General Chat

Yesterday I received an email from a good friend. He had just returned from a ‘mini-tour’ of France which included a two week stay in an apartment in Nice. Following is a cut&paste from his email (His exact words):-

While in Nice I also had a little encounter with the authorities. I was food shopping, and with heavy shopping bags stopped a taxi to get back to the flat. I sat down comfortably in the back seat with my carrier bags, but thought it was a bit odd that there were two people in the front of the cab. But ok, this is France, I thought. The conversation went like this:

Back seat (me): “Rue Halevy, s’il vous plait”.
Front seat: Something I didn’t understand.
Backs seat: “(In French) I don’t speak French, do you speak English”
Front seat: (one of them turned around and looked at me indignantly) “Yes, we speak English. Monsieur, this is not a taxi. This is Police France”.
At which point I politely excused myself from further conversation and left.

Love it!

That is one of those I will have to make people look at for themselves on the computer because I won't be able to read it out.

Brilliant you couldn't make it up, as they say

That reminds me of the time my mum and me went back to Derry to visit relations after my husband died, we went shopping down in the town and my uncle said we must get a mini cab back, but when we came out it was pouring with rain and there was black cab so we got into that but we could not understand why all these people were getting in and the driver stopped a little way up the road and a lady got out and the driver charged her a pound this happed twice more each time paying pound when it was our turn to get out I asked how much and the driver said a pound I thought it a bit strange as we had come about four miles, my uncle told us the black cabs inside the walls supported the IRA and the ones on the outside of the wall supported the UDA I was shocked I had given money to the IRA

There is a lot they don't tell you about Ireland.

For instance. It would have been helpful to have been told that there are so very few public lavatories.

Having driven a very long way with crossed legs, I found a very dilapidated one in a seaside town which was, I think, called Youall, or something similar. Recounting my experience to an Irish later , I was informed that it is perfectly normal to pop into any pub just fora tiddle.

I'm English, I wouldn't think to do that and I don't know what state I would have been in had I bought a drink out of politeness every time I needed a wee.

O Sharron I'm English only my mum is irish and they have always treated me ok in fact I have always had a really good time over there. Things have changed a lot over there since the good Friday agreement

But not in the public lavatory line!

I was talking to an Irish lady in the record office once and was saying how I probably wouldn't venture into Northern Ireland but had been as far north as Drogheda to lay flowers on Derek McCormack's grave.

According to her, Drogheda is a far greater IRA stronghold than anywhere I might go further north. I thought of Oliver Cromwell while I was there and kept my trap shut anyway!

Sharron this brought a memory back and I am here again by the way.

At the beginning of the troubles (68), we had taken children to Butlins and heading north stopped in Drogheda for a snack. Bought kids penny whistles. Began noticing funny looks from oncoming pedestrians when OH mutters stop her playing. Daughter was learning to play the flute in school and I had not a clue what she was playing ; just the sash my father wore.

Because I like the music I have deliberately not looked too deeply into Irish history but there are one or two that I know I should not be playing.

OH used to cook on a military camp and I would pick him upon my way back from working. Often the tape,in those days, would be playing something I was singing along to but not really noticing.

It was quite lucky that I came out of my reverie before I got to the gate on the day I was singing along to 'The Broad Black Brimmer'.

I know it is not one I should play but I deliberately don't know why.