Unique en France. Dès 2009, un jeune Anglais francophile, informaticien originaire de Liverpool, à la plume alerte se pose en Creuse pour créer avec sa femme un mensuel d’informations locales gratuit, en anglais. The Bugle (la trompe) trouve inévitablement sa place porté par son sourire charmeur et la communauté anglaise, bien implanté en Limousin jusqu’à la Dordogne. Dans l’éditorial de l’édition de juillet** Steve Martindale (photo) explique ouvertement pourquoi il y a toujours eu plus à gagner de l’Europe qu’à perdre et , stupéfait par le vote de ses compatriotes, préfére exposer pourquoi l’important cet été est de se pointer à Aubusson. Là où les boutiques qu’on aime sont toujours là, avec l’ouverture du nouveau Musée de la Cité Internationale d’Aubusson*** dimanche 10 juillet , dont la façade en forme de métier à tisser multicolore a été dessinée par Margaret Gray. Bienvenue en Nouvelle Aquitaine et sur The Bugle in english !
EDITORIAL “I stayed up most of the night of 23rd June to listen to the results coming in. As the night progressed, my emotions went from anticipation, to surprise, concern, shock and then fear. Later that day, shame would be added to the mix.
The referendum debate was a frustrating one, with misleading statements and outright lies causing a toxic atmosphere. Both sides resorted to fear tactics and the facts were quickly discarded. As it turns out, the referendum was not actually about the pros and cons of the European Union. The ballot paper should instead have carried the question, “Are you happy with the current government?” as this is the question that the vast majority of people appeared to be answering.
As reporters travelled around the country gathering reactions, the common refrain of those who voted Leave was “It’s always been them and us”, “Westminster doesn’t understand what life is like round here”, “It’s just a posh boys club”. I could have accepted a Leave vote if it had been made on the basis of the pros and cons of the European Union, but I have absolutely come to the opinion that vast swathes of the country simply wanted to give the government a black eye. What has happened, in my opinion, is that the UK has now done the very definition of cutting off its nose to spite its face. And it’s a one-way ticket.
Michael Heseltine summed it up for me when he said he wasn’t a fan of referenda as whilst you get an answer, it is to a different question, adding, “We know what people were voting against, but we don’t know what they were voting for”.
Is the EU a perfect system? Absolutely not, far from it! Did the positives outweigh the negatives? In my opinion, yes. And before you say it, I am 100% certain I would have voted Remain if I had lived all my life in the UK. It is not a case of personal interest.
The fear and anger turned to shame when the instances of bigotry and racism began. With a campaign that revolved so centrally around the thorny issue of immigration, it was always going to happen. I fear for what my country has become when a Muslim campaigning for Remain in Wales is told on Twitter to “pack your bags and go home”. When it was pointed out to the troll that the lady in question was a British citizen born in Caerphilly, the reply came “If a pig is born in a stable, it doesn’t mean it’s a horse”. Unacceptable, shameful and shocking.
I hope that the Leave vote does not prove to be a mandate for racism in the UK. I hope even more that there is a backlash to the racism and xenophobia and Britain will do some soul searching in the coming months and years, although I suspect this may be wishful thinking.
As the week has progressed, I have became increasingly angry at David Cameron and the Conservatives for calling the referendum in the first place. It was initially promised by Cameron as an attempt to quash a minor backbench rebellion ahead of a general election campaign… and here we are 3 years later.
So I have decided to stop worrying and get on with life. I (literally) had no say in my country leaving the EU (I fell foul of the 15-year rule) and right now I do not like what the country of my birth looks like. But hey, I don’t live in the UK, I live in France and there are loads of great things in my life. Let the politicians dismantle Europe, it’ll probably take decades. I am going to concentrate on the here and now.
Summer is ahead of us and there are great things going on all over the region. If you haven’t ever been to Aubusson, there’s never been a better time (see page 5). I have always liked Aubusson, it is a town that has managed to buck the trend and still has an “old fashioned” high street with plenty of independent stores, despite the economic downturn. After reading Neil’s piece, I think it is definitely time for another visit. If the world is indeed going to hell in a handcart, then I’m going to go down smiling!! “
Steve MARTINDALE
Editor
** The Bugle, édité en Creuse ( Limousin , Nouvelle Aquitaine)
25.000 exemplaires 350 points de distribution dans le Limousin, en Dordogne mais aussi à La Châtre et Argenton-sur-Creuse:
http://www.thebugle.eu/back_issues/jul_2016.pdf
*** Musée de la Cité Internationale d’Aubusson:
www.cite-tapisserie.fr
PRIX IMMOBILIER 2011: Rien ne va plus, excepté en Auvergne et Limousin !
https://www.domoclick.com/rendement-immo-fiscalite/prix-immobilier-rien-ne-va-plus-excepte-en-auvergne-et-limousin/
Les jeunes Français seraient-ils des amoureux trahis par les Britanniques ?
Les résultats du sondage OpinionWay pour 20 Minutes sur la perception des 18-30 ans vis-à-vis du Brexit pourraient le laisser penser : 59 % des personnes sondées se sont dites, via des smileys, « tristes », voire « très tristes » de la sortie du Royaume-Uni de l’Union européenne (UE).
