Monthly Archives: October 2011

Sabatier

Posted on 16 October 2011 by Tournesol

Le lit de la Merveille    by Robert Sabatier: J’étais seul, l’autre soir, au Théatre-Français. On ne jouait pas Molière mais une pièce de Friedrich von Schiller écrite dans sa jeunesse: Intrigue et Amour. Arrivé au théatre fort tôt, selon … Continue reading →

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Un porte-monnaie

Posted on 16 October 2011 by Tournesol

Rather than ‘money’ ‘la monnaie’ is actually ‘small/loose change’. The French for ‘money’ is ‘l’argent (nm)’. So ‘un porte-monnaie’ would literally be ‘a carry-change’ and is ‘a purse’. Expressions using ‘monnaie’ :       émettre/retirer une monnaie : to … Continue reading →

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‘The Wider Path’ by Simon Parke

Posted on 14 October 2011 by Tournesol

The Wider Path: You make time for inaction each day, to protect your actions from being mad. You remove your watch, turn the clock face away and escape for a moment the slavery of time. You remove your shoes, because … Continue reading →

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(Se) boucher

Posted on 14 October 2011 by Tournesol

The two main meanings of ‘boucher’ are ‘to cork, put a cork in’ and ‘to block (up)’. Expressions: J’ai les oreilles bouchées : my ears are blocked;            boucher le passage à quelqu’un : to stand in somebody’s way;           boucher la … Continue reading →

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Mon hautbois…

Posted on 12 October 2011 by Tournesol

Mon hautbois… Par mon hautbois, j’avais le pouvoir d’accompagner la musique de mes disques ; je devenais le passager clandestin et l’exécutant invisible d’un concert ; je transformais un quatuor en quintette. En voisin, j’avais fréquenté le festival de Montreux. … Continue reading →

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Book Launch 01.11.11

Posted on 9 October 2011 by Tournesol

If you can be near The Coronet (Wetherspoon’s) pub in Holloway Road, London N7 (the middle bit near Hollway Road tube (Piccadilly line) on Tuesday 1st November 2011, this is your chance to meet your favourite author – no not me … Continue reading →

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Reculer pour mieux sauter

Posted on 9 October 2011 by Tournesol

‘Reculer pour mieux sauter’ literally translates as ‘to take steps backwards to get a better (run at a) jump’. But my Collins-Robert dictionary tells me that the real translation of this phrase is : ‘to put off the evil day’. … Continue reading →

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‘Un sage…’ par Simon Parke

Posted on 7 October 2011 by Tournesol

‘Un Sage au Travail’ : Voici l’histoire d’un sage. Elle parle d’un professeur fou. Le professeur fou était un homme brillant mais qui pouvait se perdre dans son propre bureau, ce qui prouve à quel point c’était le chaos. Heureusement, … Continue reading →

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Cinq mots de plus

Posted on 6 October 2011 by Tournesol

Five more words to take you closer to a perfect grasp of French: Un bourdon : a bumblebee and: ‘avoir le bourdon’ : ‘to have the blues’;        ‘un bougnat’ : ‘a coal merchant who also runs a small café’ – … Continue reading →

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Un instant de bonheur

Posted on 4 October 2011 by Tournesol

Un instant de bonheur par Yves Simon: Il esquissa un sourire et continua: “Je voulais depuis longtemps faire un film sur la vie d’Oscar Wilde…Vous connaissez bien sûr…  – Dorian Gray.  Le portrait de Dorian Gray, répondit l’actrice peu sûre d’elle … Continue reading →

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