Mon dieu, I resemble that remark -- NOT.

Firstly, on peut etre irlandais, but one is more that un peu irlandais. One is cent pour cent irlandais. No offence (or even offense) to my froggy neigbours, but un ouef is un oeuf.

But Monsieur Trayneur is right -- I am perched on the side of an Alp as I write this, and it's not bad.

Also Monsieur Trayneur, those weren't ever chatup lines, unless you count the little man at the banana stall in the Angulana markets, south of Colombo, someone in my chatup crosshairs. I know living in Sri Lanka back in '92-'94 was somewhat sexually frustrating, but I was neither so desperate nor so inclined as to chatup the guys from whom I bought my daily food. All that said, those were lines I often heard (and worse) during my time there. And speaking of chatting up, there's nothing so passion killing as the mother of an attractive potential chat-up target telling you that 'Uma's stools were a bit loose this morning'. Bet Uma Thurman's mother never put off potential suitors thus.

And as for Kevin, well we've discussed lots of things but I've not yet seen any hint of Freedom Fries from him. Mind you, Kevin is too smart to make the same mistake as the US soldiers in the trenches of World War I: had they realised those French-speaking soldiers frying potatoes in oil were Belgian and not French, many's the Republican menu wouldn't have needed changing over the whole 'French Fries' debacle.

On that note, I'll say hi everyone and looking forward to lots more here...

Monsieur Wiredgoose

Un Peut Irlandais. Please also welcome Eoin (pronounounced Owen, from the Gaelic word meaning 'to be in debt to the British'). Eoin is sharper than a tack but unfortunately lives in France and his Irish heritage has slowly been leaking into the Alps.

Eoin's favorite chatup lines are: 'Are you married?', 'What age are you?', 'How much do you earn?', and my favourite, 'How are your bowel movements today?'

And even Kevin's francophobic rants do not ruffle Eoin: "rumours of his crabbiness are greatly exaggerated. I think he's a lurking francophile." Kevin, sortes du cabinet!

God help us now.