Here are some short blasts on stuff I have been meaning to impart:
1. Rubbish (and rot)
Throughout France, the rubbish tins are communal. Take your rubbish , wrapped in a new black purpose-built bag and drop it in the bin at the end of the street on your way to work/school/shopping. Some towns have separate recycle bins, others don't. Bottles get dropped into bins with found holes: kerrsmash! I am not sure how Brenda and Mal McKay and other residents of Haute Waldara would think about SHARING rubbish boxes!
2. Kissing
Everybody kisses when greeting/departing. Not on the lips, but into the air on each side. Now I know that you know this, but what you DON'T know is thdt the number of fresh-air shots DIFFERS from town to town.
Paris is definitely a 2-kiss city. Down south in the Dordogne (and also in Mirepoix), the 3-smooch variation came into play. Somewhere in our Rambles there was a 4-side variety (not sure exactly WHERE. [This may very well have been on the Azure Coast, and included man-on-man kiss greetings - A-sgusting!]. Back here in Annecy we are back amongst the "One Each Siders".
There must be adjacent towns/cities all around France where different kiss-greeting systems exist. Woe betide anyone who stuffs up! Especially for the man-on-man variation! Could get quite tacky! For the Sister City arrangement between Annecy and the Rural City of Wangaratta, I propose a 17-side variation, including men. This COULD test the counting ability of some Wangaratta Rovers supporters, but all-in-all it would be great for World Peace. "Think about that one, Tony".
3. Fluffy Man Scarves
It is Verair Frairnch for men to wear fluffy scarves with their jackets and collarless long-sleeved t-shirts. My new friend Stefan in Juan-Les-Pins had a string of scarves in his office. I can only imagine that he chose one or the other depending on his mood. I can't see this fashion taking off in Wangaratta. How long do you think one wound last standing on the hill at the Norm Minns oval with a fluffy scarf around one's neck? Probably only till 10 minutes into the second quarter! One would probably only last that long if the Maggies had got off to a good start!
That's it for now. You've had enough! Anyhow, I've heard that there are buckets of snow on the mountain. Get yourselves up there and strap on your skis! No time for blogging -there's skiing to be done!
Hoo Rooster!
Ramblers
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hi G- the whole man scarf thing has taken off here too u know - its known as a "marf".
ReplyDeleteKip and gav both bought one when last on the continent.Its apparently ok to marf with a jcket but u just look like a loser if u wear your marf with a t shirt.
I finally worked out how to join.Yeh!
oh wow- so excited at posting my comment i have to post another - Lawns are looking good although thre was a time when we thought the lawn mower was pinched - yes we thought some one had knicked it but t'was only young Jack who had thoughtfully removed it to his garage!.Tommy has only flooded it twice( wheeled back to rest in Jacks garage) and i have lost the pay packet!! So he is doing it for love of king and country.
ReplyDeleteLoving the rambles - and at least we wont have to hear all about it when u's get home !!!!!.
My personal fave is the bumble bees!Keep em coming .Ps not nearly enough news about how Jude is coping with your IT obsession
love Jen
u know G , I dont know how all this blogg stuff etiquette works and all but if youre not even going bother to reply to my excited out of my tiny mind comments , I may have to just wait till u get home and save it all up to greet you with " oh, how fascinating, " did u really, "wonderful , Oh WISH WE WERE THERE"or "yes I know ,u already told me".Coz it just makes me feel like a sad lonely loser when I read my 2 little postings back the next day and u havent even said - WOw , by the way world,did every one notice that Jenny Murray has learned to post a comment.And " isnt she a clever one , and stuff like that"
ReplyDeleteWow! Did everyone notice Jen Murray's fabulous insightful comments on the Ramblers' Blog? Jen rooly has a way with words and really gets to the heart of the subject at hand.
ReplyDeleteYou just don't know how good it is to get feedback, especially on the marf news. But is Wangararra ready for them?