How totally cool is this?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq6b9bMBXpg
Saturday, 18 July 2009
Friday, 17 July 2009
Oh the excitement...
Actuapress is a fantastic not-for-profit association, who publish excellent magazines for intermediate + (B1/2 +) learners of French, English and Dutch, which come with a CD. I recommend them.
This month, my article is the one featured as a sample on their webpage:
http://tinyurl.com/kpphzw
Woop – international fame and fortune here I come?! (well you gotta start somewhere!!)
This month, my article is the one featured as a sample on their webpage:
http://tinyurl.com/kpphzw
Woop – international fame and fortune here I come?! (well you gotta start somewhere!!)
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Some classic Belgian photos
A friend came to visit recently, which gave me the excuse I'd been looking for to play at being a tourist, while sounding all knowledgeable about things... And that included taking lots of photos of the quintessentially Belgian!
Mussels on the Grand Place - it had to be done. Highly recommed them - Provencal style in the restaurant just across the square from the Godiva shop.
Classically Belgian in its logic, this is, I think a not-so-subtle attempt to remind foreigners that the only acceptable accompaniment for chips is mayo...
The Cote d'Or shop near the Palais de Justice was an exciting find! Not only is it, well, full of every possible kind of chocolate, you can drink coffee there too... the banner claiming they were passionate (since the year... dot I think!) seems almost superfluous, the place speaks for itself...
And yes, they do a coffee + 4 fresh chocs of your choice deal... Perfect for a break from sightseeing!
Oooh, I love these! Can't get enough of them!
Well, yes. Predictable. But it's been a while since I took his photo. And he was very smart in Swedish national dress!
The Cote d'Or shop near the Palais de Justice was an exciting find! Not only is it, well, full of every possible kind of chocolate, you can drink coffee there too... the banner claiming they were passionate (since the year... dot I think!) seems almost superfluous, the place speaks for itself...
And yes, they do a coffee + 4 fresh chocs of your choice deal... Perfect for a break from sightseeing!
Oooh, I love these! Can't get enough of them!
Well, yes. Predictable. But it's been a while since I took his photo. And he was very smart in Swedish national dress!
Thursday, 23 April 2009
Sometimes small but always great things about Belgium! part 1 of many...
- it's (usually) okay to speak my mind here - even to strangers on the bus!
- WHERE is the rush hour? Not once have I had to stand for twenty minutes with my head anywhere near someone's armpit!!
- you pay for things AFTER you receive them! I just ordered a TV online and won't have to pay for it till 2 weeks after I have it - by which time I will have been paid and will be able to justify it!! woohoo!!
- WHERE is the rush hour? Not once have I had to stand for twenty minutes with my head anywhere near someone's armpit!!
- you pay for things AFTER you receive them! I just ordered a TV online and won't have to pay for it till 2 weeks after I have it - by which time I will have been paid and will be able to justify it!! woohoo!!
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Belgium: weird and wonderful things. Part one of many.
- Sort your rubbish carefully. Binbags are changed at 1€ each, as a kind of council tax, to encourage recycling. Not that anyone tells you where you go to recycle.
- Travelling by train is fraught with danger, so bear the following in mind
a) carefully check you are going to where you think you are going to. Do not, for example, by a ticket to Mechelen when you want to go to Machelen since they are nowhere near each other.
b) on the other hand, do not panic if the train you are getting appears not to be stopping where you want to go. You may have been told to go via Maline, but if the train says Mechelen, that's fine - it's the same place, but no one will have warned you, despite your best attemps to explain you are foreign and do not understand Belgium.
c) do not expect any useful information from anyone selling you a ticket. They will not understand that you are trying to ask them about, say, a day travelcard, or which one the train that goes to Maline is. They also will not be able to tel you where to go to get this information. Your best best for this kind of thing is to randomly ask people at the station until you get something like the correct answer, then pray.
d) you can buy a ticket on a train for a 3€ supplement, but your have to frantically wave at the guard before getting on. Once you are on and they come to you, it is assumed you are trying to travel fraudulently, and you will be fined. If you can't see a guard you are meant to walk up and down the train till you find one. I kid you not.
e) for short journeys, there is something called a Key Card, in that wonderfully pseudo-English way. It's a bizarre system in that you fill in by hand where you have gone. For longer journeys, you can break the journey into stages of the appropriate length - just put them on different cards. This is allowed. Go figure, as the Americans would say...
- it is impossible to get a decent latte, and capuccino hardly has any milk in it
- tea tastes funny with UHT milk. The Belgians will tell you it is impossible to get a-ny other milk. This is not true - most of them, honestly, do not realise you can buy it in the dairy bit of the supermarket!!
- even if you speak perfect French, they will attempt to speak less than perfect English to you
- Good Friday is not a bank holiday :(
- there are good things about Belgium too!!
- Travelling by train is fraught with danger, so bear the following in mind
a) carefully check you are going to where you think you are going to. Do not, for example, by a ticket to Mechelen when you want to go to Machelen since they are nowhere near each other.
b) on the other hand, do not panic if the train you are getting appears not to be stopping where you want to go. You may have been told to go via Maline, but if the train says Mechelen, that's fine - it's the same place, but no one will have warned you, despite your best attemps to explain you are foreign and do not understand Belgium.
c) do not expect any useful information from anyone selling you a ticket. They will not understand that you are trying to ask them about, say, a day travelcard, or which one the train that goes to Maline is. They also will not be able to tel you where to go to get this information. Your best best for this kind of thing is to randomly ask people at the station until you get something like the correct answer, then pray.
d) you can buy a ticket on a train for a 3€ supplement, but your have to frantically wave at the guard before getting on. Once you are on and they come to you, it is assumed you are trying to travel fraudulently, and you will be fined. If you can't see a guard you are meant to walk up and down the train till you find one. I kid you not.
e) for short journeys, there is something called a Key Card, in that wonderfully pseudo-English way. It's a bizarre system in that you fill in by hand where you have gone. For longer journeys, you can break the journey into stages of the appropriate length - just put them on different cards. This is allowed. Go figure, as the Americans would say...
- it is impossible to get a decent latte, and capuccino hardly has any milk in it
- tea tastes funny with UHT milk. The Belgians will tell you it is impossible to get a-ny other milk. This is not true - most of them, honestly, do not realise you can buy it in the dairy bit of the supermarket!!
- even if you speak perfect French, they will attempt to speak less than perfect English to you
- Good Friday is not a bank holiday :(
- there are good things about Belgium too!!
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Sometimes it pays not be completely British...
Okay, so if I'm going to have a blog, I probably should start writing it! I realise I'm not in Brussels yet (and incidentally I won't be in March either - I'll be in Nivelles, which is a little town just outside Brussels in British terms - or miles away if you're Belgi anand have a warped perception of distance!)...
... still, I'm thinking I really ought to have started a blog years ago. "The wonderful weirdness of London", or something. So if I had said blog, I would have written about what happened at the gym today. Am sorely tempted to name and shame them, but one apparently shouldn't be negative online...
I was told there were no towels. After a bit of a Claire-style rant, I asked for a complaints form. They had run out of complaints forms. After ranting and raving a little more, I asked to see the manager - and lo and behold, a towel was produced! They even admitted that they were reserved for the people who complained the most!! Not sure how it fits in with Philippians 2.14, but I did feel quite smug and satisfied...
(less happy later when it turned out they didn't have loo roll either... it took me ages to find a shower that had hot water, and then the one that did didn't have any shower gel. Honestly, what do they think the hefty membership fee is for?)
It reminded me of a recent train journey from Cumbria (delayed, by the way) where they had "no hot water". Two hours in and trying desperately to do some work I was desperate for a cuppa. So off I went to first class and asked them for hot water. Which of course they had.
So, there you have it. There's a lot to be said for not being quite British enough to not put up with lame claims... and kicking up a bit of a fuss from time to time!
... still, I'm thinking I really ought to have started a blog years ago. "The wonderful weirdness of London", or something. So if I had said blog, I would have written about what happened at the gym today. Am sorely tempted to name and shame them, but one apparently shouldn't be negative online...
I was told there were no towels. After a bit of a Claire-style rant, I asked for a complaints form. They had run out of complaints forms. After ranting and raving a little more, I asked to see the manager - and lo and behold, a towel was produced! They even admitted that they were reserved for the people who complained the most!! Not sure how it fits in with Philippians 2.14, but I did feel quite smug and satisfied...
(less happy later when it turned out they didn't have loo roll either... it took me ages to find a shower that had hot water, and then the one that did didn't have any shower gel. Honestly, what do they think the hefty membership fee is for?)
It reminded me of a recent train journey from Cumbria (delayed, by the way) where they had "no hot water". Two hours in and trying desperately to do some work I was desperate for a cuppa. So off I went to first class and asked them for hot water. Which of course they had.
So, there you have it. There's a lot to be said for not being quite British enough to not put up with lame claims... and kicking up a bit of a fuss from time to time!
Monday, 15 September 2008
Vingt ans plus tard...
T’as des enfants? Des cheveux gris?
Tu as connu beaucoup de filles?
Tu deviens quoi? Beaucoup changé?
Et tu fais quoi comme métier?
Tu penses a moi... c’est évident.
Et pourtant ça fait si longtemps...
Retrouverait-on notre amitié
Ou faut-il tout recommencer?
On n’est plus les mêmes enfants
(On est même adultes maintenant!)
En fin de compte, vaudrait-il mieux
Ne rien attendre de nous deux?
Garder intacte le souvenir?
Si on n’avait rien à se dire?
Laisser tout ca dans le passé...
Ou bien au cas où... tout risquer?
Tu as connu beaucoup de filles?
Tu deviens quoi? Beaucoup changé?
Et tu fais quoi comme métier?
Tu penses a moi... c’est évident.
Et pourtant ça fait si longtemps...
Retrouverait-on notre amitié
Ou faut-il tout recommencer?
On n’est plus les mêmes enfants
(On est même adultes maintenant!)
En fin de compte, vaudrait-il mieux
Ne rien attendre de nous deux?
Garder intacte le souvenir?
Si on n’avait rien à se dire?
Laisser tout ca dans le passé...
Ou bien au cas où... tout risquer?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)