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Posted July 19, 2010
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Links to previous years’ stories:
Tancredi celebrates
Bastille Day
I
al-most forgot to remind ev-ery-one zat eet ees
BASTILLE DAY!
Forget
BASTILLE DAY? *Nevaire!*
Basil: Eh, lass, wot’s there to watch now that the
World Cup’s done? Time fer a little tour o’th’channels – **flip-flip-flip**
Persephone: **typing**… “Dear Peter, Does your pater
manhandle the telly remote with the amazing dexterity
that mine exhibits?...”
Basil: Mmmm, crisps! *munchmunchmunch*
**flip-flip-flip-flip-flip-flip-flip-flip-flip-flip-flip-flip-flip-flip-flip**…
Persephone: … “Though I suppose his hand could use the exercise, after weeks of
nonstop World Cup viewing…”
**creeeeek… creeeeek…
creeeeek…**
Persephone: … “I hear a familiar sound coming this way; Pater’s wish for a new
species of entertainment may be fulfilled presently; though for me it is but a tedious
reprise…”
Basil: What ho, my Frenchy son? You’ve brought your
fancy fromage-slicer
too late for our World Cup noshes!
Tancredi: ‘Ow can you seet zere like zat, wheen eet ees
ze mos’ eem-por-tant
day of ze year? Rise, rise, an’ to pay your ree-spects to ze glorious ree-volution an’ ze jour zat
commenced eet – BASTILLE DAY!
Basil: Here, son, don’t forget we Brits (of whom yer
half) tried that king-offing business years before you Frenchies
caught on, so it’s no big deal to us. Grand experiment, and all that –
Tancredi: Oui,
I know zat you are an Een-gleesh,
but my o-zher half eet ees Français –
Persephone: *low voice* Dare we conjecture which
half?
Tancredi: Eet ees where mon coeur ree-sides – ze land of ma Mère. She eet was who nou-reeshed me, cared
for me –
Basil: Can’t argue with you there, boy – yer mum’s a dishy lass, if ever there was –
Basil: And speakin’ o’dishes,
here’s the proof of the pudding herself! ‘Ello-‘ello,
Marjie – wot brings you
stateside?
Tancredi: Maman! ‘Ow – ‘ow deed you get here? –
Marjolaine: ‘Allo, Ba-seel – an’
by ze u-sual methods of tran-sport, to an-swer my see-lee
son’s ques-tion. *chuckle* Your Mees
Beam-lette, she asked me eef
I would to pay une visite –
Marjolaine: An’ ‘ow could I say non? Eet ’as been a long time seence I see your visage
beau, ‘asn’t eet?
Tancredi: Ah, Maman…
why do you to call me “see-lee”? To ‘ear from you, eet
‘urts *pout* –
Marjolaine: But you ARE see-lee, MY see-lee garcon
– een a good way, n’est pas? You know zat Maman,
she al-ways love you, no mat-ter what –
Basil: That she does, son – at least she didn’t make you into a poofter; I’ll give her that, harhar
–
**enter Sparrows**
Buddha Girl: Eh, sorry we innerupt, but we need dis ting fo’
our summer wattermelon fest! How ‘bout we borrow it, Frenchy?
Angry Sparrow: Yeh, borrow –
Tragic
Marjolaine: Bon jour, les soeurs Moineaux – eet ‘as been a while seence
I last to see you, as well! ‘Ow do my lee-tle jeunes filles oiseaux find themselves?
Buddha Girl: Eh, mos’ly we use GPS! Dat
a little joke, Ms. Ma’gerine – how you doin’?
Angry Sparrow: Yeh, LITTLE – but den, we little, so it fit –
Tragic
Marjolaine: Oui, mes petites,
I ‘ave seen your maman, not long before I come ‘ere.
She ees ver-ree busy, but
she say she weel find you soon, as soon as she can.
Do not to worry; I know zat she love you, an’ she theenk of you, an’ she trust you to take care of yourselves
*smile*.
Buddha Girl: Awww, dat swell to
hear – tanks, Ms. Ma’gerine! You de LAS’ person I ‘spect to see ‘round here –
Angry Sparrow: Yeh, guess you like slummin’,
huh.
Tragic Plum: Oh yes, you are such a CLASSY lady… and we DO take care of ourselves… as
best we can… ooooooh…
Marjolaine: I thought as much, Tragique Prune *chuckle* –
A little while later…
Persephone: **typing** “… and so ends another Bastille Day, this time minus the sound
track of the Marseillaise. Citoyen Tancredi’s revolution
is undone by a more powerful force, namely his maman… and how goes it around
your domicile, Peter?”…
Basil: Heh, here’s a movie tailor-made for you, ducks
– how about Is
Marjolaine: Non, non, non, cheri –
I want to laugh. ‘ave you
any Jer-ree Lewis films, s’il vous plait?
Tancredi: *le sigh* I should to burst weez ‘appiness… what eez wrong weez me?...
Buddha Girl: Eh, chin up, Frenchy! By de way, can we borrow
dis pigsticker’a yous? Bet dat a swell cutter, too
–
Angry Sparrow: You b’lieve dat, Ms.
Ma’gerine HIS mom?
Tragic
Sons and mothers – a complicated relationship, and
even more so when you’re French, it would seem.
September
2010 was a month of vignettes rather than stories, playful, with an
undercurrent of character exposition. First up, Hyacinth Chatto
on a rainy day –
