Who has the disease?

When I was young I thought that the UK had a bad reputation for strikes, I remember phrases like "Its the British disease". I think the UK loves to give itself negative labels.

Now I find that in fact it is a French disease, striking is something they do a lot. They strike so often I wonder if they are taken seriously. The students and some of their lecturers have been striking, it seems that this country tries to pigeon hole young people and the system isn't flexible enough.

I am finding out more and more about the problems that face the workers in France. High unemployment, high tax, but even if you find a job wages can be very low. Many thought that Sarkozy was the man to bring about change, can he do it?

Since Sarkozy's election the world also has this new problem with the irresponsible attitude of the banks.

The local paper is following three young people seeking employment, I guess because they are in the spotlight they will all find employment soon, anyway I wish them luck.

My picture today is a clump of bluebells growing in the garden last year, ding dong.

Ring in the changes.

The French word for strike is grève.

The French word for unemployment is chômage

PS.I find it funny that many Brits who live or visit France often dont know who the French Prime Minister is, they think it is Mr Sarkozy.

Why & a Fly

Earlier I was asked to help find some information by searching the Internet.

First task I was asked if I would find out why the boats that take tourists up the river Seine in Paris are called the Bateau Mouche. Simple eh.. It has been a long time since I went to Paris and I am not sure when or if I will go again but I have taken the trip along the river. Here is another link.

Secondly I was asked to search for a hotel, not in Paris but further afield. But after much browsing and digesting facts I got to that that angry stage where you curse the screen, because when I had found something that might fit the bill but the price was the hardest thing to find!!.....curse, grump, growl. So why dont they want to show me the price?..grrrrrrr.Not simple at all.

Talking to my friend earlier today she reminded me that children constantly ask why. I remember I did. I think that why is good because if there comes a day when we can no longer ask why something bad will have happened.!

My picture today is a fly on a flower taken last summer in the forest.

Mouche & Flower

The French word for browse is parcourir.

The French word for swear word is juron.

The French word for fly is mouche.

Etymology for the word river.

Not perfect

Today I took a late morning walk around our village.

The woofer and I plodded around the block, which means out of the village around some fields and tracks and back towards the church and then home.

Although the children only just got back to school, because it is Wednesday the young children have the day off. So the school and school yard where silent. The shrubs which line the roads from our village are a long way off showing any signs of buds or blossoms.

The birds were singing, catkins swung in the breeze, the sky was a lovely shade of blue, but colour was hiding from me.

However in the dryed up leaves a bright yellow flower had poked its head out. This flower isnt perfect, but it made me smile.

Less than perfect.

Sometimes less than perfect is very welcome.

The French word for bird song is ramage. or simply chant oiseau.

The French word for catkin is chaton.

Nut case

Back home and listening to the birds tweeting outside. I have checked the forecast, and its sunny today with a high of 11 degrees, I may visit my gardening blog.

I also have the packing away of various items and washing of clothes. I hate unpacking, it takes me a few days to squirrel away bits and pieces.

Some of you perfectionists walk in instantly put everything away and as if a magic wand has been waved~~~~~~~~gone, well that isn't me.

My picture today is a case I saw last year on the track in the forest, I love the shadow on the track. As you can see this case is half unpacked too.

Nut Case

If you are stuck indoors at work today I hope you can take a walk in the sunshine later.

The French word for suitcase la valise.

The French word for shell on a nut is la coquille.

No comment to make???

Have you ever visited a blog and tried to leave a comment but then it proves to be imposible?

Well I have tried four times to leave a comment on.......Not Only In Thailand

and the word verification cannot be seen....It is invisible.


Here is a picture I took on the ferry, a message that can be seen but is ignored! It reminded me of the wavy word verifications I sometimes can see.

Message

The French word to call something back into your mind is rappeler.

The French word for proves to be is avéré.

Highs and lows

The highest point in Nottinghamshire can be seen from where I am sitting. It is now a hill covered in trees and has a monument on the top. This area in the past provided work for many but the work was hard. The work was down the pits, mining for coal. These days the unemployment is high, but people no longer have to work under the ground.

For those of you who haven't seen this picture before here is the monument at the highest point. It is called testing for gas, the man is holding his Davey Lamp. In the far background is Hardwick Hall, this is Lady Chatterley country too.

Testing for gas

Link to Wikipedia D. H. Lawrence.

The French word for coal is houille and also charbon.

The French word for slag heap is crassier.

Travel

A few days travelling.

At first empty French roads, then a night crossing on my favorite ferry, then along roads where the houses are packed tight together.

The rolling Dorset hillsides lost in the mist. We drive past drifts of snowdrops a pure delight growing in the steep banks alongside the rural but busy roads.

The wonderful mighty English Oak trees their branches are left to grow far and wide, unlike the severe cuts of their French equivalents.

I cant say that I had noticed how bad the motorway verges were before, but I see miles of unwanted cans and packaging amongst the grey dusty roadsides.

The motorways in England are full to bursting and major works are underway to add extra lanes. Soon the ever increasing numbers of modern cars will be be forced to move slowly, chugging along like this old vintage number.

Changing Times

The French word for snowdrop is perce neige.

The French word for bursting at the seams is regorger.

Etymology for the word pierce.

Information overload

My new blog friend Tom Foolery has been finding the news around the world just too sad and too mad. I started to think what was it like when all around here was forest.

In a world with no television to watch and bring you bad pictures, papers with graphic descriptions, radio to tell you on the hour what is considered to be the latest news, and no modern communications.

How would you know what was really going on in the world, all you would hear would be the birds and the animals, all you would see would be trees and the sky. The wars fought and won, lands lost in battle and discovered by explorers.

Peaceful setting

Hope you all have an uneventful tranquil day.

The French word for bad is mauvais.

The French word for war is guerre.

Eyes wide open

Managed a shortish walk yesterday in the forest. The dog gets extra exercise racing back to see where I am, what can be delaying me. Sometimes I enjoy taking pictures right up close to the subject. So I was really pleased with this green bear adorned with ivy leaves.

Sometimes you can overlook the stuff that is right in front of your face because you are looking at the bigger picture.

Green Bear

Of course we don't have any real bears here, its a tree. At this time of year it is hunting season so any wildlife that there is, deer, fox, rabbits, and various types of birds are hunted trapped or shot, hopefully they dont catch them all.

The French word for a female deer is biche.

The French word for ivy is lierre.

Wasted time

It is Saturday morning, I can hear the birds singing outside, a light mist is hanging around down the valley and there is a light frost on the ground. Inside the fire is roaring in the wood burner.

Today for various reasons we need to go food shopping..ugh I hate it. I feel like it is such a waste of my time, and then afterwards you have to put it away into cupboards, ugh again.What would I rather be doing?......on a lovely crisp cool February morning, yes I would love to be out with my camera.

The other Saturday I was walking around the park in Fougeres and grabbed this shot of a French family walking back through the park from the town, they were the only people that I saw there.

I suppose I could pull faces at people in the queue at the checkout and offer to take their photograph? Ok ,maybe not.

I hope you get to do something you enjoy today, maybe I will wander out later and see whats happening in rural Brittany.

Lurking in the park

The French word for shrouded in mist in brumeux.
The French word for frosty is glacial.

Happy with Branflakes

You cant beat a drive in the countryside on a dry sunny February day. The afternoon was perfect for photography, but alas I wasn't really in the mood.

Why?........Well it was a search for a lovely dog who had gone missing the previous evening. Worse still this dog was on "holiday" while her owner was enjoying a trip away. Its always more stressful when it is some one elses dog. So I was sitting in the passenger seat my eyes scouring the French fields for the sight of a dog. My friend who was dog sitting was stopping to ask postmen, walkers, folks in their gardens and people just out for a walk. Bars and bread shops and The Mairie (the Mayors office, many of which were closed), she also knocked on doors, and explained to locals.

We also walked around a hilltop which was littered with large rocks, weird sculptures and a Church, it has a air of the bizarre. No sign of the missing dog, I grabbed a couple of shots, but my enthusiasm to photograph this weird place was lacking.

Take a seat

Later the dejected dog sitter and I sat around the lovely big kitchen table and drank hot mugs of coffee. Then the phone rang, and luckily the knocking on doors had payed off. Off she drove to a house about 5 minutes away by car. The missing dog was enjoying a bowl of Bran Flakes.

I don't have a brilliant picture of the runaway pooch, so this will have to do I intended to discard this picture because it is slightly out of focus but you can see what a delightful layed back dog she is.

Got any Branflakes

The French word for flee is fuir.

The French word for lost is perdu.

Move fast and quick

An observation regarding the Brittany countryside. There is a lot of rain just like in the UK, however the fields here are carefully drained with pipes into very deep ditches. The ditches are regularly cleared out to ensure that the water can flow to its destination a pumping station. I have never seen this kind of management of water and ditches back in the UK.

If you ever have to pull your vehicle off the road in rural Brittany, beware these ditches would swallow up your front wheel with no problem at all.

After last nights awful tempete, which was loud and at times a bit scary, today the water is gushing along the roadside ditches, and the many rivers which lace this area are full, and flowing fast. It seems like we are all getting more weather than usual more wind, rain, snow, or heat!

This afternoon I drove a few kilometers to have a coffee with a friend, afterwards she sent me home via an interesting dirk track, I had hoped to stop and take pictures, but down came the rain so I only managed a couple of very quick snaps.

At times there is a definate feel of springtime, and when you look at the hedgerows you can also see the signs of new growth.

Chemin

The small river was rushing along in a great hurry to get out of rural Brittany and visit nearby Normandy for that is the direction it flows.

Off to Normandy

Then back home to my blue front door, although the pots are not there at the moment, since the weather is too cold. It was of course raining yet again. But soon the sun will shine I hope.

The French word for the flowing river couler
The French word for lace is dentelle.

Not weather for hats

Much of France is engulfed in a mad tempete tonight. So it is much too windy for a hat! So windy that the wood burner is burning faster than it should, its a bit draughty in here.

In the winter I hate to be outside without a hat, the last two winters my favorite is a fleece lined baseball cap with a larger than usual peak. But I love hats of all types and I love to see people wearing them.

My lifestyle doesn't require me to dress in a stylish fashion, but that doesn't mean that I don't like to see others who have some sort of style. I am normally dressed in warm practical tops, with jeans and flat shoes.

Last summer I was mooching around Pontorson, a nice town near to Mont Saint Michel, it was

market day and all the world was enjoying the warm sunshine. My friend and I bought some nice beads, and then we enjoyed a drink at a bar situated at the back of the market, we watched the people. People watching with a cool pink Kir to sip, it is a nice way to while away 30 minutes.

I saw this lady with a style all of her own, she looked brilliant, but not my thing at all.

Lady in frock with unusual hat.

But at Dinan market I saw this lady sporting a very feminine number and stopped me in my tracks, and I felt that she deserved a photograph, ain't she sweet! ha ha.....

Headlines

Do you like hats,?

The French word for a cap or baseball cap is a casquette.

The French word for draught is courant.

The world spins around

All the time things are changing around us, life goes on regardless of whatever has happened to change things for you. These last few days I have been lost in my thoughts, I have been thinking of things in the past. I rub my eyes to see what is going on in the world.

I need to jump back on, and catch up.

Special thoughts to people that I know in Australia.

I thought that I would blog this wee beastie who doesnt move and can only observe the passers by in the park in Fougeres.

The Observer

The French word for past is passé.

The French word for dwell is remâcher.

Hearing things

Another sleepless night, our neighbours dog was barking which is unusual and my mind was full of thoughts. This morning when I came downstairs I looked out and saw a light covering of snow, but nothing much compared to what has been falling across the English Channel. Then I heard one of the big milk tankers CRUNCH through ice outside on the road. Its treacherous outside and will take several hours to thaw. The roads in the villages here are left for the sunshine to melt the ice, sand and grit is a luxury.

A few vehicles have gone by carefully, slowly, crunching their way around the bend by the church. It for some reason reminded me of the leaves a couple of months back, I love hearing the noise of leaves when they lay thick upon the ground and you can kick them around. Yes I know it is a different noise but who knows how my mind works...I don't for sure.

Kick Some Leaves

The French word for leaves is feuillage.

The French word for crunch is craquer.

Special Treatment

I went to my class today, armed with my partly finished or partly unfinished homework.

I think that my French teacher really really likes me. Why is this?

????????????

Well I must be special because my teacher asked me to do my homework again. She didn't ask anyone else just me. Yippee so I can impress her all over again with my ta and my ton and my tes, or my use of ses son and sa.

So I am going to award myself a gold medal, or the closest that I can find.

Here is a picture that I took in early November, I thought that it looked like a gold medal, yes I know its really a mushroom but my imagination runs riot.

Forest Gold Medal

The French word for homework is devoirs.
The French word for unfinished is inachevé........oops

Etymology link for achieve.

Same teacher different cultures?

Last Friday four of us got together for coffee and a chat at 9.30 so it was kind of a breakfast chat. I bought in some goodies and made some biscuits, but I ate most of them even though I later gave some away....oops

An enjoyable two hours, and we shall be meeting again a la Vera Lynn.

Just before the two French ladies left they spilled the beans and told me that the French lady who teaches them English (who is the same teacher who teaches us French) ran the class in a very rigid fixed way. I was surprised, since whilst our class isn't riotous it goes off at tangents, questions are asked often and we laugh a fair bit. Actually we laugh at one of the men who goes there because he is a bit of a case. No said the two French ladies we have so many minutes reading, dictation, and writing it is always the same.

I wonder if it is a cultural thing or are they more serious and grown up than we are?

So talking of breakfast this leads me to the picture I took last year, a lovely horse who lives up the hill outside our village.

Breakfast

The French word for enjoyable is agréable.

The French word for chat is bavarder.

I am in a muddle

My head is in a spin, I realised that I got a tag from French fancy but failed to pass it on..oops although everyone seems very busy. Then I got two more tags at the same time.

One tag is from Bindu..she has such lovely pictures and words in her blog, and makes lovely mirrors what a girl! Anyway Bindu's tag is below.

Here are the rules:
1.pick the 6th picture from your 6th photo folder.
2.tell the story around it
.3.pass it onto
.6 other people.

The other tag I got is from Tom Foolery.....great blogger and makes me chuckle.

Here are the rules, go to your fourth album retrieve your fourth photo and post. Of course you can break the rules and not play. But have you the bottle?

Ok so I am going to pick the 10th picture because 4 and 6 = 10 from my favorites folder. But from the end not the start of the folder....here goes.

It is a picture of a "window" in the castle ramparts in Fougeres, I took the picture on a sunny Saturday morning everyone else was in the town to shop but I wandered around the old streets and the Jardin Public. All the signs around the town say that this is the largest castle in Europe. I am so lucky to live only 15 minutes away and I never tire of looking at it. I love the light on the old stone work.

So pick the tenth picture from the end of your folder and tell us all about it please. Of course if you are too busy no worries.

I will tag 5 people just to be difficult.

1. French Fancy......brainy and funny too.

2. Woodwose Carving.........go look at Dave's wonderful carvings, clever so and so.

3. Claire.........I am following her novel at Writing not Reading

4. Brocobelle.......she has lots of lovely French bits and pieces

5. Art Propelled ......a talented crafts person and she obviously loves animals, go and take a look at BUG!!!!

For all the wrong reasons

Monday or Lundi as they call it around here I will get to see the inside of our local church. So local I can see the clock on the church tower from our bedroom window. The doors are always shut and so for some reason I have never been inside it to look at the windows and stonework. I am not big on religion but I do like architecture.

A couple of years ago I asked our neighbour who his favorite singer was, he told me Jacques Brel, I looked the singer up on the internet, and last year many programmes where shown on tv so I got to watch the genius at work. Brel died at the very early age 49.

So whenever I hear one of Brels songs I think of my neighbour, sadly my neighbour has died very suddenly at the age of 44, leaving two lovely children and a wife who lights the room up when she smiles.

The French word for sad is triste
The French expression for down in the dumps is avoir le cafard


Some of Brels songs from a previous post here.