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| Britain | |
| Language barrier stops Briton's peace walk in France | |
| 2008-03-01 | |
| LONDON (AFP) - A British peace activist aiming to walk to India to prove a money-free world is possible has turned back at the first hurdle, after getting to France and finding he needed to speak French. Writing on his blog Friday a month after starting his trek, 28-year-old Mark Boyle said he and two friends accompanying him ran into problems the minute they arrived in the French port of Calais. "Not only did no one... speak the language, they also see us as just a bunch of freeloading backpackers, which is the complete opposite of what the pilgrimage is really about," he wrote. "That really scared us, and given that we now were pretty much out of food, hadn't slept in days and were really cold, we had to reassess the whole situation. "We spoke to a few people who were willing to talk and they said that France would not go for this unless we could speak fluent French, which none of us could."
"The only trouble was the first decent-sized town in Belgium was 170 kilometres (106 miles) away, and all we had was three tins of soup, a bag of trail mix and a chocolate bar to sustain us," he said. "As it was unlikely that we would get a chance to help or be helped by French people in the journey getting there, the task looked daunting to say the least," he said, adding that he had no choice but to head back to Britain. Boyle set out from his home in Bristol, western England, at the end of January aiming to end up at Porbandar in India, Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace, after the 9,000-mile (14,500-kilometre) trek. According to his official website, Boyle is walking "without any form of money because he wants his life to be his message." He had hoped to take about two and a half years to reach India. The coordinator of the project, Dawn Tovar, denied Boyle had abandoned plans for his marathon walk. "He has not given up his project," she told AFP. "He is currently walking in the southeast of England. He will tour around the UK, learn French and leave again for Porbandar." | |
| Posted by:Thinemp Whimble |
| #8 There's a scene in the film Jabberwocky where Michael Palin pays for something with two eggs and says "keep the change". Class! Anyone else remember it? |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2008-03-01 18:45 |
| #7 they also see us as just a bunch of freeloading backpackers, which is the complete opposite of what the pilgrimage is really about I'll admit I'm a little unclear on the difference myself. How exactly does this make the world a better place? I do like the idea of a money-free world, though. Because I would much rather pay for groceries with a gunny sack of live ducks than whip out a credit card. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2008-03-01 16:34 |
| #6 they also see us as just a bunch of freeloading backpackers, which is the complete opposite of what the pilgrimage is really about Yeah, dude, like we were expecting hot showers and to bunk in your guestrooms, at LEAST. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-03-01 14:52 |
| #5 LOL. Cudda posted this under "tody's Idiot". According to his official website, Boyle is walking Still trying to figure out how he walked from England to France. |
| Posted by: GK 2008-03-01 14:38 |
| #4 The term "peace activist" seems to be a bit of an oxymoron -- what sort of meaningful "activity" do they do? I prefer the much more pejorative expression: peace queer. |
| Posted by: regular joe 2008-03-01 11:14 |
| #3 According to his official website, Boyle is walking "without any form of money because he wants his life to be his message." My decoder ring says the message is, " I...AM...A...FUCKING...IDIOT". |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-03-01 11:13 |
| #2 A British peace activist aiming to walk to India to prove a money-free world ... "Not only did no one... speak the language, they also see us as just a bunch of freeloading backpackers... Ahh.... When moonbat dreams meet harsh reality. And he still hasn't figured it out. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2008-03-01 09:44 |
| #1 I thought this was hilarious. When this feckwit learns French and manages to reach the Italian border he will discover people speak, surprise, surprise Italian. Etc, etc. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2008-03-01 07:25 |