tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68225545809574045742024-03-13T21:16:55.777-07:00L'Essonne in EnglishAn English view of life in Essonne, France.Rachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13524539140310609179noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6822554580957404574.post-16212673871406066542012-05-07T02:43:00.001-07:002012-05-07T02:44:53.995-07:00Women of JuvisyFollow <a href="http://0z.fr/REnL7" target="_blank">this link</a> for a film, 'Femmes de Juvisy', summing up the community life of Juvisy and featuring some of the women who are making a difference.<br />
The film is by Kristian Loro and is hosted by the eclectic <a href="http://dandylan.over-blog.com/" target="_blank">local blogger Dandylan</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZ92FKWF2jgBQ3Gznoho4J8QPPlYdVd0QXSP0K1c7CTjEfQS4ZUm4scsN6fhtJFSRSvSZeqGAtP3TLmmrPHDmPhyx_rijKwh4S4UPEVzBpzwM0Wy_Ne0lAzc8H6VPr_JDcMpree05grhV/s1600/IMGP0409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZ92FKWF2jgBQ3Gznoho4J8QPPlYdVd0QXSP0K1c7CTjEfQS4ZUm4scsN6fhtJFSRSvSZeqGAtP3TLmmrPHDmPhyx_rijKwh4S4UPEVzBpzwM0Wy_Ne0lAzc8H6VPr_JDcMpree05grhV/s320/IMGP0409.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />Rachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13524539140310609179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6822554580957404574.post-54438861434758120702012-03-30T13:25:00.002-07:002012-03-31T07:07:38.817-07:00Dead wood stage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0AfwYyU_0ZgsEymsCi-M1-o85cawSbCMnGVkxVYEG3Rj7df7HGQNhIg6smtxlpyeYzx3jNpghPoDEdcuQ-acq-1WMgACz2C2Ylc1L0zzLpqstUAWiYkQJR5-Sh5our7LnJBZnBBEGihy/s1600/IMGP0461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0AfwYyU_0ZgsEymsCi-M1-o85cawSbCMnGVkxVYEG3Rj7df7HGQNhIg6smtxlpyeYzx3jNpghPoDEdcuQ-acq-1WMgACz2C2Ylc1L0zzLpqstUAWiYkQJR5-Sh5our7LnJBZnBBEGihy/s320/IMGP0461.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's wick!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt; tab-stops: 117.0pt 189.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><i>"I'm glad it's wick!" she cried out in her whisper. "I want them all to be wick. Let us go round the garden and count how many wick ones there are."</i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-HarperClassics-Frances-Hodgson-Burnett/dp/006440188X" target="_blank">The Secret Garden</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett" target="_blank">Frances Hodgson Burnett</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt; tab-stops: 117.0pt 189.0pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For me, those are some of the most powerful sentences ever written in the English language, certainly on a par with anything by Dickens, Shakespeare and Austen.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In Burnett's classic story, Mary Lennox is a neglected yet spoilt orphan who discovered a secret untended garden on the estate of her uncle’s estate on the wuthering Yorkshire moors. The symbol of her neglect are roses that had tangled and grown together. She didn’t know how to tell whether a branch or a tree stump was alive or not. Fortunately the </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">gentle and </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">fascinating Dickon was around to teach her and her hypochondriac cousin Colin about the beauty and regenerative power </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">of nature </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">and a bit of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/voices2005/glossary/glossary.shtml" target="_blank">pure Yorkshire dialect</a>. As Dickon explains 'It's wick' means 'It's alive'.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnKL9SRYcr3zAi4_FXHJ1WlOV80XDJ1YZOyMUrREIt6_lxdv8LL5HANvzAEWbUGw-3d9hIsFzLtOpzVuIfiw7F42Zodxf6pu2eeRa_FKu9_rGOYXTRtI_DioTyfX66zW4ETTr1WEXpEpC/s1600/IMGP0261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnKL9SRYcr3zAi4_FXHJ1WlOV80XDJ1YZOyMUrREIt6_lxdv8LL5HANvzAEWbUGw-3d9hIsFzLtOpzVuIfiw7F42Zodxf6pu2eeRa_FKu9_rGOYXTRtI_DioTyfX66zW4ETTr1WEXpEpC/s320/IMGP0261.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Over the winter I've been considering dead wood. It can be very deceptive. The circular cambium of these felled trees in the Senat forest are providing fungi with all the nourishment they need to thrive. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQFnY2UL6CsLqbKwSCNui0jnkhTUa4NIx7tVQVxC5S4aVqSQ31o85TM2I6SLBrmDyjZ5FGpklWgITEFazdazj5FvrcXzPoeGp99K4D0gTbhVtt0LESI731Asuc-uIZlgjeHX_zLIzNfKzs/s1600/IMGP0258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQFnY2UL6CsLqbKwSCNui0jnkhTUa4NIx7tVQVxC5S4aVqSQ31o85TM2I6SLBrmDyjZ5FGpklWgITEFazdazj5FvrcXzPoeGp99K4D0gTbhVtt0LESI731Asuc-uIZlgjeHX_zLIzNfKzs/s320/IMGP0258.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">How many species are represented in this tree stump? </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The whole mix of colours and textures from </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">fallen leaves, acorns, moss, lichens and fungi makes a miniature landscape more dramatic than the forest landscape itself.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxScErRV5tj-SkaOCuOvTIHk2VumLCPs_Nuw3ylGX55KGQasPPneHDFElUd11g2MwnFik5Hw26sb0jSgfDfXBXk2GCJUXiPBqkC6Xw6sBBXHQ04-zSm8Qs2U-Bu-pvu3LJMU_mluO9I1b/s1600/IMGP0313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxScErRV5tj-SkaOCuOvTIHk2VumLCPs_Nuw3ylGX55KGQasPPneHDFElUd11g2MwnFik5Hw26sb0jSgfDfXBXk2GCJUXiPBqkC6Xw6sBBXHQ04-zSm8Qs2U-Bu-pvu3LJMU_mluO9I1b/s320/IMGP0313.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> This fungus peeping out of the bark and inner layers of a branch was so white and fluffy that it really looked like a patch of snow that had resisted thawing. The dead wood days of winter were not as dead as they seemed. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
</span></div>Rachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13524539140310609179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6822554580957404574.post-28005025222653961002011-09-22T01:26:00.000-07:002011-09-22T01:26:05.033-07:00A shorts story and a poem<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:HyphenationZone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:ApplyBreakingRules/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">It was a balmy afternoon turning into evening and the bells of the <a href="http://monnier.jeanpierre.free.fr/regard/Maumejean/juvisy.htm">Notre Dame de France</a> church in Juvisy-sur-Orge were ringing out for mass or perhaps just chiming the hour. Making his way down the pavement towards me was an old man dressed, appropriately for the sweltering weather, in shorts. Rather voluminous shorts for his spindly legs. The knobbly knees swung back and forth making contact with the shorts’ hems with each step. </div><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Why was my first reaction to snigger at seeing old bare legs? Isn’t it odd that we expect old men to wear synthetic trousers? How many shorts does an old man own? Where and when has that same pair of shorts been worn before? Is there a link between the moments when men wear shorts and when they are living life to the full or on the edge?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rat in the desert</td></tr>
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</div><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">A reminder of those hot days before the rather disappointing summer of 2011 began, <a href="http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/109804"><b>here is </b><b>a poem published today</b></a> in the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wellversedmorningstar">Well Versed column</a>, <a href="http://jprtr.org/">edited by Jody Porter</a>, of the <a href="http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/5908">Morning Star</a>, the only daily English-language socialist newspaper in the world.</span><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Rather appropriately the history of the newspaper, formerly the Daily Worker, charts the lifetime of <a href="http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/109804">‘that old man in shorts’</a>. As a bit of background especially for French readers, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Matthews">Stanley Matthews</a> is an English football hero, who began his career in the 1930s. He had an exceptionally long career due to his talent and his dedication to fitness. He would weigh his shoes down with lead when he was training on </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Blackpool</span> beach, so that when he was actually playing a match, he would feel much lighter and nimbler. And, of course, he wore big baggy shorts. </div><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now in lead shoes like Stanley Matthews</td></tr>
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</span></span></div>Rachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13524539140310609179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6822554580957404574.post-46602862514864459782011-06-20T03:15:00.000-07:002011-06-20T05:58:09.352-07:00I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-s-sensation<b><span style="color: purple;">Le QUI?</span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/m6LvSN0xhP0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Proof that Juvisy can rip it up! Televised concert by <a href="http://www.thewho.com/">The Who</a> at Juvisy Salle des Fêtes on the Music-Hall de France show in 1966. Wonder if any of my neighbours were there. Thanks to P for the tip-off. </div>Rachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13524539140310609179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6822554580957404574.post-88236036964269324762011-05-20T07:02:00.000-07:002011-05-20T10:10:32.262-07:00Always look up : the mystery of the blue bird<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtwZrw684tm7s2l-zOkQPCpVBDUrQtl23KOG316qMYFGqgSs1ZyaNW9-FdAshrmdW7JSx6aveTg7Ff-ok3_TKf47H_HSzSS9G91I_3zJolvMH31sGLArVf-VNGdumDJdpsWXCGgHbbNxO/s1600/100_2805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtwZrw684tm7s2l-zOkQPCpVBDUrQtl23KOG316qMYFGqgSs1ZyaNW9-FdAshrmdW7JSx6aveTg7Ff-ok3_TKf47H_HSzSS9G91I_3zJolvMH31sGLArVf-VNGdumDJdpsWXCGgHbbNxO/s320/100_2805.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div style="color: blue;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;">One swallow does not make a summer</span></b></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;">This post really sums up the theme of this blog. A thing of beauty is a joy for ever wherever you happen to find that thing.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;"> A few years ago I bought a book called <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seize-Day-366-Tips-Living/dp/0701169389">Seize the Day</a> as a present for a friend. I admit it. I seized the book figuring that my need was greater than my friend's. Anyway the book, which has a foreword by the <a href="http://www.anitaroddick.com/">late Anita Roddick</a>, is simply a collection of good advice, whether practical, philosophical, esoteric or spiritual. There are 366 pages, a thought for each day including February 29<sup>th</sup> in leap years. A wide range of famous and not-so-famous high-achievers and eccentrics each contributed something for a day that was special for them. There was one suggestion that caught my eye because it seemed so easy to do. The thought for April 7 is simply, <span style="color: blue;">Always Look Up</span>. <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3625999/A-writers-life-PJ-Kavanagh.html">PJ Kavanagh</a>, poet, columnist and actor gave this advice given to him first by an architect friend. When you walk through towns along the high street, <span style="color: blue;">Always Look Up</span>. You might see architectural treats, ironwork, columns, sculpture, cornices, stained glass, inscriptions or gargoyles that you miss when you are focused on the pavement.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELXCQ9cPy4FkKM-SvHzIoQ_XtXfBwe5wRLs86zoYB1hU-BTwP6aHw4lQKYijD00n5Werd_yEaOpllNlREgw_hkYQYgTUAHvcokGh5N_BSGwDOIcMcZyQomVNE6zOIGxCsu6IPipsCiLNN/s1600/100_2795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELXCQ9cPy4FkKM-SvHzIoQ_XtXfBwe5wRLs86zoYB1hU-BTwP6aHw4lQKYijD00n5Werd_yEaOpllNlREgw_hkYQYgTUAHvcokGh5N_BSGwDOIcMcZyQomVNE6zOIGxCsu6IPipsCiLNN/s320/100_2795.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;">And so to Juvisy-sur-Orge post office. It is in itself an interesting example of early 20th architecture. According to the <a href="http://maisondebanlieue.asso.fr/presente/cadre.html">local suburban architecture museum</a>, it was designed by an architect named Aubert and was built between 1930 and 1938. So it must have survived the heavy bombardment by the Allies in 1944. The curves of the administration side of the building are almost like a wedding cake.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">H</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">ere’s the thing of beauty that I walked past for at least 4 years because I wasn’t looking up. This little fellow was hiding in the middle of all that red brick just above the lintel of a disused doorway.</span><span id="goog_589551975"></span><span id="goog_589551976"></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zFV7x91e-PlQlrrK3xiIRei-xv9P6LHQfOkfeWO3ImYJSUGREmxFLdn-AQl7_Re1wQh-QWPGcAmKXMr4rb6gsPjyidhnF7xAxyvPeBBq2HFNezdYSTaSpWdbAPNqVenbgLh-0_QuJbZE/s1600/100_2804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zFV7x91e-PlQlrrK3xiIRei-xv9P6LHQfOkfeWO3ImYJSUGREmxFLdn-AQl7_Re1wQh-QWPGcAmKXMr4rb6gsPjyidhnF7xAxyvPeBBq2HFNezdYSTaSpWdbAPNqVenbgLh-0_QuJbZE/s320/100_2804.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>La Hirondelle</i>, Swallow</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;">There’ll be bluebirds over</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.shiply.com/blog/uploaded_images/la-poste-701635.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="http://www.shiply.com/blog/uploaded_images/la-poste-701635.gif" width="200" /></a></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;">At the beginning of the century the French post office was part of the all-encompassing PTT - Postes, Télégraphes et Téléphones. You can see <a href="http://www.theplan9-icon.com/2010/03/la-poste-la-vie-dans-le-mouvement.html">how the style of the PTT logo changed from Art Nouveau to Art Deco</a> over the years. However when the post office became independent from telecommunications in 1960, <a href="http://www.multicollection.fr/L-oiseau-bleu-des-ptt.html">Guy Georget designed the new La Poste logo</a>. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a paper dart? It’s whatever you think will wing your message as fast as possible to its destination. It is also been transformed over time but the yellow of the French post box remains.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;">But there’s a mystery. Was the swallow already a symbol of La Poste/PTT before Georget’s iconic logo came into being? </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;">Is the current logo based on a swallow? </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;"> Or was the bird tile added to Juvisy post office when the logo changed? The style of ceramic colours and the parallel lines on the tile is certainly in keeping with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Deco">Art Deco of the 1930s</a>. The swallow may relate to the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Classic-Old-School-Tattoos">tattoos sailors</a> would get to symbolise how far they had sailed, their one true love, or drowned souls being carried up to heaven. The thought that swallows could send messages and migrate far away is summed up in <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174648">a poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson</a>.</span></div></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;">‘O Swallow, Swallow, if I could follow, and light<br />
Upon her lattice, I would pipe and trill,<br />
And cheep and twitter twenty million loves.’ </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-size: small;">Of course though this is a physical example of the rewards of <span style="color: blue;">Always Looking Up</span>, the advice can be taken figuratively. Maybe just changing the tilt of our thoughts can help us see things that have been there all along just waiting to catch our attention.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtfjBdRE5GmHvjRYSCOHgnHCYqd77cYDDpmLU5cgVVhgnWGBmzeBk_FtbOIkpGCRtormy9Up1WIkv11kEGrED5yJSH7ju5IHo7z3TxtRRN8VyjvGo8AmTb0VpKiNyExuWR3XoesNPBjRs/s1600/100_2799+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtfjBdRE5GmHvjRYSCOHgnHCYqd77cYDDpmLU5cgVVhgnWGBmzeBk_FtbOIkpGCRtormy9Up1WIkv11kEGrED5yJSH7ju5IHo7z3TxtRRN8VyjvGo8AmTb0VpKiNyExuWR3XoesNPBjRs/s320/100_2799+%25282%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Always look up</td></tr>
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</span></div>Rachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13524539140310609179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6822554580957404574.post-63048121255654828602011-05-05T05:18:00.000-07:002011-05-05T05:18:06.710-07:00A lot can happen in a month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:HyphenationZone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:ApplyBreakingRules/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal" style="color: purple;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">When Nature moves faster than blogging…</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">After a frosty, cold and snowy winter, everything was well on cue to sprout, shoot, blossom and bloom as soon as night ground frosts lifted and days lengthened. With that extraordinary long hot spell in the middle of April, the roses in local gardens already in full bloom at Easter are starting to look past their best, some decidedly <i>fanées</i>, and it’s still the first week of May.<span> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGitRIcWMRtvUNzgrDAD4KdPZOAcw1hyphenhyphen0AHb_KueL5zkw7jaxcqoRRT5O6RudYrM_yTznGNdBkABiG8LFUfcGnM6_T_WYILBvmY2OVnOvqOKcEzMS-mRHhsYYzm2vEbuR_s7n3cw2njKDA/s1600/100_2439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGitRIcWMRtvUNzgrDAD4KdPZOAcw1hyphenhyphen0AHb_KueL5zkw7jaxcqoRRT5O6RudYrM_yTznGNdBkABiG8LFUfcGnM6_T_WYILBvmY2OVnOvqOKcEzMS-mRHhsYYzm2vEbuR_s7n3cw2njKDA/s320/100_2439.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wood anemone <span lang="EN-GB">(<i>Anemone nemorosa</i>)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span></span> At the end of March, the Sénart forest floor was carpeted with white starry <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemone_nemorosa">wood anemones</a> (<i>Anemone nemorosa</i>) and sunny bright celandines (<i>Ranunculus ficaria</i>). The <a href="http://www.looknature.fr/main/guides/escanat/france/fsenart/fsenart_1.php">Forêt Domaniale de Sénart</a><b> </b>is an ancient forest where the kings and court of France would once hunt. Now managed by </span><a href="http://www.onf.fr/"><span lang="EN-GB">Office National des Forêts</span></a><span lang="EN-GB">, the forest just less than </span><span lang="EN-GB">3000 hectares</span><span lang="EN-GB">, is a very popular weekend destination. As we arrive in Soisy-sur-Seine, one of several entry points into the forest, after passing over the Seine behind the Ris-Orangis rail station, husband P unfortunately still gets the ‘not done my homework’ feeling, a reminder of the compulsory Sunday afternoon family walks of his childhood. <span> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEhhfX5QOZk8HAQrOmz8Hv4KwW6J9QTO7XSctM5o_hYcAKEk0Iw-hWQo0oR3Ew1HBjqAuj_dynLL6ENDgQaXYLT_laIF6uCebqjyK9uTP5M8x6qK1_hoS6TJoJ00t2kTtRfFM7VKFsBne/s1600/100_2461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEhhfX5QOZk8HAQrOmz8Hv4KwW6J9QTO7XSctM5o_hYcAKEk0Iw-hWQo0oR3Ew1HBjqAuj_dynLL6ENDgQaXYLT_laIF6uCebqjyK9uTP5M8x6qK1_hoS6TJoJ00t2kTtRfFM7VKFsBne/s320/100_2461.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the criss-crossing pathways through the <span lang="EN-GB">Sénart</span> forest</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span></span>However when we visited in March, many people were enjoying walking, horse-riding, cycling and scooting. One group of women and children had optimistically attempted rollerblading but had soon come to the conclusion that the surface was not really ideal for skates as they struggled back to the car park. The forest is geometrically divided by long pathways that join at nodes, <i>allées</i> and <i>carrefours</i>. Be sure to make a note of the number or name of allées, painted on or nailed to tree trunks, as it’s easy to get confused.<span> </span>Once we had to rely on following the setting sun to find our way out. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jwTqvJBFVAyJUbp39wMEuLGlbgsEmeq5OI3TOAbkodpLLfVxd5N4YSdES9gtAXONfN6gegTGp0Iz8kM6wZyeue8Yqq5ps5AfKQtv1iJ6JEzUSUc_53FE1LVHAL6QDIuWblFuSFWrwGKq/s1600/100_2449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jwTqvJBFVAyJUbp39wMEuLGlbgsEmeq5OI3TOAbkodpLLfVxd5N4YSdES9gtAXONfN6gegTGp0Iz8kM6wZyeue8Yqq5ps5AfKQtv1iJ6JEzUSUc_53FE1LVHAL6QDIuWblFuSFWrwGKq/s320/100_2449.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute but invasive species</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It’s not too difficult to spot the cute but invasive species, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_chipmunk">Siberian chipmunk</a> or Korean squirrel (<i>Tamias sibiricus</i>). The animals were imported from </span><span lang="EN-GB">Asia</span><span lang="EN-GB"> and sold as pets, but some escaped and have formed several colonies in </span><span lang="EN-GB">France</span><span lang="EN-GB">’s forests. The effect on the native ecology is being studied by <a href="http://www2.mnhn.fr/cersp/spip.php?rubrique63">researchers at National Natural History Museum</a> in </span><span lang="EN-GB">Paris</span><span lang="EN-GB">. Forest</span><span lang="EN-GB"> fires often occur in the summer when cones of smoke and attendant helicopters can be seen from our vantage point in Juvisy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I’m not sure if climbing trees is allowed but there are some prize specimens that are hard for children and teenagers to resist. Meanwhile the <i>merisiers</i>, wild cherry trees, looked beautiful with their white blossom making confetti in the wind.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ORUR44cf4U1Ci5gLpSYCazP4IjtrnCL5zqYCJSN6MvwtPJUNmZFfmxLfph5j5q9lF0SxDsnNoKCowCn3V4a90HrcYwMsDc8dtGipvpuxFyKilMRl1Q2NlebNWOwczNFWskq-cie9nWxd/s1600/100_2444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ORUR44cf4U1Ci5gLpSYCazP4IjtrnCL5zqYCJSN6MvwtPJUNmZFfmxLfph5j5q9lF0SxDsnNoKCowCn3V4a90HrcYwMsDc8dtGipvpuxFyKilMRl1Q2NlebNWOwczNFWskq-cie9nWxd/s320/100_2444.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherry blossom (<i>Prunus avium</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Rachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13524539140310609179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6822554580957404574.post-69130916490761680352011-04-27T07:39:00.000-07:002011-04-27T07:39:52.798-07:00You are now entering Département 91<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB"></span></b> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: purple;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">A place of contrasts, where commuting, new towns, overcrowding and pollution to the north give way to rural villages, farmland and ancient forest to the south.</span></b></div><div style="color: purple;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Essonne is a relatively small, </span><span lang="EN-GB">around 1800 km<sup>2</sup></span><span lang="EN-GB">,<i> département</i> in </span><span lang="EN-GB">France</span><span lang="EN-GB"> and part of the </span><span lang="EN-GB">Paris</span><span lang="EN-GB"> region known as <i>Ile de France</i> or <i>la couronne</i>, the area that includes </span><span lang="EN-GB">Paris</span><span lang="EN-GB"> and all its suburbs stretching into the surrounding countryside. A <i>département</i> is an administrative area with its own elected council, rather like a British county council, but <i>départements</i> tend to be<b> </b>much bigger and don’t always respect historical county boundaries. There are 100 <i>départements</i> in </span><span lang="EN-GB">France</span><span lang="EN-GB"> mainland and overseas (DOM, <i>département</i> <i>outre mer</i>) at the moment. Essonne is number 91 (<i>quatre-vingt-onze</i>).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/OrlyAirport_-1965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/OrlyAirport_-1965.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orly Airport in 1965</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> For many Essonne is the first place they step foot in </span><span lang="EN-GB">France</span><span lang="EN-GB">. Part of the sprawling international </span><span lang="EN-GB">Orly</span><span lang="EN-GB"> airport is in Essonne. This year 2011 <a href="http://www.iledefrance.fr/uploads/tx_base/IDF33-BD-p12.pdf">Orly international airport is celebrating its 50 years</a>. In the early 1960s, more tourists came to visit the public terraces of Orly-Sud’s terminal building overlooking the runways to watch planes taking off and landing than visited the </span><span lang="EN-GB">Eiffel</span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span lang="EN-GB">Tower</span><span lang="EN-GB">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB">Suburban Athis Mons and Massy are at the northern limits of Essonne and the country towns of Angerville, Méréville and Milly-la-Forêt skirt the southern limits. On the west are Gif-sur-Yvette, Dourdan and Limours and on the east Yerres, Brunoy and Corbeil-Essonnes. The large central towns of Etampes and Palaiseau are <i>chef-lieux</i>, sharing the administrative burden in their territories or <i>arrondissements</i> with Evry, the <i>chef-lieu</i> of the entire <i>département</i>. The comedy <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103103/">La Totale</a>, the French precursor of the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103103/">True Lies</a>, was filmed in Evry in all its new town splendour.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The rivers Rémarde and Yvette join the <a href="http://www.sivoa.fr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&Itemid=72">Orge</a> tributaries that join the </span><span lang="EN-GB">Seine</span><span lang="EN-GB"> near Juvisy-sur-Orge. Over the south Essonne, the Juine joins the Essonne tributary flowing into the </span><span lang="EN-GB">Seine</span><span lang="EN-GB"> at Corbeil-Essonnes. Sadly the rivers of the region are badly polluted although <a href="http://www.savoirs.essonne.fr/sections/actualites/biodiversite-urbaine-un-nouveau-defi/">attitudes to management of the environment are gradually changing</a>. South of the densely populated outskirts of Paris is the fertile agricultural land of Hurepoix and Beauce, <i>le grenier de la France</i>, that borders <i>département</i> Eure et Loir, the gateway to Loire valley. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Essonne boasts the <a href="http://www.parc-gatinais-francais.fr/">Gâtinais regional national park</a>, shared with neighbouring <i>département</i> Seine-et-Marne, that includes parts of the ancient </span><span lang="EN-GB">Fontainebleau</span><span lang="EN-GB"> forest. In my 2002 copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Petit-Larousse-Illustre-2011-French/dp/2035840880">Le Petit Larousse Illustré</a>, the handy fount of knowledge every French household should have, the green outline of Essonne looks like a hazel leaf. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRp1nhKQw8PhTMvbMl1f7U5EBONiDkr95gADBF514YWme87Qoit6kkXTYAkV-MDvOp-uj3fzkg-FvZ9L9nTMnnPR_jF2e7eacl-ntbXBxZLsfYV3028_lB4KQ2OVkSvEaD2QTxyXrsuAQ/s1600/Hazel+leaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRp1nhKQw8PhTMvbMl1f7U5EBONiDkr95gADBF514YWme87Qoit6kkXTYAkV-MDvOp-uj3fzkg-FvZ9L9nTMnnPR_jF2e7eacl-ntbXBxZLsfYV3028_lB4KQ2OVkSvEaD2QTxyXrsuAQ/s320/Hazel+leaf.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hazel leaf (Corylus sp.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Even if you are not Essonnien born and bred, in the French administrative system you soon become inescapably linked to the <i>département</i> where you settle by your identity card. EU citizens are some of the few who can escape this connection, as <i>la loi Sarkozy</i>,<i> </i>introduced<i> </i>in<i> </i>2003<i> </i>when </span><span lang="EN-GB">France</span><span lang="EN-GB">’s current president was interior minister under Jacques Chirac, <a href="http://www.frenchentree.com/fe-lavie/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=693">removed the obligation for EU citizens to apply for a <i>carte de séjour</i></a>, a permit for temporary residence in </span><span lang="EN-GB">France</span><span lang="EN-GB">. EU citizens (4% of the Essonne population are European immigrants) can instead use their passport and a proof of address (a rent or utilities bill) when proof of identity is needed, so EU citizens are free to move around </span><span lang="EN-GB">France</span><span lang="EN-GB"> for work, rest or play. Social security numbers and car registrations also link you with your <i>département</i>. It is a national sport to spot cars along with their owners’ terrible driving habits. </span><span lang="EN-GB">Paris</span><span lang="EN-GB"> drivers have the worst reputation and there’s some strong evidence to support it. In a <a href="http://www.lexpress.fr/actualites/1/societe/un-conducteur-parisien-verbalise-plus-de-trois-fois-par-an_972103.html">league table of driving offences</a> or PV for <i>procés-verbal</i> the capital’s drivers pick up on average more than three PVs per year. Essonne appears neither at the top or the bottom of the league so presumably the roads are fairly safe here. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.journaldunet.com/economie/reportage/ou-sont-nees-les-grandes-entreprises-francaises/carrefour-a-sainte-genevieve-des-bois.shtml">The first <i>hypermarché</i></a>, a mainstay of French life, was opened by Carrefour at St Genevieve des Bois in 1963. My mother-in-law must be one of its most faithful customers having shopped their since the 1970s. Although the <i>hypermarché</i> sells almost everything you can think off, my mother-in-law was unable to procure a <i>cochon de lait</i>, a suckling pig, from Carrefour in time for Easter Sunday lunch. We had to settle for the traditional <i>gigot d’agneau</i> and beans; the complimentary cheese selection went down very well though.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div>Rachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13524539140310609179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6822554580957404574.post-75364862595031918432011-04-03T07:04:00.000-07:002011-04-04T04:46:13.192-07:00L'Essonne in English<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Welcome to L’Essonne in English!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Born in </span><span lang="EN-GB">Lancashire</span><span lang="EN-GB">, I lived my childhood years in a converted stone cottage on a hill overlooking <a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2013845">Peel Monument</a> in what is now classed as the <a href="http://www.westpenninemoors.com/">West Pennine Moors</a>. So it has come as quite a shock to find myself settled in <a href="http://www.ville-juvisy.fr/">Juvisy-sur-Orge</a>, a small town in the southeast suburbs, <i>les</i> <i>banlieues</i>, of </span><span lang="EN-GB">Paris</span><span lang="EN-GB">. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLQBIeu-DGN530C3TYE-tx4qdoxAQnYlqNctwX8Ikv7D8wEGjqdhtsU3L1NBKdO5GGOrlUvEmZc724BvpBifMlSCs3S-_c3llUEVGO69FuDzvumGVhsW-7vvdi3VjVLi9UVLlaXNPoGUg/s1600/2011+1313+%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLQBIeu-DGN530C3TYE-tx4qdoxAQnYlqNctwX8Ikv7D8wEGjqdhtsU3L1NBKdO5GGOrlUvEmZc724BvpBifMlSCs3S-_c3llUEVGO69FuDzvumGVhsW-7vvdi3VjVLi9UVLlaXNPoGUg/s320/2011+1313+%25284%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Juvisy-sur-Orge, looking towards the Seine</span></i> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">At first glance the town didn’t seem to have much to offer an Englishwomen abroad but 6 years on is time enough to discover some of the charms <i>département</i> 91 has to offer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I’m no stranger to culture shock having lived in the <a href="http://www.kemble.co.uk/Kemble/resources/morephoto.html">Cotswolds</a>, <a href="http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/about/tour/bridge_of_sighs/">Cambridge</a> and </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinrp/323100499/"><span lang="EN-GB">Norwich</span></a><span lang="EN-GB">. I’ve seen a fraction of </span><span lang="EN-GB">France</span><span lang="EN-GB"> from the inside having worked in </span><span lang="EN-GB">Versailles</span><span lang="EN-GB">, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Grenoble</span><span lang="EN-GB">, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Bordeaux</span><span lang="EN-GB">, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Paris</span><span lang="EN-GB">, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Lyon</span><span lang="EN-GB"> and </span><span lang="EN-GB">Montpellier</span><span lang="EN-GB">. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I’m an independent research biologist and consultant registered as an <a href="http://www.lautoentrepreneur.fr/">auto-entrepreneur</a>, and I am currently developing online courses to help French scientists master English for their work. Joining me on my escapades will be my French husband P, <i>fonctionnaire de rigueur</i> who works at </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1221348786"><span lang="EN-GB">France</span></a><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.upmc.fr/en/">’s top university</a> in </span><span lang="EN-GB">Paris</span><span lang="EN-GB">. AJ is 6 years old and in the first year of formal school or CP, <i>Classe Préparatoire</i>. EH is 3 years old and goes to <i>Ecole Maternelle</i>, a sort of pre-school or kindergarten. Other friends, family or colleagues could well make an appearance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-GB">L’Essonne in English</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> will be a lesson for me in appreciating the place I find myself in, whether through accident or design. The blog won’t be restricted to Essonne as there are bound to be trips to </span><span lang="EN-GB">Paris</span><span lang="EN-GB"> and neighbouring areas. So with my stalwart companions, my challenge is to find a ‘<a href="http://www.bartleby.com/126/32.html">thing of beauty</a>’ or failing that something thought-provoking or just plain fun for every post.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Thank you for reading.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Rach</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Rachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13524539140310609179noreply@blogger.com0