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About “la taule” and 17 years of service

jonny

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The spicey sauce used in couscous, is ras el hanout red or yellow. Harissa (from Tunisia) is a spicey spread, goes well with merguez (oriental sausages) and bread (khobz)... .= a hot dog, if you prefer.
Taboulé, originates from Lebanon/Syria... Served cold, it's flavoured with chopped mint leaves and is very refreshing in summer.
The smell of merguez sausages being grilled over coal fired portable barbeques outside bars in Phillippeville is the definite smell of Algeria that I remember the most. Merguezes are absolutely delicious washed down with Kronenbourg beer, and Édith Piaf singing on the juke box or radio in the background. Nostalgie doesn’t get much better than that.

Mon légionnaire.

 

Le petit caporal

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Charles Dumont, compositor of "Non, je ne regrette rien" (lyrics by Michel Vaucaire) played last night his last ever concert at the Bobino music hall (Édith Piaf often played there). It was his 89th birthday.

 

Rapace

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The song Mon légionnaire was originally written by Raymond Asso (often mistakenly described as a Legion veteran or deserter) in the 30s for singer Marie Dubas, but it’s Piaf who made it famous. Asso also wrote Le fanion de la Légion, sung by Dubas and Piaf as well.
Non, je ne regrette rien was recorded by Piaf in November 1960 and released one month after. It has nothing to do with the Legion (it’s the story of a woman who decides to forget about her past, after having found her new love), but was adopted by the legionnaires of 1er REP after the failure of the April 1961 putsch in Algiers and the disbandment of their regiment.
 

jonny

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‘Non je ne regrette rien’ is also often one of the songs played at the funeral of former serving legionnaires. I was at the funeral of former Legion paratrooper, Cpl Chef Ray Palin’s funeral. He had specifically requested this song by Édith Piaf at his departure. A legionnaire to his last breath. RIP Ray....

And finally, not to forget:


And one of the last pictures taken of the legionnaires of the 1er REP as they were being driven out of their base at Zéralda, near Algiers, while singing “Non rien de rien, non, je ne regrette rien”... Having blown up their barracks before leaving. That’s the Legion spirit. They had built the barracks, so they just returned the place to what it looked like, when the Legion moved in. Fair enough by me.

CC8A8469-8A3E-48C4-9C2A-457E90D0B970.jpeg
 

Le petit caporal

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I have the grenade ,green and red, diagonale, tatooed on my left pinky and a fanion on the middle, scottish flag on index and union jack on next to pinky
 

USMCRET

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It is amazing how we all associate songs sights, smells, music, and the comradeship we all had in our respective services, the Legion, the French Army, the Royal Marines, the US Marine Corps, and others.

At my retirement and at my funeral, hopefully a long time from now, I want Eternal Father Strong to Save played again. This is really a Hymn and it ties me back to boot camp, January 9th,1989 to March 31st 1989, every Sunday morning all recruits had 4-hours of liberty, on base under full control of Drill Instructors, they backed off a little, where one could attend religious service, after Catholic Mass ended Eternal Father Strong to Save was sung by all of us in attendance.

I had this played as I closed out my career in my retirement parade/ceremony in 2009 after 20-years service in the Marine Corps.


It is a Marine/Navy Tradition
 
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jonny

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Nice hymn USMC. I can appreciate the feeling, haven spent a few years as a sailor myself. But I also quite like this tune from the German Kriegsmarine in WWII. A bit more cheerful anyway!

 

Joseph Cosgrove

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Good one Jonny. I've got another which is typical German WW11. It's because my wife has the same name, Erika. This is an unusual spelling in French but her father was Franco-Germanic and grand parents German.
 

Le petit caporal

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Bruce addresing the troops (musique principal légion étrangère)
A version of, Scots wha hae, lyrics by Robert Burns
Was played by scots (with out the lyrics) at the battle of Orléans, Jeanne d ' Arc
Up until, 1906 -1910 any one born in Scotland, qualified for french nationalité and vice versa .Auld alliance Crann Tara
It was the bon etente treaty between France and Westminster that put a end to this
 

jonny

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Let us do or dee!


One of my favourites, having two Scottish grandchildren of my own.
 

Joseph Cosgrove

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Harissa is also nicknamed Marseille's ketchup. I agree with Rapace, couscous is yummy. Anyone joining up in Aubagne should take the time to go out for a couscous in Marseille, one of my favorite dishes. I think semoule is semolina in English. North Africans use it also to make taboulé.
Today's lunch merquez frites followed, by a green lettuce salad. The more observant of you will notice the near empty tube of Marseilles ketchup. Here in Thailand the merguez are made from pork. Not that they could not breed sheep, but as they mainly eat pork, chicken and fish, it's not easy for them to move forward.

WIN_20180404_13_36_03_Pro.jpg
 

dusaboss

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Pork have its benefits. Schnitzel, ramstek etc. But when comes to grounded meat beef or sheep are irreplaceable. Also if you cook something like goulash or stew type dishes beef or game meat are unsurpassed.

Bon appétit Joe.
 

SnafuSmite

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Today's lunch merquez frites followed, by a green lettuce salad. The more observant of you will notice the near empty tube of Marseilles ketchup. Here in Thailand the merguez are made from pork. Not that they could not breed sheep, but as they mainly eat pork, chicken and fish, it's not easy for them to move forward.

View attachment 3523
Where's the beer Joe?🍻
 

Joseph Cosgrove

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Where's the beer Joe?🍻
I am allowed a beer (or two if I'm discrete about it) I go around to the local supermarket 5 mins away. They have tables outside and the beer is supermarket prices. I usually have a cup of tea after my lunch without milk and add some lemon juice. This reminds me a French saying which the Missus uses:
Boire (ou manger) du citron tu seras moins con. Which translates:
Drink (or eat) lemon you will be less stupid.

So when I make my tea and am adding the lemon juice, Erika says as innocently as she can 'perhaps a little more lemon juice?'
 

Joseph Cosgrove

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Well it seems that I have used up my photo space, I get this : "The file you have uploaded is 770.9 KB which exceeds your storage quota and cannot be uploaded. You have 704 KB remaining."
I haven't got that many photos and they are probably interesting to only to me. Maybe it might give an idea to what it was like back in my day, who knows?
I picked this thread as opposed to starting another because I believe that Thadeusz thought his son was being posted there as a punishment. ;)
I'll finish off with 3 REI and go on to REP later on.
Ql.jpg
This is me on the left of the photo with my chef de groupe a German caporal Chef. I am dressed in what is known as 'tenue de plage, or quartier libre"
The tenue de plage allowed you to go out into town on weekends, which was Sat afternoon and Sunday until 18h00. It avoided having to clean and iron your tenue and put on all the 'giddy giddy', fourragère, badges etc. just to go into town for some shopping, which was usually the Chinese hardware store to stock up on various kit before going out on another mission. The foyer sold some stuff, but by the time you've had a bucket full of beer, you had forgotten all about the list you made and were getting drunk !
At least in tenue de plage, you were out to stock up. You were allowed in bars and restaurant and could go to the islands, Devils, Royal and St Joseph.

We lived in apartments by group and by sections. So although there was a drying place for kit on the balconay and three sleeping rooms, a small kitchen area and a lounge, shower and toilet, 10 to an apartment was quite crowded.

Me and K.jpg

Here is the Sch pouring water over my chef de groupe. You can just see me on the right, because it's my turn next. Why?because we were due to go out by river to trace out the area for the company carbet which is an enormous shelter to string your hammocks up with a corrugated iron roof.

We spent all morning waiting for the order to go and in the end it was suggested that we wouldn't be going as we were given the order to eat our rations in the apartments as we were not counted for the canteen.
My Chef de groupe and I started drinking a few beers and then he got out a bottle of tafia. Tafia is white local rum which can be used, if needed, to launch Ariane 5 rockets. So the CdeG and myself are both pretty drunk when the order comes to draw weapons and load up in the trucks.

The Sch sees straight away that the two of us are drunk. When we get to the new bivouac area which hasn't been constructed yet , the chef decides to sober us up. In the back ground of the photo is a Sgt who has just been affected from the 6 REG (nowadays 1 REG). He has come from the regulars and was a specialist in Genie. He was later given a legion serial number. So he's on his first outing with the section in 3 REI and the chef has to give his fellow chef de group and his corporal a sobering up.
The Sgt and I and some other legionnaires built the carbet. I posted a photo on the media.

After spending a week making out the border to the company camp and clearing it of forest we went back to camp. At 9 Ks from the camp the Sch stopped the convey and said, K and Cosgrove out of the truck and run the next 8 Ks. Fortunately it was just in tenue de combat, no webbing or back pack or rifle. We got back in the trucks 1 K before going through the gates.
Nothing more was said about the incident.
 

dusaboss

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Joe, you look good young and in that white Legion shorts (looks like isn't Legion's, but its still white and tight).
PS. I think that guy in the back checking you out. ;)

Please no offence, Joe. I'm sure Thadeusz would be happy to see your pics and being able to see what punishments wait for his son down in Guiana. :)

BTW what is that in your hand?
 

Joseph Cosgrove

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Joe, you look good young and in that white Legion shorts (looks like isn't Legion's, but its still white and tight).
PS. I think that guy in the back checking you out. ;)

Please no offence, Joe. I'm sure Thadeusz would be happy to see your pics and being able to see what punishments wait for his son down in Guiana. :)

BTW what is that in your hand?
Beer. The shorts are not sports shorts.
 
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