Hi Tony

Lovely to hear from you. I'm now well again and yes have now returned to work as an LGO!!

I sincerely hope that both you and your family are well. All is fine across the border in Shropshire.

Very best wishes, Tony

[Jeffrey Simmons]

and I wondered what has this all got to do with our love and admiration for Mr Frank Sinatra and his work? Not a lot so it would seem. I thought that was the reason we are all here.

I have just read through the postings on this lively site and, quite frankly, that was not entirely a pleasant experience.

To all our US friends, please do not despair, the hostile writings of some of these people do not represent the feelings of the majority of centre right thinking Brits.

Mersey Rat, Marty said "our foreign policy seems to be dictated by Conservative hawks in Washington, when our future lies closer to Europe"

I am quite ashamed of some of the recent anti US mutterings by fellow Brits who take any chance to criticise the UK's special relationship with the US so needlessly in favour of some crazy pro-European fervour. Nothing could be more wrong or ungrateful than to verbally abuse our 'cousins' in the US in favour of a whole lot of complete foreigners in Europe, with whom most people in Britain have nothing in common whatsoever, except perhaps for a love of different foods and wines. Moreover, there never was a Europe, it was always just a bunch of different nations with totally different people of different cultures and languages and with different views on life and, in fact, if truth be known very few of these Countries even like each other.

Moreover, recent comments regarding such people as former Labour MP and party rebel, George Galloway need to be addressed. In another time, not too long ago, this man would have been tried for treason and then, quite deservedly in my view, hanged. I fail to see why such action was not taken in this instance as a lesson. It cannot be right to take a hostile stance against your own people in times of war, when servicemen are putting their lives on the line for their Country. Instead, it is a time when people from all political standpoints should come together as one nation. Tony Blair and his government may have been the biggest disappointment for this Country, for many decades, for so many reasons except one, which was that at least it stood up to do what was right against international terrorism and wicked dictatorships, something for which our children and their offspring and indeed the whole of humanity in years to come may be eternally grateful.

As for everything else, I grant you new Labour has been a total let down for the people of the UK over the past six years or so. Taxes have risen across the board astronomically and they are still rising at an unbelievable rate. They want to tax everyone from students to old age pensioners. Soon they will be taxing babies in the womb, if they are not already. However, there has been very little visible improvement to people lives or infrastructure which can be seen as a result. I just happened to go to a casualty department at a London Hospital recently and there were people sitting there waiting to be seen by a doctor for more than eight hours, can you believe it? This is after all those election promises to sort out the health service.

Stealth taxes bite on the hardworking people of the UK in this Country and no-one seems to raise any objection. For example, Stamp Duty on all property sales and lettings has risen more than three hundred per cent since Labour came to power. Where do you ever see any articles in papers condemning this? Where do you ever hear any opposition parties criticising and opposing the rises? The Goverment says it wants people to cut their borrowing. Yet conversely, most people/famlies borrowing to move home will now have to borrow a damn site more money just to pay the huge Stamp Duty bill and that debt could be with them, with interest compounding, for the next thirty years or more.

There is indeed much to gripe about, but is this the place to do it? Probably not.

Let's all instead get back to the music of Frank Sinatra and then we can go to the sunny side of the street, forget our troubles, wrap them in dreams and dream them away.

[Marty]

Thanks for joining in, we'll no doubt bump into each other in here.

Jeffrey, I respect your opinions, though of course will dis-agree with them wholeheartedly, one being pro-European does not make one automatically anti-American, and I dont really consider any postings in here (or elsewhere on the forum for that matter) as distinctly hostile to my American friends, I started this thread to talk about all things UK and to keep certain subjects out of the general forum, you're comments are welcomed and I hope we can enter into free debate in the spirit of free discussion that the website promotes, I mean can you imagine what a boring world we'd live in if everyone had the same beliefs and ideas.

respect

Marty

[Jeffrey Simmons]

Marty,

You bet - and I'll be delighted to stand my ground with you. Remember, whilst I may disagree with what you say, I will strongly defend your right to say it.

Please understand, however, that whilst it can be fun to get together on line and to discuss politics etc and other issues close to home openly over the internet, the main purpose for my coming to this site is to express and share with other members my love and admiration for Frank Sinatra, the man and his music, his family and especially Nancy, who so generously gives her time to operate this site for the benefit of people like me, who love it as I do.

JSS

[Marty]

<<Please understand, however, that whilst it can be fun to get together on line and to discuss politics etc and other issues close to home openly over the internet, the main purpose for my coming to this site is to express and share with other members my love and admiration for Frank Sinatra, the man and his music, his family and especially Nancy, who so generously gives her time to operate this site for the benefit of people like me, who love it as I do.>>

couldn't agree more Jeffrey

and I hope we can get together and discuss and express the life & work of The Voice soon

cheers mate

Marty

[Jeffrey Simmons]

"I hope we can get together and discuss and express the life & work of The Voice soon"
cheers mate
Marty


Now you're talking Marty! - and I would be absolutely delighted.

And the season's greetings to you and everyone.

Jeffrey

[Adam]

This section of the forum is setup for internation chit-chat.

There are lots of other sections to discuss FS, so if you intend to do that (as i know you have befoer Jeffrey, and im not getting at you) why post here?

Thats why these far too many sections were created.

Adam

[Marty]

Bumped to save it from the archive

[Tony]

So it`s on, the EU referendum that is, Blair`s dream may return to haunt him, the CBI says Yes the British people may well say No, it`s a simple choice or do you think different ?.......

[Marty]

Closer ties are inevitable Tony, it has to be, the CBI wants it that way, in fact it's one of the few things that both the bosses union & the TUC agree on, our future has to be in Europe, bring the borders down, a United States of Europe, a common constitution, why not? There will always be scare-mongering by the anti Europeans, but closer ties have not took away the identity of the French, The Germans, The Irish or Benelux countries. Anyway i'm fed up of swapping pounds for euros all the time

I just learned recently that my great grandmother was from England (Straight) and her husband was from Scotland (McManus). Does this mean I
have the right to call myself British?

[Marty]

Jolly Good Show, Phil old bean, pour yourself a nice cup of rosie lee, put up your plates of meat, we'll set the joanna up down the rub a dub and and give you a good old fashioned welcome home.

Cool..

[Marty]

I'll get on to my colleagues in the home office at once Phil and we'll have you a dual nationality before you can say "The British Are Coming", unless you want to seek asylum first of course

No thanks, your taxes are too high..

[Marty]

Elton John & Mick Jagger manage not to pay any taxes here and get knighted for it.....imagine....arise Sir Phil Sands

The super rich here don't pay taxes either, thats the point of having money..

[Tony]

A funny thing happened today, whilst having a few noggin`s with a some friends here in Wales, one `wag`commented " hey Tony how come your now European "

This got me thinking, hey I`m a Yorkshireman, gods chosen race

But he was correct we the English that is are now becoming extinct, Europe is the thing.....or is it ?

[Marty]

and Europe is at the polls this week.

that reminds me I've ballot papers to spoil.........

[Marty]

A poster campaign urging people not to eat smelly foods on London's overcrowded and overheated underground system has sparked a diplomatic incident with Italy.

The poster showing an overweight and Mediterranean-looking man lounging in an underground train carriage surrounded by hams, salamis and strings of garlic triggered a torrent of letters from angry Italians and even the Italian ambassador.
"We considered this poster to be very offensive to the Italian image, Italian products and the Italian company that is clearly identified," the Italian Embassy's economic counsellor Guido Cerboni told newspapers "It is a caricature of Italians."
Under the avalanche of Italian outrage London Underground has apologised and agreed to withdraw the poster.
"We apologise for any offence this has caused the Italian community. It was meant to be a light-hearted attempt to stop travellers eating smelly food," a spokeswoman told Reuters.
Cerboni said the embassy now considered the incident closed, but he expected the company whose label is visible in the poster to sue. "It has clearly suffered damage," he said.