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Thibault

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Everything posted by Thibault

  1. We have a 6KW electricity supply to our house.  I would like to buy a small microwave.  Could anyone advise me regarding possible problems given our limited level of electricity.    
  2. But Nippy and Nigel were amusing.  I just find Big Ron and Esther embarrassing.  The only "rationale" I can find for Esther's approach during the programme is that she has a "script" to follow as someone at the BBC thinks this is the way to "entertain" us.  I was hoping (perhaps foolishly) that the programme would show how progress could be made in learning a foreign language by people of different ages and with different residual levels of French.  But of course, that would not be "entertaining"!
  3. The best war museum I have ever seen is at Caen (Le Memorial).  It deals with both World Wars and the events leading up to them.  The climax is a film of the Allied Landings - it uses a split screen, one side the Allies and the other the German response.  They eventually come together in the invasion itself.  The noise is tremendous and you feel part of the action.  What I found really emotional was the destruction of French towns by the incoming Allies as they fought to dislodge the Germans. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in France and the World Wars.
  4. About 30 years ago, there was a piece of research which showed that history was the least popular subject at school and yet was the most popular subject for non-fiction borrowing from public libraries.  The conclusion reached was that the way history was taught was the problem.  Since then, there have been some attempts to "improve" the way history is taught.  One of the option was to teach history by topics, rather than in chronological order - hence things like medicine through the ages etc.  Another was to use local history as a base from which (it was hoped) children's interests would develop outwards. I agree with an earlier poster - the Brits and especially the English, have been given the impression that all the ills of the world are as a result of their past "crimes".  For example, around the time of the invasion of Iraq, Jack Straw stated that the problems of modern Iraq were a direct result of British involvement in the past......    
  5. Wasn't there a famous case (quoted in How to Lie with Statistics) of a Victorian newspaper report that 50% of deaths of British soldiers in India that year were caused by STDs.  It turned out that 2 soldiers had died, one of whom had a STD.  A true statistic, but the impression given by quoting it was out of all proportion.
  6. Aside from the monkeys...............Does this mean the site is permanently closed or just a temporary "taken off air" until they decide how long to leave a message before deletion?   Rosie
  7. Me too.  Miki's posts are always interesting.  He puts his points over well and certainly has staying power.
  8. Talking about Charles (as mad as a box of frogs, as Dick put it) - he had an interesting wife (Isabeau of Bavaria) who, according to one school of thought, was the mother of daughter by her brother-in-law, the Duke of Orleans.  The little girl was called the Maid of Orleans and grew up to be better known as Joan of Arc!  [;-)]
  9. Thank you for giving your impressions of the "new" service.  We are only a few miles from Newhaven and are contemplating using the crossing.  We would be very interested in your impression of the return journey (that is if you are returning[:D] ). The collection arrangements for the tickets sound rather silly - is it a temporary arrangement or permanent?
  10. KatyKK asked why we probably wouldn't be eating beef or mutton if Harold had won the battle of Senlac.. It's all to do with the nouns we use in English.  Cows and sheep because the Saxons tended to be the farmers and beef and mutton because the Norman French tended to be the one's who ate the best bits.   
  11. Teamedup wrote:  And if Harold had won!  What would the world be like? Well, we probably wouldn't be eating beef or mutton[:D]
  12. Now there's a thought.  Would Harold have won the battle at Senlac if he hadn't had to fight at Stamford first?
  13. I hate amount for number and less for fewer.  It's getting so bad now that BBC personnel confuse the two.[:@]
  14. We have used them several times.  They are clean, reasonably efficient and the staff are friendly.  Even better, the price falls every time we book.  Long may they continue and may they soon acquire a second boat.[:D]
  15. [quote user="Russethouse"] Rosie girl, I think she has taken a few 'bones' and put the flesh on them she wanted to make a story, but I'd be interested to know where you disagree with her twist on things? I actually thought she was a lot more generous to Anne Boleyn than my history teacher ! One theory is as good as the next regarding Amy Dudley - will we ever know? [/quote] I did not like her treatment of Anne Boleyn - there have been some very good biographies of Anne in recent years - the Ives book already mentioned and a more recent one by Joanna Denny.  There is a lot more to Anne than the usual sex and witchcraft angle.  For example she received a Burgundian education - with links going back to Anne of Beaujeu and her impact on the new religion has frequently been understated.  I'll clamber down off my soapbox now!  I have to confess that Anne has been a "hero" of mine for many years! I have no objection to interpretative history as part of writing a good "story".  The problem is that people often only read non-fiction and their view of people is coloured by the interpretations.  You see this now on TV with the so-called faction programmes ie the recent "The Lost Prince".     
  16. Philippa Gregory may be good at facts, but it is her interpretation of them I quarrel with!  They may be good "reads" but history they are not.  As long as the difference is apparent, there is no problem but as soon as a reader begins to accept the interpretation as fact, then understanding of historical events is compromised.
  17. Dotty I have read lots of books about Cathars, both fiction and non-fiction.  The Labyrinth has a reasonably interesting story-line but it does go on a bit!   It started well.  However, by the time I got to the end, on balance,  I thought it promised more than it delivered. I will be interested to see what you think.
  18. I read this book a few weeks ago.  I thought it was Ok-ish and wonder if it would have achieved so many sales without being featured on the R & J show.  The author obviously benefits from having a second home in the area, as her descriptions are excellent. 
  19. Only one pound down at first weigh-in - but it's a start!  I am looking forward to making some more progress next week.  Luckily I am very fond of home-made no-point soup and can happily eat it for lunch every day with some fruit for afters.   
  20. I'd like to join too - I'm too weak willed to keep to a diet on my own.   Following the Festive season, I was horrified to see the scales reach 11 stone.  I would like to lose a stone - at least for starters.  My main problem is giving up my medicinal red wine in the evenings - well 3 glasses is medicinal isn't it?  I also have no will power when it comes to nuts and seeds.  For the last few days, I have been eating up the Festive left overs - so now have no excuse!!!!
  21.  For the last week or so, I have noticed that the time taken to open specific forums or to change pages within a particular thread is getting longer and longer.  I do not have this problem with other similar sites. Does anyone know what the problem might be?
  22. Thanks, Mistral.  I shall get a copy when I return to France at the end of the month.  I liked the earlier version precisely because it was filmed rather like a stage performance.  It reminded me very much of Olivier's Henry V. I would be very interested in how the new version goes down.  
  23. About 25 or so years ago, the BBC transmitted a French language/English sub-titled version of Les Rois Maudits.  I have tried without success to obtain a Video of this to work in England. Does anyone know if a DVD of this version is available?  I can't remember any of the names of the cast etc but do remember how very, very good it was.
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