The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has a marked the 5oth anniversary of Waugh’s death with a story by Hannes Hintermeier. It opens with an explanation of Waugh’s connection through marriage to the family that owns Highclere Castle, the setting for the TV series Downton Abbey. He then links that story to the story in Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited. Finally, in a discussion of Waugh’s biography, he explains that Waugh was a strict Roman Catholic and on Fridays ate only caviar (from which the article takes its title). There is also a discussion of Waugh’s BBC Face to Face interview and a link to the YouTube posting of the program. Your correspondent cannot follow the German translation of the Q & A but even so, it sounds funnier in German:
In einem BBC-Interview mit John Freeman prĂ€sentiert er sich selbst dann noch höflich lĂ€chelnd, wenn man damit rechnet, er wĂŒrde den ungelenken Fragesteller am liebsten steinigen. Gleich auf die Einstiegsfrage, wo er geboren wurde, kontert Waugh beinahe unmerklich maliziös und doch der Wahrheit verpflichtet: âIch habe keine Erinnerung an dieses Ereignis.â Auf die Frage nach seinem gröĂten Fehler sagt er wie aus der Pistole geschossen: âReizbarkeitâ. Und auf jene, warum er ĂŒberhaupt zu diesem Interview sich bereit erklĂ€rt habe, âArmutâ. Hervorragend umgesetzt, very Waugh.
Perhaps one of our German speaking readers could provide a translation in a comment.
COMMENT (10 April 2016, 1141a CDT): Here’s an approximate translation from Google Translate. Any improvements would be appreciated by submitting a comment:
In a BBC interview with John Freeman, he presents himself still smiling politely, probably assuming the awkward questioner preferred some one a bit stone-like. Equal to the initial question, where he was born, Waugh countered a bit maliciously, yet truthfully: “I have no memory of this event.” When asked about his biggest failing, he answers like a shot: “Irritability.” And as to why he had ever agreed to this interview, “Poverty.” Well done, very Waugh.
Interesting, in that Google did some parts really well and some parts completely wrong. Here’s my version:
“In a BBC interview with John Freeman he then appeared smiling politely when you consider that he would much have preferred to stone the clumsy interviewer. Right at the first question, about where he was born, Waugh counters with almost imperceptible malice and yet entirely truthfully: “I don’t remember the event.” When asked what his greatest failing is he answers like a shot: “Irritability”. And when asked why he even consented to this interview: “Poverty”. Excellently done, very Waugh.”
(Note that I haven’t compared my translation to the original recording, so what Waugh himself said might have been phrased slightly different.)
Can’t help agreeing with the description of Freeman as “clumsy”…
Thanks for the clarification, Bruce. The one-word answers in the original program are as you have translated and the answer about his birth I believe is the same, altho he may have said recall rather than remember. jeff