The Brit Chat -

[Chris]

You should give me a holler next time you are in the parish.

I would have but I had meetings all day, next time I am there and have some free time I will shout.

[Manny]

So Mrs Manny passed her "life in the UK" test today; first shot. 

[Chris]

So Mrs Manny passed her "life in the UK" test today; first shot. 

Well done Olya, did she comment on how hard it was or the type of questions at all?

[mobyone]

So Mrs Manny passed her "life in the UK" test today; first shot. 

Did she answer the Q's how she felt or was she pc ?   Congrats to your good lady.. Our racist tests mean foreign nationals know a HECK of a lot more about our country than most Brits..

[Olga_Mouse]

So Mrs Manny passed her "life in the UK" test today; first shot. 

Manny, you were sure that a smart lady that Olya undoubtedly is can pass that test, right? 

Congratulations in case she'll read it     

[Manny]

She has a CD - available in the buy & sell room tomorrow -  which she has been studying with like crazy for about a month or more. It has "tests" on it. I was scraping through some of them barely over pass rate (and failing some too) and last night she got six straight 100%'s on it. (Which I said was just plain swotty.)

When you take it, they don't tell you your pass percentage, only that you passed.

Moby - she knows already that we must be carey sharey and love the chornays here like they were our kin. 

After learning all about the [false government propoganda] numbers of Muslims in the UK and race crime and all other kinds of PC left wing crap that nobody gives a hoot about  she didn't get one question at all on racial issues in the test. 

She did say that they had reworded some of the questions from what she learned and some of them were like "trick" questions designed to fool the linguistically challenged.

Olga - yes I knew she would pass I guess, and it would be only be £34 for a retest if she had failed anyway. But its still pretty cool, some of the questions are really stupid - crap that nobody even needs (or wants) to know. Next month we have to unload £750 to grasping Gordon for her ILR visa (like a green card) and in about 9 months its UK Passport time.

She is going to pen a little something in Russian about it for the forum so other women can read it and have a clue about what to expect. 

[bobjf]

congrats mrs manny
your test sounds similar to our moronic test which i seriously doubt many aussies could pass without studying 1st
ours do give percentage on pass or not,the test is free but you do have to pay your citizenship application fee at same time if you pass
if you fail,test is rebooked but the wait can be up to 3 months

[Donhollio]

  Only £34 for a retest!    I hope they don't charge in Canada for the test if is one.
 
£750 for a ILR visa Sheesh do they give ya a free pen ?  Our PM cut that similar charge to $350, so like £180.
The more I have come to know about visas ,I really think Canada has it pretty good. Of course dropping the silly visa requirment would be asking too much.

 Tell her Bunghollio gives her a 

[sparky114]

Congratulations Olya 

If I keep failing this test like I am currently doing does that mean I get kicked out of the UK.................Please


Why is there no emotion for begging 


Mark

[meinuk]

Congratulations to your wife, Manny. I take the text next month so keep fingers crossed for me please.

I think I will pass because I have read their silly book over and over! It's not hard, you just have to memorize an awful lot of mostly stupid answers. Many questions are really very silly, such as:

Civil servants can on occasion be pushed into open support for party policies they think to be either impractical or incompatible with other policies - True or False?

What percentage of the UK population is Jewish?
0.8%
0.7%
0.6%
0.5%

What percentage of the UK's population is white?
88%
92%
90%
98%

What discount on television licence is offered to blind people?
100%
75%
50%
25%

I really LIKE that one!


These should test you Englishmen!

The deposit required for candidates standing as a Member of the European Parliament is -
£5000
£25,000
£500
None

How many young people go onto higher education?
1 in 3
1 in 5
1 in 10

In 2001 what was the percentage of Chinese descent?
0.1%
0.3%
0.4%
0.6%

What is the current minimum wage for workers aged between 18 and 21?
£3.85 per hour
£4.10 per hour
£4.45 per hour
£5.35 per hour

What percentage of local authority expenditure is funded through the collection of council tax?
15%
20%
25%
30%

What percentage of the population in England is estimated to regularly attend church?
Between 8% and 10%
Between 8% and 11%
Between 8% and 12%

The Welsh assembly can pass legislation on anything not specifically reserved for Westminster
True
False

Not so easy, are they?
  :

This is one of my favourites:

What are the key features of the civil service?

Political partisanship and efficiency
Political neutrality and professionalism
Independence and efficiency
Corruption and favouritism

 :

[mobyone]

I think I will pass because I have read their silly book over and over! It's not hard, you just have to memorize an awful lot of mostly stupid answers. Many questions are really very silly

Thanks for posting these examples.. I'm now more certain than ever that these tests are merely an obstacle to BC ..  *I* would fail these tests, without some practice and I fail to se how this knowledge is beneficial to the applicant.

MADNESS

[Chris]

What are the key features of the civil service?

Political partisanship and efficiency
Political neutrality and professionalism
Independence and efficiency
Corruption and favouritism

None of the above: their main aim is to waste as  much money as they can, employ two people to do one mans job and create that much red tape that it keeps as many as possible of them in a JOB!  :

[Chris]

I think I will pass because I have read their silly book over and over! It's not hard, you just have to memorize an awful lot of mostly stupid answers. Many questions are really very silly

Thanks for posting these examples.. I'm now more certain than ever that these tests are merely an obstacle to BC ..  *I* would fail these tests, without some practice and I fail to se how this knowledge is beneficial to the applicant.

MADNESS

Same here too Mark, what a load of b*&$£%+s 

[meinuk]

What are the key features of the civil service?
Political partisanship and efficiency
Political neutrality and professionalism
Independence and efficiency
Corruption and favouritism

None of the above: their main aim is to waste as  much money as they can, employ two people to do one mans job and create that much red tape that it keeps as many as possible of them in a JOB!  :

Hubby's answer is unprintable!
 

You are both so right. But however silly test is, girls have to pass it to stay here. 
 

Have either of you watched 'Yes Minister' and 'Yes Prime Minister?' A friend of ours loaned us DVDs - it is so funny!! Is it true that this series was Mrs Thatcher's favourite? I can see why it might be!
 

[Manny]

I love both of them. I referenced Sir Humphrey in an article I wrote recently in fact. 

[bobjf]

just watching the game ,england/nz,looking very much like england as snatched defeat from the jaws of victory again
3m to go 32/24 england looked like winners in the 1st half  & then frew it away with some stupid penalties
err kiwis just scored again, missed the conversion 36/24
all over ,your guys lost the plot

Nevermind Bob  the Union guys start their Winter campaign this afto, under new leadership, Martin Johnson, lets see and hope  they can do a lot better as your lot are up next 

hmmmmmmmmm i guess not lol 28/14 ahh 28 not the poms 

[Donhollio]

Hey can any of your Brit's post a link to the reality site/s ? I'm watching that UK show ' Relocation Relocation, and today there in Manchester.  Here in Canada it's www.mls.ca   I'd like to cruise around UK and see what kind of price a home equal to mine would cost.

Thanks   

[mobyone]

Hey can any of your Brit's post a link to the reality site/s ? I'm watching that UK show ' Relocation Relocation, and today there in Manchester.  Here in Canada it's www.mls.ca   I'd like to cruise around UK and see what kind of price a home equal to mine would cost.

Thanks   

Any TV show made six months ago or less was talking about prices that will be 20-25 % more than now, and THAT's if the seller can sell at all !

re access: I can offer you a VPN that will give you access to all UK channels...*special* reduction for "snowed in colonial cousins"

[mobyone]

Have either of you watched 'Yes Minister' and 'Yes Prime Minister?' A friend of ours loaned us DVDs - it is so funny!! Is it true that this series was Mrs Thatcher's favourite? I can see why it might be!
 

Ah...sighs.. Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne .. GREAT actors...

some great quotes from the show...

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yes,_Minister 

CLASSIC UK tv..

[meinuk]

Hey can any of your Brit's post a link to the reality site/s ?

The biggest one is RIGHTMOVE. Almost all UK Estate agencies list their properties on this site.

You can search for property anywhere in the UK. But prices are generally 15 - 20% lower for actual house sales because sellers are still very greedy! Record of prices houses actually sold for can be found on UK Land registry site here:
Land Registry

So if you find property on Rightmove that you're interested in you can check on Land Registry site what similar properties in same area actually sold for in past months.

In general I think house prices are about double what they are in US and Canada. We live in a 3 bedroom detached house which we bought for £225,000 two years ago. Same type of house is now worth about £200,000. 

[mobyone]

You can search for property anywhere in the UK. But prices are generally 15 - 20% lower for actual house sales because sellers are still very greedy! Record of prices houses actually sold for can be found on UK Land registry site here:
Land Registry

So if you find property on Rightmove that you're interested in you can check on Land Registry site what similar properties in same area actually sold for in past months.

In general I think house prices are about double what they are in US and Canada. We live in a 3 bedroom detached house which we bought for £225,000 two years ago. Same type of house is now worth about £200,000. 

GOOD links, "me" and if Don checks he'll find comparing Alderley Edge, Prestbury, Wilmslow, and Didsbury will give VERY different prices than Oldham, Aston, Rochdale Wythenshaw or Longsight  ...

There are places in the UK that would be much cheaper than Toronto... but would you want to live there...?

With the tumbling GBP and tumbling house prices ... ( thanks Mr Brown for your "prudence")  I very much doubt the UK is as expensive as it might have looked to N.Americans..

Right now, one's house is worth what someone will pay for it...

[mobyone]

Just saw this topic, another congratulation to you both Froid. 

Tot siens, sorry Markje, and how was the trip.. and the Restaurant ?

[Manny]

Just saw this topic, another congratulation to you both Froid. 

Tot siens, sorry Markje, and how was the trip.. and the Restaurant ?

We got back today. Excellent few days away. Yeah we went Greek when we met Markje, it was quite nice actually, despite my reservations about Greeks generally. 

[Donhollio]

Thanks for the links     I will continue looking though its not to purchase,it's just to kill the curiosity.

[mobyone]

We got back today. Excellent few days away. Yeah we went Greek when we met Markje, it was quite nice actually, despite my reservations about Greeks generally. 

Well Done, Markje, for broadening your horizons.. !

One thing I miss about CY was the wide range of cuisine on offer and how competitive the restaurant where - esp in the Winter without tourists.. Eastern Med food - Greek, Cypriot , Turkish, Lebanese, SYRIAN.... is actually very tasty and healthy


Welcome Home.. no problems with passport control. then ? !