Originally posted by BrianH+Jul 2 2006, 10:25 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (BrianH @ Jul 2 2006, 10:25 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Maurice@Jul 2 2006, 09:21 PM
Wish I could help, but I'm not exactly a francophile. Beautiful country, shame about the people.
More or less than the English? [/b][/quote]
I could go on at some length about this.
I lived in France for a year. I've never lived in England. I met some great people when I was in France. Unfortunately they were very much in the minority and almost entirely senior citizens. I've had a good number of young French people work for me over the years. There was only one genuinely 'warm' one.
I've been to England a few times and I'd say the ratio was closer to 50-50. What I'd consider to be
real English people are those who go out of their way to help and to be friendly, and I've met a number of them, especially on this forum.
What dismays me is the number of 'other' English people I've met.
I've been accosted more than once on account of my accent. I was turned away by a seemingly teenage cockney girl at the reception desk of a company, with whom I had an interview for a very important job, because of my accent. She said 'er job were to make shuah only peopow 'at was raht foah the job go' past 'er. (I had an appointment for an interview for work as an English teacher in Saudi Arabia at a time when a 2-year contract out there was worth 10 years teaching salary.)
I was asked to leave a LT bus because I only had Scottish tender on me. Welcome to London.
Those are just the situations that spring immediately to mind and I wish I could say I could just as easily remember more pleasant encounters apart from meeting forumites which has been great fun.
England's countryside, however, must rank among the most beautiful in the world.