BrianH
At the Start
I am indebted to our old friend Tattenham Corner in the Observer for the following piece:
Punch-up at the Pari-Mutuel
Belated news reaches us of an incident at Longchamp on Arc de Triomphe day where a party of English racegoers turned on a Pari-Mutuel operator who, they claimed, had short-changed them over their substantial winnings. The group came to blows with the operator and one of his colleagues who "stepped outside" their booth to address some of the comments and threats being directed towards them. One of the Pari-Mutuel men ended up with a bloodied nose, after which the crowd was dispersed, but not before both Frenchmen and some of their passing compatriots had launched into a rousing chorus of La Marseillaise.
Somehow it reminded me of that classic scene in Casablanca.
Punch-up at the Pari-Mutuel
Belated news reaches us of an incident at Longchamp on Arc de Triomphe day where a party of English racegoers turned on a Pari-Mutuel operator who, they claimed, had short-changed them over their substantial winnings. The group came to blows with the operator and one of his colleagues who "stepped outside" their booth to address some of the comments and threats being directed towards them. One of the Pari-Mutuel men ended up with a bloodied nose, after which the crowd was dispersed, but not before both Frenchmen and some of their passing compatriots had launched into a rousing chorus of La Marseillaise.
Somehow it reminded me of that classic scene in Casablanca.
