Peter Rhodes on state secrets, a deadly virus and an embarrassing slip en France
I suggested recently that Keir Starmer's first big test might be another pandemic. Mpox, a virus which travels at the speed of an airliner has arrived in Europe. After all the lessons allegedly learned from Covid, we look forward to the Whitehall Masterplan Mk 2.
The big question of 2024 is still unanswered. Rishi Sunak must have known that good news on inflation, employment, tax returns and exchange rates was on the way. So why, when he could have hung on until after Christmas, did he call the General Election in July? Don't hold your breath. Some states answer such questions promptly. We have the Thirty Year Rule
Many readers got in touch to share their encounters with French people who varied from sullen and unhelpful to pure angels. Love the tale of the family whose car broke down with a snapped clutch cable (un cable d'embrayage, apparently ) in an underpass near Paris. As the adults fretted, the kids howled and a stream of traffic thundered by, they feared the worst.
And then a big black limousine pulled up behind them. The driver turned out to be the local mayor who promptly produced a tow rope. He not only towed the stranded car and Les Anglais to their camp site but even phoned the local VW dealer to get the cable replaced. My reader uses this story when dealing with Brits who parrot the old refrain: “Love France but can't stand the French.”
I have a friend, too, who has a tale of a kindly Frenchman.On his first trip to France, he spent hours en route mentally rehearsing his first French phrase, a request for four glasses of beer for himself and his three mates . Arriving at the hotel he strode confidently into the bar and requested: “Quarante bieres, s'il-vous plait.” I bet some French (or for that matter, English) barmen would have served precisely what the hapless customer had requested. This one was kind enough to spare the Anglais' embarrassment and serve him with four beers, not 40.
Our changing language. Unable to afford property prices in the fashionable Cotswolds, some house buyers are said to be opting for the pretty stone villages in and around Rutland. Estate agents call it The Notswolds.
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