Une Manifestation

Fraussie Grouet remarked on her blog recently that Aussies love to shorten words. It's true. We eat brekkie in the morning, have a cup of coffee and a biscuit for mornos mid-morning and arvo tea mid-afternoon*. We wear our sunnies on bright fine days and cook on the barbie outdoors. The habit seems to be accelerating too. We've noticed that firemen have become firies in the 15 years since we left, for instance.

We Australians are not the only ones though. The French shorten many words. You often see or hear resto for restaurant, organic produce is bio(logique), eco-friendly is écolo(gique) and economical is éco(nomique).

We were walking through le Parc des Buttes Chaumont in Paris one day and could hear a commotion coming from in front of the nearby Town Hall. A group of demonstrators had gathered to protest about the lack of social housing in the area. I can't read their banner except to note that they are a collective, angry and (something) is a right. A French couple walking in the opposite direction to us also noticed the protest -- 'Qu'est-ce qu'il se passe ? Oh, c'est une manif...' (What's happening? Oh, it's a demo...)

*You will also hear these short breaks referred to as smoko, although it is probably now considered quite old-fashioned.