2 myths about the French

It is often said that the French hate to queue.

I've lost counts of the number of times I've been to France and have never seen any evidence for this assertion. How could it be other wise? If 10 Frenchmen arrive in a post office or at a railway booking counter or a patisserie or at a bus stop or at a hotel reception desk, what would happen if nobody queued? There would be pushing and shoving and fighting and shouting and nobody would get served. That simply does not happen. People queue in France as they do here in the UK.

Just as frequently, it is said that the French appreciate British visitors trying to speak French to them.

Obviously, if one shouts in English to make oneself understood then that will go down badly. But I find that a simple apology for not being able to speak French allows one then to communicate in English without any difficulty.

In my own case, French residents actually beg me not to speak French because they can't stand the mixture of hesitancy and tortured pronounciation.

On the bank transfer front, I emailed the German bank concerned and they replied almost immediately with the instructions for transferring euros to one of their accounts. They signed off their email with "Best wishes to Glasgow."