WE ARE ALL EUROPEANS NOW

Or are we? Following my visit to examine Edward Longshanks' generosity in his setting up of our Links Market in 1305 (see April 16th) I decided to visit the complementary site in our High Street which I believed to be a "CONTINENTAL MARKET". Now I was astonished at how well Mancunians, Dundonians and Glaswegians from "The Continent" had adopted a kind of elegant English in order trade with us Scots spared from Edward's Hammer in the C14th.
It is true therefore that the people of the continent possess great facility in our tongue. Such facility was shown (without a trace of European accent !) by the majority of stallholders except for one guy who spoke English with a decidedly Spanish accent and was selling an authentic Paella. "Good on You Mate!"
When I passed the stall illustrated above and called out "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" I thought the guy said "Eh?" but I may have been mistaken!