Posts

Image
  Day 3392 (Tuesday) 22nd September 2026 These photos were taken during the parade last night. The wonderful world of faux amis (false friends) You’re in a supermarket and you wonder if the delicious cakes you’re looking at contain preservatives. So you muster your courage, smile and ask the seller “excusez-moi, monsieur, est-ce que ces gâteaux contiennent des préservatifs ?”. He bursts out laughing and you realise “préservatif” doesn’t mean what you think it means. That’s an easy mistake, lots of words look the same in French and in English. And while this is a great advantage for you as an English speaker, this is also dangerous, because there are words like “préservatifs” who hide their true meaning behind their apparent similarity. Préservatif Asking if some food contains “préservatifs” is a common and embarrassing mistake English speakers make. Because when you ask for food without preservatives, you are actually asking for food without condoms. The French word for “preservati...
Post a Comment
Read more
Image
  Day 3391 (Monday) 21st September 2026 Both of these photos were taken a long time ago, it hasn’t changed a bit. It was yet another lovely day and Huw had ordered some shopping from Super U so we had to stay at home to accept the delivery. There was another cruise ship in the bay and the passengers had a lovely day to visit. I spent a few hours on the balcony this afternoon, it was so nice to not sweaty. This evening we have a parade and a free concert in the square, should be lovely. What’s happening in France this week Pope Leo XIV arrives in France for a three-day visit this week. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP) A Papal visit, the clocks go back, more strikes and protests, and Brigitte Bardot memorabilia goes up for auction Monday   Auction – Personal items owned by actress, animal rights activist and far-right campaigner Brigitte Bardot, who died in December 2025, are up for auction at Hôtel Drouot in Paris. Among the 285 items up for auction are baby seal plush toys,...
Post a Comment
Read more
Image
  Day 3390 (Sunday) 20th September 2026 This is Villefranche   and this is David Niven’s house in Beaulieu. Dee and Suzanne invited us for lunch in a restaurant called Lou Bantry on the seafront and it was very good. There was a big cruise ship in the bay again and there were a lot of fat tourists in town. Here are the rest of the top facts about France… France was the first country to implement a public transit system, starting in the 1660s. Blaise Pascal, a mathematician credited for creating Pascal’s Triangle and an early calculator, created a system of horse-drawn carriages that would circulate on a fixed route and time through certain neighbourhoods in Paris. Nowadays, Paris has the densest metro system in the world; within 90km squared sit 245 metro stations on 14 lines. Due to its territories around the world, France technically sits in 12 time zones. Before World War II, France was actually in the same time zone as London (GMT). But after German occupation, French time...
Post a Comment
Read more