I suddenly had another Gullibility Flashback today when talking to a friend about making business trips in Europe.
On this occaison I was visiting Cannes in France (Can there be another somewhere else?) and my luggage got lost. This meant having to buy a full set of clothes and personal bits and bobs, one of which was...A Comb...
Not alot could go wrong buying a comb you might think. I'd got high school French, but had underestimated how bad I was at mental arithmetic.
Imagine this...RR wanders into posh shop in Cannes to buy a comb..."Bonjour, je voudrais une peigne" (this would, of course be in Franglais and sound like ''zhuh voodray oon pain') Now this isn't half bad for a bloke who learnt French via Tavorville a tape and cartoon system whose most memorable phrase was "je suis le phantom de la maison onze cent onze" - now telling someone you are a ghost when you are trying to buy a comb is clearly very very useful - (thankyou the British Education System)
Anyhow...I got my comb, walked back to the hotel and then did the 'exchange rate bit' ...(a bit late) ---- and...10 effing quid!!- ouch..The most expensive comb in the universe.
So, to avoid Gullibility when being a tourist, brush up your mental arithemtic, knowledge of exchange rates, don't rely on rusty language skills, and don't believe that just because we are in the EU - native shop keepers won't have an eye for the main chance...
Ah yes, I too suffered from O Level French courtesy of - in my case - Longmans Green and Company Limited. Why do I remember the name so clearly? because the voice of the pompous git who announced on every taped recording that the contents were copyright is the just about the only thing I can remember from those long lessons (apart from Mrs Brady, who was a terrible distraction to pubescent boys).
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