France wanted to join UK

[Sarah_Jayne]

France wanted to join UK

Formerly secret documents have revealed that Britain and France considered a "union" in the 1950s.

French Prime Minister Guy Mollet put the idea to his British counterpart, Anthony Eden, in 1956.

And, when his proposal was rebuffed, he asked if France could join the British Commonwealth.

Documents held in Britain's National Archives, which have lain virtually unnoticed since being released two decades ago, reveal Mollet's extraordinary proposals.

They read: "When the French Prime Minister, Monsieur Mollet was recently in London he raised with the prime minister the possibility of a union between the United Kingdom and France."

Mollet was an Anglophile who admired Britain both for its help in two world wars and its welfare state.

He also wanted British support against Egypt's President Nasser who had nationalised the Suez Canal and was funding separatists in French Algeria.

Eden turned down his request for a union - but was surprisingly enthusiastic about France joining the Commonwealth.

He told Cabinet Secretary, Sir Norman Brook, that "Monsieur Mollet had not thought there need be difficulty over France accepting the headship of her Majesty".

Henri Soutou, professor of contemporary history at Paris's Sorbonne University, said: "Really I am stuttering because this idea is so preposterous.

"The idea of joining the Commonwealth and accepting the headship of Her Majesty would not have gone down well. If this had been suggested more recently Mollet might have found himself in court."

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2158289.html

[Sexsitesurfer]

Ha ha.... I love it.

I have a few French friends who will be receiving this by mail. Although I don't think it would have ever worked!

[cardinalvices]

France would never join UK. Like Ireland won't join UK either

[Lazonby]

Originally Posted by cardinalvices

France would never join UK. Like Ireland won't join UK either

If we wanted Ireland to join the UK, we would send over two SAS guys to take them over.

[marcjacob]

Originally Posted by cardinalvices

France would never join UK. Like Ireland won't join UK either

er they did? thats where the troubles started, when the south broke away.

france joining the uk. they hate us though lol

[After Shock Media]

I bet it was a pity join offering just to attempt to improve British food.

[thunder99]

Originally Posted by Lazonby

If we wanted Ireland to join the UK, we would send over two SAS guys to take them over.

Read a fucking history book dipshit. Britain spend hundreds of years trying to rule the Irish and failed. Even during the troubles in the North, Britain had some of it's top SAS troops stationed there and they still couldn't control the place.


Even the Irish can't rule the Irish... and long may it continue that way!!!!

[Sarah_Jayne]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

I bet it was a pity join offering just to attempt to improve British food.

Nothing wrong with British food...I swear I am going to become the American spokesperson for British food. Traditional British food is good hearty stuff (not that people eat it that much..since we have every type of food here). Meanwhile, the French eat snails, horse and mask it with drinking wine.

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by sarah_webinc

Nothing wrong with British food...I swear I am going to become the American spokesperson for British food. Traditional British food is good hearty stuff (not that people eat it that much..since we have every type of food here). Meanwhile, the French eat snails, horse and mask it with drinking wine.

Lots have changed in the UK since that offer was made. Oh and snails is masked with lots of garlic.

[Scottish Guy]

Originally Posted by Lazonby

If we wanted Ireland to join the UK, we would send over two SAS guys to take them over.

People like you with comments like that give Britain a bad name, I really hate people who are full of themselves or think their country is some sort of super nation. England has been conquered when has southern Ireland ever been conquered?

S.T.F.U. and stop giving Britain a bad name bitch

[cardinalvices]

Shit, now I'm sort of feeling guilty for saying something about Ireland and UK..

[Sarah_Jayne]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

Lots have changed in the UK since that offer was made. Oh and snails is masked with lots of garlic.

I meant masked the food in general. In the 50's people were making traditional British food on what they could given that the UK wasn't exactly over the war yet. What is wrong with dishes like Sheppard's Pie, Steak and Ale, Sticky Toffee pudding, scones, etc. It is good honest food..I always suspect people get snobby about British food because they want to point out that odd cuts of meat are used...there isn't a cuisine where offal isn't used in some way or another.

That said, my cupboard is full of the flavours of the world but I don't think there is anything wrong with traditional British food.

[Lazonby]

Originally Posted by thunder99

Read a fucking history book dipshit. Britain spend hundreds of years trying to rule the Irish and failed. Even during the troubles in the North, Britain had some of it's top SAS troops stationed there and they still couldn't control the place.


Even the Irish can't rule the Irish... and long may it continue that way!!!!

Well, we must have been trying really hard if we had trouble conquering a nation full of drunken ginger misfits called Seamus with eyebrows on their cheeks who are responsible for all the badly paved driveways and dodgy joinery in England

[Lazonby]

Originally Posted by Scottish Guy

People like you with comments like that give Britain a bad name, I really hate people who are full of themselves or think their country is some sort of super nation. England has been conquered when has southern Ireland ever been conquered?

S.T.F.U. and stop giving Britain a bad name bitch

Oh go eat a deep fried mars bar, drink and bottle of whisky and take more tax revenue from the UK than you put in, you Scottish person, you.

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by sarah_webinc

I meant masked the food in general. In the 50's people were making traditional British food on what they could given that the UK wasn't exactly over the war yet. What is wrong with dishes like Sheppard's Pie, Steak and Ale, Sticky Toffee pudding, scones, etc. It is good honest food..I always suspect people get snobby about British food because they want to point out that odd cuts of meat are used...there isn't a cuisine where offal isn't used in some way or another.

That said, my cupboard is full of the flavours of the world but I don't think there is anything wrong with traditional British food.

Great grand mother was English through and through. I have had my share of their dishes and even travelled there once before the culinary turning point.

It has let downs that go right with those fairly good ones you have listed. I am also far from a food snob. One thing I will deffinatly give a thumbs up to Britian for the longest time. It has a firm grasp on Indian food.

PS. HAHA your English now. Flavours

[cardinalvices]

Guys, just don't start talking Scottish here.. I won't understand a thing!

[sacX]

Originally Posted by sarah_webinc

Nothing wrong with British food...I swear I am going to become the American spokesperson for British food. Traditional British food is good hearty stuff (not that people eat it that much..since we have every type of food here). Meanwhile, the French eat snails, horse and mask it with drinking wine.

In general British food is horrible. Fresh produce just is so hard to come by. I'm sure you can get a good meal at Claridges or whatever but on a whole the food is sub-par imo and that of about 100 people I know

[Lazonby]

Originally Posted by sacX

In general British food is horrible. Fresh produce just is so hard to come by. I'm sure you can get a good meal at Claridges or whatever but on a whole the food is sub-par imo and that of about 100 people I know

It funny that, because Sunday dinner is one of the best dishes ever ever.

[Sarah_Jayne]

Originally Posted by sacX

In general British food is horrible. Fresh produce just is so hard to come by. I'm sure you can get a good meal at Claridges or whatever but on a whole the food is sub-par imo and that of about 100 people I know

I am sorry but you obviously have never been to a British supermarket or *gasp* to a farming area. I can get just about any produce I want..whether that is good thing is debatable but it is true.

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by sarah_webinc

I am sorry but you obviously have never been to a British supermarket or *gasp* to a farming area. I can get just about any produce I want..whether that is good thing is debatable but it is true.

Yer strawberries, muskmellon, and tomatoes are bleh

[sacX]

Originally Posted by sarah_webinc

I am sorry but you obviously have never been to a British supermarket or *gasp* to a farming area. I can get just about any produce I want..whether that is good thing is debatable but it is true.

sure I have, I'm just judging by comparison from other places I've lived.. the general produce that makes it to supermarkets is London is tasteless crap compared to australia or new zealand. Ask any antipodean and you'll hear choruses of agreement.

[Sarah_Jayne]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

Great grand mother was English through and through. I have had my share of their dishes and even travelled there once before the culinary turning point.

It has let downs that go right with those fairly good ones you have listed. I am also far from a food snob. One thing I will deffinatly give a thumbs up to Britian for the longest time. It has a firm grasp on Indian food.

PS. HAHA your English now. Flavours

Yeah but for every good dish from another country there is also a bad dish...the south has pigs feet, etc. I think the British have a very open pallet and have embraced a lot of world cuisine. That is a good thing but they have forgotten their own traditions a bit..they are a sea country that does a lot of nice fish fishes (that aren't fried) but you barely see them anymore because people are filling their shopping carts with ready meals that have never been near a real cook.

I wasn't suggesting that you in particular are a food snob but that just in general people are snobby about it for no real good reason.

Maybe it is because of the group I grew up with - PA Dutch people - that made meals that did everything possible with meat and potatoes that I find British traditional cooking just fine. Though, black pudding it too much for me, I admit.

I can see where if you are from a culture that likes a lot of spicy flavours you may find some British meals bland..that I can understand. Though it is a bit odd because the British pallet loves spicy..hence their massive love of Indian..and if you have ever tried English mustard (which I am sure you have as you are a mustard person) that stuff will give you a nose bleed if you have more than a small bit. I know that a lot of herbs were banned by queen victoria for some reason (apparently mint wasn't classified as a herb and that is where mint sauce came from because they would smuggle it). You would think more British traditional food would have a kick.

I know, my spellings are British now ..just today I was thinking how it was odd that I was thinking with British pronunciations.

[E$_manager]

Originally Posted by sarah_webinc

I meant masked the food in general. In the 50's people were making traditional British food on what they could given that the UK wasn't exactly over the war yet. What is wrong with dishes like Sheppard's Pie, Steak and Ale, Sticky Toffee pudding, scones, etc. It is good honest food..I always suspect people get snobby about British food because they want to point out that odd cuts of meat are used...there isn't a cuisine where offal isn't used in some way or another.

I only know oatmeal and ale from tradicional English dishes.
This is russian education.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by sarah_webinc

I am sorry but you obviously have never been to a British supermarket or *gasp* to a farming area. I can get just about any produce I want..whether that is good thing is debatable but it is true.

Thats true about the farming areas you know. Since I moved to the back end of nowhere the quality of food (and the air) has majorly impressed me. Our local farm shop makes the most incredible sausages, home made sauces, amazing minted lamb burgers and wonderful steaks

I miss being able to get jerk chicken now though without a 200 mile round trip.

On the original point, the guy may have been an anglophile but could you imagine the furore if he had put that proposal to the French people? They would have guillotined him I reckon lol.

[crazyforyou]

Interesting, maybe they wanted because of the communism expansion in that time than it is natural and nothing strange

[Sarah_Jayne]

Originally Posted by Cristie

I only know oatmeal and ale from tradicional English dishes.
This is russian education.

Understandable..at the moment Eastern European food is really starting to flood into the UK. Which is good for me since I like Russian and Polish type dishes.

[Sarah_Jayne]

Originally Posted by Lee

Thats true about the farming areas you know. Since I moved to the back end of nowhere the quality of food (and the air) has majorly impressed me. Our local farm shop makes the most incredible sausages, home made sauces, amazing minted lamb burgers and wonderful steaks

I miss being able to get jerk chicken now though without a 200 mile round trip.

On the original point, the guy may have been an anglophile but could you imagine the furore if he had put that proposal to the French people? They would have guillotined him I reckon lol.

yeah..the only downside to London is you don't get all that local food production that the rural areas are doing so well..there is beautiful meat, for example, in the farming areas that would rival anything in the world.


As far as the French people...you would think they kind of made their point in the past about not wanting royalty.

[viva celebs]

lol, imagine that, an englishman and a frenchman rolled into one, now that would be one annoying bitch!

[E$_manager]

Originally Posted by sarah_webinc

Understandable..at the moment Eastern European food is really starting to flood into the UK. Which is good for me since I like Russian and Polish type dishes.

I didn't notice any flood of European dishes in Russia when i was there one year ago. Russians are rather concervative in food. Or not! There is no ingridients on the market to prepare some foreign dish. Or if there is, it costs a lot as far as it is imported and people don't know about it.
There are restaurants of course of different foreign cuisines, but it wouldn't go far.

[Sarah_Jayne]

Originally Posted by Cristie

I didn't notice any flood of European dishes in Russia when i was there one year ago. Russians are rather concervative in food. Or not! There is no ingridients on the market to prepare some foreign dish. Or if there is, it costs a lot as far as it is imported and people don't know about it.
There are restaurants of course of different foreign cuisines, but it wouldn't go far.

The UK has had a huge number of Eastern Block immigrants in the last year and they are bringing their food. That is great for my tastebuds because those dishes are similar to the ones I was brought up with in my area of the States.