Patriotism is not enough
(Nurse Cavell)
?
This was actually said by my
mother-in-law. My mother-in-law is French and a very intelligent lady
indeed.?
I like her very much and my wife
has known her all her life.? And she's a
quite a close relation of my wife, which is a very happy coincidence, really.
?
And we, one day, the three of us,
were sitting over our eggs.? The hen was
having the weekend off.? Keeping up the
temperature.? And we were chatting each
other the way one does.? Just sort of
sitting quietly. And my wife said, "What terribly expensive things eggs
are.? Why should they be so
expensive?"
?
And I said that I didn't know but
that I'd make inquiries. So I got on the telephone.?
?
When I say I got ON the
telephone; I was actually on the egg at the time, but I managed to lift the
telephone off. I'm not making myself very plain here.? I lifted the telephone off its cradle;
they're very young.
?
And I phoned a man called Jimmy
Edwards, who's a farmer and does a lot of producing chickens, not
personally.?? He's got a very big farm
down in Sus. I'm not allowed to say the last part of the word.
?
I rang up this chap Edwards; he
had about four hundred acres, party aerable, mostly 'orrible. And he has
enormous chicken houses, full of chickens. I said to him, "Why are eggs so
expensive?
?
And he said, "I don't
know.? There is no money in it for we
farmers."?
?
And he seriously tried to think
of something else for the chickens to lay.?
But what apparently happened, he said,?
was that the egg-marketing board had the idea of stamping a lion on
eggs, a sort of patriotic motive on the eggs in the hope that that way they
would appeal to the British public.
?
So I thanked Jimmy kindly and he
swore at me and I put the phone down.
?
And I reported this whole
conversation to my wife and my French mother-in-law, my belle mere, as we
say.?
?
And I can't understand why they're so expensive because
the egg marketing board is TRYING to make them palatable and acceptable to the
British housewife by stamping on this patriotic lion.
?
And my French mother-in-law said,
"It ees simple, I'm afraid, Patriotism is not un ouef."
?
Frank Muir 580514a
?
