Brexit and bonfires – how will you be celebrating the night of San Juan?

Brexit and bonfires – how will you be celebrating the night of San Juan?

Jun 23, 2017 | News

A guide to the festivities for the shortest night of the year, including a novel idea for Spain’s British expats…

Artists complete finishing touches to their figures.

Today, Friday June 23, brings the night of San Juan, a fiesta associated with fire, water, and – this is Spain, after all – food. Considered to be the Christian version of the summer solstice celebration in the northern hemisphere, the fiesta is celebrated at midnight on June 23, when, according to the Bible, San Juan Bautista – or John the Baptist – was born. His father instructed a fire to be lit to announce his birth, and that tradition is still respected in many areas of Spain – above all those with Celtic traditions, such as Asturias, but also on the Mediterranean coast, with Alicante perhaps the most famous.

This year, however, San Juan has taken on a new meaning for the British community in Spain. Today is the first anniversary of the Brexit vote, a referendum held in the United Kingdom to decide whether the country should leave the European Union. Much to the dismay of many of those Britons currently living in Europe, the “yes” vote won, and since then expatriate groups have sprung up across Spain in a bid to campaign against Brexit and to fight for the rights of Britons in their adopted country once the UK leaves the EU.

For those looking for where best to celebrate San Juan, here’s a cross-country guide:

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Bremain in Spain Marks the Anniversary of Brexit Referendum

Bremain in Spain Marks the Anniversary of Brexit Referendum

Jun 23, 2017 | Campaigns & Events, News

British citizens in Spain a year on from this life-changing event ….

Update 24th June:

Bremain San Juan Gallery
The traditional Spanish festival of ‘San Juan’, celebrated annually on June 23, is a joyous event with colourful town fiestas taking place to celebrate the summer solstice. However, the significance of this date changed for British citizens in Spain on the night of June 23, 2016 – perhaps forever – when the result of the Brexit referendum threw the lives of hundreds of thousands into confusion and chaos.

So how do Members of Bremain in Spain, a group campaigning for the rights of British citizens in Spain, feel about the anniversary of San Juan and what are they doing to observe it?

Sue Wilson, Chair of Bremain in Spain, says: “San Juan has always been one of my favourite Spanish fiestas – a celebration of summer, renewal and of hope. This year, it will be tinged with sadness and anger at the nonsense that is Brexit but also with determination that we must never give up this fight. The fiestas seemed like a fitting anniversary for that fateful day when my world changed forever, and an opportunity to dispose of unwanted baggage, as is the San Juan custom.”

She adds: “Many people throughout the UK and Europe will be commemorating June 23 in their own way. For us, it’s an opportunity to demonstrate that we’re not playing golf, bowls or bridge, or whiling away hours in English bars festooned with Union Jacks. Instead, we’ll be celebrating with the Spanish, as we do every year, and enjoying being treated like family by our wonderful neighbours. I only hope that EU citizens in the UK have as much love and support surrounding them.”

 

Jo Chipchase, a Bremain in Spain member from Granada, said: “The fiesta of San Juan on June 23 is usually my favourite day of the whole year. However, in 2016, it was the worst day of the year. I returned home from the town fiesta to view the referendum results on the internet. I sat up all night and became increasingly despondent. I won’t forget that night. This year, I will be taking photos of the traditional festival in our town and will be surrounded by Spanish people. I remain hopeful that the UK electorate will realise that Brexit isn’t a good idea.”

Valerie Chaplin, a Bremain member from La Rabita, Granada, echoes these sentiments: “We are still living in the same nightmare. On San Juan 2016 I watched TV after returning from celebrating the fiesta and felt sick as the results emerged. This year we are joining together with our Spanish and British friends to celebrate San Juan, with heavy hearts, still having no clue to what our future holds even though the negotiations have started.”
Bremain member, Linda Rae, concurs: “I feel angry and sad for all those people who voted to Leave and were lied to, because they will not get the opportunity to make it right. This year, I will celebrate this San Juan with the inclusive people of Spain.”   Mike Zollo adds: “I am angry and feel that I am losing something dear to my heart that was the rationale for my 40-plus years of teaching European languages and culture. The Referendum result is still one of the first things on my mind when I wake up in the morning, and which has left me with a permanent feeling of malaise and injustice.”   Jane Machin concludes: “I wish the press would stop saying that the Remainers are reconciled to Brexit. We are not. All the polls I’ve seen have pointed the other way! It’s a total mess in my opinion.”
From the evening of June 23, Bremain in Spain members will upload photos of how they are enjoying a traditional San Juan with Spanish friends: ie the EU citizens with whom they share their lives and whom have been kind enough to make British residents feel welcome. Photos of the Referendum anniversary activities will appear on our San Juan Gallery and alwo our Press Dispensary Media Library.

Update 24th June:

Bremain San Juan Gallery
British expats in a post-#Brexit EU: What now?

British expats in a post-#Brexit EU: What now?

Jun 21, 2017 | Articles, News

The UK has voted to leave the EU and Brexit talks have begun. But what about the fate of British expats in Europe. What will happen to them? What are the current plans for them, asks Martin Banks?

Those among the estimated 1.8 million expat Britons who have lived on mainland Europe for 15 years or more were denied a vote in the UK general election on 8 June.

But, if Britons living in the EU were angry about not voting in the election (or the EU referendum last year that will take the UK out of the EU), can you imagine how they feel about possibly being denied their democratic rights once again?

That is precisely what many of the British expats in Belgium and throughout Europe fear when the UK finally leaves.

One of the most important yet most difficult aspects of Brexit will be sorting out what happens to UK citizens in other EU states (as well as EU citizens from other member states currently in the UK).

We’ve known for a while that citizens’ status is going to be one of the first topics tackled in the upcoming negotiations. But what is not known yet is just how complex such a process will be.

Around three million EU citizens, many of them Poles, currently live in the UK. They have to go through a lengthy 85-page application process in order to become a permanent British citizen, and the number doing so has reportedly soared since Britain voted to leave in June last year.

More of the article here…

Brexit talks begin as expats in Spain urge No.10 to protect existing rights

Brexit talks begin as expats in Spain urge No.10 to protect existing rights

Jun 21, 2017 | Articles

THE rights of 1.2 million Brits living in the EU and three million EU citizens in the UK must be ‘the highest priority’ in Brexit negotiations, campaigners have said.

British In Europe urged Brexit Secretary David Davis to protect expats currently living ‘in limbo’ by securing a deal on existing rights.

Landmark talks on Britain leaving the EU began on Monday, with the rights of British and EU citizens abroad high on the list of priorities.

EU negotiators have told British In Europe, a coalition which includes campaign groups in Spain, that current citizens’ rights should remain unchanged.

Read more…

 

Bremain BrexElection Briefing 7

Bremain BrexElection Briefing 7

Jun 12, 2017 | Election Weekly Briefing

 Welcome to our final Briefing. We have some really interesting stories that you will not have seen on the Bremain site.  To whet your appetite “Confessions of a Canvasser” is a MUST read!

 

Jeremy Corbyn breaks post-attack truce Labour leader says Theresa May trying to ‘protect public on the cheap.’

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Prime Minister Theresa May of attempting to “protect the public on the cheap” by cutting police budgets and promised more police officers and a pay rise for those already serving, in his first speech since Saturday’s London terror attack.  Speaking Sunday evening, less than 24 hours after three attackers killed seven and injured dozens in central London,…….” (Charlie Cooper Politico 4 June)

Theresa May, you need personality to play personality politics.

The Tories tried to make this General Election about personalities rather than policies. And it’s starting to backfire. On what planet did anyone at Conservative Party HQ think that would be a good idea when their leader has the emotional intelligence of the Terminator? (Kae Kurd iNews 5 June)

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Invisible Election

Invisible election: The online battle for General Election votes.

Hundreds of people tell Sky the three main parties are using “dark ads” and the internet to secretly target voters. The parties are using data and targeted digital ads as never before as we enter the home straight in this General Election. Hundreds of voters across the country have participated in Sky News’ Invisible Election Project seeking to understand how – and by who – “dark ads” that are not normally visible elsewhere are being used. (Faisal Islam Political Editor Sky News 6 June)

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Confessions of a canvasser: Facing down dogs, nudity and Oliver Cromwell.

To the ordinary citizen, especially in a marginal constituency, the ritual of door-knocking before an election can be tiring. They never seem to knock when you’re at a loss for something to do. It’s always as we’re chopping carrots, about to walk the dog, watching a movie. But spare a thought for those who are doing the canvassing, walking the streets of this nation and braving every driveway, no matter how many protective dogs may lie in wait, all in the name of democracy.  (Karl McDonald iNews 7 June)

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How do you beat a rival 70 times richer than you? Inside Labour’s cash-strapped campaign

For every pound donated to Labour, someone handed the Tories £70. In the first two weeks of the general election campaign, the Conservatives raised £4,388,000 in individual donations. The Lib Dems raised £340,000, and Labour raised £61,300. In other words, for every pound donated to Labour, someone handed the Tories £70. (Julia Rampen New Statesman 7 June)

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Britain goes to the polls 104 years to the day since suffragette Emily Davison died for the right to vote.

Organisers of the Women’s March London, which led thousands in the UK capital on a demonstration on Donald Trump’s inauguration day, wrote on Twitter: “104 years ago today. Emily Wilding Davison dies in the struggle to win women the vote. Use it.” Emily Davison died after blocking the path of King George V’s horse at the Epsom Derby on June 4, 1913. (Eleanor Rose Evening Standard 8 June)

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Both parties are glad we’re not grilling them on economic policy.

The shadow of the financial crisis still hangs over us. We have had the lowest earnings growth and lowest interest rates in, very nearly, recorded history. We have suffered a long-term squeeze on public spending and still face a national debt which has more than doubled since 2008. And with Brexit on the way, we are layering a big dose of economic uncertainty on top. (Paul Johnson Evening Standard 8 June)  

 

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The result is objectively hilarious – but we should still be angry at the Tories for screwing things up, again.

Whatever happened to the national interest? I’m not sure, if I’m honest, which was my favourite moment of last night. The exit poll: that was good, obviously, and a much needed corrective to the trauma of 2015, when at least one member of the NS politics team literally screamed. Last night, by contrast, there was singing. (John Elledge New Statesman 9 June)

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The Conservatives will pay a steep price for relying on the DUP The much-maligned Northern Irish party’s positions defy stereotype, and could incur the wrath of Tory backbenchers – derailing May’s Brexit plans….The DUP were among the most enthusiastic advocates for Brexit, but that is not to say they share the priorities of the hard leave wing of the parliamentary Tory party. (Patrick Maguire New Statesman 9 June)

No glee in Brussels as May’s General Election gamble backfires backfires. Almost exactly a year after the EU referendum, no one in Europe is remotely clear on what sort of Brexit Britain wants. From the EU perspective, a strong UK government was the desired outcome. They were relatively agnostic about what colour the government was. But the consensus has been that a strong UK government would have reduced the chances of domestic UK bickering and increased the chances of a deal acceptable for both sides. (Mark Stone Europe Correspondent Sky News 10 June) Save Save

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