Friday 10 July 2009

The ages of man


The following paragraph is an excerpt from a column by AA Gill;I've said it before and I'll say it again...he is one of the funniest,insightful,thought-provoking and entertaining writers' around. And so...for the benefit of foreign readers...and those Poms who can't afford or don't understand the big words in the Times... I include this for your delectation...

In old age, we grow to be German.

I’ve often thought that Europe is an allegory for the ages of man.

You’re born Italian. They’re relentlessly infantile and mother-obsessed.

In childhood, we’re English: chronically shy, tongue-tied, cliquey, and only happy kicking balls, pulling the legs off things, or sending someone to Coventry.

Teenagers are French: pretentiously philosophical, embarrassingly vain, ridiculously romantic and insincere.

Then, in middle age, we become either Swiss or Irish.

Old age is German: ponderous, pompous and pedantic.


Then finally we regress into being Belgian, with no idea who we are at all.

What we old Germans have instead of sex and laughter are word games and complaining about grammar.



Read the full article at :

2 comments:

  1. And when are we South Africans? Boorish, racist, fear-driven and stupid?

    When we're drunk!

    ReplyDelete
  2. i did an agency shift in A/E they put me in resus as i did not know how to do a "collar and cuff". the charge nurse said that relatives are allowed to watch the resus. now i may be out of date. in my day they waited out side. what do you think. i felt pissed off to be honest. i almost wanted to go back to SA

    ReplyDelete