BS: What have the French ever done for us ?

Subject: RE: BS: What have the French ever done for us ?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 17 Nov 02 - 06:06 AM

William Bouguereau [France, Academic Classicism, b.1825 - d.1905]

Since you've probably not heard of him - biography at:
William Bouguereau (1825-1905)

(First time I really appreciated a Frenchman.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: What have the French ever done for us ?
From: RangerSteve
Date: 17 Nov 02 - 06:52 AM

The people that I love to hate gave us a movie called "Amalie". That temporarily excuses their snobbism concerning food and wine. Maybe I don't dislike the French, just the Parisians.

Subject: RE: BS: What have the French ever done for us ?
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 18 Nov 02 - 05:26 AM

I know the French are all right really (please don't quote me on that!), but I like to keep up our British (OK--English) traditions. I'm sure that Antoine de Ceaunes can speak our language perfectly well and only pretends to have that execrable accent. And I'm sure that Jean-Paul Gaultier isn't ... wait a minute, I don't believe that at all!

Steve (another goy, yet)

Subject: RE: BS: What have the French ever done for us ?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Nov 02 - 05:58 AM

I think it was Mao Tse Tung who, when asked what he thought of the French Revolution, said it was too early to tell yet. Seems a very reasonable thing to say. (And the same would apply to the American Revolution.)

Subject: RE: BS: What have the French ever done for us ?
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 18 Nov 02 - 09:27 AM

And the British (bloodless) revolution of 168-whatever?

Subject: RE: BS: What have the French ever done for us ?
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 29 Nov 02 - 03:50 AM

Gave us someone to name chauvinism after!

Subject: RE: BS: What have the French ever done for us ?
From: IanC
Date: 03 Dec 02 - 09:03 AM

Guillotine ... only used in Halifax, England ... From Holinshed (1577) (William Harrison's section entitled "Descriptions of Britain and England")

Witches are hanged, or sometimes burned; but thieves are hanged (as I said before) generally on the gibbet or gallows, saving in Halifax, where they are beheaded after a strange manner, and whereof I find this report. There is and has been of ancient time a law, or rather a custom, at Halifax, that whosoever does commit any felony, and is taken with the same, or confesses the fact upon examination, if it be valued by four constables to amount to the sum of thirteen-pence-halfpenny, he is forthwith beheaded upon one of the next market days (which fall usually upon the Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays), or else upon the same day that he is so convicted, if market be then holden. The engine wherewith the execution is done is a square block of wood of the length of four feet and a half, which does ride up and down in a slot, rabbet, or regall, between two pieces of timber, that are framed and set upright, of five yards in height. In the nether end of the sliding block is an axe, keyed or fastened with an iron into the wood, which being drawn up to the top of the frame is there fastened by a wooden pin (with a notch made into the same, after the manner of a Samson's post), unto the midst of which pin also there is a long rope fastened that cometh down among the people, so that, when the offender hath made his confession nd hath laid his neck over the nethermost block, every man there present doth either take hold of the rope (or putteth forth his arm so near to the same as he can get, in token that he is willing to see true justice executed), and, pulling out the pin in this manner, the head-block wherein the axe is fastened doth fall down with such a violence that, if the neck of the transgressor were as big as that of a bull, it should be cut in sunder at a stroke and roll from the body by a huge distance. If it be so that the offender be apprehended for an ox, oxen, sheep, kine, horse, or any such cattle, the self beast or other of the same kind shall have the end of the rope tied somewhere unto them, so that they, being driven, do draw out the pin, whereby the offender is executed. Thus much of Halifax law, which I set down only to shew the custom of that country in this behalf.

:-)

Subject: RE: BS: What have the French ever done for us ?
From: Paddy Plastique
Date: 03 Dec 02 - 09:50 AM

No-one mentioned Serge Gainsbourg... (also reminds me of their simmering anti-semitism, poor Cap'n Dreyfus)
On the plus side, again, General Humbert
Or any of the hundreds of painters
Or any of the legion of film directors (or should that be 'cineastes')
Or the world's best health service
Emile Zola, Honoré de Balzac, Raymond Queneau, Marcel Proust, Gustave Flaubert, Georges Perec, Louis-Ferdinand Céline and volumes & volumes of writers..
Lots & lots of beautiful women and probably even handsome men (but is that not down to all the Italian/Spanish/North African genes about the place?)
L'académie Francaise with its paranaoia regarding English and, semble-t-il, 60 million members (try speaking your schoolboy French to any native..)

Apart from that - the miracle of continuing to be the world's No.1 tourist destination despite the fact that someone translated the American motto: 'The customer is always right' into 'ze customer eez a piece of shite'
Returning to Ireland from here I am taken aback my 1st few days by the lack of surliness and even outright friendliness of people in shops/pubs etc. Granted, Laurent - I agree that it's the same for 'les autochtones' too..
Oh and, they most likely produce so many chemists as they're the biggest shower of hypocondriacs this side of... er .... em... the statue o' liberty