[BITList] French Kissing, not as easy as you think!

[HUGH]

Fred,

I know naught of kissing habits in France, bar what you sent in your message.  In the UK, what I know of it, apart from the chattering classes and their mwah mwah airkissing nonsense, the peck on the cheek is not often seen.  Most often it's a hug of appropriate duration, given by females to other females and to males of close acquaintance, and by males to ditto females but never to males, unless they are footballers and have just scored a goal.  But you know all this.  Our grandsons flee at the sight of their gran bearing down on them with welcoming arms.

I don't recall seeing much in the way of kissing in Denmark, but (male custom) there was clicking of heels to accompany an introduction to a stranger, and the surname was invariably used when addressing a man who had not been admitted as a close friend.  When addressing a woman, her title - fru (married) or froken (single) - was used along with her name (the "o" in froken should have a bar through it, but I seem not to have Word on this machine at the moment) - Janet got mail addressed to Fru Ingenior Hugh McIntyre.  Casual acquaintances and strangers were addressed as De (you), while close friends, chidren, family and animals were addressed as Du (literally thee).  In polite society the adoption of someone into the Du category might be the subject of a small ceremony involving alcohol. I have used the past tense in case someone writes in to say it has all changed.

Hugh.









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