I’ve often wanted so it seems

To write Bon Mots

To girls in dreams

Encourage them

To bill & coo

With just a Billet Doux (or two)

But now it seems my Savoir Faire

Often really isn’t there

So back I go Pied a Terre

My worst Faux Pas

A Cri de Coeur

to dance a little Pas de Deux

But, lo! It’s not a Cul de Sac

My Belle Epoque

It has come back!

Fait Accompli declare I can!

My Love is here

San Fairy Ann!

With the typical Tommies’ fortitude and good humour in the face of grim reality, “San Fairy Ann”, British Army slang for the French, “Ca ne fait rein” or “It doesn’t really matter”, came into use in WW1.  My grandfather, a pre-war regular who survived the horrors of the trenches, albeit not unscathed, used it often.  I now find myself using it, usually accompanied with a wry smile, and my children have become so used to the phrase that I’m sure it will live on, at least in my family.