“Verlass Paris am Morgen mit dem T.E.E.”

"Leave Paris in the morning, T.E.E.", a line from Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express', which was almost entirely appropriate to us, this morning, except we were on the Eurostar and not the TEE.

I'm not quite sure exactly when I fell in love with the idea of Europe but it was in my early teens. Perhaps it was something to do with Kraftwerk, but also 'Vienna' period Ultravox, Japan (the band), OMD, and, particularly, the Simple Minds' album 'Empires and Dance'. There seemed something inherently cool in being European, even if that did appear to manifest itself more obviously on the continent. 

And, over the years, that romantic ideal has been replaced by the reality and it's only become better and better. I've loved every trip the Minx and I have taken across the channel: Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and now France. The European countries are the relatives I love to be with, like older, cooler cousins. I couldn't be more sad that we are leaving the EU and turning our back on Europe. Leaving this morning was very poignant.

In the paper, today, an article highlighted how "Brexit has also proved a salutary lesson, with almost all the bloc’s nationalist and Eurosceptic parties dropping promises to follow the UK’s example." Even the majority of people in the UK don't want it. And yet still we are leaving.

To me, it's a tragedy and one that I hope the next generation will put right. 

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No scales
Reading: 'The Sound Of Tomorrow' by Mark Brend