color: #515151; display: list-item; outline: none !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Things are different now from in the early 1990s, and the speed at which the Irish abroad will return is hard to call. Photograph: Dara MacDonaill" height="79" src="http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2230941.1432910571!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_140/image.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" title="Things are different now from in the early 1990s, and the speed at which the Irish abroad will return is hard to call. Photograph: Dara MacDonaill" width="140" />Returning emigrants can benefit economy – if we can attract them home</a></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; line-height: 18px; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/generation-emigration/will-irish-emigrants-come-home-1.2230931" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; color: #515151; display: list-item; outline: none !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt=" On the wing: Those who were in their mid-20s when they emigrated in 2009 and 2010 may be heading into their 30s now, and facing decisions about whether to buy a home, take that next career step or have children. Photograph: Stephen Strathdee/E+/Getty" height="79" src="http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2230922.1432909974!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_140/image.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" title=" On the wing: Those who were in their mid-20s when they emigrated in 2009 and 2010 may be heading into their 30s now, and facing decisions about whether to buy a home, take that next career step or have children. Photograph: Stephen Strathdee/E+/Getty" width="140" />Will Irish emigrants come home?</a></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; line-height: 18px; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/generation-emigration/you-can-t-expect-to-move-back-to-ireland-and-everything-to-be-the-same-1.2230658" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; color: #515151; display: list-item; outline: none !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" height="79" src="http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2230659.1432896196!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_140/image.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" title="" width="140" />‘You can’t expect to move back to Ireland and everything to be the same’</a></li>
<li class="last" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; line-height: 18px; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/generation-emigration/destinations/returning-to-ireland" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; color: #515151; display: list-item; outline: none !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" height="79" src="http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2231335.1432925603!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_140/image.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" title="" width="140" />Returning to Ireland: The Irish Times guide to moving home from abroad</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
We had a wonderful life in France, living five minutes from the Med and an hour from the ski slopes. We loved our big circle of friends, both French and expat, but with the French, we never really got them and they never really got us. We knew our dear expat friends would all eventually pack up and move back “home”, so there was always a temporary element to our expat friendships.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
We missed the craic and the banter and the openness and friendliness of Irish people. We wanted our children to grow up to be Irish. We wanted to be home for the communions, the weddings, the significant birthdays, St Patricks Day, 99s in the summer, the country on a high on a rare sunny day, the radio shows, Munster matches, Limerick hurling days, the enormous charity of a small nation in times of need, creamy Guinness that doesn’t taste the same anywhere else in the world, country pubs, laughing so hard it hurt, taking the mickey out of everything, the inevitable sing song at the end of a party, people smiling, and the warm family hugs.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
We also wanted to be back to lend solidarity on the bad days, to be there for the funerals and the sad times. A phone call or a Skype call is not just the same as being there to hold someone’s hand.And so we made the momentous decision, 12 years and two kids after leaving, to come home. A year a half later, we have no regrets.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>Where have you moved to in Ireland? Is this where you are from originally? And why did you choose this place?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
My Mom moved to Clonakilty about 10 years ago and although we are originally from Limerick, every time we came to Ireland on holidays from France, we would stay in Clonakilty. We fell in love West Cork and felt it would be a great place to bring up our kids. We weren’t wrong, and the children are thriving in their new schools. I genuinely feel like we have won the lottery. It’s the people that make a place special and I am still blown away by the generosity of spirit, the friendliness, the wonderful sense of community and how warmly we have been welcomed. It’s also a stunningly beautiful spot, close to the mountains and the sea, and boasting probably the best food in Ireland.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>Did talk of an economic recovery in Ireland influence your decision?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
We were ready to love back so the economic situation in Ireland did not really influence our decision. France is in dire straits economically, and the general public are seriously unhappy. Taxes are rising every year and people really do struggle to survive. Entrepreneurs are penalised at every turn as the socialist government attempts to keep the people down.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>How much research did you do before leaving France? Did you have schools or jobs lined up, for example?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
We had schools lined up for the kids. They go to two different schools, a boys and a girls school. Segregation was new for them, as were the uniforms ( a God send!). We were invited to meet the principals in both schools, and they interviewed the children. The atmosphere in both schools is one of nurturing and inclusiveness.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>How have your children adjusted?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
Our children are very happy and love their new schools and friends. They are very sporty, which helps, and they are loving their new GAA sports. We live in a housing estate in Clonakilty and there is great freedom; the kids play on the green every day and cycle everywhere. Our house is an open home which I love, and there are always kids coming and going. This does not really happen in France. They also love having their granny living close by, who spoils them rotten of course.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>What is your impression of the economy in Ireland now that you have returned? Did you have a realistic view from afar?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
We have been fairly regular visitors to Ireland and so were in touch. I think Irish people should go and live in France for a while, pay all the onerous taxes and social charges (and water charges), live on far less income, and then tell me what they have to complain about in Ireland.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
Nowhere is perfect and Ireland’s medical system is probably not as good as the system in France, but the average Irish person is far better off than the average French person, who is taxed to the hilt. </div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>What challenges have you faced since returning to Ireland?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
The one thing we miss the most is the excellent wine we had on our doorstep. Living in the Languedoc Roussillon region, the largest vineyard in the world, we were spoilt for choice.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
I took a career break, wanting to get the children settled into their new environment. I am currently looking for work so we’ll see how that goes.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>Has anything else surprised you since you returned?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
In France, people dress very conservatively and so it was a shock to me to see young teenage girls caked in makeup and dressed in tiny skirts high heels. I am dreading those years with my daughter, who is now ten.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>Are there any other downsides to being back?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
I left my only sister in France – we were in business together for over 12 years so I miss her terribly, as well as my niece and nephew.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>What tips or advice would you give others considering the move back?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
Choose carefully where you decide to live. Having family close by has been such a help to us. Be positive and embrace all that is great about Ireland. If you are unsure about moving back, rent for a year (we did) and leave your options open.</div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<strong>Overall, has the move been worth it? Would you consider moving abroad again in the future, or are you here to stay?</strong></div>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
We have absolutely no regrets. We will definitely stay in Ireland now while the children are in school. I think it’s unfair on the kids to move around unnecessarily. We’ll be here for the next ten years at least. After that, I would love to live somewhere warm for at least part of the year.</div>
</section></div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-20905803336889770552015-05-01T03:00:00.000-07:002015-05-01T03:00:14.524-07:00Ireland - A giving nation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One thing that has struck me since our return to Ireland is the amount of charity work and money being raised for organisations that goes on in every single city, town and village in Ireland. It really is astounding the amount of voluntary work, charitable events and collections for those less fortunate that goes on every week of the year.<br />
I wasn't surprised then to discover that Ireland is ranked 4th in the World Giving Index which is put together by Gallup based on the following survey:<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em;">
Which of the following three charitable acts they had been undertaken in the past month:</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20version%3D%221.1%22%20width%3D%225%22%20height%3D%2213%22%3E%0A%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%222.5%22%20cy%3D%229.5%22%20r%3D%222.5%22%20fill%3D%22%2300528c%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">donated money to an organisation?</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">volunteered time to an organisation?</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">helped a stranger, or someone they didn’t know who needed help?</li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">(thank you wikipedia)</span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For a small nation of just over 4 million just coming out of the grips of a recession, this is really something to be proud of.<br />This altruistic nature is pretty non existent in France , and apart from the telethon which takes place in December, there is very little of any charitable type work done in France. France ranks number 90 in this World Giving Index, after countries like Ethopia (72), Afghanistan (79) and Bangladesh (72).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Why are the French less charitable? Well one might argue that they have far less disposable income than other Europeans ranking higher than they. One might also point out that they pay a fair whack already on social charges and so they feel it is the government's job to look after the weaker and poorer in society. Fair point, so let's take the money out of the philanthropy equation and the result is that French people don't volunteer their time either, or for that matter help strangers..why is this?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We were invited to a dinner party in France shortly after the tsunami in Thailand in 2004. We had just returned to France after being in Ireland for the holidays where everybody was out raising money to help out. After a few drinks at the dinner party, Mr Getrealfrance suggested that we should have a sing song and anyone who wouldn't sing had to throw 5euros into the pot for the tsunami fund. This was met with incredulity and horror. Most people left the party abruptly ( before dessert - this is unheard of) and not one person contributed. We were never invited back to the neighbours house, but that's another story!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As Ireland rallies together with thousands of events this weekend to raise funds for Nepal, I am proud to be Irish.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b4U3UD1sOGI/VUNM2v37T3I/AAAAAAAAEg0/qo6uExBRRzA/s1600/11200878_1111670378858818_4027304803183406288_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b4U3UD1sOGI/VUNM2v37T3I/AAAAAAAAEg0/qo6uExBRRzA/s1600/11200878_1111670378858818_4027304803183406288_n.jpg" height="400" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We'll be there!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com2Ireland53.41291 -8.243889999999964948.5642595 -18.571038499999965 58.261560499999995 2.083258500000035tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-66430708110036620042015-03-04T13:56:00.000-08:002015-03-05T03:22:52.325-08:00Let the children be<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
France is in the merde again for slapping it's children - an all too common sight just about everywhere in France. I have been in people's houses at dinner parties and seen children slapped across their faces for playing with their petits pois. I've left beaches traumatised by the physical and verbal abuse parents were giving their children. Slapping your children is not frowned upon in France. Now, a human rights watch dog has criticised France and called for an outright ban on slapping your children.<br />
<br />
Why do so many French parents slap their kids? Why? Because they know no different.<br />
This ad campaign from 2011 sums it up for me.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Let the children be </div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-49035183777806131842015-03-02T05:08:00.000-08:002015-03-02T05:08:04.901-08:00Irish girls do it better<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What the Irish cailin could teach the French woman....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-np5k1VmS3Q0/VPRACSw_WqI/AAAAAAAAEf4/PJx1Qs9EvGc/s1600/Mona_Lisa%2C_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-np5k1VmS3Q0/VPRACSw_WqI/AAAAAAAAEf4/PJx1Qs9EvGc/s1600/Mona_Lisa%2C_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci.jpg" height="400" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't forget to smile</td></tr>
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The craic.<br />
Les filles - get yourself some girlfriends and so out and have a giggle. Be silly. Be stupid. Have an extra glass of wine now and then. Dance on the bar. Play practical jokes on one another. Go out at least once a month <b>without</b> your husband. Life is short, les filles, don't take it all so flippin seriously! And don't forget to Smile! You do remember how to smile, don't you? :-)<br />
<br />
Clothes and style<br />
Oh yes, I know, the French have the reputation as being so stylish and effortlessly chic, but frankly, their style is BORING! Black is always the new black as they march sheeplike straight down the conservative line and let's not even mention the comfortable and sensible shoes. An abomination! The Irish girl is not afraid to show her personality, wear colour and flaunt her look. Clothes can be fun too! Go wild and splash out with a bit of colour.<br />
<br />
Spend quality time with your children<br />
STOP giving out to your children. I'm just back from a weekend in France and every single interaction I had with parents and children involved a whole lot of shouting and chastising their extremely well behaved enfants.<br />
Let the children be children. Encourage them to use their imagination. Allow them to run wild now and then. Teach them that it is OK to be different. Slapping children and constantly putting them down and slamming them in their place will result in a nation of lily livered meek adults who are afraid of their own shadows. At every possible opportunity, a French parent will offload her kids, to the garderie, the centre aéré, the colony in the summer etc. In France, children should be unseen and unheard..<br />
<br />
Think outside the box<br />
I know you have always been told that flowers and red and green leaves are green and there is no need to see flowers any other way but ..... sometimes there are two ways of looking at a problem. Feel free to think outside the box and to come up with solutions to obstacles that may come your way in life... NON, is not always the right answer to something that have never been done or tried before ... (this point is especially for a particular red haired woman in the prefecture in Perpignan!)<br />
<br />
Be friendly and helpful<br />
It makes the day go quicker and it actually makes you feel better and in a good mood. Like green eggs and ham, it's one to try....<br />
<br />
And did I mention the craic??<br />
What else do you think us Irish women could teach the French?</div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com1Ireland53.41291 -8.243889999999964948.5642595 -18.571038499999965 58.261560499999995 2.083258500000035tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-43384032350225880832015-02-23T08:25:00.003-08:002015-02-23T08:26:48.848-08:00French girls do it better...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What we can learn from our French girlfriends .. and what they can learn from us...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9UuCwBZpWcI/VOtOndzU73I/AAAAAAAAEfk/Y442tBH8tEI/s1600/primark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9UuCwBZpWcI/VOtOndzU73I/AAAAAAAAEfk/Y442tBH8tEI/s1600/primark.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lingerie from Primark</td></tr>
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The French - you either love or hate them and when it comes to French women , the majority of us are mostly slightly intimidated by them! With their aloof ways and superior attitude, I feel goofy, un co-ordinated and clumsy as they blow smoke into my face and studiously ignore me ( me at school gates waiting for kids in France for 8 years!), wearing black to my rainbow colours and staring me down when I smile and try to make conversation...I bow to them in the following..<br />
<br />
Underwear.<br />
As a keen swimmer, I have come up close and personal with women's underwear in the dressing rooms of pools in both France and Ireland. French women, no matter their size, will always have matching lingerie. Lingerie, ladies, and not grey granny knickers paired with an ill fitting off colour bra. What a French girlfriend wears under her clothes is nearly more important that her outer garments. Lacy, sexy, matching, colourful stuff. Treat yourself for Valentines day girls and invest in a well fitting, matching set - you'll be surprised at what a confidence boost this will give you!<br />
<br />
Eating and Drinking<br />
A meal is to be savoured, enjoyed and lingered over. Food is a delight, not just fuel or something to be afraid of. Embrace it without overindulging. Drinking is something you do with food. In my 12 years living in France, I never saw a drunk French girl. It's not pretty, cool or clever to be rat assed.<br />
French women, despite eating apparently whatever they want, don't get fat as the book of the same name testifies ( debatable, as the French obesity rates creep up and up)<br />
However, As Ireland lurches towards being the fattest nation in Europe, we could take a leaf out of their diet books....<br />
<br />
Being mysterious<br />
The thrill, girls, is very often in the chase and this is what makes a French woman attractive. While French women may very often lack in personality, they make up for it with their mysterious ways. And this advice goes mostly for young girls : you will never see a French girl half naked with her butt cheeks hanging down under her skirt/skimpy shorts. You will never see a French girl caked in makeup wearing 8 inch stilletto heels. You will never see a French girl sporting the spray tan orange glow. Irish girls, take note, it is not attractive. You look like prostitutes. Put it away and keep the guys guessing....you are beautiful without all that gunk on your face and body and without exposing 99% of your flesh.<br />
<br />
Love Life<br />
French women are very much into their 'vie en couple'. In fact, they rarely do anything without their significant other half. Us Irish women probably could invest a bit more time and effort into our romantic lives. Sex is important to the French lady, even as she gets a little older. It seems to me that once an Irish woman has bagged her man, that things can slide a little, from looking after oneself, putting on weight and keeping it interesting in the bedroom.<br />
For example, every time I went to get my bits waxed at the local French beauty parlour, the beautician would ask me would I like to nether regions shaped into a heart or ladyscaped into a landing strip as my husband would surely adore it, maybe a few vajazzles, madame??<br />
Ehh, he's from Ireland...do you think he'd notice?<br />
And this from a lady whose name was Fanny LeCoq, I kid you not.....<br />
<br />
Have you any examples of what French women do better?<br />
Next post - what we can teach our French sisters......<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-300642607060564032015-02-11T03:08:00.004-08:002015-02-11T07:20:39.980-08:00GetRealFrance on the Claire Byrne Show<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On Monday night, Suzanne, my sister and I were invited to be in the audience of the Claire Byrne show on RTE. They wanted us to give our opinion on the taxation system in France compared to the system in Ireland. Eamonn Dunphy had put together the report, after spending 25 years on and off in France ( ie he has a holiday home in Deauville and visits there sporadically - can he even speak French? ) Why, he would be chosen as the expert on France is questionable ...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zwb5TKJECks/VNs1qi-sSFI/AAAAAAAAEfQ/wYOch3Kr20Y/s1600/IMG_20150211_105150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zwb5TKJECks/VNs1qi-sSFI/AAAAAAAAEfQ/wYOch3Kr20Y/s1600/IMG_20150211_105150.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claire Byrne with Suzanne and I</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Anyway, Paul Murphy of the Anti Austerity Alliance had been arrested on Monday and Claire was given the scoop to interview him, so I'm guessing that the French v Ireland debate was pushed aside for this and we didn't have a whole lot of time to discuss the issue. In fact when the 'debate' ended, Claire noted that we could have debated for at least another hour...so this is all the stuff we didn't get to say!<br />
<br />
Eamonn's report was about comparing the lives of an Irish family living in France and an Irish family living in Ireland. In his model, both families were earning approximately the same ( in my 12 years living in France, I didn't know anyone earning 78,000euros per annum but anyway....). His angle was that the French get a lot more bang for their buck with a much better health system and excellent child care. While he is right on both counts, nobody is going to argue with that , his argument did not take into account the comparative low wages in France and the massive social charges one has to pay. There are also additional costs like taxe fonciere (rates) and taxe d'habitation (poll tax) and water charges ( there are no allowances!!!). These social charges, income tax and other taxes, when added up, count for nearly 75% of your income.<br />
<br />
We had to leave France because we couldn't survive and we are among hundreds of thousands doing so. If France is as wonderful as Dunphy makes out, why are there so many of it's bright educated youngsters and entrepreneurs leaving? The main obstacle to French people with a bit of get up and go to leaving the country is the language barrier - those that have some ambition and can speak English are leaving in droves - London is now France's 5th city in terms of French population. French speaking Canada is also a popular choice.<br />
<br />
Why are they leaving? They are leaving because extreme socialism stinks - the joy has been taken out of their lives as most of their hard earned money goes back into the state coffers. Hollande has totally exasperated the situation, inventing new taxes at every corner to pay for his idealistic socialist notions.<br />
<br />
Irish people do have to pay for their child care and the medical system may not be as good as in France - but in my opinion, there is no way the Irish person be prepared to pay the same amount of tax and social charges as their French neighbours...<br />
<br />
In short, someone has to pay for all these wonderful social benefits and that someone is the average earning middle class person. The disposable income in France is far lower than it is in Ireland.<br />
Nowhere is perfect, I love France and had a wonderful time there, but I'll take my chances in Ireland where 'capitalism' is not a dirty word and you are encouraged to work and to get on in life. France's strain of extreme socialism is bordering on communism. C'est la verité<br />
<br />
See the following chart from the OECD;<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em;">
The following average wage statistics is adjusted to purchasing power parities (PPP), i.e. the wage levels reported are adjusted <i>downwards</i> in high-cost countries, and <i>upwards</i> in low-cost countries. By this measure, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="United States">United States</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a> have the highest relative wage levels.</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<table class="wikitable sortable jquery-tablesorter" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); color: black; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em auto 1em 0px; text-align: right;"><thead style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">
<tr><th class="headerSort" role="columnheader button" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; background-image: url(data:image/gif; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); cursor: pointer; padding: 0.2em 21px 0.2em 0.2em; text-align: center;" tabindex="0" title="Sort ascending">rank</th><th class="headerSort" role="columnheader button" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; background-image: url(data:image/gif; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); cursor: pointer; padding: 0.2em 21px 0.2em 0.2em; text-align: center;" tabindex="0" title="Sort ascending">Country</th><th class="headerSort" role="columnheader button" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; background-image: url(data:image/gif; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); cursor: pointer; padding: 0.2em 21px 0.2em 0.2em; text-align: center;" tabindex="0" title="Sort ascending">Disposable income<br />
in 2012 USD<br />
(PPP)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1" style="font-size: 11.1999998092651px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_wage#cite_note-1" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[1]</a></sup></th><th class="headerSort" role="columnheader button" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; background-image: url(data:image/gif; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); cursor: pointer; padding: 0.2em 21px 0.2em 0.2em; text-align: center;" tabindex="0" title="Sort ascending">Compulsory<br />
deduction<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="font-size: 11.1999998092651px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_wage#cite_note-2" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[2]</a></sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="font-size: 11.1999998092651px; line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability"><span title="The material near this tag failed verification of its source citation(s). (January 2015)">not in citation given</span></a></i>]</sup></th><th class="headerSort" role="columnheader button" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; background-image: url(data:image/gif; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); cursor: pointer; padding: 0.2em 21px 0.2em 0.2em; text-align: center;" tabindex="0" title="Sort ascending">Gross income<br />
in 2012 USD<br />
(PPP)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="font-size: 11.1999998092651px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_wage#cite_note-3" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[3]</a></sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="font-size: 11.1999998092651px; line-height: 1;"><span style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Wikipedia:Link rot"><span title=" since January 2015">dead link</span></a></i>]</span></sup><br />
<div style="line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em;">
<br /></div>
</th></tr>
</thead><tbody style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">1</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="650" data-file-width="1235" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" height="12" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="United States">United States</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">44,753</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">29.6%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">55,047</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">2</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="1200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Flag_of_Ireland.svg/23px-Flag_of_Ireland.svg.png" height="12" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Flag_of_Ireland.svg/35px-Flag_of_Ireland.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Flag_of_Ireland.svg/46px-Flag_of_Ireland.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Republic of Ireland">Ireland</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">38,210</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">25.9%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">51,565</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">3</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="1000" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Flag_of_Luxembourg.svg/23px-Flag_of_Luxembourg.svg.png" height="14" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Flag_of_Luxembourg.svg/35px-Flag_of_Luxembourg.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Flag_of_Luxembourg.svg/46px-Flag_of_Luxembourg.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">33,373</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">36.6%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">52,639</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">4</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="640" data-file-width="1280" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b9/Flag_of_Australia.svg/23px-Flag_of_Australia.svg.png" height="12" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b9/Flag_of_Australia.svg/35px-Flag_of_Australia.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b9/Flag_of_Australia.svg/46px-Flag_of_Australia.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Australia">Australia</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">33,319</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">32.9%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">49,655</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">5</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="1000" data-file-width="1000" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Switzerland.svg/16px-Flag_of_Switzerland.svg.png" height="16" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Switzerland.svg/24px-Flag_of_Switzerland.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Switzerland.svg/32px-Flag_of_Switzerland.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="16" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">32,066</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">39.8%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">53,265</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">6</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="500" data-file-width="1000" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg/23px-Flag_of_Canada.svg.png" height="12" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg/35px-Flag_of_Canada.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg/46px-Flag_of_Canada.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Canada">Canada</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">31,501</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">30.8%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">45,521</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">7</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="1200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" height="12" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">29,938</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">32.3%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">44,222</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">8</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="900" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/23px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/35px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/45px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="South Korea">South Korea</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">29,038</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">21.0%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">36,757</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">9</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="800" data-file-width="1100" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Flag_of_Norway.svg/21px-Flag_of_Norway.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Flag_of_Norway.svg/32px-Flag_of_Norway.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Flag_of_Norway.svg/41px-Flag_of_Norway.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="21" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Norway">Norway</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">28,543</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">38.5%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">46,410</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">10</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="280" data-file-width="370" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Flag_of_Denmark.svg/20px-Flag_of_Denmark.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Flag_of_Denmark.svg/31px-Flag_of_Denmark.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Flag_of_Denmark.svg/40px-Flag_of_Denmark.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="20" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Denmark">Denmark</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">27,424</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">39.1%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">45,031</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">11</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="900" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/23px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/35px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/45px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Japan">Japan</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">23,486</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">31.2%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">34,137</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">12</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="900" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_Austria.svg/23px-Flag_of_Austria.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_Austria.svg/35px-Flag_of_Austria.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_Austria.svg/45px-Flag_of_Austria.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Austria">Austria</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">22,813</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">48.9%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">44,644</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">13</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="1100" data-file-width="1800" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Flag_of_Finland.svg/23px-Flag_of_Finland.svg.png" height="14" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Flag_of_Finland.svg/35px-Flag_of_Finland.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Flag_of_Finland.svg/46px-Flag_of_Finland.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Finland">Finland</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">22,548</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">42.5%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">39,214</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">14</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="1000" data-file-width="1600" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Sweden.svg/23px-Flag_of_Sweden.svg.png" height="14" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Sweden.svg/35px-Flag_of_Sweden.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Sweden.svg/46px-Flag_of_Sweden.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Sweden">Sweden</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">22,512</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">43.0%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">39,494</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">15</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="900" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">22,064</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">52.7%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">46,646</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">16</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="1000" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/23px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png" height="14" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/35px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/46px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Germany">Germany</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">21,187</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">49.7%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">42,121</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">17</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="300" data-file-width="450" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg/45px-Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Belgium">Belgium</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">20,894</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">56.0%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">47,487</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">18</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="480" data-file-width="660" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Flag_of_Israel.svg/21px-Flag_of_Israel.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Flag_of_Israel.svg/32px-Flag_of_Israel.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Flag_of_Israel.svg/41px-Flag_of_Israel.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="21" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Israel">Israel</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">20,795</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">27.6%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">28,722</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">19</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="500" data-file-width="750" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg/23px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg/35px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg/45px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Spain">Spain</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">20,232</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">41.4%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">34,525</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">20</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="900" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/23px-Flag_of_France.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/35px-Flag_of_France.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/45px-Flag_of_France.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="France">France</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">19,721</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">50.2%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">39,600</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">21</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="1200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Flag_of_Croatia.svg/23px-Flag_of_Croatia.svg.png" height="12" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Flag_of_Croatia.svg/35px-Flag_of_Croatia.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Flag_of_Croatia.svg/46px-Flag_of_Croatia.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Croatia">Croatia</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">18,575</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">42.3%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">32,193</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">22</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="1000" data-file-width="1500" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/03/Flag_of_Italy.svg/23px-Flag_of_Italy.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/03/Flag_of_Italy.svg/35px-Flag_of_Italy.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/03/Flag_of_Italy.svg/45px-Flag_of_Italy.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Italy">Italy</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">16,789</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">50.4%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">33,849</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">23</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="400" data-file-width="600" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Flag_of_Greece.svg/23px-Flag_of_Greece.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Flag_of_Greece.svg/35px-Flag_of_Greece.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Flag_of_Greece.svg/45px-Flag_of_Greece.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Greece">Greece</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">15,142</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">41.9%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">26,062</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">24</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="400" data-file-width="600" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Flag_of_Portugal.svg/23px-Flag_of_Portugal.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Flag_of_Portugal.svg/35px-Flag_of_Portugal.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Flag_of_Portugal.svg/45px-Flag_of_Portugal.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Portugal">Portugal</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">14,621</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">36.7%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">23,098</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">25</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="800" data-file-width="1280" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/12/Flag_of_Poland.svg/23px-Flag_of_Poland.svg.png" height="14" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/12/Flag_of_Poland.svg/35px-Flag_of_Poland.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/12/Flag_of_Poland.svg/46px-Flag_of_Poland.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Poland">Poland</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">12,582</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">40.4%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">21,110</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">26</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="900" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">11,637</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">43.2%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">20,487</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">27</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="900" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Flag_of_Slovakia.svg/23px-Flag_of_Slovakia.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Flag_of_Slovakia.svg/35px-Flag_of_Slovakia.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Flag_of_Slovakia.svg/45px-Flag_of_Slovakia.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Slovakia">Slovakia</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">11,479</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">43.2%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">20,210</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">28</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="630" data-file-width="990" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Flag_of_Estonia.svg/23px-Flag_of_Estonia.svg.png" height="15" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Flag_of_Estonia.svg/35px-Flag_of_Estonia.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Flag_of_Estonia.svg/46px-Flag_of_Estonia.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Estonia">Estonia</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">10,642</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">41.6%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">18,222</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">29</td><td align="left" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" data-file-height="600" data-file-width="1200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_Hungary.svg/23px-Flag_of_Hungary.svg.png" height="12" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_Hungary.svg/35px-Flag_of_Hungary.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_Hungary.svg/46px-Flag_of_Hungary.svg.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); vertical-align: middle;" width="23" /> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Hungary">Hungary</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">10,288</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">49.4%</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0.2em;">20,332</td></tr>
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Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com2Rte, Dublin, Co. Dublin, Ireland53.3145171 -6.2243708999999427.792482600000003 -47.532964899999939 78.8365516 35.08422310000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-82368688021015453462015-01-20T03:42:00.000-08:002015-01-20T03:44:10.101-08:00Ireland v France - the medical system<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Is Ireland prepared to pay for a better health service? That is the question that the Irish public need to ask themselves at the current bed crisis in Irish hospitals hits the headlines.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carte Vitale - medical card in France - every resident must have one</td></tr>
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Let's take a look at France : France has been voted as having the best medical system in the world by the World Health Organisation.<br />
Ireland is ranked at number 18.<br />
What does France do to provide such a top notch service? It taxes the bajasus out of the general public, that's what.<br />
<br />
A whopping 32% of France's GDP is spent on social spending - this is the highest in the world and someone has to pay for that - and that someone is Joe Le Soap, the squeezed middle class who are struggling to keep their heads above water.<br />
Talk to the people living and working in France and they are not a happy bunch - small and medium businesses are up against so many obstacles, new laws and taxes popping up willy nilly while the champagne socialists in Paris faff around trying to pay for their idealistic socialist dream, a nightmare really for most entrepreneurs or people who want to better their situation.<br />
While the average monthly salary is roughly the same at about 2,200euros - the typical Irish person has more disposable income due to the social charges heaped on top of the already struggling French taxpayer.<br />
One must also pay taxe fonciere and taxe d'habitation ( rates and poll tax ) - while we were in France over a 12 year period, these doubled to nearly 3,000 per annum for an average house. Water ( shock horror) must be paid for on consumption, there are no allowances. The cost of living is approximately the same apart from the wonderful affordable divine wines (sigh - we do miss them!). Life is expensive in France.<br />
<br />
I agree that Ireland's disgraceful situation with hundreds of sick people on corridors is not acceptable. I agree that it is a shame that Ireland did not develop a first class medical system in the celtic tiger years.<br />
I agree that the health system needs to be managed better and more funding is required.<br />
After watching the furore over the water charges in Ireland recently, I just don't think the Irish taxpayer is prepared to pay for it.<br />
C'est tout.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com0Ireland53.41291 -8.243889999999964948.5642595 -18.571038499999965 58.261560499999995 2.083258500000035tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-7261178905199200942015-01-12T02:18:00.000-08:002015-01-12T03:35:16.554-08:00#jesuischarlie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
This week's French lesson :<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Je suis Charlie</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Tu es Charlie</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Il/elle/on est Charlie</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Nous sommes Charlie</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #111111; line-height: 19.6000003814697px;">Vous êtes</span> Charlie</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Ils/elles sont Charlie</span></div>
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RIP all those who perished this week </div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-74525350095081341372015-01-07T02:33:00.000-08:002015-01-08T04:00:06.323-08:00Les Francais, take note - How to be Happy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
We have lived without a television in our house for quite a number of years but after a visit from the Mother in Law ending with her sulking in the corner, arms folded as she couldn't watch the Late Late Show and Vincent Browne, we buckled. Mr Getrealfrance was sent to the attic to fiddle around with cables and voilá, the big screen in the corner lit up magically.<br />
Now, as predicted, we're all addicted.<br />
Albeit against our will , it is guiltily pleasurable to snuggle up of an evening when the wind is howling outside, warm the toes by the fire and watch the ole goggle box.<br />
No- body appears to actually watch anything on the telly though, they just tweet about whatever nonsense is going on. You couldn't get a word in when #Charlie (Haughey) was trending the other night. Sitting on the couch tweeting on the twitter machine, it's the new going out, doncha know?<br />
Anyway, last night, after first day back to school and kids in bed at a reasonable hour, I camped down to watch 'How to be Happy' with Maureen Gaffney, sorry, that's Dr Maureen Gaffney to you, darling.<br />
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It struck me that this was a program that should be aired in France, should be on the syllabus in French schools even. Like the youth being wasted on the young, France is wasted on the French, who<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">râle their way through every day, spoilt brats who have always been handed everything on a plate, surrounded by beauty, they are never flippin happy!</span></span></div>
Dr Maureen informed us that our happiness can be explained by a pie chart ( the French LOVE pie charts too!). 50% of the state of your happiness is down to your genes, 10% is down to life circumstances ( Hmm, tell that to the homeless and hungry) and 40% is totally controlled by you!<br />
So how do you control your state of happiness?<br />
<br />
In a nutsehll:<br />
<br />
Be grateful<br />
Do kind things (without expecting anything in return)<br />
Smile and laugh aloud<br />
Do things you love<br />
Dress in bright colours<br />
Be mindful<br />
Rewire your brain to think positively<br />
<br />
Simples?<br />
Know any <u>really</u> happy French people?<br />
<br />
#100Happydays - who is up for the challenge? Quelqu'un?</div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com0France46.227638 2.213749000000007134.9722085 -18.440547999999993 57.4830675 22.868046000000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-15705907197637316212014-11-26T03:43:00.001-08:002014-11-26T04:57:04.935-08:00It's beginning to look alot like ....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astna Square - Clonakilty</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Flower Basket Clonakilty</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Options Boutique Clonakilty</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin O'Regan's Clonakilty<br />
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Keep it local in Clonakilty this year and support the fantastic local businesses that keep our town alive!</div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com0Clonakilty, Co. Cork, Ireland51.621506 -8.8886995000000326.099471499999996 -50.197293500000029 77.1435405 32.41989449999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-66078923075989069392014-11-07T02:00:00.000-08:002014-12-15T09:05:23.095-08:00Apartment for sale in France - SOLD!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LxhhV3_pvtw/VFyXtmnkWuI/AAAAAAAAEdE/mCWGgPjSPIE/s1600/perpignan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LxhhV3_pvtw/VFyXtmnkWuI/AAAAAAAAEdE/mCWGgPjSPIE/s1600/perpignan.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
My sister is selling this bijou apartment in the centre of Perpignan. Situated conveniently close to the train station, the apartment is a couple of minutes walk from the centre of Perpignan with all amenities, shops and restaurants on your doorstep.<br />
This one bedroomed apartment is situated on the 2nd floor of a small residence with just 5 apartments. Charges are low as there is no management company. The apartment is very bright - ideal for a small investment or your pied a terre in France.<br />
A steal at 39,000euros<br />
See link <a href="http://www.leboncoin.fr/ventes_immobilieres/720192327.htm?trid=70964">here</a> for more details or email suzorl@hotmail.com for more information</div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com0Perpignan, France42.6886591 2.894833199999993742.595302100000005 2.7334716999999937 42.7820161 3.0561946999999936tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-42991606434444283642014-11-05T05:11:00.000-08:002014-11-05T15:49:24.599-08:00One Year Down<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
Well, we survived it!<br />
We've been back over a year in Ireland now after moving back from France where we lived for over 11 years. We left our lovely home near Perpignan with our fabulous Mediterranean lifestyle, wonderful friends and cheap wine to come and live in a little town on the South West coast of damp little ol' Ireland.<br />
And we are loving it.<br />
Friend and foe eagerly await to hear how we are getting on .. what do we miss about France.. when are we going back .. do we need our heads examined..???<br />
The thing is Mr Getrealfrance and I were ready to desert, after sitting on the fence for a number of years, and both of us being Irish and on the same page did help matters immensely. We've finally come home.<br />
I do miss my lovely friends and family who are still there and of course, the divine wines - the weather has been pretty good since we moved back which has helped enormously and we are embracing all the things we missed about Ireland.<br />
It's all the little things that make life so much nicer here - we feel like we have won the lotto here in Clonakilty, so nice and friendly are the locals.<br />
However , I never intended this blog to be a French bashing forum, and France has been very good to me. What is with all the French bashing in the media these days..what is it with this love/hate fascination with France and her politics and lifestyle that the Western world love to negatively wax lyrical about?<br />
'France would be great, if it wasn't for the French' is a line that has been thrown at me more than a few times..quite the generalisation!<br />
It seems every time I open a newspaper, there is an article bashing the French. Everyone in Ireland has an opinion on French politics, on Hollande or Sarkozy - yet hardly anyone can tell me the name of the Spanish or Italian presidents .. both countries of similar size in nearby Europe. People who have never set foot in France love to mock their ways and snigger at their politics.<br />
In fairness, France is relatively resigned in her back lash - Imagine the furore if the French media started to relentlessly bash Ireland or the UK? Imagine a bunch of French expats in Ireland moaning and groaning about all things Irish and the way they do things here ( Look at any expat forum in France). Imagine the indignation and the outcry!<br />
Laissez La France tranquille!<br />
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Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com1Ireland53.41291 -8.243889999999964948.5642595 -18.571038499999965 58.261560499999995 2.083258500000035tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-74836773177737996012014-09-12T02:33:00.001-07:002014-11-05T03:12:32.415-08:00French for little francophones<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">WEST CORK</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">FRENCH CLASSES FOR FRENCH SPEAKING CHILDREN WITH FRENCH
NATIVE SPEAKERS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">CONTACT : KAREN O'REILLY : 087 - 9722498<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">(</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">L'atelier de francais-FLAM est une association a but non
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Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com0Clonakilty, Co. Cork, Ireland51.621944 -8.886389000000008326.0999095 -50.194983000000008 77.1439785 32.422204999999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-38625007016898458772013-11-19T05:25:00.000-08:002013-12-05T02:42:50.380-08:00Canned air for sale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Who says there is no such word in French for entrepreneur? Who says the French are stuck in the past and not open to new ideas?<br />
Well, one enterprising young man from Montcuq is certainly bucking the trend and has come up with a product that is flying off the shelves in France .. L'air de Montcuq (sounds like mon cul, or in other words, air from my ass) is collected in Montcuq, a small commune in the Lot department in the South of France.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Air from my backside</td></tr>
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Sold in tin cans , according to his website, L'air de montcuq is 100% organic, must be consumed immediately and tins must be kept closed to conserve freshness.<br />
What started off as a bit of a joke, young Antoine Deblay from Montcuq, launched his idea on kisskissbank and before too long had crowd funded enough euros to sell his tins of fart. Now, one can order his original product online on his website for the perfect gift for that special someone for Christmas. They are available for delivery only in France and cost only 5euros (€5.50 with postage) .. I think it is going to be <b>énorme!!!!!!</b><br />
Now, what didn't I think of that?<br />
See his website <a href="http://www.airdemontcuq.fr/">here</a></div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com846800 Montcuq, France44.33862 1.209646000000020644.247768 1.0482845000000207 44.429472 1.3710075000000206tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-18961071393571481602013-11-12T03:10:00.001-08:002013-11-12T03:10:28.413-08:00Falling in Love again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One thing I miss about France is, that in Ireland, I am completely invisible. In France, men openly appraise you - they look you up and down and comment on what they see 'beh, t'as maigri Kar-Hen!' they exclaim 'J'adore ton look aujourd'hui ma cherie' - very gay I know, but then it is hard in France to tell who is gay with the straight guys wearing white suits, tight capri style pants, pink scarves and more hair product than Jedward on a down day.<br />
In France, a man will meet you for the first time with a flirtatious 'Enchanté' ( Enchanted to meet you - don't you love it?) while their eyes sweep over you, hovering openly on any assets you may have on display. In Ireland, you may get a handshake but the Irish dude will barely look you in the eye. Once you have broken eye contact and are not looking at him, he may, if he is feeling cheeky, chance a sneaky glance at your bum.<br />
<a href="http://getrealfrance.blogspot.ie/2010/11/flirting-in-france.html">Flirting in France</a> is a national pastime and for the most part, harmless, adding a bit of excitement and frisson to one's day. Flirting in Ireland, as far as I can see, only happens after 15 pints when the lads get brave and the lassies get brazen...<br />
In the meantime, I'm busy falling in love again ... with Ireland, the only one seducing me these days! Vive L'Irlande!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road to Eyeries from Allihies</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colourful Skibbereen</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broad Strand</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon's Cove</td></tr>
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@<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My son's dream house 10 metres from the sea</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moyross </td></tr>
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Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com2Ireland53.41291 -8.243889999999964948.561612499999995 -18.571038499999965 58.2642075 2.083258500000035tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-33775305842865926152013-11-06T05:18:00.000-08:002013-11-06T05:18:28.987-08:00Going home - the craic version<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Nothing is sacred in Ireland!!!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5XysbewgsZ0" width="420"></iframe></div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com1Ireland53.41291 -8.243889999999964948.561612499999995 -18.571038499999965 58.2642075 2.083258500000035tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-66484245947047245452013-10-24T02:01:00.000-07:002013-10-24T02:28:26.806-07:00French Kiss or Irish Hug?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L1BpgQPNHUg/Umjf3R9jcII/AAAAAAAAC9c/YU705S2Z4Z0/s1600/Hug-Me,-I-m-Irish.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L1BpgQPNHUg/Umjf3R9jcII/AAAAAAAAC9c/YU705S2Z4Z0/s200/Hug-Me,-I-m-Irish.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from www.spreadshirt.com</td></tr>
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The rhythm of life is so different here in Ireland than in France and our body clocks are just about getting used to the new timetables as we potter along in our new life in Clonakilty.<br />
For one thing, we all miss "La Cantine" , that wonderful French luxury of a 4 course delicious 2 hour lunch at school. These days, Irish kids are given 20 minutes to wolf down their sambos and get out into the yard to play. The lunch box used to be a fairly simple affair in my day, now, the list of forbidden foods is the length of your arm :<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Crisps</li>
<li>Chocolate or anything containing chocolate</li>
<li>Fizzy drinks or fruit drinks</li>
<li>Cereal bars</li>
<li>Biscuits</li>
<li>Nuts and anything containing nuts</li>
<li>Sweets or anything sweet etc etc</li>
</ul>
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While I agree totally with the healthy eating concept, lunch box filling has become rather a challenge ( ideas welcome)<br />
The kids finish school at 2pm and 3pm ( how handy is that - NOT!) For my two who are used to finishing at 5pm in France and then launching into homework, as far as they are concerned, they have a half day every day! Whoopeee! That 's a lot of hours to entertain them though! After school activities take place every evening, not just on Wednesdays ( their day off school en France)<br />
For us adults living in a small town, social activities don't usually start until about 9pm or later! Dancing classes, toastmasters, music sessions, they all start after 9pm. In France, in sleepy suburbia, the shutters would be coming down and people bunkering down for the night. If you are going to the pub, you might start thinking about going out around 10pm or later. Huh? but that's way past our bedtime! I recently joined a running club and we start training at 8pm. As we finish at 9pm, there are others just starting!!<br />
Setting a fire and drying clothes in front of it and watching the weather like a hawk for signs of rain when the clothes are out .. these are things I haven't done in over 18 years!<br />
I still go to kiss people on each cheek when I meet them, resulting in usually head butting the recipient - It feels funny not to physically greet people you haven't seen in a few days ; a "howzitgoan?" will do. In place of the sterile French air kissing though, what you do have is the Irish hug. At a family gathering recently, it was a veritable hugathon as I got lost in Aunties' perfumed bosoms and long lost cousins' embraces.<br />
French kissing 'aint all it's cracked up to be anyway ;-)<br />
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Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-72065288255922124082013-10-15T01:27:00.000-07:002013-10-15T14:23:15.338-07:00Buying shoes in Ireland<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gHYCPNT4Mws/Ulz7oZZz2oI/AAAAAAAACxw/YUe1GwQYPoo/s1600/life-is-short-buy-the-damn-shoes-nicki-galper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gHYCPNT4Mws/Ulz7oZZz2oI/AAAAAAAACxw/YUe1GwQYPoo/s320/life-is-short-buy-the-damn-shoes-nicki-galper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When you move to a new country or indeed back to your home country after being a period of 16 years away as we did, you have certain expectations.<br />
In our case, we thought that the people in Ireland, our Mother land, would be friendlier, that bureaucracy would be easier, that socially,we would feel more at home and that we would live a more naturally rounded life with all that is going on in Clonakilty, our adopted new town.<br />
For the most part , that has been true and we are lapping up all Ireland has to offer and every time we leave the house, we are blown away by the friendliness and helpfulness of everybody.<br />
We do realise that nowhere is perfect ( Mr GetrealFrance's van was recently broken into while parked in Dublin with many of his tools swiped ), but for now , for us, it is ticking all our boxes.<br />
I could give you hundreds of examples since I've been home of the generosity of the Irish spirit, that, quite frankly, I have never encountered anywhere else...<br />
Take last week when I went shopping with my son for shoes in Clonakilty. We popped into the local shoe shop and tried on a few pairs that were not satisfactory ( Not fast enough Mummy!) for our little tearaway. With all the time in the world, the shop owner patiently played with Dylan, chatted to me and finally found the perfect pair of shoes for my budding Usain Bolt.<br />
As the shoes had just arrived in that day, the guy had no invoice for them and therefore was unable to give us a price<br />
"Sure just take the shoes away there girleen and drop in any day to pay me" says he<br />
Flabbergasted, I offered to pay him a deposit, leave some kind of a down payment but he was having none of it. My word was good.<br />
"I trust you. Take the shoes and call in any day next week and I'll have a price for you"<br />
Now, that's what I call retail therapy!<br />
Kevin O'Regans Shoes<br />
8 Pearce Street,<br />
Clonakilty<br />
(no affiliation!)<br />
Which reminds me, I must go in and pay for them!!!!!</div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com5Clonakilty, Co. Cork, Ireland51.621506 -8.8886995000000326.099471499999996 -50.197293500000029 77.1435405 32.41989449999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-87832225289070111272013-09-24T03:47:00.000-07:002013-09-25T03:14:31.147-07:00School's cool!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uniforms! Halleluiah!</td></tr>
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Well, we've been back in Ireland for over 6 weeks now after living in France for 11 years. How are you settling in, people keep asking us and what do you miss about France?<br />
We're settling in as if we never left the place, except for now, we have an appreciation for Ireland that we never would have had before, warts and all, we are loving all that this fair isle has to offer.<br />
While I am very aware that we are in the honeymoon period and everything is still new and shiny (yet all so familiar and comfortable ... like finding an old pair of comfy faded jeans at the back of your wardrobe that still fit after 11 years), It feels real and it feels like home.<br />
The welcome we have received in the town we have chosen has been extraordinary and the schools are second to none. Our main concern moving here was that the children would fit in ok in their new schools considering all their education had been in French up to this point. Aged 6 and 8, we felt the French education system was too rigid and strict with no room for personal development, art or expressing oneself.<br />
The amount of stuff on in their new schools here would make you dizzy ; there is an orchestra, orienteering, surfing, kayaking, drama, swimming, chess, dancing, singing, gardening, every kind of a sport you can imagine as well as gentlemanly awards and deportment classes.<br />
The mission statement of the school states, among other things that :<br />
<b>"Every pupil is encouraged to achieve his full potential – socially, personally and intellectually – in a happy, secure learning environment.</b><br />
<b>The discipline in our school encourages and fosters respect and self-esteem among the pupils.</b><br />
<b>We endeavour to develop supportive and open communication among pupils, teachers, parents, Board of Management and the community." </b><br />
Music to our ears - the children seem to be extremely happy and skip into school every day. Long may it continue.......10/10 for the schools in Ireland so far...<b style="color: white;">W</b></div>
Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-38898664059304822202013-09-20T04:43:00.000-07:002013-09-20T07:34:54.433-07:00I'm Sorry, Irish style<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, we're back in Ireland 6 weeks now and are love love lovin' it. This is partly helped by the fact that the weather has been glorious and also that we have probably picked the friendliest, liveliest and coolest town in Ireland, ie Clonakilty.<br />
More anon, once I get a chance...<br />
One little thing I had never really noticed before is that Irish people say sorry all the time. We are constantly apologising, like the Japanese bowing to everyone they meet , we say sorry at every encounter. The barman will say sorry when they run out of the guinness, people will assume responsibility for the weather and apologise for it, sorry for your troubles, sorry for having loads of groceries at the cashier in front of you, sorry for walking faster than you and passing you on the street, sorry for eating my bag of taytos too loudly, sorry sorry sorry. What are we all so sorry about? And if we're not saying sorry, we're saying thanks. Thanks a million, thanks thanks thanks.<br />
No, Thank You!<br />
Love it!<br />
<br />
Ardal O'Hanlon (AKA Dougle) talks about Irish people saying sorry :<br />
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Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com0Clonakilty, Co. Cork, Ireland51.621506 -8.8886995000000326.099471499999996 -50.197293500000029 77.1435405 32.41989449999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-21806069847050373072013-09-09T04:53:00.000-07:002013-09-09T04:53:22.450-07:00Get Real West Cork. I'm lovin' it<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our new local - Clonakilty</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Ireland</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">De Barras, famous music pub in Clonakilty</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our fave beach so far - Simon's Cove, view from smugglers cave</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome Home pressie. Wild Atlantic salmon</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Present from the neighbours</td></tr>
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Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-18108994121162038222013-09-04T04:54:00.002-07:002013-09-04T04:54:51.722-07:00The pull of Ireland<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="color: #660000;">Guest post :</span></b><br />
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Brigitte from Brittany has this to say about our decision to move back to Ireland ..... </div>
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I'm half-Irish/half-French and we moved to France in June 1996
with our three children for a new life in Brittany (where I was born).
It was really "taking a blind leap" in those days, and even more
difficult without internet to help you in those days.</div>
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Just
like you, we had sold our house in Co Dublin and there was no going
back. Even though I myself am half-French, it was a very difficult time
settling in France, even though I had the advantage of having lived
there up to the age of 17. But still, the bureaucracy drove us crazy
("Vous avez un dossier"?). Dossier dossier, the favourite word of the
French, right? You bring your car to the garage : "dossier". You go to
buy a pair of glasses : "dossier". I'm sure you'll agree with me.</div>
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But there's always the pull of Ireland. There's no place like Ireland.
Landing at Dublin airport, or seeing the coast approach if you're on
the ferry, how can one describe those emotions?! Ireland is not only a
country, it's a person, that's the way I feel. I'd never feel that for
France, even though my father was French and I was born there. </div>
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So I totally understand your decision to move back to Ireland and well
done on this hard decision which was not easy to take, I'm sure. You
will appreciate Ireland all the more now, after your life in France. You
will probably regret social security, and the wine at 2.49€ (!), and
the sun, but that's all, I'd say. Your children will be happier in the
Irish school system, which I now realise is not as stressful as the
French system. Am I glad that my youngest has finished school, having
just got her Bac, and that we don't have any more school-going children!
The ongoing stress of the school marks, of the tests, the huge emphasis
on maths, the long school days, the lack of personal development skills
such as drama, sports, in schools, all that was wearying and I only
realised that after moving to France. Although I've just mentioned the
negative aspects of the education system, it has to be said that we were
able to put our children in very good schools for next to nothing,
compared to the horrendous prices in Dublin, and they have been able to
have good university education for also next to nothing!</div>
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Having said all that, we don't regret having moved to France (free
education even up to third level, good health care), although we miss
our family and friends in Ireland and going back on a visit is a tonic
and the best medicine!</div>
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Having only now discovered your blog, I will read the other posts in it
and wish you all the best in your move back. In your case, both of you
are Irish, so I understand the pull back to Ireland. Your children are
just at the right age for that decision. Our own children in 1996 when
we moved to France were 7, 5 and 1, and we knew then, it was "now or
never". </div>
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All the very best, I hope you continue your blog, and also "bonne rentrée" in Ireland in September for your children!</div>
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Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1018422922616917049.post-69404012076495284642013-09-02T03:14:00.000-07:002013-09-04T05:11:05.019-07:00Coming Home Song<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Some of you may be old enough to remember this classic ESB ad that was released at Christmas time in 1988.<br />
Kind of sums up my feelings at the moment.<br />
I've come home. And it feels good.<br />
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Kaz O'Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503331616277132302noreply@blogger.com2