Tag Archives: French

Redundancies at the Great British Bake Off (Belle)

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Dreamaticus

This week the Great British Bake Off contestants were being asked to ‘know’ French and wait on tables in a fancy restaurant. Brendan Lynch had been given a particularly awkward customer, who wished to be ‘in and out in an … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged BBC, dinner ladies, French, Great British Bake Off, office, redundancy, restaurant | Leave a comment

The Neanderthal Newborn of Noss (Rousse)

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Dreamaticus

The French man pushed the shopping trolley with one hand and carried the naked newborn baby in his other. He had walked for miles from the remote island of Noss (Shetland) just to register the baby’s birth. I wondered why … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baby, birth, French, hairy, man, mother, Neanderthal, newborn, Noss, parentage, register | Leave a comment

What to feed babies (Rousse)

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Dreamaticus

I herded my class of blue-uniformed 15 year-olds into a queue outside the remote former school house. The retired head mistress emerged to invite them in, and they settled into their places for an authentic school dinner of past times. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged babies, baby, baguette, children, curd, dinner, drink, eat, feed, food, French, house, jar, kid, kids, kitchen, lemon, meal, mistress, mother, motherhood, new-born, pupil, pupils, queue, retired, school, shop, student, students, trip, tube, uniform | Leave a comment

Britain versus France: dress, architecture and smoking (Rousse)

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Dreamaticus

I lived all alone in a one-bedroomed apartment in Paris. Today I was heading to the airport to meet AM. It was very cold outside so I wore several layers: a long emerald green satin ballgown, topped with a long-sleeved … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged airport, apartment, architects, ballgown, cold, cotton, French, green dress, jeans, loafers, overcoat, Paris, rez de chaussee, shirt, shoes, smoking | Leave a comment

Birmingham University confessions, a career with moleskin trousers, and underwater cycle kayaking (Rousse)

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Dreamaticus

SB kicked off the Birmingham University French department reunion by suggesting that we read the “confessions” from last time. She actually meant the comments on the 2006 evaluation sheets, which she passed around the table. Personally I would have preferred … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged band, Birmingham University, Blackberry, blush, bouncers, call, canal, career, carousel, club, comments, confessions, cycling, cyclists, data, disco, evaluation, fairground, French, girl, green, handbag, handwriting, industrial panel, kayaking, Manor House, mobile, moleskin, moleskins, party, phone, racing, rucksack, sheets, TPR, trousers, tunnel, underwater, University of Birmingham | Leave a comment

A failed kidnap and household safety advice from a Newcastle United fan (Rousse)

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Dreamaticus

We two brothers (plus dog) climbed into the car. Each of us believed that it was the other who had arranged to be picked up by this strange man and his daughter. Before long, however, we established though some frantic … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bother, brothers, captors, car, chain, chains, daughter, death, dog, door, doors, drive, driving, Edinburgh, foot, French, gesture, household, kidnap, Leith Walk, lights, lorry, man, Mound, Newcastle United, plan, planning, Princes Street, safety, stranger, tarmac, taxi, traffic lights, truck | Leave a comment

French flood wipes out village (Rousse)

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Dreamaticus

My mother and I lived in a log cabin in the upper section of a rural French village. During the day she worked in the cinema further down the valley, quite close to the river and the lake. My daily … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged article, articles, author, authors, cabin, camera, cinema, co-author, co-authors, death, desk, die, Dutch, escape, flood, food, France, French, information, Inverary, iPhone, journal, kill, killed, lake, log, meltwater, mother, river, rural, tsunami, valley, village, vocabulary, wallet, water, write, writing | Leave a comment

The battle of the laundry basket (Rousse)

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Dreamaticus

Before TPR had pegged even a single item on the line in the garden of our holiday cottage a local woman appeared at his side, super-keen to take charge of the laundry basket. “Let me do that” she said. TPR … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged £10, basket, cash, door, French, holiday, islander, job, laundry, line, local, poverty, tenner, tourists, TPR, washing | Leave a comment

French homework help (Rousse)

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Dreamaticus

This was shameful. Not only had I little idea of how to correct my nephew PF’s French homework, but I also incorrectly “corrected” the work of another person who had been helping him. Exasperated I confessed my lost talents. “Didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged confess, correct, corrections, forget, French, help, homework, nephew, talent, talents | Leave a comment

How to speak French – again (Rousse)

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I was back at the University of Birmingham under the care of Mr H. He questioned my motivation for joining the second year class. What was I doing here? Didn’t I already hold a first degree, as well as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Birmingham, Birmingham University, degree, doctorate, French, learn, Masters, PhD, speak, university, University of Birmingham | Leave a comment