Where is everyone from??

[the phantom]

Drink beer and eat your sausages

Is that what I said?

Oops... I meant to say "have a nice day".

perhaps there is a hidden metaphorical meaning behind this sentiment?

Indeed, there is. You should spend a couple of hours thinking about it. By then you'll be hungry and thirsty enough to "drink beer and eat your sausages" and the meaning will suddenly become clear.

from the barock(is it called barock in english, too?)

Baroque.

so there are people here who speak german pretty good

Only "pretty good"? What, did I get a word wrong? The only words I for sure get right are cognates, like and (und), shoe (schuh), pizza (pizza), or Germany (Deutschland).

Or did I not conjugate one of my verbs correctly? That's always a problem. I don't even conjugate English correctly. English be hard- I is frustrated by it sometimes.

But it's understandable since I was raised in Mexico by Latinos, who obviously being latinos spoke Spanish (aka Latin). That was a problem though since most people in Mexico speak Mexican (which the Spanish haughtily refer to as pig-latin).

Do people in America(or England or whereever) really think all germans are beerdrinkers?

No, we think 99.9% of Germans are beer drinkers. All the exchange students I ever met sure talked about it all the time.

I'd love to her some other prejudices about us Germans

Lemme see... Germans are always taking their clothes off, right? Or more specifically, their lederhosen?

Also, they don't keep their fridges full, but prefer to buy what they're going to eat (usually bratwurst and sauerkraut) on the same day.

And then they go play soccer.



(I know everybody's not like that, but those are the first things that pop into my head)

[Durfuiniel]

so there are people here who speak german pretty good -Only "pretty good"? What, did I get a word wrong? The only words I for sure get right are cognates, like and (und), shoe (schuh), pizza (pizza), or Germany (Deutschland).

Or did I not conjugate one of my verbs correctly? That's always a problem. I don't even conjugate English correctly. English be hard- I is frustrated by it sometimes.

oops, well I meant very good*smile*

Anyway- getränkbier und essen Sie bratwursts!!

you have to say "Trinken sie Bier und essen sie Bratwürste" if you want to be totally correct
well, and I agree many germany are Beerdrinkers
But it seems like all people think only about "Bayern" when they talk about germans 'cause the people with "lederhosen" are just the "Bayern"(you maybe know the "Oktoberfest" in München where loooots of beer are drunk.)
I never heard about the "they don't keep their fridges full but prefer buying what they want to eat.." thing that's really new to me, but that may be because in our house the fridge (or better our THREE fridges) are always full.
But it's totally right we're a soccer country but mostly people don't go play it but watch it on TV and drink some beer watching it.*rofl*

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Durfuiniel

Well, there really are some great castles in Germany, and very different ones. Old from the Middle-Ages and newer ones from the barock(is it called barock in english, too?). But if you like old buildings, you should visit France because there are many old churches which are so fascinating....

wow, so there are people here who speak german pretty good*smile*
Do people in America(or England or whereever) really think all germans are beerdrinkers? I'd love to her some other prejudices about us Germans, that's really interesting I think.... so please tell me your view of germany

Aber das Bier is sehr gut zu trinken! Entschuldige bitte, Deutsh ist nur mein zweite Fremdsprache und ich habe alles vergessen - auch kann ich nicht ein umlaut oder ein Schlafer's S an diesem Klavier finden.

Ich liebe das Musik von Bach und Handel. The musicality of the Germans is a good stereotype!!! The wine is usually a little sweet for me and I hate Stollen with a passion.....

[Amanaduial the archer]

Originally Posted by Durfuiniel

wow, so there are people here who speak german pretty good*smile*
Do people in America(or England or whereever) really think all germans are beerdrinkers? I'd love to her some other prejudices about us Germans, that's really interesting I think.... so please tell me your view of germany

French is compulsary in my school until you're 16, and as I was fairly rubbish at it when I made my GCSE choices, I decided that one language was about as much as I could deal with. I regret the choice as I intend to take French into university, but hey, c'est la vie - I apologise for not speaking to you in German. Although my sister works pretty much as a living, walking, breathing, talking...german translator.

But we had a French lesson some time ago when we were talking about the various stereotypes which are held about different nations. And it was the Irish, not the Germans, who came out as the drinkers - a sentiment I couldn't exactly deny, as seven of my maternal granddad's siblings are alcoholics.

As to Fea's remark on ancestry - I'm entirely Irish, all my relatives living there apart from my parents, who went to the same school for two years but only actually met each over when they both went to Manchester university (that's what you call irony...) Half of the youth of Belfast seemed to be in Manchester University that year - and all doing accounting, why?!). Otherwise none of my Catholic relatives live in the 'heathen country' and few of my dad's. So yeah, I was born here and have lived here most of my life, but I think we can say I'm pretty damn Irish. Unless you go back like four hundred years to the Spanish Armada, and that's just silly...

There you go, some useless information that you didn't need to know, will never need again, but which I nonetheless felt like sharing anyway.

So there.

Nyuh

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Amanaduial the archer

*Gasp* And what about Mark12_30 - can such a cheerful figure really mean well in 'innocently' suggesting the opening of The Gauntlet Inn - a place designed specially for fights? And can this have anything to do with Mithalwen's recent disappearance...? !

My disappearance? I guess that profiting from logistical problems to cut down the time I spend on line is not coming a moment too soon if missing the occasional day counts as disappearance....


BTW We spell it "baroque" (like the french) and the Brits say it more or less the same way as the Germans but the Americans make the "O" a long vowel...

I am mainly English by blood but I have an Irish surname (My Great grandfather was an Irish cockney, born within the sound of Bow Bells to Irish parents from Cork who emigrated after the potato famine), and my grandmother's family were Welsh. There is allegedly a drop of French blood somewhere, but nothing more exotic than that...

[Lalwendë]

I have no prejudice about Germans - well, not about anyone, in fact! Something which does irritate me about English newspapers is that they do perpetuate it. We are close cousins linguistically and culturally, and so this attitude just makes no sense to me. What's great about Germany? Their cars, the beers, Goethe...
Is the German for Annihilation really Vernichtung? Someone asked me this today, thinking I'd know...

What am I? My father's family are all from the same area into the far distant past, an area which was settled by Vikings at one time. Half my mother's family originated in Kinsale, the other half from North Wales; her great grandfather was a Welsh hellfire preacher who steadfastly refused to learn English.

I'm a bit diverted by how many 'Downers seem to have Celtic connections - is it some kind of genetic resonance which makes us Tolkienians?

[Mithalwen]

Deep calling to the deep - or the fact that Sindarin is related to Welsh?

[Amanaduial the archer]

*shrugs* Half of Boston is made up of the Irish who emigrated in the early 20th century. It seems like a somehow glorified nationality - it draws people. Various people in my school claim to be Irish and it's like "yes, because your great grandmother once took the ferry over from Stranraer to Belfast, that obviously makes you Irish..." (Stranraer being a very strange little village on the Scottish coast that always seems dead and has a whiff of goats and the sort of relationships found in Jacobean tragedies).

Psh, the English newspapers are just ruffled because the Germans get up at four in the morning to steal the sunbeds *STEREOTYPE ALERT* Lol, there are plenty about us though, I'm sure - the English seem to come across as complete prudes who are interested only in cricket and the weather; a nation that wears a disturbing and suspicious propensity (is that even the right word?) of tweed...

My disappearance? I guess that profiting from logistical problems to cut down the time I spend on line is not coming a moment too soon if missing the occasional day counts as disappearance....

Hush I name-grabbed - you should feel priveleged that you were the first name to come to mind.

[the phantom]

Bayern...München

Well, yeah, I suppose when I think of Germany I tend to think of Bavaria and Munich first- probably because that's what I saw the most movies about in my junior high German class.

auch kann ich nicht ein umlaut oder ein Schlafer's S an diesem Klavier finden

Ha ha! You mean you can't find -> ä or -> ß.

Ich liebe das Musik von Bach und Handel.

Was Handel German? I thought he was a Brit. Oh, wait, he just moved there. Boy, my music history it getting rusty.

But how could you forget all the other German-born composers such as Brahms, Wagner, and Beethoven?

"Musicality of the Germans"... no kidding. That must be where I get it from.

So, I guess we should assume that you are not Bavarian, Durfuiniel. What Bundesland do you come from? Mein Großvater war von Nordrhein-Westfalen.

[the phantom]

the English seem to come across as complete prudes who are interested only in cricket and the weather

You forgot about scones, tea, pinkies, and silly phrases.

[Amanaduial the archer]

Originally Posted by the phantom

You forgot about scones, tea, pinkies, and silly phrases.

What ho, old bean, I do believe you're correct. Rather off of me to forget that, what what? *takes a puff at her pipe and adjusts her monocle* Just one thing though, old chap, a trifling thing - it's never pinky. Keep it in mind, there's a good fellow.

[Mithalwen]

Aman.... I am, I am lol
Phantom, I hadn't forgotten them but while I like Beethoven and the middle movement of the Emperor Concerto is one of my "desert island discs", my taste is rooted in the Baroque .... and I doubt I would ever have the stamina for Wagner .. was it Birgitte Fassbender who replied tpo the question " What do you need to sing Wagner ?" "Comfortable shoes.."

Handel was naturalised but I was being polite ....(being british an all)

I think you have propensities rather than wear them ... and isn't tweed back?

I don't know what a pinkie is so how can I be obsessed? And it isn't that we aren't interested, just that we are bound by rules of politeness that exclude more interesting topics of conversation..

Yeah, I hated Americans telling me that they were Irish, I mean I was probably more Irish than they were and quite frankly, after visiting Ireland, I was very glad my ancestors made the trip - I mean it was the only place I have been to that was wetter than England .. Apart from perhaps Scotland...

Ooh do we have anyone from Stranraer Before Aman meets the same fate as the Duchess of Malfi... lol

[Lalwendë]

there are plenty about us though, I'm sure - the English seem to come across as complete prudes who are interested only in cricket and the weather; a nation that wears a disturbing and suspicious propensity (is that even the right word?) of tweed...

Oh yes. I'm more stereotypical than most, making my way to work with my bowler hat firmly placed upon my head, a neatly furled umbrella under one arm, a copy of the Daily Telegraph under the other. I may be looking forward to the tea trolley coming round, and maybe I will treat myself to a scone while I peruse the cricket results. Well, this is the way I am, according to the media...Oh so untrue...apart from the scone...

(Stranraer being a very strange little village on the Scottish coast that always seems dead and has a whiff of goats and the sort of relationships found in Jacobean tragedies).

I like Stranraer. Everything you say about is true, but I still like it. It reminded me of something from Father Ted, especially the villages thereabouts - where the Wicker Man was filmed; and it is close to the old hangout of the Sawney Beans, Scotland's very own serial killer cannibal family. Well worth googling for that particular tale. I once saw someone in Stranraer eating a deep fried Mars Bar with chips and was nearly ill.

[Amanaduial the archer]

where the Wicker Man was filmed; and it is close to the old hangout of the Sawney Beans, Scotland's very own serial killer cannibal family

Four words: Need I say more?! I rest my case

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

the English seem to come across as complete prudes who are interested only in cricket and the weather;

Feigning surprise, Fea cries out...

You're not?!?!? For the English stereotypes I have no personal basis for: Cricket, horseback riding, tea-time, and everything prim and proper. For the stereotypes that I have good reason for having developed: I tend to view the English as having a sheer (and generally bewildering) prejudice against muscle cars. Also, they like their pubs.

German sterotypes have been completely bashed for me, in that my best friend spent some number of weeks living in Germany this year with friends of her family, and was thus shown that German kids are much like American kids. I still picture a number of castles though, as well as... dare I admit it? The little German boy on the Simpsons... "Don't pop me, I'm full of chocolate." Amazing what television can do to a person.

I still maintain that New York is the best place in the world. Fea fishes for stereotypes of New Yorkers...

Fea

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Aman

the English newspapers are just ruffled because the Germans get up at four in the morning to steal the sunbeds

Actually, in my experience, it is the English who are the worst offenders on that score.

Now, let me see:

Frequent lengthy conversations concerning weather and cricket: check
Scones: check (with butter, cream and strawberry jam, of course)
Tea: Can't abide the stuff myself, but appreciate its cultural importance, so check
Pinkies: Assuming you mean outstretched little finger when one is drinking, naturally, so check
Silly phrases: Tally ho! and toodlepip, old bean check
Neatly furled umbrella under one arm: check
Daily Telegraph under the other: Well, it's not the Telegraph, but it's a broadsheet, so check
Bowler hat: No, but the idea appeals check
Prim and proper: check
Prejudice against muscle cars: Assuming you mean the ridiculously large American variety, check
Pubs: Most definately check

Hmm, it would appear that I am in fact the stereotypical Englishman.

Although, like many here, I have Celtic roots, Welsh in my case, on my father's side. However, it seems to me that Tolkien appeals more to those aspects which I see as having been inherited from my mother, and her family is of Italian descent. Perhaps it's the Catholic influence.

[the phantom]

Hmm, it would appear that I am in fact the stereotypical Englishman.

Well, if I ever make it to England you'll have to teach me how to be like you. I'd love to add British charm to my lengthy list of attractive attributes.

Fea fishes for stereotypes of New Yorkers...

New Yorkers ride around in cabs and throw garbage at sports teams from other states while shouting 100 curse words per minute.

The only time they get quiet is when a group of mafia thugs walks by (about every two minutes).

Except for Central New Yorkers- they're all unemployed, angsty high schoolers who don't have a drivers license, haven't read Morgoth's Ring, and can't draw worth anything. They survive only by leeching off their parents and flashing their attractive legs to get discounts.

[Encaitare]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Aber das Bier is sehr gut zu trinken! Entschuldige bitte, Deutsh ist nur mein zweite Fremdsprache und ich habe alles vergessen - auch kann ich nicht ein umlaut oder ein Schlafer's S an diesem Klavier finden.

Ich liebe das Musik von Bach und Handel.

Or as I read it: "blahblahgibberishdon'tknowGermanblahblah Bach und Handel!" At which point I became excited because I recognized something familiar to me.

New Yorkers ride around in cabs and throw garbage at sports teams from other states while shouting 100 curse words per minute.

Er... yeah. The cab part, anyway. Yay for absolutely insane cabbies

The only time they get quiet is when a group of mafia thugs walks by (about every two minutes).

Never seen any Mafia thugs walk by, so I wouldn't know. But it's true, we never shut up.

Except for Central New Yorkers- they're all unemployed, angsty high schoolers who don't have a drivers license, haven't read Morgoth's Ring, and can't draw worth anything. They survive only by leeching off their parents and flashing their attractive legs to get discounts.

I'm not a central New Yorker (Long Island, woo hoo), so let's see...

Unemployed: for now, yes, sadly
Angsty High Schooler: from time to time
Haven't Read Morgoth's Ring: I'm getting there, okay??? *pout*
Can't Draw Worth Anything: can too!
Leeching off parents: not really, seeing as they're my legal guardians and all
Attractive Legs: but of course
Flashing Attractive Legs: but of course not

Bah. Everyone judges the whole of New York by NYC... but it's such a great city.

As for the historical background of my ancestors, they were: Italian, Norwegian, British, Irish, German, Austrian... and my grandmother descends from Transylvanian gypsies from way back when. Hah... I'm such a mutt.

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

so please tell me your view of germany (Durfuiniel)

I'm sort of sorry for being narrow-minded, but right now Germany reminds me of only one thing . . .

I'm counting the days 'til Germany 2006 World Cup!

There.

Englishmen? Hmm . . . being of the abovementioned narrow-mind, all I can remember is they haven't won the Cup since the last Age.

Oh, and to soften the blow: such wit these people have. Their representatives here, at least.

New Yorkers?

Aber das Bier is sehr gut zu trinken! Entschuldige bitte, Deutsh ist nur mein zweite Fremdsprache und ich habe alles vergessen - auch kann ich nicht ein umlaut oder ein Schlafer's S an diesem Klavier finden.

Ich liebe das Musik von Bach und Handel. (Mithalwen)

Entschuldigung, aber wie heißen diese Sätzen auf Englisch? Ich habe das nicht verstanden.

You just had to flaunt the fact that you're studying German.

I can't help it! I'm a vain Prince of Noldor so unlike my father and grandfather.

[Lalwendë]

Of course, there is a whole other English stereotype. When I step out of the office I am in the midst of this different world where girls go about with lumps of gold in their ears so heavy that their earlobes hit their shoulders; where they feed cheese 'n' onion pasties to slightly unkempt toddlers; where they stare menacingly at anyone not wearing sports gear. It is a world where the young men visibly clear their lungs, darkly demand 83p for their 'bus fare' and display a thorough knowledge of Anglo-Saxon words. They move in hordes through the precinct, shouting loudly, and stop to huddle conspiratorially outside the £1 shops where they swap tales of 'wicked nights out' and plan their tactics for the annual battles at the Next or B&Q sale. This is the English stereotype nobody on foreign shores ever sees. Unless those foreign shores happen to be in Ibiza.

[Durfuiniel]

oh my god, you really wrote very much since my last visit... hope I won't forget anything

Aber das Bier is sehr gut zu trinken! Entschuldige bitte, Deutsh ist nur mein zweite Fremdsprache und ich habe alles vergessen - auch kann ich nicht ein umlaut oder ein Schlafer's S an diesem Klavier finden. -->Entschuldigung, aber wie heißt diese Sätzen auf Englisch? Ich habe dast nicht verstanden.

Ok, in English it's "But the beer is very good. Sorry, but german is only my second foreign languag (?) and I forgot everything. Also I can't type in a Ok, I have no idea what that is called in english ä, ö, ü and ß.

So, I guess we should assume that you are not Bavarian, Durfuiniel. What Bundesland do you come from? Mein Großvater war von Nordrhein-Westfalen.

I'm from Baden-Würtemberg, do you know where this is?

I'm counting the days 'til Germany 2006 World Cup!Englishmen? Hmm . . . being of the abovementioned narrow-mind, all I can remember is they haven't won the Cup since the last Age

Well, I'm waiting for the world cup with excitement.
And I'm sure we'll win Well, with our new trainer we never lost 'till now... so maybe we're lucky...

Does BTW mean "By the way"?

the English newspapers are just ruffled because the Germans get up at four in the morning to steal the sunbeds

*big smile* well, this articles you can find in german newspapers, too... only that in these papers the english men are the ones who got up early to lay their towels on the sunbeds and occupie them... and when I was on holiday in Spain it were both*lol*

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Except for Central New Yorkers- they're all unemployed, angsty high schoolers who don't have a drivers license, haven't read Morgoth's Ring, and can't draw worth anything. They survive only by leeching off their parents and flashing their attractive legs to get discounts.

I can too draw!

Prejudice against muscle cars: Assuming you mean the ridiculously large American variety, check

Detect my meaning? Those English that I know much prefer the variety of automobile that not only cost more than my life, but are impossible for an average sized person to get in and out of. Picture a normal car where you get in. Now picture the attempt of getting into a vehicle by the following means: First you must squat low to the ground, and slide one leg into the car. Follow this uncomfortable movement by shifting horizontally until you have about half of yourself inside. You must then perform contortionist activities until your knee is within and inch of your nose, and then slide that leg in next to the other one. Now that you are actually in the car, you can proceed to wonder how on Earth to get out of the car without help. Not that I have anything against MGs...

Fea

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Ooooh, I just love stereotypes. Just to make sure that my own land is not left out I present the following questionnaire:

Are You an Honourary Canadian?

Are you neat?

Are you always scrupulously polite, to the point of not saying things you want to say, for fear of being rude?

If somebody asks you politely to get out of the pool, do you get out?

Do you wait in lines patiently, or impatiently but pretending to be patient?

Do you have coffee and donuts for breakfast at least once a week?

Do you watch hockey?

Do you feel ambivalent about Americans? That is, you like having them come to your country and spend their money, you like going to their country and buying their cheap gas, but you don't like meeting them in other countries?

Do you own a heavy winter coat of any variety (not necessarily a parka)?

Do you consider a five hour drive between cities the norm?

Do you spell the following words thusly: honour, colour, centre?

Does Z rhyme with "head"?

Do you think Thanksgiving is in October?

Do you drink beer?

A lot of beer?

Does your beer have more than %5.0 alcohol content?

Do you have more than one official language?

Has your country never lost a war?

And finally. . .

Have you ever been on a canoe trip longer than one day?



If you answer "yes" to 10 or more of these questions then congratulations, you are an Honourary Canadian. Go to the nearest Canadian embassy and claim your maple leaf toque!

[Bêthberry]

Ah, Fordim, I see you have left off the best defining canoe joke. Just as well I guess. Save that one not for the Honourary Canucks but for the real MacPap.

[The Saucepan Man]

Hmm, it would appear that I am an Honourary Canadian as well as a Stereotypical Englishman.

Then again, most of those apply to the British at least as much as they do to Canadians, or in some cases apply to Canadians precisely because they apply to the British. (Obviously, I'm excluding the hockey, Thanksgiving, five hour drive and canoe ones. They're just wierd. )

I suspect, however, that there may be a significant difference between the stereotypical French-Canadian and the stereotypical British-Canadian.

[the phantom]

got up early to lay their towels on the sunbeds

Somebody want to explain the whole sunbed thing?

I can too draw!

I don't know if I should believe you. Draw something, scan it, and let us see it. Then I'll give you my final verdict.

And since that's the only thing you protested I guess the rest must've been right.

I'm from Baden-Würtemberg, do you know where this is?

But of course. Right next door to those stereotypical Bavarians.

And Fordy, I answered "yes" to six of the questions (and "half-yes" to two, for a total of seven). Do I get anything for that?

[the phantom]

I suspect, however, that there may be a significant difference between the stereotypical French-Canadian and the stereotypical British-Canadian.

No way!

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Somebody want to explain the whole sunbed thing?

I second that question... I just don't get it.

I don't know if I should believe you. Draw something, scan it, and let us see it. Then I'll give you my final verdict.

Okay.

And since that's the only thing you protested I guess the rest must've been right.

"Fight only the battles you know you can win."

Fea (who is typing FROM an uncomfortable chair in a cluttered study)

[Durfuiniel]

Somebody want to explain the whole sunbed thing?

Ok, I'll try... but maybe somebody will do it afterwards again in a better english*smile*
Ok, imagine your on holiday in a club in spain.
In the morning you go to breakfast and afterwards you go to the pool and want to lay down on a sunbed.
But on all the sunbeds you can see lay/lei either towels or some persons. So on the sunbeds were lay the towels are no people and there aren't people near to them too. So you may get the idea that some people woke up extra early to lay their towels on the sunbeds, that they have one of them when they arrive at the pool lately.
In german articles is always written that the english people get up extrem early to lay their towels on the sunbeds. They write how mad the english people are 'cause they do it.
And it seems like as the english people write the same in their newspapers about the germans.
And if you really are in holiday you see crazy english and german people

uhm, I'm not sure whether this text is so well understandable but I hope I was able to make clear what the "sunbed" thing was about...

@fordim: I answerded with 7 "yes". Since I live on the other side of the world this is interesting...

[Lalwendë]

This has made me laugh - I never knew that German people thought the English were laying out the towels first. Hmmm, perhaps it is in fact the Spanish people who are doing it to confuse us poor Northern Europeans?

Fea - MG is now owned by BMW so these are in fact German cars. As are Land Rover and Jaguar, though some resident Clarkson is now no doubt going to correct me.

[The Saucepan Man]

... but I cannot resist.

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

MG is now owned by BMW so these are in fact German cars. As are Land Rover and Jaguar, though some resident Clarkson is now no doubt going to correct me.

MG and Land Rover were both owned by BMW, but BMW sold them off, retaining only the (profitable) Mini range. Land Rover is now owned by Ford, as is Jaguar, so both are ultimately in American ownership. Although I believe that the Rover-MG Group is British, at least.

Then again, give me a Ferrari anyday. (Please ...)

Just call me Jeremy.

Originally Posted by Durfuiniel

uhm, I'm not sure whether this text is so well understandable but I hope I was able to make clear what the "sunbed" thing was about...

Good explanation, Durfuiniel. As someone who prefers to be late to bed and late to rise on holiday, I find the whole sunbed thing intensely irritating, whichever nationality is responsible.

Now, back to the topic at hand. I'm from England, in case anyone hadn't guessed already.

[the phantom]

Fight only the battles you know you can win.

the phantom backs down from no one!

Ahhhh, so that's what the whole sunbed thing is about. Ha ha! It sounds pretty silly if you ask me. Only Europeans would want to spend their holiday lying by a pool.

Keep nasty sunbeds! Smeagol wants mountains, pines, and waterfalls.

Then again, give me a Ferrari anyday.

I prefer Lamborghinis.

I'm from England

And to think, all this time I thought you were from Quebec.

[Durfuiniel]

I think this sunbed-towel thing is stupid, too. But it's really funny that no country wants to be the guilty one
I never had a problem with sunbeds 'cause I don't use them for a long time anyway...

I prefer Lamborghinis.

Well I love Porsche...

And to write at least ONE thing in topic: Where in england are you from saucepan man?

[Encaitare]

Durfuiniel--

Hah! Now I've just got these mental images of mad Europeans secretly plotting to reserve their sunbeds, and resorting to all sorts of tricksy business in order to make sure they get theirs in a nice, sunny spot. Sometimes they even must sink so low as espionage to distract the enemy would-be sunbathers, by sneaking in at night to lay out therir towels super-early, or taking a towel off the sunbed, tossing it over the fence in a not-very-discreet fashion, and then whistling innocently as they place their own towel down, lie down, and twiddle their thumbs, pretending nothing ever happened.

It's like those old "Good Spy, Bad Spy" cartoons.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Ah, Fordim, I see you have left off the best defining canoe joke. Just as well I guess.

I did think about it, but the B-W wouldn't be able to reprimand me fast enough should I have dared. . . 'nuff said.

Saucy, delighted you qualify for Canadian citizenship. I rather suspected that you might. As to the French/English question, I believe that it is equally applicable to anglos (such as myself) and my francophonie brethren. Any quebecois(e) on the site can correct me.

As to those of you who scored just below the required 10 -- well, I'm sorry, but you are just not Canadian enough. You can be from the Netherlands though!

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I just uncovered the following quote by Sir Ian McKellan, and in light of my recent posts to this thread, just had to share it:

"I can imagine what it's like to kill someone," says Sir Ian McKellen, slicing up his haddock and smearing it with mash. "I can imagine what it's like to cast spells or have superpowers. But imagining what it's like to be Canadian? No. You'd need experience for something like that."

It's from an article in The Telegraph.

*sigh* I suppose for all the time he's spent here making movies, the inestimable Sir Ian is not an honourary Canadian.

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by the phantom

It sounds pretty silly if you ask me.

No. It's deadly serious.

Encaitare's descriptions are not as mad as they sound. These things do really happen. I once got into a very heated argument with a nasssty woman who ssstole the preciousss ssunbed that I had reserved with my childrens' beach toys (placed under the sunbed to stop them blowing away). And she was English.

Originally Posted by the phantom

Only Europeans would want to spend their holiday lying by a pool.

Sun, sea, sand, a sparkling pool, a cold beer and a good book. Ah, heaven.

Originally Posted by Durfuiniel

And to write at least ONE thing in topic: Where in england are you from saucepan man?

Aha! An opportunity to drag this post back on topic. London, me old china.

Originally Posted by Fordim

Saucy, delighted you qualify for Canadian citizenship.

Well, if being polite and reserved yet impatient, drinking beer, pronouncing 'z' zed and spelling honour, colour, centre thusly qualifies one for Canadian citizenship, I must say that you have very relaxed immigration rules.

[Bêthberry]

Sauce, you said:

I suspect, however, that there may be a significant difference between the stereotypical French-Canadian and the stereotypical British-Canadian.

Right. One group of us listens to Celine while the other listens to Shania. One group prepares fevres aux larde with maple syrup while the other uses brown sugar in baked beans. One group says, "Comment ca va, heh?" while the other says, "How's it goin', eh?" But neither group has fifty words for snow. Or any other activity.

Fordim, we could always send Sir Ian some black flies. Then he could imagine he was roughing it in the bush. (That's a Margaret Atwood allusion, for those of you unfamiliar with CanLit.) I think those who don't qualify as Honourary Canadians might be named Newfoundlanders, don't you think? Pre-Con that is, to retain the old colonial spirit.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

As regards sunbeds, it's a little thing called being clever. Stealing the sunbeds? Hey, anything goes...

Aman, Lalwende, I am glad to say that I have never been to Stranraer. Cold, dead people down in those parts! But I am familiar with the cannibal family. Murder, inbreeding, human flesh....ghastly stuff.

I would like to comment on the English stereotypes that have been bandied about on this thread. You see, the person Saucepan Man describes is what everyone loves about the English. However, the horrible illustrations of Lalwende are far more prevalent and worrying. That whole "Are you lookin' at me?" alchopops, chunky fake jewellery and reality tv/celebrity culture is simply something to run away from in my book.

And no, I am not a conservative.

Do Scots and Welsh have identities? Or are they just extensions of the English? I know the Irish definitely have a distinct identity.

[Lalwendë]

That whole "Are you lookin' at me?" alchopops, chunky fake jewellery and reality tv/celebrity culture is simply something to run away from in my book.

And no, I am not a conservative.

I'm quite far from being a conservative - you don't have to be one to be wary of that whole 'culture'! There's a new word for it, but I'm not sure whether it's considered rude or not, so I won't say it, but anyone in the UK will know what I'm saying.

Do Scots and Welsh have identities? Or are they just extensions of the English? I know the Irish definitely have a distinct identity.

Not only do I think that the Scots and Welsh have their own identities, but people from different areas of England often have their own cultures. I've noticed that in London, people seem to start work later and leave later, while up here there are plenty of people about in the office at 7am - makes it a pain when you ring someone at 9am and their voicemail says they only start work at11am! Likewise when they ring you at 4.30 just as you've logged off, grrr. Even language is different, I had real trouble understanding someone today who spoke in extremely precise Received Pronunciation. And here, we thank the bus driver when we alight, something I've done in the south and received suspicious glances for!