They say that knowledge is power, whoever they are. To be in possession of a piece of information that others may not know you have can be interesting, but may put you in a dilemma also. What to do with the knowledge. I’ll try to give an example of what I’m on about.
The shipping business is multinational and with that comes a load of different languages, the assumption is that everyone speaks English and this is fairly true but not entirely, on normal weekdays during normal office hours you get good service in English, after that in France, Germany, Russia (the list goes on but we can start it there) your chances of getting good English go down from about 85% to 10% depending on how late it is and how close to closing time on Saturday night. Thats just the way it is.
Now if I was in France for example and your man on the jetty is giving plenty of shoulder shrugs and Quoi? and Je ne c’est pas do you break out the school French ? NO, bad idea, don’t do it, if he thinks you understand French then he is never going to speak a word of his less than perfect English to you again, be prepared for a barrage of French and you will be mystified at the end.
On one occasion in France when I was a first trip third mate I overheard and made out from the surveyor and the agent in their conversation that they were casting doubts on the marital relations of the old mans parents on the date of his birth, this was interesting, how far do I let them go before I ask them something in French with a glint in my eye. I chucked out a trés drole and gave a laugh, the blood left their faces, until I told them il ne comprend la francais ( he doesn’t understand French) , they chuckled nervously, not knowing what to say or think, the old man who was a half Yorkshire, half Danish person was a complete bastard (but that’s another story. )
The old man who at this stage had noticed there was something going on said in a loud voice “wot are them French bastads sayin´ bout me?”
My turn to go pale. He might have looked stupid but I was the one feeling like an eejit. Should have kept my trap closed.
Dear Tim……..
I’m here often, and before making any unsolicited commentary, I want to thank you for your wonderful writing and for taking all of us along on your journeys.
On that note, take your own advice. Saying nothing often is the wisest course. Darn it.
Thanks and welcome onboard! That particular incident taught me to keep the flap buttoned in many other situations, and being the talkative type it was hard to stay shtum too long. Then along came blogs!