International Portrait

Jan and I invited some old friends for lunch. Five of us have worked together in various organisations and countries and the sixth person is the daughter of L and P. We are a fairly international group and I started listing various facts about this group of six people…
We were born in England, Sweden, Portugal and the USA.
We went to school in England, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, the USA, and Mozambique.
We went to university and/or college in England, Scotland, Sweden, Portugal, and the USA.
We have worked in England, Sweden, Portugal, Mozambique, the USA, Kenya, Malaysia, Libya, and Angola.
All of us are citizens of at least two countries and the youngest has a right to citizenship in at least three countries.
Five of us are retired (more-or-less). We live in Sweden or Portugal and the youngest in the group has just finished university (Scotland) and isn’t sure where she will live!
What started me thinking about this was reading a Guardian article this evening about how  negotiations are now hotting up between the EU and the UK about citizen’s rights. Various depressing offers are being made on both sides along the lines of “If you restrict our citizens’ rights like that, then we’ll restrict your citizens’ rights like this.”
Our lunch group is probably unusual for a bunch of people mostly born in the fifties, but young people today wouldn’t find a similar meeting in their peer group unusual.  I do hope we can quickly move past the restrictive time that I feel is coming to the UK and get back to free movement, not just within the EU but even in the wider world.
PS I paused for lunch from work on the Red House Roof (day 19) but it is going to plan as outlined yesterday.