"For my children...in ENGLAND!"

[Alan H]

I rather enjoyed this story...

[Andrewson]

I greatly enjoyed this story ...

[Coemgen]

That's rich!

Reminds me of the story that Bishop Kallistos Ware likes to tell.

He was at his monastery on Patmos when a group of tourists came through and the abbot asked him, being an Englishman, to guide them, as the monks didn't speak very good English. A woman complimented him on his English, and asked how he had learned to speak it so fluently.

He replied, in all honesty, “I just sort of picked it up.”

[MacTavishOfJapan]

Funny story! Thanks for sharing, sadly I'm not surprised by it.

One of life's mysteries that I may never understand is why so many people who themselves know only English, and that often not well, seem to believe that anyone can understand English if it is spoken slowly enough and LOUDLY enough.

Having worked with a whole host of terrible English teachers in Japan that one always struck me too. Very weird.

[ccga3359]

One of life's mysteries that I may never understand is why so many people who themselves know only English, and that often not well, seem to believe that anyone can understand English if it is spoken slowly enough and LOUDLY enough.

.

Ooops! I'm guilty of this when I visit the French parts of Canada throwing some French in for good measure. Whilst in Montreal getting a tattoo I was like "I would like my name, le nom tattouged on my, le wrist" I was fortunate that he did tattoo 'Grant' and not 'Le ^%$*&# Idiot'!

Speaking English in a French accent doesn't seem to work either .

[Jerry]

It's too bad you don't have P1M's command of Scots.

[Master Boid]

One of life's mysteries that I may never understand is why so many people who themselves know only English, and that often not well, seem to believe that anyone can understand English if it is spoken slowly enough and LOUDLY enough.

Works well enough when you take an Empire... *Shrugs*

But, in all seriousness, I believe that if you're going to a foreign country you should at least attempt to speak a little (useful) part of their language.

One thing that has always struck me is how British people in general can immitate foreign accents but foreign people can't immitate British accents that well without sounding odd.

In conclusion, excellent story! Made me laugh for quite the wee while.