It will be no surprise to regulars to hear that I am a Francophone. My year spent in Nice as an ‘assistant d’anglais’ was one of the happiest of my life. I love the French language, much of French culture, and am most definitely not one of those Brits who holds the view that the only thing wrong with France is the French.
So there was nothing anti-French about the tweet I sent earlier proclaiming victory for the English language on meeting a trainee PE teacher who wanted to practice her English on us because she needed to pass an exam in English before she was able to qualify to teach French kids in a French school.
The French State is fiercely protective of the French language, and the French people rightly proud of it. Successive leaders since de Gaulle have sought to defend and promote the language, and to resist Anglification, or perhaps more accurately, Americanisation. I have rather admired their efforts.
That is why it was something of a surprise to learn that this young woman had to pass exams not just in sport, but English and information technology. The second of these is more obvious, I guess, but the combination suggests an education system adapting properly to the realities of the modern world.
Would that the same could be said of the UK government and the changes being brought in by Michael Gove, who wants to adapt to the world as he imagines it to be rather than the world as it is.
Finally, to pre-empt the critical comments re the last Labour government’s downgrading of modern languages in the curriculum, I agree with you.
I didn’t think you were anti-French at all. English is a great language and great to see it spoken so widely – what’s not great is that we are so far behind in language teaching with departments in schools and universities closed all the time. Can you imagine any teacher bar a language teacher having to speak another language here? No, yet in France even the P.E. guys have to speak another one.
Well, whilst the French educational system is notoriously monolythic and change adverse it does reflect a more international outlook than our fragmented approach. The value given to working with business and vocational groups as seen in Germany and the linguistic and cultural richness of the different regional approaches across Spain also have much to offer by way of example. Academic acceptance criteria to university is actually very good in England. We must surely focus on the farce of the Scottish prejudice whereby, viz Aberdeen Uni just this week, all and sundry acceed free bar the English from wheresoever across Europe. It is deeply wrong. A cursory glance of fees across Europe shows that the Lib-Dem betrayal in allowing the Tory fees have slaughtered the aspirations of a generation.
There’s a difference, I think, between accepting English as an almost universal second language for non-English speakers and resisting, as the French do, the incorporation of English words into French. One of the reasons why English is such a wonderfully rich and flexible language is that has absorbed words from so many different sources – and that’s a fascinating study in itself – a ‘tabby’ cat, for instance, gets its name from the Turkish word ‘attabiah’ – the watered silk that has the striped figuring you see on a tabby cat – fascinating, n’est pas? And what would English do without ‘joie de vivre’, ‘esprit de corps’ or ‘bon appetit’? The language is in no way diminished by the recognition that other languages express a thought more concisely or vigorously and appropriating it accordingly.
One thing I do feel strongly about though, is the use of English as a teaching medium in foreign universities: the Dutch already do this, I believe, and I think it is a great mistake. A language must encompass all aspects of a culture, including its intellectual life, if it is to survive and flourish. By all means use English as a lingua franca, but I think it is a pity to see it replacing the native language in academic institutions. I am delighted that my grandchildren, growing up in Wales, will go to a school that uses Welsh as a teaching medium. Speaking English at home with their English parents, but learning academic subjects in Welsh, they will grow up enriched by two beautifully expressive languages.
Yes, I love French too, though I speak it now less fluently than I did, and I don’t think it would be diminished if more English words were borrowed and ‘frenchified’. Languages are living entities that change, absorb and adapt. It leads to ossification if vocabulary is imposed from the top down by bodies such as the French Academy which is totally prescriptive about all aspects of the French language.
Children should learn to communicate with others who speak different languages. The should be allowed to explore the technologies which will help them do that. The global twinning structures being supported by the British Council are wonderful structures for creating contexts and opportunities for this type of language learning to happen in an a interesting and motivating way.
Children should also learn about the structure of language and the disciplines of formally learning another language.
We should promote both aims, in careful balance with our other curriculur aims and our wider educational aims for our children and, dare I say it (is there any point in saying it these days?) in full consultation with our professional communities in education and our experts in curriculum planning (oops they’ve all been sacked).
The French system is designed to give a broad education, as in to develop the mind of students in many directions, and not just to teach one particular subject to candidates. The sooner the French BACC system, with emphasis on skills as much as academics, is employed in the UK the better.
The UK system is about gaining cudos for politicians. The Blair dream of 50% of 18 y olds going to University was deeply flawed, when 50% have never achieved 5 grade A-C inc English and Maths.Yearly we are told of the increase in grades, and yet Universities have to teach remedial maths to engineering students!
It is good to hear that this year 103% of students achieved A or A*, rising to 110% of those studying maths.
Give them all a BA with their birth certificate!
I teach French undergraduates and they have to achieve a good level of understanding in written and spoken English. The subject? Civil Engineering and most are going to work for French companies and never work anywhere other than France.
Not pre-empted I’m afraid. The decision by the last Labour government to remove languages from the list of mandatory subjects for 11-15 year olds was catastrophic and the decline in French, German, Spanish and Italian language teaching can be dated from then. I have no idea what Gove plans in relation to languages but it can’t be anything half as bad as Balls’ decision.
I’m sure it’s trade that has been the motivation for more and more nationalities to speak English (and for ‘even’ those that aren’t ex-colonies to teach/learn it).
A French person speaking English sounds so gorgeous (I hope the French feel the same re the few English that do more than shout at them slowly in English) and as for a German speaking English as perfectly as so many do …. thud.
It’s a little disappointing that we/the English are so quick to adopt Americanisms; I used to love the word ‘speciality’ but over the years it’s gone through ‘specialty’ (yuk) and seems to have landed on ‘specialism’ (spit) so I wonder whether we’ll eventually go all lazy with ‘aluminium’ and drop its 4th syllable?
Disappointing to see in the ‘i’ paper a report about a tragedy in Australia when a TV crew’s ‘chopper crashed Thursday’ (and annoying to feel distracted from such a story anyway).
I must be confused or a hypocrite as I accept that slang in text on t’internet is different to what’s put in print or spoken by professionals, especially the number of mismatches between subject and adverb heard from the Beeb … gobsmacking :-).
France is great, just one problem the French, asked for tea once in Paris, you might have thought I had asked for the French nuclear codes, they had no idea of what TEA was, had to use hand gestures, cup etc. After Two World Wars of saving their ungrateful skins you would think they could learn what TEA is, and how you make it, not that I am anti French, just happen to understand them far to well, arrogance with nothing to back it up! Who does that remind me off, Labour and New just two words that comes to mind! Its is the silly season after all, do they have humour in France!
They probably had quite a huge collective giggle at you and your gestures (unless you asked for your ‘tea’ – loudly and spelled out perchance? – around a hundred years ago).
Reading again through your post and getting to ‘arrogance with nothing to back it up exclamation mark’ I realise you must be ‘avin’ a larf.
Are you suggesting those in positions of leadership are not properly focused on the core purposes of teaching children how to be good citizens and preparing them for adult life Richard?
What galls me most is this government systematically and pro-actively spins those who have retained a coherent sense of purpose as being ‘the self-interested groups’.
http://mathseducationandallthat.blogspot.com/2011/08/ofsted-part-3-cultures-of-inspection.html
You could write the history of Europe, and even the World, by just studying the development of languages. In the UK for instance, Avon as in the few rivers called such in England derives from the welsh word for river – afon. So when it is called River Avon, what you are actually saying is River River, of Afon Afon. It is the same for many other rivers – Dee for instance derives phonetically from the welsh word for du, which means black, as in Afon Du – Black River. Land features too – coombe which is common in English place names derives from the welsh word cwm, which translates to the english as valley.
And one thing I would like to add about France, is that they take food very, very seriously, and at all levels. Even groups of industrial units on an industrial park have a top quality restaurant as one of the units for everyone to go to at lunch. While in this country we have be happy with a visiting sandwich van, or a greasy joe’s mobile van special, with plastic forks.
It is surprising how many with a decent BA scraped a C in Maths at O/GCSE level, and ones that ended up with a decent BSc/BEng scraped a C in English at the same level. Funny old world isn’t it? I personally scraped a C in O-level English by the skin of my teeth, no doubt it was.
And in Wales, where then we had to do a second language at O-level, we – controversially might be to some – were allowed to do Welsh as our second language. Scraped a C in that too. Did French and Latin up to fourteen years of age though. But things seem to be different these days in the UK. I think Information Technology as a subject, which did not exist then was the spanner in the works for the timetable for time for languages.
“le teh” phonetically it is, isn’t, s’il vous plaît?
But you were in Paris! Even French outside of Paris consider Parisian waiters/waitresses as a right bunch of ignorant arrogant “vaches”.
And by the way, with ref. to my previous comments with Latin, it is only us welsh that had to interact with the Romans on these isles AD44 to abouts year 450, since the “english hadn’t arrived by then”, and the Romans didn’t go to Ireland/Hibernia, and Albania/Scotland was only touched. Romans only came to steal us welsh corn grain and gold from Dolau Cothi, but we didn’t mind really, after initial disagreements, Boudicca style, and slaughtering our hid away druids on Anglesey… After that spot of bother, we got on grand, us welsh and the Romans.
They don’t teach you that in Oxbridge closed-room seminars, or do they, not english post sixth century made-up biased?
Brilliant prog last night on the beeb which describes us welsh country living perfectly, but when trust is attained, we are right behind your healthy thoughts. Same thing is happening in far regions of La France, as long as numnuts Parisians arn’t too involved…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0147957/Village_SOS_Myddfai/
anyway, Prince Carlo/Charlie has a holiday home up the road. Down the hill from the ultra-magical lake of Llyn y Fan Fach. Only to be visited if you are ready for a life changing moment! And don’t get distracted by the hopping trout pools half way up. Climb up the side of it above it, and see what I mean.
Remember those games you played on your Vic 8, or Commodore 64 in about 1980, depending how rich you were, cassette tapes at the ready to copy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deez3AX7IcQ
Sure la madamouelles will like this, en France voici.
The Englishman’s ability to project never ceases to amaze me …
Talking of Industrial units/Industrial estates, french or british, this is my England, as voiced by the the right brill Mark E. Smith from Salford with his The Fall,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv3LG6VVo8o
A classic tune in englishness.
Chrees, you ‘ave nor need to be afwaid! Vous, er, tu, is able to express opinions on thees site without ze fear, n’ est ce pas? Eet ees, ‘ow you say, fwee country, non? Et zer peeple who contribute to thees site are, mais oui, the open-minded? Maybe not mention Trafalgar et Waterloo, et maybe vee not mention Hastings? Az for ze Gove, he talk load of Balls, n’ est ce pas? Pardon, mon Inglis ees not good, mais, as Piaf a dit, ‘Je ne regrette rien’.
A vous (er, tu),
Bon sante,
Dave Sarkozyastic
Alastair, for gawds sake, you will have to have another rare venture into poetry, since it is adventure back in your blog, some could say, one’s like myself with a poetry mad mind. Anyways,
French, English, German and Dutch,
what do they come out as such.
Spiel euroshoite around all abound,
or simple countryside farmers nound?
Sheep lambs neat to devoure,
mouths gladly to de nure.
Cabbages and carrrots on a field.
yum-yum, with rabbit and an onion I will yield.
Get the pot out. Hare though- oh jesus christ! A fine meat.
Dan Snow was asked last night what the Romans mainly brought in foods to our isle. And I was screaming at the screen to the simple lad RABBITS AND CARROTS. I should have taught him, no doubt.
Je suis, du Pays de Galles, les Anglais! Alors? Qui est le plus breton, vous ou moi? Je pense qu’il est un ex aequo vous Eton et Harrow totale nonses complet, pour autant que je suis inquiet.
Voici chansons en gallois,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9d0-lXpEuE
Il n’a pas été un choc pour moi que Alastair parle le français. Cependant, à quoi bon, c’est que pour nous? Parlez un peu de tout, en dehors de grec!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTHx3soSIV4
Marsheaux, les Grec,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSAhhn_PS-8
La Ladytron, de belles fleurs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19n2uPQt2WE
La belle ma belle, Pyrenees,
Jac a la Belle, Alpine.
Sebastien ou de tont;
garcon le da du tont.
Sebastien avec sous BBC, avec Belle. Qui?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1D2s3En96c
Should it not be fgggree countgggry?
It eez ze soft-rrrrsed vich say fwee, innit?
You’re probably right Michelle, ma belle, etc. (with apologies to Lennon/McCartney).
Blimey! Hope I got a 50% pass in my above Francais rantings!
And well done to Dai Greene, by the way. Tres bien.
Learning slight differences in a western europe alphabet is one thing, but Greek, Russian, let alone eastern eurasia is something else to scratch your mind in gripping it. The Islamic world and the sub-indian continent – now I have really got a headache. Write it? You must be joking – not in a century of sundays for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9CaomyP0SQ
The fall in entries in GCSE French from 340,000 in 1996 to 154,000 in 2011 does not represent more diversity in language learning, but more failure in French. This is a national disaster which needs to be dealt with, and it is time for all of us who understand French to reverse it. There is time, provided we develop more effective teaching methods that pick the difficulties out of the subject and give all of our children satisfaction in learning the language. I will be posting an update on this today on my blog, http://www.johnbald.typepad.com, and would be interested to talk to Alastair about the issue.
Alastair,
I’m being really cheeky here but didn’t want to just twitter this (lizstev).I just wanted to pose the question to you:- Is all this vitriol that’s being levelled at Gordon Brown entirely justified? I realise that it isn’t possible for colleagues to always get along,particularly in the world of politics, but I really wish they would give the poor guy a break. He’s been pinned against the ropes for 3 years now,being attacked from all manner of sources, even your pal Tony is jumping on the bandwagon now. ( I didn’t think this was part of his nature)
My real question is,does the poor man really have mental health problems and if he does, could you not find it in your heart to reach out to him with some support? You will know more than most about the truth of these matters. When I tweeted you and you very kindly replied, I indicated to you that I suffered from depression. During my road to recovery I took a counselling course and I can recognise a real vulnerability in Gordon. I think his main problem is that he is not ’emotionally intelligent’ and how working in a high octane environment would be very damaging for him. Particularly as he would probably fail to, or refuse to, recognise this himself. Nevertheless, I think that all of these attacks on him are very cruel and don’t necessarily serve any meaningful purpose, apart from ‘sticking the boot in’. If it were in your power I would love it if you could do something about the situation. I hopeyou don’t mind too much about me using your blog to do this. Liz O’Donnell
GB was disloyal, and was scheming and plotting against Blair all along. That much was public knowledge. He was never a team player, at one stage alledgedly not disclosing the detail of HIS budget to TB until the eve of budget day.
The only surprise was that he ever became PM: the Labour mandarins surely had enough power to stop him . Comments please AL. Darling certainly shows the shadow front bench as a real shower!
Your comment on TB’s Godfather role to young Murdoch would also be interesting. Your campaign against News Corp does seem to be off message with TB.
It will come as a surprise to nobody but the politicians that, whilst you insiders may know where the bodies are burried, and deny all knowledge, they invariably come to the surface and make your sort look like cheats and liars.
Is it too late for a rewrite of your next book to preserve what is left of your integrity?
I think you actually mean Francophile, lover of France rather than Francophone, one whose first language is French. If I’m wrong I congratulate you on your excellent command of English.
Liz, I think that’s a good and thoughful post. I agree that all these attacks on GB serve no useful purpose at all. The pack mentality of those who enjoy kicking someone when they are down is very uncomfortable to watch. I have to question GB’s decision to make his career in politics though, given his temperament. I also think you are right when you say there is a vulnerability about him. Maybe he lacks insight into his own character traits.
The fact that he made TB’s job more difficult for him to do annoys me a little. Plus the fact that he inherited the top job with no election wasn’t right imho. But if he was as bad as some are now saying, they should have had the courage to side-line him years ago.
I hope he draws comfort from the fact that he his also a husband and a father and comes to realise that politics isn’t the be all and end all in life.
OK, Alastair, you’ve had your French vacation – with the health bill coming to the Commons this week, I expect you to blog about that…
Was no good at Fgggggrench myself DS, having the wolling rrrrrrrrrs pronunciation during school years and totally inhibited about it ….. I woll less now 🙂
On holidays I used to tell others what sentences to use and let them do the Clouseau vocals……
What does it say about your own ‘integrity’ Richard when you have assumed so much and then proceeded to pile accusations on to foundations you have no honest reason to trust (save for that ever-present negativity and prejudice).
I don’t like what AD has found the wherewithalls to say now, nor do I trust so-called non-fiction that is laden with so much opinion.
Nobody ever claimed GB was easy to get along with, I’m sure that very few such brilliant people are.
What I would like to say is the old languages in regions in France and Spain. We sometimes go on about the languages of our isles, Irish and Scottish Western Isles Gaelic, as well as Welsh, normally, and revivalists for brythonic Cornish and Cumbric and even Devon original language in our time. But watched a fascinating cookery programme again a few weeks back, by the Oxbridge educated Rick Stein, on north-western Spain, where they seem to be still totally old european celt, with different dialects to their language which they still speak from the spanish, and dialects every fifty miles or so. Bit like us in the UK.
Anyway, Gaelic sung from a group that comes from Canada and US Oregon, of all places, no doubt transported originally,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wll2o21LUbY
Yep, francophone, a good french speaker, upstairs or downstairs….
Francophile, who loves everything french, armpits hairy included.
Francophobe – french cheese and wine? Give me a good cheddar and a pint of fine english ale any time, says Nigel Farage, but maybe he said that or not. Song, la francais….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wpIVSNhY2k
(the vocals do start eventualy – typical bluddy lazy les Français)
i feel a top gear rant building up. french first, then the english translation… here goes..
Souvenirs, les enfants BBC télé dans les années 1960, quand nous étions tous jeunes. nous au sujet et de plus de cinquante marques maintenant. Regarder avec la Mère, puis frownd dans nos années d’adolescence au Persil le Lion et la fin de Camberwick Green et Millar Windy et le fort, que le capitaine en Angleterre. Pensez à ces personnes d’âge moyen pathétique goons ont obtenu leur idée que sucer Camberwick vert, le garagiste qui revenait de la boîte renouvelable.Jeremy et James aurait dû être envoyé dans l’armée d’être libéré que dans la société, après ajustement, ce qu’ils ne sont pas maintenant – terminer kiddies envahis, de la sorte pathétiques anglais.
translation, oh yesss,
Memories, BBC children telly in the 1960’s, when all of us were young. us about and above fifty mark now. Watch with Mother, and then frownd in our teenage years at Parsley the Lion and the end of Camberwick Green and Windy Millar and that Captain’s fort in England. Think these middle aged goons pathetics got their idea to as suck from Camberwick Green, the garage man that came up from revolving box.
Jeremy and James should have been sent into the army to be released as into society, after adjustment, what they are not now – complete overgrown kiddies, of the pathetic english sort.
Why do you never address the points made in my postings? “Negativity” is your accusation against me.Well please be positive in defence of my points. Geddit?………………………………………………………………………………..
Apart from calling GB brilliant, which is a hell of an accusation, what tallents did he demonstrate which would have made him a suitable person to lead the Party, let alone the country?
Since the post of yours that I commented ABOUT was addressed to ANother I left it to them to address/answer/ignore your queries.
My post was about YOU as well as TO you.
It was not ABOUT you to all and sundry others, it was not ABOUT others not present.
It was about your miserable input and the habit that is so very common (in both senses of that word) of GUESSING about situations and then making accusations based on such Scotch mist assumptions.
Geddit?…………………………………………….
I did not ‘call’ GB brilliant, I described him as brilliant. Geddit?………………. It’s called a nuance.
I did not ‘accuse’ him of being brilliant, I declared him as such. Geddit? …..
Nobody can really support the way that GB became PM but it’s sure as hell the only way he and AD could have still been around an stayed in control of the country’s purse strings and thereby the only way the world’s BANKS were saved. Geddit?
Wanna comment on how Camsham and Clegg became leaders of THEIR parties or not?
Wanna comment on the NEGATIVITY that then elevated them still further?
Or not?
Jezza Clarkson has done his usual this week, but it is us welsh that has a turn for his twatness philosophy of life. Don’t you just larve the cotsworlds living numpty’s musings? James May, aka, Captain Slow, must have put his head in his hands and said “bluddy ‘ell, can’t he keep his ignorant gob shut”.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/need-to-read/2011/09/04/jeremy-clarkson-under-fire-over-call-for-welsh-language-to-be-abolished-91466-29358957/
I have a theory, well it is not a theory to me, they old britons before the angles and saxons came, plus nomans from the north to France’s north coast, we got on well with Gaul, and we have been prevented, us in north and west and south west of Britain, have been prevented by such people to continue our healthy relationship with La France, dog in the manger-like. That is why France always enjoy their time when they come to Cardiff to play us in war, sorry, rugby, I meant, honest.
What problem have the english got with the French? South-eastern english that is. North of the Rhine jelousey because we are artistic in life, and can’t stand it? I think so.
Ooooh heck, that woman doesn’t half lose her rag!
Somone should point out to Jeremy, that in fact, where he lives now in the Cotsworlds, in 1066 when the Battle of Hastings ocurred, well over 50% of the population there spoke welsh, believe it or not. Since it was the western end of Wessex, and still a bit mixed. Jezza needs to do some research into his background, and some DNA tests, before he starts spouting off. Rotherham is well celtic, I have heard. He might be pissing on his own doorstep, you never know.
I think I have been too disrespecful to Italy, even with my very old fourteen penpal from Senegallia, Ancona, Isabella Bruini, I was fifteen – I should have married her you know, we loved each other, miles between postmen through the letter box, anyway, Rita Parvone the brilliant in ballad and song,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGIXrziSLCQ
Anywhere in europe, I pick the language up, but that is me, openminded. In Blanes in Catalonia, I was speaking spaniish AND catalan with the locals within a week, and they loved it. Bretagne french when i went there, with their inflections of old brythonic bretagne in their speak. And don’t get me started on Belgium – crazy place, more languages than a mad man,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUNpvcfB0IQ
I will have to write out “Cotswolds” out a hundred times, and then I might be able to spell it. Cirencester – a fine place, they like the welsh, as long as you do not take the piss out of England, that is, and then it is fisties fly, and people going through the pub window, wild west style….
Love that part of England all around there – seems subliminally and subconsciously home from home for me…… There’s my genes talking, and definatly not saddo oldie Jezza’s jeans. Wear slacks Jeremy – your about that age and belly size to do so, well, years ago really. But Captain Slow looks good in jeans, although. And has Hamster reached the end of puberty yet? Has he started shaving?
Top Gear, who’ll have it – infants, apart from Captain Slow – anyone that bangs the joanna can be all that bad.
Google traduction est une chose merveilleuse, le type de tout ce qui est votre truc. Bec et de traduire instantanément tout, n’importe quoi, tout va. Plus de Jacques Tati, en tant que facteur, HIC!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCqpn_k8Nss
I think I am a good European, looking at and after my fellow man, with their terrible failings that happen in any of our lives. WWI and WWII only studied and in desperate reflection, what for?
Never mind, live and learn, I suppose, that is all you can admit, without being bitter and going off your head. Song, which that all you can do, sing,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ShlE-xobyw&ob=av3e
See you next weekend Ireland….
Ireland, put away to a green bed,
young lads taffy incredibly just seen.
Tackled wife like on honeymoon bed,
played like a nightime wet dream.
BOD, ROG, POC you have seen,
next season six nations coming up.
Lads, keen, mean looking well lean,
taffies in their pubs saying, tidy, BURP!
Well done Cymru. Culture changing moment this has been for Wales/Cymru, and that is what sport can do for a nation/principality of people. Good luck to England/Lloyger and France/Ffrainc, that is about to kick off now, may the best team win.
Go Ffrainc, AHEM!….
Les Francais jouent comme leurs fesses sont en feu. Connaissait cette situation va changer schizophrénique à l’autre côté de l’Angleterre versets.
Any by the way, Foxy’s (Jonathan Davies) and Phillips tries for Wales – they went to the same school in Whitland, West Wales. Phillips is a son of a successful farm around there, and Foxy got his nickname from when his parents ran the Fox and Hounds pub, in the small village of Bancyfelin, a village which used to be on the mainroad to Fishguard port to Ireland, before they built the by-pass around it. Foxy is like a big sack of coal with castors on, so low is his centre of gravity. He has legs the inside leg length of a dwarf. Great players.
Pays de Galles v. La France dans les demi-finales de la Coupe du Monde, alors. Très bien, je pense.
May the best man/mon win/gagnant.
Mike Tindall will have an earache when he gets home, could maybe be the shortest Royal marriage ever, The stupid illdisciplined total tool. And he was made England’s captain! pillock.
Gor Blimey! Me qui totally.
Jellied eels and pie,
England you have suddenly died.
La France were dancing out of their pants.
Coluld not anglo-saxon united nation XV comprehensed.
Well done my french friends, but gargle on your olive oil red whine.
Us next week, fed cockles, leeks, lava bread and fresh welsh hill lamb meat.
Vichy, shitty, gestapo, forget it, let’s move on,
to a world, monde, more full of healthy la vie, life.
Esprie du cors we should be, language bargins,
live all our all lives no doubt failing but with saggings.
bugger it I give up, a song for my only present, until next weekend, french friends. Profiter de français, vous les mangeurs de cuisse de grenouille.
Chanson à mes amis,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiNQehY2VZk
Some german, as we love, the original As the Music Played sung by Matt Monro, achhh,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNBclxqlU7Y
My daughter,Siân is in the photo above, with a dirty turtle trying to hug her. GET ORF will you, you turtle animal perve. Siân heathily diving, AHEM!, under some sea somewhere. Ask me where my kiddie get’s to? No fecking idea in the world. A song for my daughter, Siân, just and only for you, from your loving dad,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThHz9wlBeLU
I am a great promoter of healthy free-spiritedness, not for young people to be anchored down by chains of old grunties like me holding them down. Wherever my daughter is, she is doing alright. She will let me know otherwise, as I have always told her. Go and explore is my philosophy, and if I worry with anxiety, that is my total problem.
Might as well post this as well, song sung by Charles Aznavour, of a family from Turkey, high up society, going through the complications of the twentieth-century and all the nonsense that it caused, with totally heartbreaking family photos, afterwards put together.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV7MELY44DQ
Pour mon cœur simple, il se casse presque, mais peut-être la cicatrice y est, un petit peu. L’expérience passée de la vie pour certains?
I am getting those paranoid feelings again, after one cider drink too many, them satelittes them CIA rays on my bedroom roof, making me boak with my alleged allegies in the morning, or whenever I wake up. Aluminium foil time as ceiling wallpaper time again. Time for another councilling series of sessions.
ONLY JOKING – life is complicated, and anyway, the CIA has better things to do with themselves, I hope. Just exploring the world of artistic irrationality, and modern paranoia, and pass it on, to whoever likes to make a statement of it, and there are several, peaceful, artistic ones that would like to. The wonders of today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9AhXkMRfCc
ok, i am a little bit barking to the average man…
Ozzies, ce qui est arrivé, vous avez joué comme des filles.Alors vous avez à nous battlle taffies pour un tiers.Nous vous emmènerons bien facile encore, après 87,Vous Queensland reines sera vraiment mis au lit, encore une fois.
translation, into english that is,
Ozzies, what happened, you played like girls.So you have got to battlle us taffies for a third.
We’ll take you quite well easily again, post 87,you queensland queens will truely put to bed, again.