TallMike,

Brexit was never going to be quick, and the problem was, the British Parliament couldn't reach agreement on terms. They always have had a choice of a hard brexit, just it's likely to be a worse outcome.

And what about all the other members of the EU, don't they have a proud history of independence too? Of course they do.

Generally when people choose to work together it's far better than the sum of the individual.

The main issues are the border with Ireland, and the fact that Scotland doesn't want Brexit. It is likely to go it alone and break up the Union which frankly would be a disaster.

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@TM - the Netherlands are also part of the EU. I can order two pounds of patatoes without a problem. Your "ailing mother" story is a well know urban legend and completely BS. All the EU rules the British complain about can be checked here immediately. Do we have something like that? No? Then it's not an EU rule.

Your semantic pedantry about the difference between "once proud and indeopent" and "the once proud and in dependent" is lost on me.

The "work in progress" argument is also completely BS. Who are working on it? Where can we see the results? And I repeat that the EU is party to the agreement, because the Rep. of Ireland can and will veto any agreement that violates their conditions.

Now we have to put up with Trump Junior blabbing on about freedom of speech. Sorry, but we simply don't want people to spout forth vile hateful drivel. If you do it on social media you must accept responsibility for your words. We don't want to listen to your garbage.

I'm talking about Raheem Kassam. I won't dignify his vile diatribe by repeating it. He and those like him are not welcome in Australia.

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Easy, 14.

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MrO, you are flat out wrong with respect to the EU having banned the use of pounds as a unit of weight in the UK. All British units are banned, with some very limited exceptions for the UK (such as distances in miles shown on road signs, returnable one pint containers used for milk, and the measurement of pints of draught beer and cider). Do you in the Netherlands have something like that? Yes and no. The relevant EU directives apply to all member countries but they have no impact in many, including the Netherlands, because those countries were already using the metric system long before the directives went into effect. Your criterion for determining what is or is not an EU rule is therefore an utter sham.

You are also completely out of line to describe my mother's frustration about her inability to purchase produce in the ways she was used to as my "ailing mother story," and as "a well known urban legend," and as "completely BS." My mother was a very sick woman who belonged in a care home but who insisted on continuing to take care of my disabled father for as long as she could. My father controlled the housekeeping money and was very tight with it. My mother therefore needed to pay as little as possible for the food she purchased. She knew what many food items should cost per pound, but not per kilogram as prices were displayed in the shops. She could ask for quantities of the food items she needed in pounds and ounces, but she could not tell whether she received what she had asked for because the shops' scales and labels showed weights in grams and kilograms. She therefore felt that she was no longer in full control of her shopping.

This is not urban legend. This is not BS. These are facts.