Wedding Venues in the PO

[martyn94]

What Sir Humphrey is trying to say is that in France, unlike UK, you cannot get married in a church or a licensed venue such as a hotel. You can only get married at the Marie by the mayor or a deputy mayor.
You can of course, as in UK or any where else, have a blessing and a party any place which you choose.

I cannot be offended when you compare me to such a distinguished public servant. But I flatter myself that I actually did say what you ascribe to me, not just try to. My own feeling is that French weddings are very agreeable (as well as actually marrying you): I bet that celebrants don't get to wear a red-white-and-blue sash, or have Marianne looking over their shoulder.

[neil mitchell]

No offence meant. I suspect that seminal tv series is more of a documentary than a sitcom and oh how it resonates 30 years on. I have nothing but respect for Sir Humphrey and his contempt for politicians.

[neil mitchell]

And, by the way, you can catch up with it all again on Netflix, best £5.99 I ever spent!

[martyn94]

No offence meant. I suspect that seminal tv series is more of a documentary than a sitcom and oh how it resonates 30 years on. I have nothing but respect for Sir Humphrey and his contempt for politicians.

And how! Or "et comment!" as my old dad would have said. He spent the last years of the war teaching FFE troops how to fire artillery pieces, and his spare time translating English slang into schoolboy French.

There will be a (very) small prize for the best current translation of "strike me pink".

[neil mitchell]

Without resorting to my google translate I go for "frappe mon saumon"

[martyn94]

Without resorting to my google translate I go for "frappe mon saumon"

His version was "frappez-moi rose". It's a bit literal, and makes not much sense, but nor does the English.

[Allan]

Is this some secret code between you two. I haven't the first idea of what you are talking about.

[Kate]

[martyn94]

Is this some secret code between you two. I haven't the first idea of what you are talking about.

If you go up the page a bit, you'll see that I indulged myself with some idle reminiscence about my late father, who ended the war in a training mission with the Forces Françaises de l'Extérieur. As I said, he amused himself by turning (then-current) English slang into French. He found "strike me pink" the hardest to do in a satisfactory way. I was fond of him, and inherited his liking for the French. And a tiny command of French army slang: I think of doctors as "toubibs" in his honour. Absolutely nothing to do with wedding venues. Though "strike me pink" was pretty much my own reaction to my first brush with a "celebrant".

[Allan]

Is this some secret code between you two. I haven't the first idea of what you are talking about.

If you go up the page a bit, you'll see that I indulged myself with some idle reminiscence about my late father, who ended the war in a training mission with the Forces Françaises de l'Extérieur. As I said, he amused himself by turning (then-current) English slang into French. He found "strike me pink" the hardest to do in a satisfactory way. I was fond of him, and inherited his liking for the French. And a tiny command of French army slang: I think of doctors as "toubibs" in his honour. Absolutely nothing to do with wedding venues. Though "strike me pink" was pretty much my own reaction to my first brush with a "celebrant".

And Sir Humphrey?

[martyn94]

Is this some secret code between you two. I haven't the first idea of what you are talking about.

If you go up the page a bit, you'll see that I indulged myself with some idle reminiscence about my late father, who ended the war in a training mission with the Forces Françaises de l'Extérieur. As I said, he amused himself by turning (then-current) English slang into French. He found "strike me pink" the hardest to do in a satisfactory way. I was fond of him, and inherited his liking for the French. And a tiny command of French army slang: I think of doctors as "toubibs" in his honour. Absolutely nothing to do with wedding venues. Though "strike me pink" was pretty much my own reaction to my first brush with a "celebrant".

And Sir Humphrey?

You're surely not young enough to have no idea at all about the BBC series "Yes, Minister"? If you really don't I'm sure you can find it on Youface, or NetPrime.

He's trying to say that I was a fussy, conniving, pedantic civil servant in my former life. All true, but never so grand as Sir Humphrey.

[martyn94]

If you go up the page a bit, you'll see that I indulged myself with some idle reminiscence about my late father, who ended the war in a training mission with the Forces Françaises de l'Extérieur. As I said, he amused himself by turning (then-current) English slang into French. He found "strike me pink" the hardest to do in a satisfactory way. I was fond of him, and inherited his liking for the French. And a tiny command of French army slang: I think of doctors as "toubibs" in his honour. Absolutely nothing to do with wedding venues. Though "strike me pink" was pretty much my own reaction to my first brush with a "celebrant".

And Sir Humphrey?

You're surely not young enough to have no idea at all about the BBC series "Yes, Minister"? If you really don't I'm sure you can find it on Youface, or NetPrime.

He's trying to say that I was a fussy, conniving, pedantic civil servant in my former life. All true, but never so grand as Sir Humphrey.

I had forgotten to say "pompous, and self-satisfied".

[Webdoc]

[martyn94]

Is this meant to play? If you go to YouTube and plug in "Sir Humphrey", there are plenty that do.

[Allan]

Well, I can't say that I recognise the character description 😊😊

I've never watched the program, to be honest I find pretty well all TV comedy to be puerile at best.

My sense of humour is clearly out of step with the writers.

[martyn94]

Well, I can't say that I recognise the character description 😊😊

I've never watched the program, to be honest I find pretty well all TV comedy to be puerile at best.

My sense of humour is clearly out of step with the writers.

I don't follow TV comedy very much myself (apart from Bilko, obviously). But as neill mitchell said above, it's "more of a documentary than a sitcom", especially if you've ever worked there. And I suspect that Sir Humphrey is now familiar, as a "type", to many people who don't, or hardly, know the programmes. Do persevere: they are quite good, and wonderfully well observed. I'd love to think that it's not like that now: but given the emerging Brexit omnishambles, I can only assume that it's worse.