By UWE SIEMON-NETTO
In "Europe Cries Wolf, Britain Calls its Bluff" (Wall Street Journal, Opinion, Dec. 27, 2011) Andrew Roberts baffled me with this haughty punchline: "King George VI actually rejoiced after the fall of France, writing in his diary: 'Personally I feel happier that we have no allies to be polite to and to pamper.'" Then Mr. Roberts states: "That is the true voice of Britons, and one that David Cameron has articulated superbly." Perhaps it is the proverbial Teutonic dearth of a sense of humor that made me chuckle at the wrong place here. But evidently this illustrious British historian fails to see the irony in the prospect that without allies to be polite to the U.K. might not have Bentleys that in reality are Volkswagens, or Rolls Royces produced for them by BMW. Given the obduracy of Robert's conclusion, mules might just be the fitting form of transportation for the money handlers of this island's financial service industries once it is unchained from cumbersome friends, provided Britain's demented animal rights lobby allows these stubborn beasts to be used for man's convenience.
(From the Letters to the Editor section of the Wall Street Journal on Dec. 31, 2011)
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ReplyDeleteBritish humour is different. See how one Brit at first read this poem by Heinz Erhardt.
ReplyDeleteVom alten Fritz, dem Preußenkönig,
Weiß man zwar viel, doch viel zu wenig,
Es ist zum Beispiel kaum bekannt,
Daß er die Bratkartoffel erfand.
Drum heißt er auch - das ist kein Witz -
Pom Fritz.