January 2020
Friday 31st January 2020
For the past three and half years the media have talked endlessly about it. It was postponed several times. Two Prime Ministers resigned and a general election was called because of it. But now that it is nearly upon us the flood of media coverage has turned into a trickle.
The it that I’m talking about is, of course, Brexit.
I remember waking up on the morning of 24th June 2016 and tuning in to the radio and hearing that in the previous day’s referendum the British electorate had voted, by a small majority, to leave the EU. Someone in our family wrote on Facebook that day “embarrassed to be British”. (That person subsequently responded by taking out citizenship of the Republic of Ireland).
But that was only the beginning of the embarrassment. Since then we have seen our senior politicians engaging in bitter in-fighting instead of doing clear-headed planning. We have come to realise that those who so effectively campaigned for ‘leave’ didn’t really have much idea what ‘leaving’ meant. We have seen issues arise (for example the issue of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) which were not even mentioned to the electorate before they took the vote. We’ve seen the government going cap-in-hand to the European leadership begging for special deals and extensions. And our parliamentary system has been seen by the world to be quaint but ineffective.
And now we are standing at the threshold of Brexit and we still really don’t know what, if anything, will happen tomorrow.
The it that I’m talking about is, of course, Brexit.
I remember waking up on the morning of 24th June 2016 and tuning in to the radio and hearing that in the previous day’s referendum the British electorate had voted, by a small majority, to leave the EU. Someone in our family wrote on Facebook that day “embarrassed to be British”. (That person subsequently responded by taking out citizenship of the Republic of Ireland).
But that was only the beginning of the embarrassment. Since then we have seen our senior politicians engaging in bitter in-fighting instead of doing clear-headed planning. We have come to realise that those who so effectively campaigned for ‘leave’ didn’t really have much idea what ‘leaving’ meant. We have seen issues arise (for example the issue of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) which were not even mentioned to the electorate before they took the vote. We’ve seen the government going cap-in-hand to the European leadership begging for special deals and extensions. And our parliamentary system has been seen by the world to be quaint but ineffective.
And now we are standing at the threshold of Brexit and we still really don’t know what, if anything, will happen tomorrow.
I’m not going to start speculating about tomorrow; tomorrow will be here soon enough. But for the moment I’m going to post a picture of the cover of my passport. It will remain valid of course, but still, by this time tomorrow the bit at the top about the European Union will have become obsolete.
Hmm, I wonder if they have already got a design for the post-Brexit passport without mention of the European Union and some other colour than that Bordeaux red. That’s just one question of many.
And so it̀’s nearly time to say our fond farewells:
Hmm, I wonder if they have already got a design for the post-Brexit passport without mention of the European Union and some other colour than that Bordeaux red. That’s just one question of many.
And so it̀’s nearly time to say our fond farewells:
See you, EU!
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Look back to 1665: the Plague Year
Contact
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Here are my details:
Here are my details:
Mobile
078 609 56 51
+41 78 609 56 51
+41 78 609 56 51
Location
Tödistrasse 9, 8634 Hombrechtikon
(New address from 24th March 2018)
(New address from 24th March 2018)
If you are travelling from Rüti / Wolfhausen, drive past the Hombrechtikon place-name sign for about 300 metres and turn right into Tödistrasse, just before the Tobel bus stop.
Approaching from Hombrechtikon
If you are approaching from the centre of Hombrechtikon, follow the signs to Rüti. At the Tobel junction (the Methodist Church is on the left) turn left. Tödistrasse is the next turning on the left, just past the Tobel bus stop.
The entrance to our new flat is about 100 metres from the junction with Rütistrasse, on the left-hand side of the road.
The house number is number 9 and we are on the first floor.
There are a few visitor’s parking bays a short distance beyond the entrance, on the left.
There are a few visitor’s parking bays a short distance beyond the entrance, on the left.
Arriving by bus
If you arrive by bus from Bubikon, get off the bus at Tobel and follow Tödiweg until you get to Tödistrasse. Our house is on the right.