Terrible cooks

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I don’t generally drink while cooking but if it’s something like risotto and all the chopping is done and the side salad is made...

Well it seems a shame not to pour a glass when adding the slosh to the pan and I can stand and sip and stir

[Joanbunting Profile]

Does Mr Sneezi work at the local pharmacy?

No but she is Madame Prudence Bonhomme. which creased us when we discovered

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I feel so plain. Gill Cox.

I can fully understand that a risotto stir might require a wee glass of wine too.
And at Christmas, all tasks have to be undertaken before I will take a drink. My chosen tipple is a bottle of beer.

But champagne with the meal usually.

[Binky Profile]

You probably all know this terrible old chestnut -



"I always cook with wine.

Sometimes I even put it in the food."


I am partial to a glass of champagne myself, but there are some horrors out there. To my mind, there is no such thing as a decent drink if you are only paying £15 per bottle. That's at an English shop of course; we have had some super ones from tiny growers in the Champagne region, but we can't easily buy from them.

[Wordsworth Profile]

Re names...

I used to share an office with a chap called.
Roger Mee.

People who returned his calls were often unsure whether or not they were being wound up, especially as they had usually applied for a job.

[Pampy Profile]

My ex-MIL was an appalling cook. One day she served us virtually raw chicken - she said that the instructions were to cook for 20 minutes - she stopped reading at that point so missed the following "...per pound plus 20 minutes"!
I had my wisdom teeth taken out in hospital - the surgeon was called Mr Butcher.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Re names...

I used to share an office with a chap called.
Roger Mee.

People who returned his calls were often unsure whether or not they were being wound up, especially as they had usually applied for a job.

In one office of mine Mr Kill sat next to Dr Slaughter. Really, it wasn’t even for the joke - they were part of the same small team

[Wordsworth Profile]

You have reminded me that the cook at one of my employer's premises is Mrs Killer.

[Binky Profile]

one of my near neighbours was a Dr. Pain.

He's retired now, thank the Lord.

[Alexandria Profile]

Foreign names could be quite hilarious to us here ..

Some Spaniards have some humorous names when translated into English too ..

However, the majority are typical: Fernandez, Hernandez, Pérez, Sánchez, etcetra ..

Prudence Bonhomme is surely a nightmare when translated !!

Mr. Jolli and Mr. Gay !! Could you imagine growing up with the surmane Mr. Gay ?

Or Ms. Tittler ? or worse, Ms. Watanabe ?

Have a nice weekend ..

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I don’t see what is remarkable about Watanabe? It’s a very common Japanese do it doesn’t sound humorous in English

It’s the length of some Spanish and Catalan names that seems remarkable to the English - reading the obituary for Montserrat Caballé today I was amazed to discover that her name was in fact
Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé i Folch

[Joanbunting Profile]

Well spotted Sue - but an amazing lady all the same!

[Alexandria Profile]

Joan & Sue,

Yes, she was a true mythic opera singer ..

Why all the names in Spain ?

Firstly if born prior to the death of Franco, May 1975, there was a legal law ( still in Greece) to name a child:
1) After a Saint ( Maria being the most popular )
2) To give a middle name of a parent or grand parent; Maria Almudena for example ..
3) Also to give a 3rd name in some parts of Spain: E.G. Maria Almudena Carmen .. ( Both grandmothers for example )
4) Then, in Spain, we have 2 surnames: The Paternal and the Maternal .. E.G. Maria Almudena Carmen Sánchez Fernández ..
5) We do not change our surname to our husband´s here ..
6) Now it is more common to have just a 1st name, and 2 surnames - the paternal always 1st and the maternal surname follows .. Some have middle names .. It is up to the parents.
7) The Maria Dilema and the José Dilema: José Maria, José Luis, José Manuel etcetra .. At school the middle name is commonly used so not to confuse which José the teacher is referring to !! The same for Maria: Maria Sol, Maria Carmen, Maria Luz etcetra ..

Legally, you can use just your paternal surname however, your legal documents and birth certificate shall be with both the paternal and the maternal names.

[Joanbunting Profile]

I am feeling deprived. i have two names and you all know them both. I don;t have any others.

My children have three - they both have a middle name and M , lord help him, has 4 but we won't go into that However, for official purposes here in France I am always known by my maiden name - it is actually much easier to pronounce for the French than my married name.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I didn’t know it was ever legally required to use paternal and maternal names, though I knew it was a tradition. I didn’t know about the other names. Really interesting.

In France of course you were obliged to use only names on a very old official list, even some saints names were not on the list. My OH was Jean Marie Vianney Pierre X - because his mother wanted to call him Vianney, but it wasn’t on the list. So as the saint’s name in full was Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney (Le Cure d’Ars; patron saint of parish priests) she kind of concealed the Vianney by using almost the full name, as it was a well known saint’s name the registrar didn’t look it up in the list and wrote it on the birth certificate. Pierre was just the name all his father’s family had.

I have a middle name which I don’t like. My Dad was called simply Fred, was meant to be Alfred but my grandfather (also Alfred) forgot that when he registered it.

[Alexandria Profile]

Sue and Joan,

Yes, my French mom in law and Dear told me this about The Official French List of Naming Children !

Greece still abides by the legal Greek Orthodox Church listing of names .. I have a dear friend in Thesasaloniki .. She had to name her daughter and her son according to the List ..

Spain does not have this law since 1975, however, both surnames of parents are legally on all documents ..

I believe Italy as well had this law too & possibly still does if a Roman Catholic ..

I shall check with dear friends, and report back ..

Sue: NOTE: These laws did not and do not (present ) apply to Expatriates or Legal Foreigners or Refugees living in Spain .. or non Roman Catholics ..

For example: Many South Americans, Ecuadorians in particular, usually have quite an unusal format for naming their children: Jesús Kevin Rodriguez !! Made the Spanish 20 Minute Newspaper !!! ( Pronounced: Hey Sús ) ..

My sons ( un-identical twins ) and my grandsons only have 1 name + the 2 surnames ..

[Stokey Sue Profile]

My contact when I worked in Peru was a native South American called Jesus - a very clever doctor doing research, and a really nice man to work with.

[Wordsworth Profile]

Still don't understand why so many women change their name on marriage though..

[Alexandria Profile]

Sue,

The name Jesús is one thing and "Jesús Kevin Rodriguez" is another ! And in actuality it was "Jesús Kevin Kostner Rodriguez", and the mother explained to the 20 Minute Newspaper, she named her son after Kevin Kostner because she admired him so much ..

[Alexandria Profile]

Natives of the Iberian Peninsula do not usually use their husband´s surname ..

The passport and the National Identity Card only have the birth name, Example: Maria Sol López Sánchez ..
( López is the paternal surname and Sánchez the maternal ).