EUROPE POST WORLD WAR 2

EUROPE POST WORLD WAR 2

EUROPE POST WORLD WAR 2

Born in Norfolk in ninetten thirty three; I was the eldest son of a fruitgrower and farmer whowas past the mobilization age of recruitment for the war. Apart from antipathy towards Germans I had no appreciation of what Europe was really like.

My first visit to Europe was in nineteen fourty eight .as a schoolboy aged fifteen on a school trip to Switzerland.I cannot recall where we all gathered but I can remember our departure was on a ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe. From Dieppe we Travelled to Gare du Nord Paris by second class.rail on seats resembling park benches. Changing trains in Paris, journeyed overnight to Geneva with similar seating.

Gazing out of the carriage window I saw what I took to be a vast bank of cloud but was of course my first glimpse of the alps. Our first week was spent in a pension in the delightful mountain village of Champery which we travelled to by bus.The second week we were accomodated in the residential part of a boarding school in Montreux on Lake Geneva.The holiday was euphoric in every detail; such a change from ration book England and we indulged in the plentiful supply of dairy foods and confectionery.

Thus my passion for Europe was ignited and from that day on I wanted to see more which subsequently I did culminating in me residing permanently in Spain as an old age pensioner.

The realism of easy access was realized by a referendum that was held before Englands' initial application to join the EU in nineteen sixty three vetoed by French president Charles De Gaulle Further application in nineteen sixty seven met the same fate and it was not until nineteen seventy three that England was admitted under the premiership of Edward Heath after prolonged negotiation.The message he gave to the nation and I am sure wasaccepted was that the future was a free trade area having been created to the benefit of all the western europe economies.The prospect curried favour with the nation and we were in.

Since that period Europe has deteriorated in my opinion; progressing from a free trade area to an autocratic organization imposing all manner of rules and restrictions and admitting too many eastern european countries firstly into membership and then into the monetary union.These eastern european economies were nowhere near prosperous to enjoy the benefits as present circumstances have shown.

The euro is in crisis after the world recession following the collapse of the Icelandic economy, the Grecian,the Irish and more than likely the Portugese,Spanish and Italian.Because of the numerate economies tied to the euro the currency cannot be disestablished. The prospect for the next decade appears to be very bleak.

I am living on the Costa Blana in a small village cum town San Miguel De Salinas. It is populated within it's terminus of many European expatriates in some five connurbations detached from the centre.The Spanish populace are enduring real hardship resultant from an unemployed twenty percent of it's residents.

To my knowledge there are fourty families who are not in receipt of any benefits from the regional or national government agencies.This is where much of the European Union is now at.I cannot imagine the social and economical impact has any variance in the more recentmember states.

We expats are surviving reasonably comfortably but not in a position to help these families economically. What we are doing is leaving dry goods at drop off points in the village for the neediest families.

This is the real situation now in the part of Europe in which I reside.It seems to me that the Europe I love is coming apart at the seams.

I am glad in view of these circumstances that the United Kingdom remained independant with sterling

Nevertheless the above scenario paints a very depressing picture for the future..

POST COMMENT

Bavaria Film Studio: An Insightful Look Into The Heart Of European Cinema European All in a single Washer Dryers Newlands Trains Volunteers For European Conservation Action (eucan) The Best Time To Visit Europe Moment of 2010 - Europe regain the Ryder Cup The Best Places to Live In Europe Your European Emigration Checklist Peak Months for Visiting Europe Stuck In Europe- Specialist Driving Advice Powered Stacker Is A Smart Solution For European Material Handling The Easiest Way To Grab A Cheap Ticket To Europe How to Avoid Speeding Tickets in Europe Decisive European Light "won" the key is in the details off