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Basil Fawlty in France — 15 Comments

  1. We once booked a bed and breakfast online. When we turned up, it didn’t seem to be a bed and breakfast anymore, just a seedy little pub. They didn’t say that of course; they just showed us to our room: a large grimy place with a duvet cover but no duvet, an absence of lock on the door and a kettle filled with milk (which we didn’t realise until we boiled it). There wasn’t any breakfast in the morning either. The lesson? Read customer reviews. And write them.

  2. The strange thing about the hotel was that it was very comfortable. It had all the amenities, like TV and courtesy kettle in the bedrooms. All rooms were en-suite and the breakfast was grand [once we got a table].

    It was the weird attitude of Scruffy that amused me. I thought he might have been the handyman when we first arrived, but he was actually the manager.

  3. Well, poor old Basil had to go somewhere I suppose, when he stopped being a TV series. And he’s all the more bitter for it too, I imagine!

  4. We are off to France in July – booked a whole house for a week, in the middle of nowhere on a river..I think I am glad i did after all the stories of the French friendliness and hospitality…

  5. Grandad,

    We use the Campanile motel chain – via their website – good, clean rooms and decent food in the restaurant, or the Logis de France hotels – sometimes eccentric, sometimes expensive, but always interesting (in one place the chef/owner came and talked at length because we had been to Thiepval and Vimy that day).

    Scruffy shouldn’t appear in either of them! (I hope your place wasn’t a Logis!)

  6. Natalie – I love France. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper there too [apart from petrol!!]. Enjoy!!

    Ian – I’m a Campanile person myself. I first came across them in ’82 and have used them since. It just happened there wasn’t one available for that night in Angers. I’m pre-booking all Campanile this time. As you say – clean rooms and good food.

  7. France? France? Why? Did you know those rude french people have a different word for everything!! Seriously, if you want to order eggs in the morning you have to ask for ouves or oofs or something like that. Geez! What they can’t say egg? Well at least they drive on the correct side of the road and have good wine but shitty beer and even shittier cars. I hope your vacation isn’t too disturbed by all the french people surrendering to you.
    🙂

  8. TT – Nah! The very first thing I say is that I’m from Irlande.

    Brianf – France? Because it’s not America. It’s just as well they have a different word for everything. That’s because everything is different. Mind you – it would make learning the language a lot easier if they only had one word for everything?

  9. Brianf,

    France surrender? Did you ever read the speech of de Gaulle on 18th June 1940 or see their war memorials?

    And at least they are there from the start 😉

  10. Indeed. The bugles blew in 1914 and 1939. I bought a ball cap in Honolulu that says WW2 1941-1945. Then again I guess it only actually became a “World” war after Pearl. Also, at a later date, you would think Dien Bien Phu would have been a warning to us.

  11. TT – Don’t mind Brianf. Nobody else does. He thinks Merca won the war on its own.

    Welcome Hails! See you over there 🙂

  12. I’m TELLING you, Granddog, you need to holiday over here sometime and let me put you up at OUR hotel.. we treat people a bit better than that, be they Irish or not. You can sit down in the lobby and read all night if you’d like. That’s when I’m on duty over the weekend, so maybe you could read to me. I’ll sit at your feet and soak it in.

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