英國婆媳大戰:未婚夫親媽支持準兒媳
A bride-to-be condemned as “uncouth” and “vulgar” by her fiancé’s stepmother enjoyed a welcome vote of support – from her real future mother-in-law.
一位被未婚夫繼母指責爲“粗野”“沒教養”的準新娘近日得到未婚夫親媽的支持。
Heidi Withers was berated as graceless and unladylike in a vitriolic email from Carolyn Bourne, the stepmother of her future husband Freddie Bourne, a businessman.
在一封來自未婚夫Freddie Bourne繼母Carolyn Bourne的刻薄郵件中，她指責準新娘Heidi Withers “粗野”“不淑女”。
The message became an internet sensation after being rapidly circulated online, earning Mrs Bourne the nicknames “Miss Fancy Pants” and the “mother-in-law from hell”.
該郵件在網上瘋傳後，Bourne女士被稱爲“擺架子小姐”和“來自地獄的婆婆”。
But Mr Bourne’s real mother, Penelope Godfrey, rode to Miss Withers’ defence, describing her in glowing terms as a “charming girl” with impeccable manners.
但Bourne的親生母親Penelope Godfrey卻爲Withers辯護，稱讚她爲禮節周到的“迷人女孩”。
She pointedly dismissed Mrs Bourne’s depiction of her future daughter-in-law as opening a “can of worms”.
她尖銳地反駁了Bourne女士對這位準兒媳的“一團糟”描述。
Speaking outside her home in Putney, west London, she said: “The whole thing has opened a can of worms that really should not have been opened.
在她位於西倫敦Putney的家門口，Godfrey說道：“現在整件事都一團糟，其實本不應該是這樣的。”
“I love both my son and Heidi is a charming girl who I have never found rude – not once.”
“我愛我的兒子和Heidi，她是個迷人的女孩，我從來沒發現她舉止粗野——一次也沒有。”
“She is also Freddie’s choice and will always be welcome in my home.”
“Freddie選擇了她，那麼她在我家就永遠是受歡迎的。”
Following a stinging rebuttal to Mrs Bourne from Miss Withers’s father, Mrs Godfrey laughed that the wedding would be “awkward”, remarking: “We shall see.”
在聽到Withers小姐的父親指責Bourne女士時，Godfrey女士笑着說婚禮一定很“尷尬”，並說道：“我們拭目以待。”
But asked for her thoughts on her ex-husband’s new wife, she stopped laughing, adding: “absolutely no comment.”
但問到對她前夫的新妻子的評價時她止住了笑，補充道：“無可奉告。”
The couple, who are due to marry at the 12th Century Berkeley castle in Gloucestershire in October, put on a show of unity, walking hand in hand outside their flat in Fulham, west London.
Smiling as they strode down the road, accompanied by their shih tzu lapdog, Whisky, Miss Withers wore a prominent engagement ring on her left hand.
這對計劃於十月份在格洛斯特郡建於12世紀的伯克利城堡舉行婚禮的情侶在西倫敦富勒姆手牽手，看起來團結一致。在shih tzu哈巴狗Whisky的陪伴下，他們微笑着走過路邊，Withers小姐左手上還戴着顯眼的訂婚戒指。
Friends and family also rallied around Miss Withers, 29, a PA from a West End recruitment firm.
今年29歲在倫敦西區一家招聘公司擔任私人助理的Withers小姐得到了朋友和家人的支持。Susan Kent, the mother of one of Miss Withers’s friends, wrote to the letters page of The Daily Telegraph, describing her as a “delightful” house guest.
Withers一位朋友的母親寫信給《每日電訊》，稱讚她是個“討人喜歡的”來客。
A source close to the family said: “The wedding is still definitely on. They are a bit shocked and embarrassed by the whole episode but their commitment to each other is stronger than one email.
據該家庭透露：“婚禮當然會辦下去，雖然雙方都被這個插曲震驚到了，但他們之間的承諾比一封郵件要強大很多。”
“Hopefully it’s something that the whole family can laugh about in years to come.”
“希望幾年後這件事只是整個家庭的一個笑談而已。”
The row erupted six weeks ago when Mrs. Bourne repeatedly sent a sarcasm-laden email to Miss Withers complaining of an alleged lack of manners during a stay at the family at “Houndspool”, her home in Dawlish, Devon, in April.
整件事起因於Bourne太太反覆寄一封郵件給Withers小姐，抱怨她4月份在她位於德文郡徳力士做客時的不當舉止。
Accusing her of displaying a “staggering lack of grace”, she used her to consider attending a finishing school.
在指責她“舉止不優雅”後她甚至建議她去女子精修學校學習。
Mrs Bourne, an old girl of Malvern St James girls’ school, Worcs, complained that Miss Withers had been a fussy eater – even though she is diabetic – and criticised her recently unemployed parents for being unable to pay much towards the wedding.
Bourne太太是烏斯特郡Malvern St James女子學校的校友，她抱怨Withers小姐吃飯太挑剔——雖然她是個糖尿病患者，並批評她的父母在準備婚禮的過程中不夠盡責。
She also condemn their decision to hold the wedding reception at the castle as a “brash and celebrity like” choice.
她同時指責他們去城堡舉行婚禮的決定“倉促而且模仿名人”。
Yesterday staff at the castle declined to offer any riposte to Mrs Bourne.
城堡的工作人員拒絕迴應Bourne的職責。
“Everyone is keeping a low profile,” said one man who declined even to give his name.
一位不願意透露姓名的人說道：“每個人都在竭力保持低調。”
