It is to my sorrow, CK, that martinets are no longer on display, for sale, on French market stalls, both those selling leather goods and those for more general domestic paraphernalia. Twenty years ago it was a common sight. Fifty years ago I also saw them in Portuguese markets.
I have been told, by a French woman, that they are still available in the pets section, of major supermarkets. I have never seen them there, perhaps pet shops? She said that although sold for disciplining pets, everyone knows what they are really for.
Sorry, I know this is off-subject (memorable lines) but I have mentioned it in my own fiction. Specifically towards the end of "The Librarian", where the Northern Irish hero buys one at a market in Paris, educates the American heroine as to their uses in schools and homes, and then demonstrates exactly how they are used.
Geoffrey Stirling. |