A Crumb of Comfort

A little incident occurred today which emphasized both the charm of living in rural France and the differences between our cultures, to say nothing of the problems which can arise if  you don`t speak the language. Our Boulanger on his round stopped his little white van in front of our door, which is unusual, as I confess we make our own bread and are not his most regular customers. He handed me a packet containing a gallette des rois, in this case, a circular brioche, complete with cardboard crown and containing the feve to decide who is king for the day. I was puzzled as to why, as I had not ordered it. He explained that a friend in a nearby village had asked him to deliver one to us, as we had helped her daughter out by lending an English adapter when she went to the UK recently, how kind of her!
  However, he was keen to tell us of a problem which had arisen with another customer, precisely due to lack of a common language. This lady,who we have only met a couple of times at village `does`, is, I think an American, and has bought a holiday home in the town itself.  She had gone into the bakery and had asked the Boulangere to sign a form, which the silly girl had done without having much idea what it was about. Her husband was aghast when told, especially when the American proved hard to contact, seeming to be out of the house. He even contacted the Police for advise only to be told they could do nothing. Eventually, he succeeded in contacting the lady and an unsatisfactory `exchange` took place, only terminating when she rang a French-speaking friend, who managed to pacify he Boulager. It appears she had asked the Boulangere to witness a signature on some form or other, and the signing of it didn`t commit them to anything. We were able also to reassure him that this signing went no further than to certify that she had seen the lady sign the form.  The practice seems unknown in France, even a Will is just written out in the testator`s own hand and signed. A bit of a storm in a teacup, really, but the Boulanger was really worried!

    All`s well that ends well.

          Bye for now!