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Petit Coin de Parapluie: Personal Statement
http://petit-coin-de-parapluie.blogspot.com/2011/02/personal-statement.html
Petit Coin de Parapluie. Stories and pictures collected in France. Wednesday, 2 February 2011. The other day at work, I was asked to read through and correct the so-called Personal Statement of someone's son. who was applying for a coveted place on a degree course at LSE. The French applicant (aged 23) had written the statement in English, so maybe the pompous style was partly due to the fact it wasn't his native language (or style). I try to be open-minded and non-judgemental, I really do. Should they r...
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Petit Coin de Parapluie: Great Expectations
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Petit Coin de Parapluie. Stories and pictures collected in France. Wednesday, 9 February 2011. Sometimes I wonder: all these enthusiastic excursions and activities. all these Wednesdays planned to perfection and overflowing with good intentions and multiple ideas for healthy, outdoor fun. Who gets the most pleasure out of it all? Throw that question out today to the two little boys in this household, and you'll get a quick answer flung back: Maman. Yes, decidedly, Maman. Back home. Just doing exactly...
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Petit Coin de Parapluie: November 2010
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Petit Coin de Parapluie. Stories and pictures collected in France. Tuesday, 30 November 2010. For the past thirty years or so, my department has subcontracted the work it can't do in-house to a handful of local, independent translators ( do I need to point out that I wasn't personally involved in this for the first 24 years? Or, to paint a more vivid image: most of our subcontractors have been working with my department since the day I was born. The results were radical. So, we duly made out our reports ...
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Petit Coin de Parapluie: January 2011
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Petit Coin de Parapluie. Stories and pictures collected in France. Saturday, 29 January 2011. From the Mouths of Babes. 1/ We're driving along, just me and him, when - entirely out of the blue - BB decides to treat me to his most comprehensive and breathtaking demonstration of bilinguilism so far. Maman, in English, CAR. En français, VOITURE! In English, HOUSE. En français, MAISON! In English, WINDOW. En français, FENETRE! I am so astounded I almost crash the voiture. C'est TRES joli ce que tu as fait!
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Petit Coin de Parapluie: March 2011
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Petit Coin de Parapluie. Stories and pictures collected in France. Sunday, 13 March 2011. It's been nearly two and a half years, and it's been a lot of fun. But quite unexpectedly, I feel the need to take an indefinite break from blogging. Writing about my life in this way (a dollop of truth, a touch of humour, a drop of fiction) gave me a slightly tilted perspective on the world and my tiny place in it. and that perspective suited me for a while. All of this has been great, and served a purpose. Thank y...
petit-coin-de-parapluie.blogspot.com
Petit Coin de Parapluie: October 2010
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Petit Coin de Parapluie. Stories and pictures collected in France. Sunday, 31 October 2010. Sometimes, we are that. Family. You know the one: cheerful, contented kids with pink cheeks and boundless enthusiasm. kids who say cute things in earnest, and make everyone around them smile. Parents who share a laugh and gaze indulgently at their well-behaved offspring. Babies who rock placidly in swings, gratifying all who pass with a touching expression of pride and glee. Other days, we are that. This is the ho...
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Petit Coin de Parapluie: September 2010
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Petit Coin de Parapluie. Stories and pictures collected in France. Thursday, 30 September 2010. Warning: this is a geek post about language, so probably only of interest to Anita, and possibly Ingrid, who share - or pretend to! My fascination with all things language-related. The rest of you can feel free to skip it, I won't be offended. I always make sure I speak to them in English, and I hope this in itself will be sufficient to ensure a very high level of bilingualism. You don't know it? Ah, suddenly ...
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Petit Coin de Parapluie: Something Else
http://petit-coin-de-parapluie.blogspot.com/2011/03/something-else.html
Petit Coin de Parapluie. Stories and pictures collected in France. Sunday, 13 March 2011. It's been nearly two and a half years, and it's been a lot of fun. But quite unexpectedly, I feel the need to take an indefinite break from blogging. Writing about my life in this way (a dollop of truth, a touch of humour, a drop of fiction) gave me a slightly tilted perspective on the world and my tiny place in it. and that perspective suited me for a while. All of this has been great, and served a purpose. Thank y...
petit-coin-de-parapluie.blogspot.com
Petit Coin de Parapluie: BB's Best Day Ever
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Petit Coin de Parapluie. Stories and pictures collected in France. Saturday, 12 February 2011. BB's Best Day Ever. The new fridge arrives at 7.45 am. It's Saturday morning, and our modest lie-in is shattered by the brisk clank of the doorbell. FH scrambles out of bed, pulling on clothes and stubbing his toe in the dark, while, in the next bedroom, two boys (awoken by the bell) start to whoop and holler. What's happening, what's happening? LB, who waits for no man or fridge, demands his milk. It suddenly ...
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Petit Coin de Parapluie: The First Sip of Beer
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Petit Coin de Parapluie. Stories and pictures collected in France. Monday, 7 February 2011. The First Sip of Beer. The title is a reference to a book by Philippe Delerm, a book that celebrates a selection of life's simple pleasures. I would highly recommend it to any romantic soul. though I should warn you that it has (quite justifiably) been dismissed as "too French" by someone who - er - is not French. Anyway, that's really beside the point. And LB has a rosy sunkissed nose. But I appreciate the sentim...
