Thank you! I do write but it’s generally the more serious stuff that pays the bills! At one point I reached the dizzy heights of being given a weekly column where I was allowed to write whatever I wanted and be as funny as (I thought) I am. Sadly the newspaper folded shortly afterwards…
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I think the french are polite when you meet them , quick to say bonjour, or the bisous, but after that not so.
How many doors have i held open with out anyone saying merci, ive even started saying your welcome, or its my job, in french of cource,
So many times that i have been in a shop or restaurant speakng french and you hear french talking badly of the english,
I dont know if the habit of not letting drivers out is considered rude, but the british have a habit of letting drivers out when 2 lanes meet, or a car stuck trying to get out, here nothing they even stair straight ahead as though they havent seen you.
Also we tend to put our hand up when driving and someone has stopped or waited for you, here no.
Once at a fete selling and making chocolates in angouleme, a women side stepped in front of my partner,
When your walking towards other walkers how many times do they move out of the way? Its always us, my partner refuses now and will even knock arms, and shes french.
So yes on first impressions friendly, but very ignorant and rude also, imho
Rant over.
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If they are then I can’t say I’ve noticed it…I have a tendency to shrug my shoulders when I really really don’t know the answer to something so I just think that anyone shrugging their shoulders to me is because they really don’t know the answer either…I’ve encountered the less than friendly attitude at a supermarket checkout but I just kind of think that there could be a myriad of reasons why…worried about a family member…needing a toilet break…pregnant and feeling nauseous…feeling ill but still coming into work as they can’t afford to lose the hours…called in to cover another member of staff who may have called in sick for any of the aforementioned reasons…worried about a pet…it could be any personal reason why it’s difficult to be affable…,I always resort in the first instance to saying bonjour and smiling…whatever else I may be “picking up” from the situation…If I have to ask for something then I use “je voudrais”…I’ve since found out that I used the wrong word for stamp when in the post office saying I would like a stamp pour envoyez a angleterre but so far I’ve only been met with kindness for mangling their language…x 
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I find the French very pleasant when meeting them on a personal/social level but not so much in any other situation.
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But you’re having a go at speaking it. We appreciate that!
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Well, that’s funny! The limits of time and energy are what stop a lot of people from writing. I came upon this piece by Michael Korda recently. He tends to be a dramatic-stretcher of a story teller, but this description that he gives of the work habits of Graham Greene suggests a way of doing quite a good deal in almost unbelievably brief daily sessions:
… in the summer of 1950 Michael Korda happened to witness Greene at work on The End of the Affair. That summer Korda vacationed with Greene and others aboard a yacht called Elsewhere off the coast of Antibes. Korda was sixteen at the time, Greene forty-five. Korda later described watching the famous writer at work during this cruise.
"An early riser, he appeared on deck at first light, found a seat in the shade of an awning, and took from his pocket a small black leather notebook and a black fountain pen, the top of which he unscrewed carefully. Slowly, word by word, without crossing out anything, and in neat, square handwriting, the letters so tiny and cramped that it looked as if he were attempting to write the Lord’s Prayer on the head of a pin, Graham wrote, over the next hour or so, exactly five hundred words. He counted each word according to some arcane system of his own, and then screwed the cap back onto his pen, stood up and stretched, and, turning to me, said, “That’s it, then. Shall we have breakfast?” I did not, of course, know that he was completing The End of the Affair, the controversial novel based on his own tormenting love affair, nor did I know that the manuscript would end, typically, with an exact word count (63,162) and the time he finished it (August 19th, 7:55 A.M., aboard Elsewhere).
“Greene’s self-discipline was such that, no matter what, he always stopped at five hundred words, even if it left him in the middle of a sentence. It was as if he brought to writing the precision of a watchmaker, or perhaps it was that in a life full of moral uncertainties and confusion he simply needed one area in which the rules, even if self-imposed, were absolute.”
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Wow, I think I have read most of his books.
Thanks for sharing!
That’s brilliant - thank you for sharing it! X
I always give it my best efforts…I had a complete stranger turn up on my driveway today…he gave me his name so I gave him mine…he said something about an aperitif whilst trying to open my gate and as I have nothing in the house remotely resembling an aperitif I stopped him and declined gracefully…He said he loves dogs and wanted to stroke mine… so I said “non il est aboyant”…which My boy was and there’s no way I’m gonna deter him from barking at strangers…he asked if I live alone so I said “j’ai un homme dans Angleterre…” He went to his vehicle and gave me six oeufs so I asked if he wanted the box back…he said no I could keep it…He wanted a pen and paper to give me his number so I duly obliged…and he said something about giving me a little dog…I said I didn’t want another dog en ce moment…Anyway the outcome is that I now have six oeufs and the phone number of a random Frenchman but I am still left thinking I somehow missed a key point of his impromptu visit…x
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Sounds like you’ve pulled 
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Lol…doubt it…I did apologise for my French…at one time he was desperately looking around for help…but none of my neighbours were about and none of them speak English anyway…poor bloke…He asked me if I take my dogs in the car…(at least I think that’s what he said)…and I answered “something” instead of “parfois”…,lol…x 
Helen… you might be able to find out more about him, from his phone number… might give his name and where he is from… worth a try…
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Years ago in another country an artist dropped an invitation to a ’ evening with neighbours’ , or something similar into our mailbox. For once wife and I thought ’ why not’ and went. We had a very nice evening, food&wine, but we where the only ones besides family and familyfriends who came. After 3 hours he asked why we had come, if we where friend of his family members or what… , We mentioned the flier he put in our mailbox. He had written the wrong date, he expected guests to come next day.
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Thanks Stella…just tried it and nothing showing up…He did tell me the village he lives in which is fairly close by so I’m thinking its just one of those lost in (my) translation moments…???
Me too, my Lidl in the ‘big town’ 23 kms away is great. the staff are all affable and even downright helpful ! A French friend wanted a motorcycle crash helmet and gloves that was coming on offer the next day. He explained that he couldn’t get there then and asked if they would save them. The managress took him into the stock room, let him select the sizes he needed and passed them through the till personally for him. That’s what I call service 
My local Intermarché 12 kms away are good too, the local staff know me well and when I am not with mum always ask after her. I once made an error with a cheque, didn’t discover it until I had got home ( I had taken the cheque back with the till receipt) I phoned and was told not to worry bring it in when I can !
The Super U however in the big town is dire. The staff tend to be miserable and unhelpful. I put this down to them having a bad manager so I do sympathise, must be hell having to work for a miserable tow rag !
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says it all.
Well Helen that is so intriging. Maybe he had heard locally that there was une anglaise all alone and thought that he would try and be welcoming. Maybe he is lonely and thought why not try and establish a contact. Maybe he wants someone to share outings, restaurant visits, help with his English or maybe 'plus si attiré 
The fact that you have dogs and are not totally alone, an Englishman/husband who is your companion will let him gently get the message that you are not looking for romance. Unless of course he is dishy and you are 
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My nearest (within 3km) are Super U and eleclerc…My nearest Lidl is a twenty minute drive…I didn’t really like Lidl whilst in UK as I raw feed my Border Collies and found it difficult to get what I wanted for them…Morrison’s was my favourite in UK for them…here so far I stick with Super U and my local market…(Still looking for an outlet for raw green tripe…x )
Maybe there are some Yorkshiremen nearby 
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I really don’t know…it’s definitely not that I’m dishy (and at the time I was looking rather like something the cat bought in having first been dragged through a hedge backwards…) He seemed like a nice enough guy…maybe he will come back and try again…I have another man who visits with gifts of home grown veg but he speaks a few words of English and between us we worked it out…I give him my apples for cider and apple brandy…x (Edited because it sounds like I give my apples in return for cider and apple brandy when I can’t drink either…I just give him my apples freely and with no obligation as there are just so many…)