"Tirez les premiers Messieurs les Anglais ! (Shoot first, English sirs) " Well this quote, apparently originating from the Count of Anterroche during the Fontenoy battle in 1745 could not be more appropriate for today. Although I could not witness the game (the rugby semi final), I know that we lost it and even though it breaks my heart, I could not do anything else than posting an English flag on PDP! I will even go as far as: "congratulations!!" And I almost mean it LOL.
Very magnanimous, thank you!
ReplyDeleteWe lost, we looooooost... Arg.What a shame. Congrats English team, Wilkinson was (once again) better than us...
ReplyDeleteI don't know why but tonight I hate this flag. Sorry Eric ;-)
Merci Eric, tu es tres gentil en ce moment la! Viens ici a Cheltenham a voir ma plaisir a cette succes!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great game. All played really well i thought.
Yeah, but don't forget, French food still tastes better. Win some, loose some! ;)
ReplyDeleteVery courageous post, Eric! Et on dit que les Français sont chauvins... :D
ReplyDeleteWell maybe you will just need to start watching American Football :)
ReplyDeleteMy October 7th post shows video of our Delta Panthers High School football team getting beaten rather well, but it was fun none the less.
I was in London back in May, and it was fun to watch everyone come together in the pubs for World cup. They were not all that happy with the results as I recall!
Good match (although I didn't really catch it). Whichever team that advances is worthy of praise and whichever team that didn't make it is equally great for the courageous showing.
ReplyDeleteThe Strange Republic
www.veryclicky.blogspot.com
J'aime bien le almost humoristique ;-).
ReplyDeleteC'est dommage mais au moins nos voisins s'amusent...
Very sportsperson-like of you, Eric! And a very interesting photo as well.
ReplyDeleteYou're a better person than I am - if we lose tonight, there's no way I'm posting an Argentine flag! :D I'm really sorry that France didn't make it through - we were all looking forward to a France/SA final. What a difference one penalty can make... I hope our boys bear that in mind tonight and play with discipline.
ReplyDeleteExcept that this is not an English flag...but the flag of the United Kingdom, of which England is only a part.
ReplyDeleteThe English flag, as any rugby fan knows, is white with a red cross, the red cross at the center of the UK flag.
Typical French mistake..
Ooops Alan, sorry... I guess you can add a 31st reason to hate the French to the list I received yesterday in my email:
ReplyDelete30 reasons why we hate the French:
As Les Rosbifs and The Frogs scrum down for tomorrow's Rugby World Cup
semi-final, some facts to remind us of the infuriating habits of our
cousins across the Channel
1. Because they're losers
Rugby matches played by England against France since 1906: 89. We've
won 47; they've won 35. Draws: 7.
2. Because they're aggressive
Wars fought against France since 1066: 35. We've won 23; they've won
11. Mutual defeats: 1 (American War of Independence).
3. Because of Napoleon
200 French streets, monuments and institutions commemorate the era of
Napoleon, the inventor of totalitarian dictatorship.
4. And because of the Napoleon Complex
While Napoleon was actually 5ft 6.5in tall, his aggression may have
stemmed from "strikingly small, infantile and undersized genitals", as
revealed in his autopsy. The organ in question measured 1.25in.
5. Because they make love more than anyone else
On average, that's 137 times a year; we only manage 119 times.
6. Because everyone believes they're great lovers
But when asked about Napoleon's love-making, French good-time girl
Marguerite Josephine Weimer remarked that the Duke of Wellington was
"beaucoup le plus fort". Today, just 23 per cent of French people are
happy with their sex lives compared to 25 per cent of Brits.
7. Because they love yappy dogs
More than nine per cent of French dog owners have a poodle.
8. But they won't clean up after them
French dog owners refuse to pick up the 5,840 tonnes of dog-doo
dropped on their streets each year.
9. Because they're allergic to customer service
In London eateries, it takes an average 3.4 minutes to get a glass of
water once a waiter has been alerted; in Paris it takes 17.9 minutes.
10. Because they're rude
The "Paris Syndrome" is a medically recognised type of depression
which afflicts foreign visitors, caused by the sustained rudeness of
French people to outsiders.
11. Because they can't wait
Many French men still prefer the convenience of a trottoir to the public WC.
12. Because they lack humour
Before the Revolution, the French spoke of l'esprit (wit), or la farce
(joke) but the word "humour" had no equivalent. Not until 1932 did the
French Academy allow l'humour into the language.
13. Because we've been allowed to believe that French women don't get fat
Current diet books claim that French women are thin because they eat
only fresh produce, and slowly. However, French obesity rates are
exploding and one in four French women is on some kind of
mood-altering medication. Of course they're not hungry – they're
stoned.
14. Because they do things the wrong way
The French take more suppositories than the rest of Europe combined.
In 2006, they shoved 235 tonnes of pharmaceuticals up themselves.
That's equivalent to 1,850 Gérard Depardieus (approx.).
15. That goes for their wildlife, too
In 1998 alone, 25 million geese and ducks were force-fed in battery
farms to make foie gras: the €20 hors d'oeuvre.
16. Because they love Jerry
In 1963, Jerry Lewis's The Nutty Professor was voted "Best Film" in
France . Le Roi du Crazy, as Lewis is known over there, holds the
Legion of Honour, traditionally awarded only to victorious French
generals: pretty rare.
17. And they hate Gerry
In 2005, national treasure Gérard Depardieu announced he was leaving
France because: "Only the British understand me… They have a great
sense of humour. It is the French who are cretins".
18. Because they think their cooking is the best in the world
They boasted 26 three-starred restaurants in the 2005 Michelin Guide.
However, the guide is a French institution. Could that be why the UK
had only three? Coincidence, non?
19. Because of their incessant wining
Does France still make the best wine? Not if you go by the infamous
Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, when an English wine merchant organised a
"blind" tasting before a jury of French experts. To their horror, they
rated Californian wines as winners in both the red and white wine
categories. The French press first denied any tasting had happened,
then claimed the results were fixed.
20. You can't trust their wine labels either
In one 2002 case, a Burgundian vintner got jailed for rebottling 4,000
hectolitres of Algerian plonk as a much more expensive Bordeaux.
21. Because they took the cow pat… and turned it into a hat
Well, that's what the beret is, isn't it?
22. Because their legendary " Va Va Voom" is a lie
They only spend an average 19.2 minutes on foreplay. The British take
22.5 minutes.
23. Because 50 per cent of them don't even associate sex with pleasure
And 23 per cent say they would be "relieved" not to have sex for
several months.
24. Because they patented the kiss
In fact, there is no actual word for "French Kiss" in French. It is
simply embrasser avec la langue (literally, to kiss with the tongue).
Colloquially it is referred to as rouler une pelle (to roll the
spade). Only in Quebec is it "frencher".
25. Because they're big bullies
The French shoot, poison, trap, crush, stuff and then eat almost
anything smaller than themselves. Box-nets are laid down across the
Aquitaine countryside to trap skylarks, while Languedoc hunters blast
turtledoves out of the sky.
26. Because the French health service is the best in the world
However, during a 2003 heat wave, the French health services, rated as
a "world best" by the WHO, failed to prevent the deaths of 16,300
elderly people.
27. Because their country doesn't work
Employers have to pay social security taxes equal to 48 per cent of
each employee's salary, so they take on fewer people, and France's
unemployment rate has hovered around 10 per cent for a decade.
28. Because they get up our noses
Forty per cent of French men, and 25 per cent of women, do not change
their underwear daily – and only 47 per cent bathe every day (compared
to 70 per cent of the British).
29. Because they invented Sadism
France is not only the birthplace of the Marquis de Sade but also of
Renault's flirty series of Ben and Sophie " Eiffel Tower v Blackpool
Tower" TV ads. Talk about torture… 30. Because it's taken them a
thousand years to admit we're better than them
"The standard of life of the British is higher than that of the
French," said M. le President Nicolas Sarkozy, in his 2006
autobiography. Finally.
this is awesome for my paper which is coming up soon..
ReplyDeletethanks!!
Paper for school
Well though this is a typically gracious and humourous post of yours Eric, i know one 'French' whom we love - you!
ReplyDeleteWell Eric I certainly hope that list of 30 was sent to you in fun but none the less...yikes, kind of harsh! For that list of 30 reasons to hate I am sure there are 30+ reasons to love the French...
ReplyDelete1. The Statue of Liberty, for us Americans this awesomwe gift that defines our country should always be appreciated!!
2. Kissing, French that is
3. The Artists that originated the French Impressionalism Era
4. Pastries
5. Fashion
6. Eric, without him most of us would only see the "Tourist's Paris"!!
7. Smart cars
8. Edith Piaf
ok..you get the idea, any one care to add to the list
Hmmm... I'm not sure these anonymous posts about "the French" are all that harmless and innocent. Eric, it's hard to tell if you have received a "joke" or just more of the same kind of crap that's been been going around in the US since 2003 and the Freedom Fries.
ReplyDeleteWell, here is my contribution, then:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKS0yISz6xQ
congratulations
ReplyDeleteCan I just say I love breakfast in France? There is nothing like. And since I'm not really into rugby, I was the last one to learn about the UK's victory.
ReplyDeletejoy
Norwich Daily Photo
Well, I certainly never heard of anyone running to the "New English Restaurant" that opened in town or let's get a bottle of that "English" wine! Or an "English fashion house"!!
ReplyDeleteEngland's best export is Hyacinth Bucket...or perhaps Helen Mirren...oh yeah, there was that group from Liverpool...what was their name???
Shortbread is nice!!
Thank God for the Entente Cordiale...ehhhh???
....and talking of typical French errors, the union flag is upside down (the wide strips "lead" in a clockwise direction). But then, I'll bet that 95% of brits wouldn't know that either.
ReplyDeleteEric
ReplyDeleteYou are very gracious in defeat and certainly I'm as shocked by the result as most of the English are! I think the blame rests firmly on the shoulders of Mr Laporte, who's conservative & predicatable tactics cost you the match.
Sadly, he's now your Minister for Sport!
To hate France or the french?
ReplyDeleteImpossible!!!!!!!!!
This book (A year in the merde)
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Year_in_the_Merde
had some very funny parts. Haven't read the sequels, though.
I'm sorry to admit the english team deserved to win last week-end...
ReplyDeleteI've read "a year in the merde" (in french) and I did not really thought it funny... I thought it was quite boring actually.