No time wasted
A number of years ago we stayed one night at a caravan site near Le Mans. As it was just a one night stay we left the caravan plugged into the car 12v. Unfortunately I forgot to switch the fridge to gas, inevitably resulting in a totally flat battery in the morning! Campsite wardens are very obliging, or certainly the French ones are, so off I went to Madame to get assistance. I had a very comprehensive technical translator manual, but the one-and-only missing item was 'jump leads'. My French is good enough to buy bread and beer, but improvisation was required for this task! The nearest I could come up with was 'fil' which means 'wire'. So I asked Madame if she had a 'fil'. Perhaps it was my pronunciation which, after a bit of surprised puzzlement on her part, led Madame to telling me that yes she did indeed have a daughter (fille) living in Paris! Hmmm. More improvisation and I finally made myself understood, and she was immediately on the phone to the local garagiste!
Sent by: John O'Shaughnessy
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