1963 I was still living with my parents and I was going upstairs when my Dad said, “I’ve just heard some terrible news on the radio. Someone’s shot President Kennedy” 1963 J’habitais encore chez mes parents et je montais…
The Daily Freebie
A curse for the traditional press, a gift for commuters, free newspapers (freebies) are just a miracle of condensed information. Malédiction pour la presse traditionnelle, aubaine pour les voyageurs quotidiens, les journaux gratuits sont un miracle d’informations condensées. I…
L’oie des séries
You’re French and therefore conscious of carrying the flame of a great tradition, of a heritage…and bla-bla-bla-bla-bla… Vous êtes francais(e), conscient(e) donc d’être porteur(euse) d’une grand tradition, d’un patrimoine…et patati et patata But you may happen to eat fast…
It’s chocolate digestive but it it’s not good!
Hoardings in France playing on the French culinary prejudices have provoked a predictable reaction from certain of my compatriots. Des affiches publicitaires en France jouant sur les idées reçues culinaires des français ont suscité la réaction inévitable chez certains…
The world has stopped
Here is the rest of the news: Voici les autres informations : The G8 leaders, after long hours of negotiation, have agreed on the text of their congratulations message for the Queen following the birth of her great grand-son. …
Vocabulary Categories I
Last week I brought you an exercise on ‘faux amis’. This category is well-known and documented. La semaine dernière je vous ai présenté un exercice sur les ‘false friends’. Cette catégorie est bien connue et documentée. This week, I’d…
Evangelizing, Creationism & reality
One Saturday morning we had a brief visit from two of those people who always move around in twos, with tracts in their briefcases and an all-weather smile on their bright faces. Un samedi matin nous avons eu la…
Of potatoes & biros
No, this is not about the inconsistent plurals of these two words. Interesting as that may be. Non, il ne s’agit pas des pluriels de ces deux mots, en ‘-oes’ et en ‘-os’. Aussi intéressant que ce soit.
Maggie’s glorious funeral
I’m trying to picture David Cameron as the schoolboy he once was. J’essaie d’imaginer l’écolier (britannique) qu’était David Cameron jadis. It’s not hard – with his scrubbed features and suits & ties. Avec son teint rose et ses…
Preview Pane – and other Windows ‘pains’
Is it me growing stupider or Windows getting more and more annoying? C’est moi qui deviens plus bête ou Windows qui devient de plus en plus embêtant ?