» Posh

It's so confusing...
ElNicko - I once got hit on by P Stringfellow. That was categorically NOT posh, in fact I am still suffering the trauma caused by his zebra skin jacket... EYURGH.

I once went out with a Lord's son complete with Stately Home... half of it was open to the public but the half they lived in was way nicer. However proper posh people have NO money - its all tied up in crumbling houses.

I saw it from the other side when I worked as a dinner lady in a v famous boarding school, before I went to university. Yes they were posh, but I used to offer them extra choc ices in return for repeating Marxist slogans - nothing like a cut-glass 15 year old accent saying 'All property is theft'. Little Johnny's parents may well have been paying £16K a year for his education but I thought it was apt that you could buy his principles with some cheap EU milk lake ice cream and sugar.


Me? I'm a bit of everything. But I do love Veuve Cliquot la grande dame (think the 94 was my favourite)... but wine isn't posh! It's just nice... I hate faux wine snobbery, it makes me so angry.

Oh, and Prince William is FIT. Just thought I'd add that too. Much more of a 'would' than Harry.
(Mon 19th Sep 2005, 14:17, More)

» Stupid Tourists

Oooh! First post!!!!
I live in Paris...

Middle aged American lady with dalek-sized wheely luggage: Do you speak English?
Me: Yes, can I help you?
Her: Where's my hotel please? Here's the address.
Me: Your hotel's on rue Faubourg du Temple. This is rue Faubourg Poissonière. It's quite a long way away. You'll have to take the metro or get a cab.
Her: But the name's the same!
Me: No, there's lots of streets call rue Faubourg something in Paris, because of the way it was built-
Her: But where's my hotel? It says here...

Even when I got her guide book and showed her the index page of rue Faubourg de whatever... she didn't believe me. And given she was walking towards the delightfully salubrious area of Gare du Nord I doubt she even has the luggage now... I tried!
(Tue 12th Jul 2005, 14:04, More)

» Never Meet Your Heroes

OK...
I can second everything about Lee and Herring. I met Richard Herring when I went to see him at Edinburgh because I ended up sitting with his sister (who was very funny too). He was really nice.

I met Stewart Lee when he did stand-up in Paris, we actually had a very intellectual discussion about global polotics and religion, he is probably the cleverest person I've ever met AND he was really awesome... *I love him*

I met Peter Stringfellow once and he made a pass at me. I felt dirty and tainted, but he did have a very cool zebra-skin jacket.

Actually the funniest people I met though were the guys off 'I'm sorry I haven't a clue.' I love Tim Brooke-Taylor as well.

ANYWAY there should be a story rather than just me being a total starfucker (whooo! famous people!) so here goes. It's true, but much better told in person so I'm sorry about that.

TO actually appreciate this story you should know that the most famous dessert wine in the world is a Sauternes called 'Chateau Yquem' - (pronounced eekem) my apoligies to all the b3tans I have just patronised horribly.

When I was at university, I was on wine society committee. Rather than the usual students getting drunk on valpol, this was the real deal - we had some amazing tastings and as a highlight got a very famous Bordeaux for our annuual dinner. The Baron of said Chateau flew over in his private jet to present the wines, we had Bollinger at the reception, everything was fantastic!

Come the end of the dinenr everyone was a little tipsy. I got chatting to the Baron and thanked him for bringing the excellent 1978 sauternes he had been generous enough to offer us.

"Ah yes, Mlle," he said, "but you know which is the best dessert wine of all, don't you?"

Feigning girlish innocence, I giggled.

"Chateau... HE CAME!" said the Baron whilst patting me on the leg and smiling in a very suggestive fashion - although he was old enough to be my grandfather...

If he'd offered the private jet as a venue I might jsut have said yes. But actually I just had another glass of port....

No apologies for length, or one of the richest men in the world not fitting in with you definition of 'famous'.

Oh and I met Jarvis Cocker too!!! he was in the same cafe as me in Paris. He was so cool!

OK I'll be quiet now.
(Fri 26th May 2006, 8:16, More)

» Weird Traditions

DrSchnauss/everyone/Dentressangle!
Hmmm, interesting DrSchnauss... My company works with them too. I giggled when I got told and all the French ppl looked at me like I was insane.

There were lots of letters about the Dentressangle thing months and months ago in The Guardian, one family used it to keeps the children quiet on long family drives telling them they were 'Norbert Deathstrangler' lorries to punish noisy kids... Lovely!
(Thu 28th Jul 2005, 16:46, More)

» Weird Traditions

Knives/coppers
You have to give them the coppers so you bought the knife - if you give someone a knife it cuts the ties of friendship/family/whatever... Oh and also to poke holes in the bottom of your eggshells (crazy people!)
(Thu 28th Jul 2005, 16:54, More)