Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Interesting point
Honestly, in France it’s considered strange if you don’t display your name on your house or letter box. Door bells are usually placed on the outside of the garden, it’s not considered polite to walk up to the door uninvited. We don’t have a doorbell and you’d be amazed how many people will knock and walk back down the path and wait at the gate.
Another thing I find bizarre is the custom of unreadable signatures. One day I signed for a parcel and the young man told me he needed my ‘signature’. I explained that was my signature and if I wrote my name any other way it would not be. He didn’t like it because he could read my name. I’ve thought about this. Way back in the dark ages people used to keep their names secret because the possessor of a name held magic powers over the person. Perhaps it was the same with the written name?

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