Blog

Every picture tells a story – on how to read art. Part 4.

By the early 2nd Century AD, the great Roman Empire was in decline.  The Emperor Diocletian divided the Empire in to East and West; the western half succumbed to Germanic invasion and collapsed.  The East, however, evolved in to a new empire, Byzantium and what was then called Constantinople (Istanbul), based on Christianity, and with […]

Posted 12 years ago

Every picture tells a story – on how to read Art. Part 3.

Every picture tells a story.  Part 3. The Battle of Actium in 27 BC marks a turning point in history and in art.  The Roman Empire emerges under Ceasar Augustus. For over 300 years it was the dominant power in Europe and it left us an ever-lasting legacy. The Romans copied the art of ancient […]

Posted 12 years ago

Every picture tells a story – on how to read art. Part 2.

The art of the Minoan Bronze Age was the first to develop in Europe.  Named after the mythical King Minos of Crete, this art emerged, heavily influenced by Egypt, around 3000 years BC.   Despite Crete’s geographical proximity to Egypt, and the undeniable influences, Minoan art is essentially different from Egyptian art. Minoan art is largely […]

Posted 12 years ago

Every picture tells a story – on how to read art. Part One.

Every picture tells a story – on how to read art.  Notes made for an AFA talk. Until really very recently paintings were done for a specific purpose: to relate an historic event, to portray a person, to indicate political or religious affiliations or whatever.  A picture hanging on the wall just because it is […]

Posted 12 years ago

Good news for when you move to France

Pleasant surprises for when you move to France! –          Apart from grotty areas, everything is very clean, orderly, well-maintained, and even in grotty areas the effort is made –          Roads are excellent, and there are far more and far better motorway stops (mark you, you pay for it) –          The selection in all shops, regardless […]

Posted 12 years ago

Idiosyncrasies of the French

Crucial differences the British need to understand before they move to France !  These are some of the shocks.  I hasten to add that I love France and have lots of French friends. Tomorrow some of the good points !   –          Everything is shut, Monday – Saturday inclusive, from 12.00 lunch-time till 2.30, perhaps […]

Posted 12 years ago

Marie Curie, physicist and chemist

Marie Curie was Polish.  She has gone down in history as French, but she was Polish, born and raised there and extremely patriotic.  She’d have preferred to die and be buried there.  She always spoke to her daughters in Polish and returned several times to her homeland. Indeed, she used her maiden name, calling herself […]

Posted 12 years ago

How well do you speak French ?

Yesterday I was with an English girlfriend as we strolled along in the French autumn sunshine doing a spot of window-shopping.  They call it leche-vitrine in French, ie window-licking.  It set us thinking about translations of similar phrases and this is what we came up with:- I’ve got a frog in my throat = j’ai un chat […]

Posted 12 years ago

George – our Great Dane

We took George to Istanbul with us.  Well, you do, don’t you?  Take your Great Dane to Istanbul ? All the best people do it. The trouble was he was such a bloomin’ Member of the Family, and we couldn’t leave him in kennels.   We had only once tried that, when he was five or […]

Posted 12 years ago

Macmillan Nurses – cancer care.

A huge thank you to everybody who donated and to everybody who bid at the auction – and, of course, to everybody who attended the function!  We raised almost £1300 at our coffee morning, held here in our property in France.  As the French had never heard of Macmillan nurses we, as une politesse, contributed to […]

Posted 12 years ago

Books now available on Amazon:

A Call From France
French Sand
Kefani: An African Childhood
The Man With Green Fingers
Saying Nothing