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One piece of perhaps anecdotal fact for what it's worth.

Mrs GS was completing a contract, last year, at one of London's leading universities, sited on the cusp of the East End.

The college were compelled, from scarce and ever-shorter funds, to provision a dedicated room for Muslim students to use for prayers.

Young women used to use the loos to carry out their washing duties prior to devotion: and constantly left them in a total mess with loo paper all over the floor and the sinks over-flowing.

Staff and the janitors were totally incensed but apparently nothing could be done.

This is not apocryphal.

And not from the Daily Wail, either.

 

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[quote user="5-element"]

[quote user="Tony F Dordogne"]Sort of like the Brits who come to France and steadfastly refuse to learn French.[/quote]

Just saw a poster in my little down, which advertised "Carols and Christmas Services", etc... all in English.

Someone wrote all over it with a felt tip: VOUS ETES EN FRANCE. APPRENEZ LE FRANCAIS!

This may appear off thread, and yet....

[/quote]

[:)]

Well the French have a good point and there are French carols. However it is Christmas and many will want to feel close to home and sing the carols they know and love. I saw on TV that a school in Slough has such a high percentage of Polish children that they will be singing some of the Polish carols at school this year.

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I am French and I am shocked by what was written on that poster for English carols..

One should understand that not everybody's been here  long enough to have a good command of French.. And it is not by attacking

people in such a way that you re going to make them feel like learning the language.

Of course I think it is necessary to learn the language when you live in a foreign country, but it takes some time, and it s always pleasant to 

have a sense of community from time to time. It 's only human.

English carols, French carols, whatever...

As long as the spirit is there.............

 

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r20/regine79/ronde-sapin-noel-2942.gif[/IMG]

 

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[quote user="Cendrillon"][quote user="5-element"]

[quote user="Tony F Dordogne"]Sort of like the Brits who come to France and steadfastly refuse to learn French.[/quote]

Just saw a poster in my little down, which advertised "Carols and Christmas Services", etc... all in English.

Someone wrote all over it with a felt tip: VOUS ETES EN FRANCE. APPRENEZ LE FRANCAIS!

This may appear off thread, and yet....

[/quote]

[:)]

Well the French have a good point and there are French carols. However it is Christmas and many will want to feel close to home and sing the carols they know and love. I saw on TV that a school in Slough has such a high percentage of Polish children that they will be singing some of the Polish carols at school this year.

[/quote]And yet, maybe it would have done no harm to have put a French translation on the poster to encourage some of the locals to come too - even if the Carols themselves were in English?
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I was a little shocked and indignant when I saw that poster defaced in that way (one of those times when I do feel British[;-)])

Part of my point is that there are bigots everywhere, everywhere there are people who feel threatened by what they perceive as "foreigners taking over" and refusing to integrate. Personally I cannot see why people should not have special events with their own customs and own ways of celebrating, in their own language. This strikes me as normal and applies to all immigrant communities everywhere. I guess I was shocked because at times, one can forget that Anglophones are immigrants here, and are perceiced as such by some locals, who resent them for just being immigrants, and therefore for behaving as non-French people.

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[quote user="cooperlola"]

maybe it would have done no harm to have put a French translation on the poster to encourage some of the locals to come too - even if the Carols themselves were in English?[/quote]

Yes, I think that would have been right to acknowledge the host country and its language, and be open to people who might be interested.

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[quote user="Cendrillon"]

Well the French have a good point and there are French carols. ...

.[/quote]

 

But only about two, Cendrillon!   I have never heard anything other than a French equivalent of "O Come All Ye Faithful" and the ubiquitious "Il est ne, le divin enfant".  (sorry, can't do accents on the laptop!)

At a grand Christmas spectacle at the Puy du Fou (85) last week - which was a cross between Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College Cambridge and Chipperfields' circus, they also used one (in English) called, I think, "The Coventry Carol", and a French version of "Angels from the Realms of Glory".

The Conseil General (not normally known for its anglophilia) is organising an extravaganza at the Haras (National Stud) in La Roche-sur-Yon to be themed on Dickens's book "A Christmas Carol"! 

Angela

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[quote user="Loiseau"]

[quote user="Cendrillon"]

Well the French have a good point and there are French carols. ...

.[/quote]

 

But only about two, Cendrillon!   I have never heard anything other than a French equivalent of "O Come All Ye Faithful" and the ubiquitious "Il est ne, le divin enfant".  (sorry, can't do accents on the laptop!)

At a grand Christmas spectacle at the Puy du Fou (85) last week - which was a cross between Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College Cambridge and Chipperfields' circus, they also used one (in English) called, I think, "The Coventry Carol", and a French version of "Angels from the Realms of Glory".

 

Angela

[/quote]

Quite a few on here Loiseau

http://french.about.com/od/christmascarols/French_Christmas_Carols_Chants_de_Nol.htm

[:)]

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[quote user="Cendrillon"]Christmas and many will want to feel close to home and sing the carols they know and love. I saw on TV that a school in Slough has such a high percentage of Polish children that they will be singing some of the Polish carols at school this year.[/quote]

 

Well, living as I do some 2 miles from Slough, and having done a quick internet search and scanned the local paper, it doesn't seem to be big news here. However, if you visit this link you'll see that in Berkshire as a whole you can celebrate Christmas is a variety of ways. Oddly, they're all referred to as "Christmas" so perhaps there are a lot of people in VERY multi-cultural Berkshire who haven't been contacted by the redtops to say that they need to be personally affronted by this.

If you look closely, you'll see that there's a Welsh Male Choir (although we're some distance from Wales) Morris Dancers, carols from Spain and Argentina,France and Poland - oh, and some African kora music. Much of it happening in churches. what's the world coming to, eh?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2007/11/30/2007_christmas_events_feature.shtml

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Cendrillon, I don't doubt you for a minute! I seriously think that it is just a question around my area of people (well, a fair percentage) accepting, and in some cases embracing - as you so rightly say - the fact that we might be an island, but that doesn't mean we have to be completely cut off from the world.[:D]
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  • 3 weeks later...

[quote user="Marton"]Another one you could'nt make up.   The Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust are piloting a policy to turn Muslim patients beds towards Mecca.  As well as moving beds nurses must also provide fresh bathing water prior to each of the 5 daily prayer sessions at the hospital.   Shortage of nurses yet additional duties must be done.  MRSA superbugs, C.Diff, yet additional duties must be done.[:@][/quote]

Incorrect.  the hospital asked nurses to be aware that critically ill (on deaths doorstep) muslims may want to face mecca during theor final moments on this planet, and if a request was made, every effort should be made to accommodate the request.  Similarly, christians who requested pastoral services should also be accommodated wherever possible.  ut forget the christians, there are muslims we can slag off....

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[quote user="Chief"]

........................ forget the christians, there are muslims we can slag off....PC this -PCthat -PC are you just a Boring Tw*T

[/quote]

C'mon Chief, why don't you say what you really mean.....................[:)]

 

 

Happy New Year, BTW

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[quote user="Bugbear"][quote user="Chief"]

........................ forget the christians, there are muslims we can slag off....PC this -PCthat -PC are you just a Boring Tw*T

[/quote]

C'mon Chief, why don't you say what you really mean.....................[:)]

Happy New Year, BTW

[/quote]

Cheers mate and happy new year to you as well.... [B]

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[quote user="Chief"]

[quote user="Marton"]Another one you could'nt make up.   The Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust are piloting a policy to turn Muslim patients beds towards Mecca.  As well as moving beds nurses must also provide fresh bathing water prior to each of the 5 daily prayer sessions at the hospital.   Shortage of nurses yet additional duties must be done.  MRSA superbugs, C.Diff, yet additional duties must be done.[:@][/quote]

Incorrect.  the hospital asked nurses to be aware that critically ill (on deaths doorstep) muslims may want to face mecca during theor final moments on this planet, and if a request was made, every effort should be made to accommodate the request.  Similarly, christians who requested pastoral services should also be accommodated wherever possible.  ut forget the christians, there are muslims we can slag off....

[/quote]

Fat Club member no doubt.

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[quote user="Marton"][quote user="Chief"]

[quote user="Marton"]Another one you could'nt make up.   The Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust are piloting a policy to turn Muslim patients beds towards Mecca.  As well as moving beds nurses must also provide fresh bathing water prior to each of the 5 daily prayer sessions at the hospital.   Shortage of nurses yet additional duties must be done.  MRSA superbugs, C.Diff, yet additional duties must be done.[:@][/quote]

Incorrect.  the hospital asked nurses to be aware that critically ill (on deaths doorstep) muslims may want to face mecca during theor final moments on this planet, and if a request was made, every effort should be made to accommodate the request.  Similarly, christians who requested pastoral services should also be accommodated wherever possible.  ut forget the christians, there are muslims we can slag off....

[/quote]

Fat Club member no doubt.

[/quote]

Is this a flippant attempt to dismiss the fact that you were wrong, as pointed out by another poster......[:)]

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