| My brother-in-law's daughter, Theresa, works at an information desk in Gatwick, a major airport serving London. An English lady approached her.Lady: Has my auntie Sue got in yet?Theresa: Your auntie?Lady: Yeah. She'll be wearin' a red dress.Theresa: What flight was she on?Lady: Oo, I dunno. She's cummin' 'ome from a 'oliday on a island somewhere.Theresa: Can you tell me what island it was?Lady: Oo, I dunno. But I think it started wiv a 'S'.Theresa: Samoa? Solomon Islands?Lady: Nah.Pause...(Gatwick serves the Spanish package holiday business for southern England)...Theresa: Spain?Lady: Yeah! That was it! Spain!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the question of British attitudes to Europe, The British media always uses the term 'Europe' to mean the European continental mainland. It is always implicit that it is a separate entity from Britain. The expression 'the continent' is used synonymously. Europeans, apart from British ones, do not know what you mean if you say "the continent". Euro-bashing is a favourite staple of Robert Maxwell's newspaper stable, which dominates the British press. Britain is schizoid about Europe. Half the population are 'Europhiles' and half are 'Europhobes'. The other half are more rational about it. http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/showthread.php?t=65291&page=6 |
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Using a Story to Make a Point
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2 comments:
Jane, this is GREAT! It kind of blows away our theory of being familiar with the smaller countries around you though. Are you sure this lady at the airport wasn't Miss Teen South Carolina ?-)
Oh my gosh, Jane. The site is a hoot! A bit scary when you stop and think about it, but certainly it makes for a hysterical reading time....
...and just to make Rahab tick ever so slightly, whether England likes it or not, it is part of the European Union. Unfortunately, it also means that they are merely an island within the whole powerful European continent entity (Ah, the nostalgia of great empires ;p).
...oh, and just to confirm, of course, France and Germany want you to think that they ARE Europe. Aren't they?
S-
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