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Snippets of French History: great writers. Colette.

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Colette, although quite an ordinary first name in France, it was in this case the family surname) was born in Burgundy in January 1873.  She has gone down in history as one of the “greats” because she was the first French woman to be given a state funeral; she was very active in […]

Posted 9 years ago

Snippets of French History. Great writers: Gustave Flaubert.

   Gustave Flaubert  1821-1880 Unlike most of his contemporaries, Flaubert did not write much.  Other French writers of the time, some of whom were known personally to Flaubert, were prolific – Zola, Victor Hugo, Guy de Maupassant … to name but a few. Flaubert was fanatic about each sentence he wrote, even each word, and […]

Posted 9 years ago

Did you know … ? Snippets of French culture.

  The French bistro . A bistro in France was – traditionally – a simple small restaurant where you can get a basic no-frills meal fairly cheaply in Paris.   painting by Jean Berand, 1849 – 1935 As is the way with everything, this has changed over recent years, and quite a lot of restaurants […]

Posted 9 years ago

The Highwayman.

The Highwayman. The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees. The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed among cloudy seas. The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding – riding – riding – The highwayman came riding up to the old inn door.   […]

Posted 9 years ago

Snippets of French History: Honore de Balzac.

   Balzac 1799 – 1850 Honore de Blazac was born in the lovely town of Tours, on the Loire Valley.  There had been one son before him, also named Honore, who had died as a baby.  Balzac had two younger brothers and a younger sister.  His home life was not a happy one with strict, […]

Posted 9 years ago

Jules Verne : Snippets of French history

 “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea” Jules Verne was born in Nantes in 1828 to a bourgeois family. He had one younger brother and three little sisters. His family, on both his father’s and his mother’s sides, were well-heeled and well-connected.  His father was a lawyer and both sides of the family had vested interests […]

Posted 9 years ago

Snippets of French history: champagne.

 The story of champagne in a nutshell. Champagne, simply put, is bubbly white wine from the north-east of France.   The reason it is called champagne is because it comes from … Champagne ! The first vineyards in the area were planted by the Romans, starting with early occupation of what was then Gaul, in 58 […]

Posted 9 years ago

guest post – a short story

Violets. by Henry Last.   So, the thing is that I have to write it. Apparently it is therapy. Therapeutic.  I don’t see why it should be, and I don’t need therapy. Where is the point in therapy for somebody like me ?  I don’t want it. But I will write it.  I will write […]

Posted 9 years ago

Mrs Bloo

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mrs-Bloos-Umbrella-Catherine-Broughton/dp/1511684887/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1448401599&sr=8-6&keywords=catherine+broughton                “Mrs Bloo’s Umbrella” is available from Amazon

Posted 9 years ago

on the 11th hour of the 11th day …

No Man’s Land night falls on concrete walls beside the barricades it tumbles down with a thud like a brick falls into mud she who hides amidst the ruins gathers up handfuls of the dusk hides them in her pocket pieces of a childish truth to silence the lies of men their guns and bombs […]

Posted 9 years ago

Books now available on Amazon:

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