:-) Alexander! By the way, the small icon version of you could be a dart player in the pub (I've seen the larger, so know better). I think I might just away and have a non-virtual drop of hielan' watter and drop into my sack in a minute. This post is a hoot!
Not I, pure Norwegian, entire family originates in Morayshire where Gaelic was a minority language and something sounding like 'Old Middle Norse' was still the patois until the 18th century highland clearances when it died out completely. I quite like the idea of a sticker saying Viking! ;-)
Sassenach - Saxon English or Lowland Scot eh Brian!
OK Graham, but only if it is maxima... lol
Well Alexander, it's like this. I was at a pub near a big rugby game and this bloke with a hat or helmet with horns who looked a bit like Obelix rushed in with some blokes in chain mail and had a quick beer on the way to the game. Not sure whether the one with the horny headdress was a Saxon or Gaul but I bet you are pretty well right about the consternation of Congolese and others.
Mea culpa, Brian
Finn, customer service in France is in general much better than it was 10 years ago. Not perfect but where is? I couldn't possibly compare even to the UK (where I was born) as I haven't been there for years. I think we may be victims of false memory syndrome rather than exceptionally poor customer service?
Forgiven Graham - but my head isn't!
Brian - sorry to be the cause of frustration :-) I was merely trying to demonstrate my feeble erudition :-) And I failed with Google too, but will stick with it!
Finn, even the French occasionally need a decent oxymoron. That is a perfect oxymoronic phrase if you refer to, for instance, EDF.
People might also notice the Ecosse instead of GB stickers on cars from An Albainnach that are used in French only in all countries including England, which gets some people's goat there but then we're not stopping them having Sassenach if they really want :-)
True Finn, here on the Isle of Man we are supposed to put a GBM sticker when travelling "abroad" (there's another), but we are not a part of Great Britain or the UK. There is some use of a sticker but with "Mannin" or "Ellan Vannin" on, causes a bit of head scratching in some parts!!
An awful lot Graham. A) you have frustrated me because I don't know where that book is now, got too many, and B) I don't necessarily know because I have one of those photographic memories, so remember rather than learn and right now A) is driving me nuts because the recording device appears to be faulty because I don't remeber which shelf to look on!
Finn, well there is something that begins with mother......, then there are other things such as Yanqui or Yankee that they hate but I love for that reason...
Brian - is there *anything* you don't know?!?!?!?!
Glad to hear that maybe my ancient memory wasn't playing tricks :-) (I hate to admit it, but thinking about it the article was possibly in the Readers' Digest :-( ) Off to Google now.......
Right Phil, but when I worked in South America they used to go nuts about the USA having claimed it for almost exclusive use.
Ron, did he ever buy a car then?
My Uncle used to to drive a Vauxhall
Mind you, I don't suppose Canadians would take too kindly to being referred to as "American", although geographically part of North America!!
I taught I taw a hippopotato cweeping up on me... Me gazeboes grazed my knee whilst gracing in the sea... Let's keep going Kent!
Quite right Brian re Americans, see, none of us is perfect!! I should have spotted my deliberate!! mistake, seeing as I used to live in Canada!! I blame haste between main course and pudding!!