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Stevo985

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Posted (edited)

General reminder about the potential horror of avalanches. This may be behind a paywall, but you get a few free stories, I think. Tragic but also eye-opening, for me at least. I don't ever do off-piste (backcountry) skiing, and probably never will, but I still find this fascinating.

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The day after their world crumbled, Sue and Reg Franciose arrived in Switzerland to search for their daughter. It had been 24 hours or so since the phone call — “There’s been an accident” — and ever since, they had been sprinting through the fog, each frantic step darkened by questions with no answers.

 

They knew the likely outcome but had to come see for themselves what happened on the Wellhorn, a rocky peak that towers over the Reichenbachtal valley in the Bernese Alps.

A dash through multiple airports, a race through the mountains, and now they ambled through a small mountain village. That’s when they saw him, sitting in his car on the side of the road. Sue stopped, unsure what to do.

 

 

Edited by Marka Ragnos
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36 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

Happy St George’s day Villa Talk 

 

Happy Shakespeare's birth and death day to you (at least he was English and didn't slay a mythical beast)

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26 minutes ago, bickster said:

Happy Shakespeare's birth and death day to you (at least he was English and didn't slay a mythical beast)

The dragon myth was invented by a Frenchmen  , make of that what you will :D 

 

 

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On 20/04/2024 at 18:56, tonyh29 said:

Did they come around for tea or did you take the sauces out on outings with you ? 

Boris got trapped in the fridge. 

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Got petrol earlier, walked in, young lad behind the counter, smiled and spoke to him in German

"nummer drei bitte" 

Instant response "that's €24.99* please" in perfect English "thank you have a good night" 

How do they know? What gives it away, it was too instant to only be the black country twang, he had to have anticipated it as I walked to the counter 

And how am I ever meant to learn German?! Even the kid at the petrol station talks English to me 

* don't judge me, it's €24.99 or €25.01

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8 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Got petrol earlier, walked in, young lad behind the counter, smiled and spoke to him in German

"nummer drei bitte" 

Instant response "that's €24.99* please" in perfect English "thank you have a good night" 

How do they know? What gives it away, it was too instant to only be the black country twang, he had to have anticipated it as I walked to the counter 

And how am I ever meant to learn German?! Even the kid at the petrol station talks English to me 

* don't judge me, it's €24.99 or €25.01

I’ve had the same in Hungary , though tbh I speak Hungarian with an accent like Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins 

 

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19 minutes ago, Genie said:

He might have suspected you were trying to escape and spoke in English to see if you slipped up and responded in English whilst pretending to be German. 

Thinking about it.... 

Did I do a fassbender 🤔 I don't think I did, my daughter hates that, she's 3 and I'll do it on my fingers the English way and it winds her up something rotten, meltdown inducing 

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1 hour ago, villa4europe said:

Got petrol earlier, walked in, young lad behind the counter, smiled and spoke to him in German

"nummer drei bitte" 

Instant response "that's €24.99* please" in perfect English "thank you have a good night" 

How do they know? What gives it away, it was too instant to only be the black country twang, he had to have anticipated it as I walked to the counter 

And how am I ever meant to learn German?! Even the kid at the petrol station talks English to me 

* don't judge me, it's €24.99 or €25.01

I thought my French was decent. Went to Lille, was talking to an English girl for an hour, a cockney sort, and her male mate too, clearly American. 

They were both French, but one learnt English in London, one learnt 'American' in San Diego. They were the most French people I've ever known. I genuinely nearly brought a second hand car off her and a trip to California off him. 

The fella said it was the accent and the 'rolling of the Rs' in his California accent, drinking Belgium beer, with a Cockney sounding French fancy, one brummy and one black country lad. Christ, that must've sounded like a deaf orchestra at some point.

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2 hours ago, Xann said:

1_London-horse-incident-1178511081.thumb.jpg.1abd4b67fdaeded07a8b5716440aac3f.jpg

This is now.

They've dumped their cavalry riders and legged it.

Bit of claret for added drama.

 

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16 hours ago, villa4europe said:

Got petrol earlier, walked in, young lad behind the counter, smiled and spoke to him in German

"nummer drei bitte" 

Instant response "that's €24.99* please" in perfect English "thank you have a good night" 

How do they know? What gives it away, it was too instant to only be the black country twang, he had to have anticipated it as I walked to the counter 

And how am I ever meant to learn German?! Even the kid at the petrol station talks English to me 

* don't judge me, it's €24.99 or €25.01

I get the same in Sweden. People just respond in English, even if I’m confident I’ve said it correctly. 

I am sure they are just trying to be polite, ‘making my day a bit easier’, but it feels a bit patronising really. 

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6 minutes ago, LondonLax said:

I get the same in Sweden. People just respond in English, even if I’m confident I’ve said it correctly. 

I am sure they are just trying to be polite, ‘making my day a bit easier’, but it feels a bit patronising really. 

Have you considered trying to learn actual Swedish instead of just talking to them slowly and loudly with a slight unspecified European accent? 

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3 minutes ago, Genie said:

Buying petrol is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman 

You have to remember you don’t need to queue, the hose actually reaches the other side of the bodywork.

 

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13 minutes ago, Genie said:

Buying petrol is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman 

Make sure the nozzle is firmly in the tank before filling her up? 

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15 minutes ago, Genie said:

Buying petrol is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman 

In the case of @Xela pay a lot more for it than you strictly need to. 

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31 minutes ago, LondonLax said:

I get the same in Sweden. People just respond in English, even if I’m confident I’ve said it correctly. 

I am sure they are just trying to be polite, ‘making my day a bit easier’, but it feels a bit patronising really. 

I learnt off the best

image.gif.e7910de8e60047e48c9d3a5d86eb01e1.gif

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