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Thread: Observations on France

  1. #11
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    Default Re: Observations on France

    The frogs asked us on the GEORGIC to go and Rescue 3,000 french Foreign Legion from a beach in Viet Nam after the battle of Dien Bien Phu.
    We spent three and a half days \running to the beach non stop in our lifeboats under fire from machine guns and morter shells pulling them in and taking them back to the ship. three miles away. Dead ones we threw back into the sea.,
    We rescued 2,500, leaving around 500 dead behind, taking them to Algiers and Marseilles.
    NOT A THANK YOU,
    Captain Fitzgerald asked De Gaulle for medals for us who had riske our lives, he said NONE
    Last edited by Captain Kong; 16th November 2021 at 12:35 PM.

  2. #12
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    Default Re: Observations on France

    Quote Originally Posted by John Arton View Post
    There is a very simple solution to the problem and that is to cut off the supply of these inflables to the people smugglers, yet the French either seem incapable of, or cannot be bothered too, stop the supply of them.
    Rgds
    J.A.
    John, the French are making them, it is a growing industry!

  3. #13
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    Default Re: Observations on France

    Our TV reporters are able to find these boats on the beach, but the French cannot, Nelson eye of course, there will be thousands of migrants, having heard the good news, all setting out for France, sooner or later the French will be swamped with them, they cannot all get here. The easiest answer for the French if they were willing is to destroy the boats and engines on the beach, which would stop the money, they would not pay large amounts of money to get here, and then see their money lying in tatters on the beach
    R689823

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  5. #14
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    Default Re: Observations on France

    #1
    J. S.
    I think you hit the nail square on the head with this Post.
    Well done.
    Graham R774640

  6. #15
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    Default Re: Observations on France

    Well, pretty much argumentative , they could cause a war in a charity shop, kt
    R689823

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  8. #16
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    Default Re: Observations on France

    My late wife and I spent 13 summers bumming around Europe. One year we went first to England, bought a vauxhall, complete naturally with Brit license plates. We first spent a month touring Scotland, England and Wales, then across for almost two months in "La Belle France".

    We crossed the Channel and had a friend from the States who had been travelling with us for a couple of weeks, she arrived in London and was leaving from Paris.

    I got totally lost in Paris and couldn't find the exits for the Airport. I Speak/spoke pretty (losing it now with no one to practice with) good Spanish and German, but French was limited to grunt and groans and a few sentences.

    Getting desperate, I stopped next to a man about to get into his car, I said to him "Excuse moi. ou est La Aeroporto Charles de Gaulle?" That blew my French. He said, giving a Gallic shrug of his shoulders, making the noise with his lips like a soft fart as only the French can do and said"Oo la,la...Merde!" I started to slowly drive away and said to the girls "miserable S.O.B.". Next thing I know a car pulls alongside me, it's the Frenchman, He signals for me to follow him. So I do, for a good half hour across the streets of Paris, then. up onto the big highway. Eventually he signalled up at an overhead sign that said "Auroporto Charles de Gaulle" waved and got off an exit.

    This guy went way out of his way to help us and don't forget I'm driving a British car and can't speak French so he assumed we were British.

    I've been to France dozens of times on both business as well as pleasure, and seen it from top to bottom and sideways. It's a lovely country, the people have been nothing but friendly whether they assumed we were British or American.

    True, I have been told I look through "Rose tinted glasses", if I do, then good, because I am never taking them off.

    Cheers, Rodney

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  10. #17
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    Default Re: Observations on France

    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Tindell View Post
    Well, pretty much argumentative , they could cause a war in a charity shop, kt
    I should introduce you to an old shipmate of mine;
    As deck engineer on a tar boiler I worked daily with an Irish pump man, Ben Mynes was his name, from Dublin, 6' 4" , 19 stone, gentle giant, gentleman, never got in any arguments, he never really had to, just standing up was usually enough to quell any dissent. Good guy to work with and run ashore with.

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    Default Re: Observations on France

    I've found when you get away from the coastal ports, Calais, Cherbourg etc, the French people are fine, i have a very good friend who lives in a small village near Bergerac, and he is well known and gets on fine, now their politicians , like most countries are a bunch of rissoles,But lets be honest , we never have got on with them going back centuries , fortunately we've given them a bashing mainly, but they still don't learn to bow in our presence , most of what i have just written is just for Lewis, lol, kt
    R689823

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    Default Re: Observations on France

    Lewis, in 1955 de Gaulle was in charge of all the french Colonies, including Viet Nam, of french Indo China
    the Viet Minh under Captain Cong,[not me[ and Ho Chi Minh wanted independence. so the fought and beat the french
    Last edited by Captain Kong; 16th November 2021 at 07:44 PM.

  13. #20
    Keith at Tregenna's Avatar
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    Default Re: Observations on France

    The British powers that be said a firm no to Ushakov.

    Took a while but, our veterans got it in the end.

    K.

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