Thirty-nine tons of pleasure,” ran the headline in Le Bien Public, the regional daily of the Côte d’Or, with reference, of course, to the new tram in Dijon. It was a salutary reminder of how hard it is to read newspapers abroad, for I had heard nothing but complaints about the tram system from the Burgundian burgers of Dijon, and never a whisper of pleasure. I’ve often thought it must be rather tiring to be French all the time – so much attitude, not to mention attitudinising.Still, Anglo-Saxons have their attitudes too, and one does not want to stereotype a whole nation, although, while among them, as I have been for a few days, one cannot help noticing they are different. That is the whole point of going to visit them.Two days before the World Cup final, Le
17 July 2014, The Tablet
Poil means, I think, ‘starkers’. If it means anything worse, I apologise
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