THERE is no doubt that having English subtitles on television programmes really helps you get up to speed with the French language.
Unfortunately few go down this route so you end up with programmes horribly dubbed and quickly losing any of the subtleties or impact of the original.
However, yesterday I discovered one programme that is subtitled and which appears on the unscrambled Canal+ channel – The Daily Show.
THE number of departments in France facing water use restrictions has increased, meaning an update of the Ministry of Ecology website and its .pdf map that you can download highlighting the different areas affected.
Many of the restrictions are localised and so it is worth checking with your mairie if you are in one of the areas.
A map of water shortages and reducing water use is also available.
HERE is a handy feature using Google Docs that will let you scan a letter in to your computer and translate it from French to English.
A recent feature added to Google Docs is Optical Character Recognition (OCR) which converts the text on a scanned image into editable text on the screen.
So for example, say you receive a letter covering a health issue and you are not completely sure what it is saying then scan it and save it to your computer as either a PDF, JPEG, GIF or PNG file.
A BRITISH man has been successful in receiving the return of inheritance payments he had to make upon the death of his civil partner.
The Connexion reports on the case of Jerry Lea who had already paid instalments of £31,800 on a £98,000 bill, but the courts say he will get his money back and some of his legal costs.
A NUMBER of regions in France are currently facing water use restrictions, so it may be worth checking with your mairie if you are in one of the areas.
Update June 2022: An online map on water shortages for different areas of France. And the Dordogne authorities have published a map with restrictions in the departement.
The Ministry of Ecology has a .pdf map you can download highlighting the different areas affected.
At present the regions concerned are: Ain (01), Charente (16), Charente-Maritime (17), Côte-d’Or (21), Eure (27), Gers (32), Ille-et-Vilaine (35), Indre-et-Loire (37), Landes (40), Loire-Atlantique (44), Loiret (45), Maine-et-Loire (49).
Also: Marne (51), Mayenne (53), Rhône (69), Sarthe (72), Seine-Maritime (76), Seine-et-Marne (77), Yvelines (78), Deux-Sèvres (79), Vendée (85) Vienne (86) et Essonne (91).
There are different measures that departments can turn to including restricted watering of crops, to complete banning of watering including domestic use such as filling pools and washing cars.
THE last of 250 British and Australian World War I troops recovered from mass graves has been reburied with full military honours in northern France.
Prince Charles and the relatives of identified soldiers attended a commemorative ceremony at the new Fromelles Military Cemetery.
It comes 94 years after the soldiers were killed in the Battle of Fromelles.
Website: Fromelles Military Cemetery
News reports:
Prince Charles attends last Fromelles soldier reburial
Fromelles war cemetery dedicated 94 years after disastrous battle
IF you enjoy motorsport and want to experience a rally around the roads of south west France then head to Sauveterre la Lemance (map).
A number of teams will be heading to the village for a day of racing on Sunday, June 27, with drivers from across France expected to attend.
The video above features last year’s competition, and you can read more at Racing through the French countryside.
Updated 29/10/2016
TODAY saw President Sarkozy and British PM, David Cameron, mark the 70th anniversary of Charles de Gaulle’s wartime broadcast urging France to fight back against the Nazi occupation.
And a short extract of de Gaulle’s speech appears on a plaque outside the Musée de la Résistance, in Cahors, while inside you learn how that fight back took place and the stories of those who didn’t live to enjoy victory in 1945.
HERE is your chance to win a copy of Walnut Wine & Truffle Groves, by Kimberley Lovato, which takes you through some of the hidden gems of the Dordogne.
Kimberley has kindly offered two copies of the book as prizes so readers of This French Life have an opportunity of winning one in an ever so easy to enter competition.
Here is an extract from the first chapter:
The house where Danièle’s father was born, where her four children were raised, and where she welcomes her six grandchildren each summer, could be a movie set.
Straw hats hang from one of the wooden beams and an old-fashioned lamp provides light to a small workspace where Danièle has laid out a crisply ironed white cloth on which she is slicing smoked sanglier (wild boar).
“I live almost like my grandmother did,” she says, pointing her knife in my direction, then gets back to the business of slicing.
The house indeed appears untouched by time and as I survey the room, Danièle seems to survey her memories then confirms that not much has changed, except for refrigeration and plumbing.
The main room is chock-a-block with mementos and photos, paintings and flowers, and consists of a kitchen and a dining-living room area with a glass door that leads to an overgrown garden.
But the pièce de résistance and my biggest source of curiosity is the enormous fireplace that separates the two rooms.
It is open on both sides with a slew of ancient cooking utensils at the ready, and slow burning embers cast their orange glow on a platter of duck legs that await their fate.
Danièle pokes at the fire and tells me she designed the fireplace herself with entertaining in mind.
“Cooking is so much more than just eating,” she says. “It is about talking and being social, and making people as happy as you can with the food you prepare.”
Walnut Wine & Truffle Groves is a culinary travel book that invites readers to pull up a chair and visit the Dordogne the way it should be visited, one bite at a time.
Through interactions with local home cooks and chefs, visits to local farms and historic sites, market tours, and wineries, readers will discover the true jewels in France’s culinary crown as well as discover the country’s most beautiful and less trod-upon provinces.
To enter please leave a message in the comment form below, for example ‘please enter me into the competition’, but make sure your email address is correct, and just one entry per email address.
Two messages will be picked at random each winning a copy of the book. Closing date for the competition is Friday, June 18, 2010 at 11am Paris time.
THE COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED
THE building of an airport has stringent standards and a certain flavour about it of an engineer’s workshop, writes Carol Miers.
The jigsaw pieces are from many professions architectural, electronic, public sector, security, hygiene, logistics, legislative, municipal and many others.