NormanH

I think that it is probably untranslatable given that much of the effect is in the onomatopoeia and assonance, but I had a go Verlaine.mp4

This wonderful Indian summer may be about to end, but it created a nice setting for this Halloween event here: https://www.facebook.com/ville.debeziers/posts/pfbid02NJXBcT5uMmLYJ7VY6sVc7WitQeSztKr76jjFg8a4WYyd35Q4oPeHdvixSNpf3e2Pl

Sometimes people organise a "Vide Grenier" but that takes a lot of organisation and fluency in French: https://vide-greniers.org/24-Dordogne

Their trick is to present a bill for the year and ask you to reply if you wish to cancel, which of course one may be tempted to do especially if like me you always try to avoid Prime, but think that you may have unwittingly ticked a box when you bought something. If you do reply I imagine it may give them access to you Amazon account as you would be asked to log in. I smelled a rat and checked the sender's address which was in South Africa, so I looked the scam up on that site. What is alarming is that they had the correct email for my Amazon account.

I was just been sloppy 🥸, but I would never have expected the Wooly one to quote from the Graunuad😈

Thanks for those kind words. I feel it catches the mood of the times.

No... even if my 'intelligence' IS "Artificial"

Be aware of a fake email with a bill for renewing Amazon Prime video. It is a scam :https://www.arnaques-internet.info/renouvellement.../ Like Comment Share

The proof of the pudding...my FINGers ain't wot they used ter be nor are my eyes🤓

https://www.pour-les-personnes-agees.gouv.fr deals with most aspects of aging and where to get help

A sombre Autumn poem by Baudelaire, which suits the mood of the moment. The video is of me reading my own translation : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Attdwwyd-Ik Chant d'automne I Bientôt nous plongerons dans les froides ténèbres; Adieu, vive clarté de nos étés trop courts! J'entends déjà tomber avec des chocs funèbres Le bois retentissant sur le pavé des cours. Tout l'hiver va rentrer dans mon être: colère, Haine, frissons, horreur, labeur dur et forcé, Et, comme le soleil dans son enfer polaire, Mon coeur ne sera plus qu'un bloc rouge et glacé. J'écoute en frémissant chaque bûche qui tombe; L'échafaud qu'on bâtit n'a pas d'écho plus sourd. Mon esprit est pareil à la tour qui succombe Sous les coups du bélier infatigable et lourd. II me semble, bercé par ce choc monotone, Qu'on cloue en grande hâte un cercueil quelque part. Pour qui? — C'était hier l'été; voici l'automne! Ce bruit mystérieux sonne comme un départ. II J'aime de vos longs yeux la lumière verdâtre, Douce beauté, mais tout aujourd'hui m'est amer, Et rien, ni votre amour, ni le boudoir, ni l'âtre, Ne me vaut le soleil rayonnant sur la mer. Et pourtant aimez-moi, tendre coeur! soyez mère, Même pour un ingrat, même pour un méchant; Amante ou soeur, soyez la douceur éphémère D'un glorieux automne ou d'un soleil couchant. Courte tâche! La tombe attend; elle est avide! Ah! laissez-moi, mon front posé sur vos genoux, Goûter, en regrettant l'été blanc et torride, De l'arrière-saison le rayon jaune et doux! — Charles Baudelaire

Lehaut is quite right, except in our area Emmaus is now no longer accepting stuff. They are overwhelmed, which seems strange given the rampant poverty. There is also the Secours Populaire but I don't think they collect. https://www.secourspopulaire.fr/le-secours-populaire-recherche?tid=361

The thing I find difficult to understand is hatred itself. I have lived a blessed and sheltered life as have many of us born in the UK just after WW2, with the Welfare State and free good education, but I can honestly say that i feel no hatred for anyone, and cannot imagine killing them except perhaps in blind panic of self defence.

We have a very similar situation developing without the posh new development. Our Maire has a programme of 'whitening the sepulchre' by refurbishing the façades without addressing the social issues. I call it 'cosmetic surgery' or in a more colourful image " une vielle p*te qui se maquille pour attired de nouveaux clients sans changer sa cullote" I won't even begin on the plague of AirBnB and how it contributes to the scarcity of affordable housing for low-paid essential workers. As for the word gentrification I think the author is referring to Canadian French when he uses the word " embourgeoisement. In France it is https://www.linternaute.fr/dictionnaire/fr/definition/gentrification/

I sent you an article about him by mail

How the French media saw the match: "le choc des détéstés" https://www.liberation.fr/sports/rugby/coupe-du-monde-de-rugby-lafrique-du-sud-remporte-le-choc-des-detestes-et-rejoint-les-all-blacks-en-finale-20231021_FW4RD4SZRNC7VPETL2SU2PGAJI/

It's not so much that the Education post is low ranking, more that is a minefield from which most Ministers don't escape unharmed...

That route is specific to the event, though most of it would be accessible at any time if you knew where and how.

Do you have this sort of thing in your town? https://laramoneta.com/to-do/beziers-urban-trail/?fbclid=IwAR1NtvNccaT2eoH1U5mdZ0A4ONe-dZvfjACLkvy2_xRbxrdun82Mw_vkV_w

He is certainly an impressively smooth operator, but the Ministry of Education is traditionally the graveyard of ambition for an aspiring politician. Thank you for the link which I hadn't seen. I always enjoy programmes presented by Caroline Roux (I usually try to catch "C'est dans l'air" either live or in replay) but I hadn't noticed that one.

In my experience the installation is free. The line to the house is done by France Télécom (Orange). Au niveau de la rue et de l’immuble, les frais de déploiement de la fibre optique sont totalement pris en charge par les opérateurs agréés (Orange, Free, SFR, Bouygues Télécom, Altitude, Covage, Axione et TDF). Once at the house the rest depends on which operator you have chosen. The fee varies widely. Orange offre un raccordement gratuit, mais propose une option d’Installation Experte à 89 euros (branchements, configuration, conseils, etc.) ; Free propose un raccordement totalement gratuit ; Bouygues raccorde le logement gratuitement si le câble fait moins de 10 mètres. L’intervention est facturée 25 euros, s’il mesure entre 10 et 50 mètres ou 50 euros s’il fait plus de 50 mètres ; SFR facture l’installation de la fibre optique en maison individuelle à hauteur de 149 euros pour un câblage souterrain et 249 euros pour un câblage aérien.

Something to think about if you have travel plans at the moment: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2023/10/20/french-government-growing-impatient-over-bomb-alerts-threaten-prison-terms_6190545_7.html

I had a somewhat different problem with them, in that when I tried to connect to the site ameli.fr it kept coming up in big red letters that my social security number was unknown, un that I was not registered with them. I contacted the helpline, who said that there was a new system by which you had to go further down the page and press a button as an extra security measure and another code would be sent to your email. The problem was I couldn't even get down the page to that button. Fortunately in town we have France Services (https://www.economie.gouv.fr/particuliers/france-services) which is an excellent gatekeeping service with access to all the other ones, such as ameli, the Caf etc. A very helpful chap took me seriously straight away and the great advantage was I was sitting opposite him while he looked at the site with his computer, so he was able to see for himself the problem I had, rather than having to try to explain over the phone to somebody who doesn't believe you. Ne said straight away “ah oui ce n’est pas banal ça” and sent an immediate email via the special hotline that France Services has to each of the other services. At the same time he printed off a copy of an “attestation de droits” in case I had a problem . a week later I had an audio message from Ameli saying that they had had an IT problem and that now everything was in order. I also had a call a from the man at France Services to check that everything was settled. I am one happy customer; and I recommend people to visit their local branch if they have a problem with the administration.

Going back to the original title they are a local speciality here : https://www.escapadeslr.com/produits-regionaux-l-oignon-doux-de-lezignan-la-cebe-374.html

I have an appointment for the same thing.