Funny Day

[Teamedup]

Been a rum old day really.

Got into the local Centre Cial and en exposition were electric fires with bars, just like when I was a young thing. I have never seen one of these in France before at all. I thought that they were recipes for disaster, ie huge bills people couldn't pay and not really efficient. They were also touting those ceramic heaters which turn and they have a choice of exactly which heating elements you want working. I have seen these ceramic ones in the UK in the last few years, I have been told that they are economic but I don't know whether they are. 

So who would buy old fashioned electrical bar heaters?............ have they improved them? can you still get them in the UK?

 

Then into Carrefour and not feeling too good, heard this Pappy shouting lonce low, lonce low. Realised that he was addressing an obnoxious kid and that the kid's name was Lancelot. I have never known of anyone called Lancelot before..... is it the new fashion.

 

 

 

[SaligoBay]

I think my son has a Lancelot in his class, but not sure it's very common.

No idea about electric fires, I too thought they went out with the ark, on safety grounds as well as being uneconomical to run.   Seems to be the preferred way in French toasters tho, but wires are better!

We did the Typical French Weekend too, went to BricoDepot, yippee!!  Motorway was quiet as we drove over it, mainly because nothing was moving on it.  Eleven-kilometre tailback after an accident, yuck!    Luckily it cleared before we set off to take the boys to another popular French pastime, LaserQuest.   Only 20 kilometres away, but we saw 5 accidents on the way.   I often think I should get out more, but when I do, it all seems so dangerous! 

 

[Teamedup]

We used to take our lads to Laserquest when we were back in the UK as there were none around here when they were young. I used to love it and so did they. A friend's son runs one around here now.

[Iceni]

TU

I will never believe that you have never read at least one version of King Arthur and the Round Table. Lancelot is a very very very old regional British name (well Arthur is claimed by almost every town and is even thought to be a Roman in some histories). Lancelot is a very historical name.

Had a wonderful day - good meal, good friends, came back to find the first peaches had ripened, loads more mushrooms in the field to be picked, had fresh peaches and raspberries and a few glasses of wine to finish the day and am looking forward to a nice mushroom omelette for breakfast. I just love Saturdays in France - we even managed a nice long sit by the river Lot.

I try to avoid going to places where I won't enjoy the experience - don't always manage it though.

[Russethouse]

>>>and a few glasses of wine to finish the day <<<

in my case it was G & T

Went to the 'Big plant nursery' and bought a black bamboo and a tall narrow blue conifer whose name I have forgotten, plus a huge Iris reduced in the sale. Went to lunch at the local Italian which was empty as its Reading Rock festival and the locals stay away, free brandy as usual which I have to pretend to drink and surreptitiously give to my husband as I am driving. Then to a local garden show and fête where we sat like OAPs listening to the brass band hack through 'The King & I' and 'Memories' from Cats, then watched the dogs parade in the dog show before coming home and realizing that my husband (Mr Organized) has lost the keys to both cars and the house......

I love Saturdays too

[Val_2]

I remember those two-bar heaters well. I even set an armchair alight with one which had been stood behind out of the way and I plugged in what I thought was the stereo - it was way back in the early seventies. Next thing I know there are flames and smoke coming from said chair as well as a lot of very bad words uttered by  my parents who flung the burning item straight out through the french windows. Actually after that,the fire was also binned and we had gas central heating put in. I would never entertain one of those heaters - they are just downright dangerous and I would think very expensive these days to heat a room properly. Strange and eerie round here too with all the tourists packed up and gone for la rentrée next week. Saw in the paper yesterday that there was a terrible accident down near Nantes on Friday morning when a british family had an accident through, the police think, the woman driver dozing off. The female driver was very badly injured and her fifteen year old daughter killed. Why do people push themselves like this and not make better travel plans to catch a ferry easier? Thats the second accident involving british drivers reported inthe paper within a fortnight now.

[Teamedup]

Yes, I know the name Lancelot, I think as a young woman I just about swooned when Franco Nero appeared on the screen playing the part.

I just have never known anyone I can think of to be called it.

I've been away this week and ill upon my return and the shopping just could not wait. I truly hate shopping at anytime.

[Debra]

Doesn't it just get shortened to 'Lance' nowadays?  At least that's my nephew's name and I assume that Lancelot is the original of it............

[opas]

Lillian, pronounced leon, Robin who untill recently I thought was called Hoben and vivien are all boys who our girls hang out/play with, they were rather amused when told that their other friend whose name is pronounced Khanton is actually Quentin.

our day has been passed pulling all the weeds out of my newly aquired potager....doesn`t look any better despite the blisters, backache and 3 hours of labour! expect to go back tomorrow and find they have multiplied again overnight.

As to the fires, we had one of those bar fires years ago, but who can remember having a coke(coal) fire in a caravan...we did, and one on the campsite we kept ours on burnt down one night when the family nipped out to the village for a chip supper.

Mrs O

[JohnM]

Ermm. My Saturday was funny as well, but very very different from yours. I sing with a Choir and we were used as an example in a workshop that about 40 Choral Directors went to. Half an hour in a (so say) relaxed setting, just doing a couple of songs that we knew well, was more nerve racking than the concert in front of about 1000 folk in Guildford Cathedral that evening. I suppose it was nerve racking because we all thought that, if we went wrong, all those experts would go out saying "Why the Heck did they choose that lot?"  Mind you the best bit of the day was to sing Karl Jenkin's Armed Man with a Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer (I've not sung with an orchestra before). A day I'll remember for a long time.

 

[Rollo]

[quote]Lillian, pronounced leon, Robin who untill recently I thought was called Hoben and vivien are all boys who our girls hang out/play with, they were rather amused when told that their other friend whose...[/quote]

Hello,

Is it possible that Lancelot is a corruption of 'Lance de Lot' or 'Lance du Lot' meaning simply a knight from the Lot....wasn't Lancelot supposed to be a French knight after all?In other words possibly a French rather than an English name and maybe one that goes back to medieval times at least?Or maybe it just signified a chap who used his spear a lot!

kind regards,

Bob

[Dick Smith]

Interesting question - I Googled it through etymological dictionaries and the consensus seems to be that it is a double diminutive of Old Frankish origin based on Lanz (land). Very few name sites were useful, one US name-your-baby site gave its meaning as 'Knight at King Arthur's Court' thus showing just how much research time they had spent on it! Possibly it was [lanzelet] at one stage before Malory got at it? I think he chose it because of the assonance with 'lance'.