Adventures with languages
I’d been reading an amazing story about two Epsom-based painter/decorators, Joe Moruzzi and Brendon Parry, who set up a second business selling….. custom-made cheesecakes. Joe started off making cheesecakes for friends and family, set up an Instagram account, and now he and Brendon have 40K followers. They make the British/American type of cheese cake, with…
What do you “see” in your mind when you’re engrossed in a story? It’s amazing how black marks on paper can transport you to another world. I love reading and getting immersed in a story, and I think I build a hazy picture in my head of what the people and places look like, but…
I’d heard of Barbara Abdelah-Bauer before – she’s a psycho-sociologist specializing in bilingualism, and she’s brought up her own children to be multilingual. Last month I went along to an interesting talk which she gave in French at the Institut Francais London. She was talking about the conclusions which have been drawn from the latest…
Carrying on from yesterday’s post about Pau, I’ve thought of 10 more tips for families visiting this lovely town. First of all you’ll need some food, either to enjoy on the spot or to take home with ...
Pau: “Porte des Pyrenees” The French town of Pau has a prime position just to the north of the Pyrenees, 50 km from Spain and 100 km from the Atlantic coast (Biarritz and St Jean de Luz). The ...
I first heard of the Danish word “hygge” last winter, but this winter it’s all over the place in the UK and helping to sell lots of Christmas decorations and gifts. Candles, thick brightly-coloured ...
Is there a gap in your Wednesday evenings where “The Great British Bake-Off” used to be? The BBC final final was on 26th October, when we were in France, but on that same evening we came across the ...
I’m a Ford Cortina, rescued from the scrap heap many times. My heyday was the 1960s and ‘70s, and my speciality was Family Holidays. Seatbelts were not considered necessary; you just crammed several children and a dog onto the backseat and set off. There were no child safety locks; you just banged the doors hard….
A dog by any other name….? My daughter’s been longing for a dog for years. When she was about 5 she chose a book in a shop in Germany with the title “Ich will einen Hund”, by Helga Bansch. “Ich will auch einen Hund”, she said. It’s a great story about a girl who pleads…
