Ian Jelf wrote:

Someone on (the much missed) Radio 4 programme "Home Truths" told a
story of seeing a house in the North of Scotland whose name was the
Spanish for "To Let". They conjectured that the owners had seen
such a sign on a house while on holiday in Spain and thought it was a
"nice name", not appreciating its meaning.

Actually that reminds me of our next door neighbours, when I was a young
lad. In a fit of supreme pretension, they named their bungalow "La Baraque",
thinking that it was French for "the bungalow". They were mortified when,
after many years, it was pointed out to them that "baraque" is French for a
shed or hut and is even used in the context "Quelle baraque" to mean "what a
dump"!

On Fri, 5 Jun 2009 11:57:22 +0100, Ian Jelf
wrote:

In message , Jack Taylor
writes

Someone on (the much missed) Radio 4 programme "Home Truths" told a
story of seeing a house in the North of Scotland whose name was the
Spanish for "To Let". They conjectured that the owners had seen such a
sign on a house while on holiday in Spain and thought it was a "nice
name", not appreciating its meaning.


I could go on for hours (and off topic) about the gaffes British expats
make when (mis)interpreting Spanish but one of the best is the chap who
put his name in bold letters at the entrance to his house.
To all the world, he proclaimed C O Jones.

And because I can't resist it (and it's true) there's the story of some
redoubtable pensioners who sold their home jam at a local market. One
week a Spanish lady brought a jar back because it was mouldy. One of
the ladies replied:

"Lo siento, estoy muy embarazada". Es que falló el preservativo."

(To save you all rushing for Google Translate)
"I'm sorry, I am very pregnant. The condom burst."


--
Bill Hayles

http://billnot.com

On 6 June, 15:25, Bill Hayles wrote:
On Fri, 5 Jun 2009 11:57:22 +0100, Ian Jelf
wrote:

In message , Jack Taylor
writes
Someone on (the much missed) Radio 4 programme "Home Truths" told a
story of seeing a house in the North of Scotland whose name was the
Spanish for "To Let". * They conjectured that the owners had seen such a
sign on a house while on holiday in Spain and thought it was a "nice
name", not appreciating its meaning.

I could go on for hours (and off topic) about the gaffes British expats
make when (mis)interpreting Spanish but one of the best is the chap who
put his name in bold letters at the entrance to his house.
To all the world, he proclaimed C O Jones.

And because I can't resist it (and it's true) there's the story of some
redoubtable pensioners who sold their home jam at a local market. *One
week a Spanish lady brought a jar back because it was mouldy. *One of
the ladies replied:

"Lo siento, estoy muy embarazada". Es que falló el preservativo."

(To save you all rushing for Google Translate)
"I'm sorry, I am very pregnant. *The condom burst."

A similiar problem when turning down food in France with "Je suis
pleine".

"MIG" wrote in message
...


"Lo siento, estoy muy embarazada". Es que falló el preservativo."

(To save you all rushing for Google Translate)
"I'm sorry, I am very pregnant. The condom burst."

: A similiar problem when turning down food in France with "Je suis
pleine".

I gather that in France a pedaliste is not necessarily a cyclist.

--
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."