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Mon interêt pour Maigret

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Saturday, 12 July 2025, 16:30

J'ai maintenant rassemblé 6 vidéos de la série policière Maigret en français, que je recommande vivement. Cela m'aidera beaucoup à parler et à comprendre le français. Ce sont les suivants ;

1. Maigret  a Montmartre
2. Maigret et le juge
3. Maigret et la femme du cambrioleur
4. Les vacances de Maigret

5. Maigret et la boutique flamande 
6. Maigret à la croisée des chemins

En plus de cela, je regarde toujours la série « Maigret » en français une fois par semaine à la télévision sur « Talking Pictures » pour continuer mon éducation française !

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Weeks and Weeks of Hot Weather!

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Saturday, 12 July 2025, 13:46

The heat goes on, unbearable intense heat! The last time I felt such heat was 1976, but that only lasted for one week. It did seem unusual at the time too.

I was sixteen and on holiday in the lake district, camping with my parents and sister. I got a terrible sun stroke.  When I got back home it took me weeks to recover from it.

However, this is on another level, because  this has been going on now for weeks and weeks and there is hardly any let up in this hot weather.
I have a fair celtic skin,  so prone to burning easily.
I have to go out before midday,  to get the all the shopping before the intense midday heat starts. I used to like a leisurely stroll in the afternoons, but that's out of the question at the moment, it is far too hot.

I spend the whole afternoon indoors, hiding away.from the heat.  I do a little housework and read a book. I occasionally pop outside to sit in the shade, either under the eaves of the house, or under the tree at the far side, but I do not go on the porch anymore in the full sunlight!
I rested a bit in the coolest part of the house and drank plenty of water.

This feels very unusual weather for this country, more like the weather you would most likely find in the Mediterranean countries. I suppose we are just going to have to learn to adapt to the rise in the temperature here, but it does feel very strange, it doesn't feel normal. 

Elderly people are suffering a lot in this weather and those with underlying health problems. Even my neighbour who loves sitting out in the sun , is very cautious lately. She has not been out on her porch, but I have seen her earlier on pottering about, just watering her flowers and plants with a watering can.

If the weather pattern breaks next week. We will be able to take the bus to the nearest coast, which is not far about 30 minutes. I need to go into the town there anyway, to buy some toiletries and medicinal  supplies from Boots the chemists. I am hoping the weather will be a bit cooler by then, as I would love to go for a swim in the swimming pool!

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Decluttering

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Thursday, 10 July 2025, 18:35

As the days go by we are now into summer time. Clearing and decluttering my house is occupying my mind at the moment,  and this is distracting my mind from waiting for the results of my EMA. Which is only causing  my anxiety to increase.

The garden has now been tidied up it was a difficult task, but we had some help. The shed has been cleaned up and a lot of rubbish has been got rid of. The best things have been given to Charity shop, or my lovely neighbour who has helped me a lot lately, by helping me to  trim up my hedges at the side of the garden.

In my house soon everything will also be down to the bare minimum.
A spacious living room with lino floors, white painted staircase and no unnecessary furniture in hallways and so on. A kitchen that is more of a utility room, not full of knickknacks and art works, but just lots of cupboards and empty spacious work surfaces.

In a way I feel like I am also clearing out my mind to go forward into the future. This house, which is where we brought up our two  children, it still has traces of them. A house that has once been filled with the laughter of children. At times struggles too with  health issues, and and stresses of bullying from neighbourhood bullies, but all that is gone now, things have moved on,  thankfully the children have always found sanctuary at home with us.

We came through it all and now the children have grown up. The eldest has left home and is living an independent life. Our other son who has health problems,  is at the moment still living with us.

We will one day be leaving this house behind us, with it's happy memories and another young family will move in. We will then go to live in a bungalow with our youngest son living nearby us somewhere. That is the future of course, but for now it is just enjoying the time we have left together, and very soon I will be an old age pensioner!

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Building on the firm foundation.

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Friday, 11 July 2025, 09:30

 1 Corrinthians 3v 11-15

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

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Faith and Works

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Wednesday, 9 July 2025, 20:45

Matthew 7:24-27 (from the new testament of the Bible) 

The Wise and Foolish Builders
Jesus said....
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
      *************

Chapter 7 of Matthews gospel in the Bible, is full of wise instructions, these were spoken by Jesus when he spent his time here on earth. As well as having a good relationship with God through prayers and meditations, we are also encouraged to read and follow the instructions of Jesus. He was the stone the builders rejected,  but has now become for us the precious cornerstone and foundation on which to build our faith upon. Faith and good works go hand in hand and the 'works ' we do are evidence of our faith, because faith without good works is dead!

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Alternative medicine.

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Wednesday, 9 July 2025, 18:00

I am in the process of sorting through my bookcase as it is getting a little bit over crowded with books at the moment.

Some books can go to the charity shop if I have read them before, that way I can clear space up and keep only my best books, such as OU books and classic english literature, french books, art books. Some novels, those that were interesting that I would definitely  want to read again.

I then came upon the Health section Anatomy, Biology, womens health, medical dictionary and so on. At the end of the row was a paperback book that I had forgotten all about with the title of;

"Chicken soup and Other Folk Remedies" (by Joan Wilen and Lydia Wilen.)

This is a brilliant book,  I skimmed through it quickly and   I was fascinated to read all about these maladies and how to cure them. Some were intriguing, such as,  did you know,  if your hair is too dry  you can rub mayonnaise into your hair, this encourages the flow of oil from the sebaceous glands, which helps to nourish the hair! 

Of course you have to wash and shampoo your hair afterwards.! 

Eating cherries is good for curing arthritis,  eating string beans, or strawberries is also an effective cure.

Ginger is good to cure the memory. 

Onion juice and lemon juice to put on warts. 

Horseradish and honey to help you stop coughing. 

Rubbing a mixture of cayenne pepper and apple cider vinegar on a sprain to stop it hurting. 

And so on.......

It is all rather good fun and might even work!  I might even try it out!

These remedies are from natural ingredients found in nature itself,  so they have have been tried and tested before,  and work well on some people, but I think I am just going to take it all with a good pinch of SALT!

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A Book of Short Stories in French

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Tuesday, 8 July 2025, 22:52

At the moment I am reading a book of short stories in french, by leading french writers of the twentieth century.  This book has a parallel text, so the page on the left is in the french language,  and the accompanying page on the right is in the english language.
I am finding this book very easy to read, because if I come across an unfamiliar word,  all I have to do is look for the equivalent word in the english text, on the right hand side page. This way  I do not even have to use a dictionary!

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What if it Becomes Hotter....

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Sunday, 6 July 2025, 10:36

In the UK we are not used to dealing with this sort of heat. I open all my windows at night to let the cooler air inside.

A lot of houses including mine, are fully insulated which is great in winter, but in summer it is roasting and sometimes I feel like I am being cooked, especially when it gets over30° - 40° As temperatures continue to soar in the Uk and in the world,  homes may need to be adapted to cope with the changing climate. More ventilation is needed,  such as air conditioning, (but this may not be good for the climate!) or extraction fans, to take out the hot air, that builds up indoors during the day.

Being overheated can lead to various health problems like migraines, headaches,sickness,dizziness, palpitations, heart problems and heat exhaustion. This is not very good for the health and people will suffer in the future if this sort of weather continues, with  increasingly hot weather every summer. 

Maybe one day it will be far too hot to live above the ground, then people might want to start to build underground houses instead, also to make  cooler types of  homes to live in during the hot weather!

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Blog- en Français

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Saturday, 5 July 2025, 20:26

Aujourd'hui, pour mon petit-déjeuner, j'ai mangé une banane et un café au lait.

J'ai regardé les nouvelles sur mon portable. 

Et puis J'ai envoyé un SMS à mon fils aîné pour lui dire 'Bonjour.' 

J'ai étudié un peu en écrivant un essai en francais. J'ai aussi lu un roman historique, en langue française. C'était très intéressant pour les enfants. il contenait de belles images colorées.

L'après midi j'ai fait une promenade avec mon fils dans le parc, puis dans un chemin de campagne. Il Faisait beau, mais pas trop chaud!

Ce sentier se termine par un champ, puis ramène encore vers le village où nous habitons.

  C'était un très bon exercice pour tout le corps!

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Maigret Films

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Monday, 7 July 2025, 08:47

I have now collected 6 videos from Maigret detective series in french, which I would thoroughly recommend.  This will greatly help my french speaking and understanding skills. These are as follows;

1. Maigret in Montmartre

2 Maigret and the judge

3 Maigret and the burglars wife

4 The holiday of Maigret

5 Maigret and the flemish shop

6 Maigret at the crossroads 

As well as this, I am still watching the "Maigret" series in french once a week on TV on  "Talking Pictures" so I can continue my french education!

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1st of July and it is very HOT!

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Thursday, 3 July 2025, 00:52

Yesterday was a hot day. 29°-30°  where we live. In europe it is 46° in some countries, must be the global warming!

After a quick sweep around the downstairs of the house, which is nice and cool with all linoleum. We then went early to the supermarket, my husband and myself, hoping to collect the shopping then go home before the heat arrived! However, even at 9am the sun was already high in the sky and getting hotter all the time!

Shopping collected,  we had just one call to make,  to the shop that sells everything!

There we purchased a sturdy box to hold a collection of his CDs. This will be easier for us to transport them when we move or travel anywhere.

I had all the shopping in my little trolley,  and he carried the box,  which was surprisingly not very heavy underneath his arm.

The market place was just starting to get busy and very warm. We tried to stick to the shaded side of the street, so as not to get too much heat on ourselves.

 Once home we unpacked the shopping and I poured us a drink. I had pineapple and grapefruit while he had a fizzy mineral water.

We sat for a while in the back garden on a bench in the shade of the trees. The garden had recently been cleared of garden rubbish and weeds.

 I do miss the lovely green lawn, but hopefully it will grow back again. I was glad we still had some trees left to shelter beneath. Most of the trees are on the side of the old peoples home, also alongside of our garden.

The new neighbours had cut down some of the other trees on their side, because the trees are on their side of the boundary line, so they are responsible for them. They have still left us a couple of trees next to our back fence, probably because it will be too costly for them to remove them all especially as they are very high! I do hope they will keep the trees!

Thank God for small mercies!

☀️

🌲🌳🌲🌴🌲

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Reading Books in French and English

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Wednesday, 2 July 2025, 11:47

The weather is very hot this June. We had temperatures of 29°-30° and it is set to get hotter! There was just one or two days when there was a shower or two but nothing serious.

While I await my results for my Degree in July,  I am sitting in my garden,  reading another book in french by Louis-Ferdinand Céline called "Voyage au bout de la Nuit" translated means "Journey to the end of the night"  but it is a bit controversial, as it is  anti-war and is based on the life of a man who travels to different places and who has various adventures.

This semi-autobiographical work follows the adventures of Ferdinand Bardamu in World War I, colonial Africa, the United States and the poor suburbs of Paris where he works as a doctor.

I do not know if I will be able read it all, in my opinion it is not really my usual type of book.(but I will give it a try! ) It is dense and quite difficult to read as the print is small. However, having said that it won the Prix Renaudot in 1932 but divided critics due to the author's pessimistic depiction of the human condition and his innovative writing style based on working class speech, slang and neologisms. But,  according to  "Le monde" it is now widely considered to be one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.

I am reading this book for a much better and wider understanding of the french language.

My other book is in english entitled " The Human Stain"

by Philip Roth. It's about a professor who is sacked for supposedly making racist comments about some students,  but he denies this accusation, saying that the word meant something different to him. At the same time he is coming to terms with his own unique ethnicity. It is about his adventures through his later years. Set in America ( during the Clinton era.)

I am always trawling the charity shops for books to read that are not too expensive! I never know what the book is going to contain as I just read a little bit about it on the back cover.

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Wondering If I Have passed my Degree!

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Saturday, 28 June 2025, 22:19

I am feeling quite anxious lately, wondering if I have passed my Degree in Languages or not. Last term I have taken the last 30 credits module that I still needed to do, so I expect this has now completed all the modules to be taken in order to pass.  Now I have to wait to see if I have passed the final module or not,  to be able to qualify for this Language Degree. Fingers crossed!

I feel on tenterhooks wondering if I have passed my Degree!😓

   *************

I am feeling the heat

Is it success or defeat ?

Have I passed my Degree

Grades -one- two and three 

I am worried all day, 

I can't sleep at night

Summer is sizzling 

The sun feels too bright 

 

I must try to keep cool

And not act the fool

I must try and must try

To wait till end of July! 

 That is when I will get my results!

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Short Poems

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Sunday, 6 July 2025, 17:57

I spring clean my house

To keep it tidy and nice

But the dust comes back twice!

    *********

I cut down the weeds 

The sun shines, then rain

But the weeds come back again!

    ********

I Cook food in the pan

Serve it hot on the plate.smells good 

Quickly,  I eat it up! 

      ********

I Pour cold water in kettle

Heat the kettle till it boils

Tea bag in cup, drink it up! 

     ********

Cat in the garden

taking a cat nap on the lawn

Then wakes up, with a stretch and a yawn.

       ********

A Red poppy dances

In the field, the wind blows

Round and round and round it goes!

Red poppies growing near garageTwo Red Poppies

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Peace in Families

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Monday, 23 June 2025, 22:53

Colossians 3 verses 18-21
Wives be subject to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord.
Husbands love your wives and do not treat them harshly. Children obey your parents in everything , for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers do not provoke your children lest they lose heart. 

Colossians 3 New Testament of the Bible.

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God works through his Son the Healer

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Monday, 23 June 2025, 22:57

Many crowds came to him who had the lame and the blind and dumb and the crippled and many others, and they laid them at the feet of Yeshua and he healed them.
(Aramaic Bible in Plain English).

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Working for Peace

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Sunday, 22 June 2025, 17:47

Psalm 34

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
    and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to blot out their name from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked;
    the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord will rescue his servants;
    no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Psalm 34. (NiV version)

Psalm 34:14 emphasizes the active and ongoing effort required to achieve peace. It's not simply the absence of conflict, but a relationship that one works toward daily together to live in peace.

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Frogs in the garden!

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Monday, 30 June 2025, 11:02

Spare a thought for the little frogs this weather! We were clearing up the other day after the gardeners had left (they did a good job!). After they had left,  there were loads of little baby frogs jumping about all over the garden, they must have been sheltering beneath the shrubs and bushes that had completely overgrown our garden.
I saw them hopping off at great speed beneath the borders of the garden, so I quickly poured cold water into the corners of the garden, also beneath the trees to keep everything moist. I may be able to make a makeshift pond on a dustbin lid at the corner of the garden beneath the trees in the shade. I want to encourage the wildlife back again. We had to cut the garden eventually,  because the neighbours on the other side, were all against me having a wild garden near their side, also my husband had just had an operation. But  I did not realise that we had so many little frogs living underneath the bushes! How amazing! I do hope they will come back again.

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Family Holidays!

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Monday, 30 June 2025, 11:00


It feels like the summer is getting closer now, with long hot dry days punctuated by maybe a rainy day, or a rainy week. I walk to the shops, then have a bit longer walk around the village circuit,  then when I am feeling much stronger, a much longer walk to the next village and back. The occasional visit once a week to the nearest town, city, or a bus trip, or a day trip to somewhere in the uk or to the local beach.

We are fortunate to live near the countryside also 20  minutes to the sea-side.
However,  preferably not to the beach in the summer holidays, as it is far too busy! I like the beach in autumn when it is deserted yet still warm and when the sea is a bit wild and tumultuous!

I have not been a very big traveller,  but on the few occasions when I did have the opportunity to travel, it was
fully appreciated.

For example - My grand tour of France was good, if rather hectic but most educational and interesting!  My 'little' trip to Paris France was too short, but very romantic. Belgium  and Brussels was great, also the Ardennes and the Belgium coast. Italy brief, sweet, beautiful and the food was memorable!
I did go to Switzerland with the school when I was young, and enjoyed the stunning mountain scenery, as well as the neat clean streets in the towns.
So I have travelled a little bit during my life time.

I have also had really great holidays here in England. As a child camping in the Lake district and yorkshire with my sister and parents.

As adults and when the children came along, we have gone  to self catering accommodation, on a few occasions on the coast of Britain (and in Scotland) When we could afford it.

These days since the children have grown up, we haven't felt up to travelling much. The budget was too tight,  then we have felt a bit too tired or stressed out with things to do to go away, which defeats the whole object of going on holiday!

One year we went on holiday, my youngest son and husband suddenly became extremely sick at that time.(tummy bug)  My son actually said  "I would feel more on holiday at home!" I was quite shocked to hear that, but I understood completely what he meant!

Since then family holidays have been off the cards altogether! So just days out.
It seems everyone in the family now enjoys staying at home ! Ha! ha!
O well so be it. Still got  'Happy Memories!'

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Putting Faith into Practise

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Sunday, 15 June 2025, 20:47

Colossians  3v12- 17
12)  Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13) Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14) And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

15) Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16) Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17) And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Ref

Colossians chapter 3 v12-17. New Testament of the Bible(NIV version)

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Lire en français

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Friday, 13 June 2025, 17:28


Même si j'ai arrêté d'étudier pour le moment, en attendant les résultats de mon examen, j'ai beaucoup lu ces derniers temps.

Je suis encore en train de lire « Les enfants de la liberté ». Il s'agit d'un groupe d'adolescents courageux qui ont participé à la Résistance pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

On y retrouve les deux frères (Juif) et d'autres personnages comme Charles l'ami polonais, Boris, Robert, Émile et Marcel, sans oublier les filles Sophie, Rosine et Catherine. Les aventures de ces jeunes gens sont parfois tragiques, terrifiantes, modestes et courageuses.

Ce livre est en français, il teste donc ma compréhension de la langue française jusqu'à ses limites! mais c'est tres intéressant. 

J'en suis maintenant aux 3/4 du livre, qui a une histoire très captivante, et c'est un livre très difficile à de poser !


        📖📚


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A Walk Between Showers

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Monday, 30 June 2025, 11:13

Saturday morning started slowly. 9am I awoke to the sound of the TV quietly playing in the background  I said good morning to my husband, who was sitting up in the arm chair with a blanket round him and I asked him  if he was feeling ok, and did he have any pain after his operation? He said he had a bit of pain,  but he had just taken a pain killer. I made him a cup of coffee and something to eat.

The weather was overcast but slowly starting to brighten up.

My husband and youngest son went to talk together in the next room about my son's music collection. My husband was very interested to listen to it as he had not heard it before. He found this music very calming.

My son played him some music to calm him down, a natural painkiller! While  I got myself dressed, then I had a wash. Next I  sent a text to our other eldest son to say "good morning". After that my husband went to the newsagents, I was then able to quickly clean up the house, downstairs, staircase, hallway and kitchen floor. 

My husband returned and we had a brief chat and I made a phone call.

After the call our youngest was busy sorting through his music collection again. I asked my son if he had fed the cats this morning as he usually likes to do it, but he said neither of them had turned up. It had been raining earlier on, so I expect they had taken shelter somewhere. The garden is full of little dens for them to hide. No doubt they will turn up when they are hungry! Wonder where  they? Perhaps they got lost in the wild jungle garden!

There was not much to do today, as most of the shopping was bought yesterday. Now there was a little drizzly rain overhead, and it felt  much cooler outdoors than it had previously. It was not quite as  cold enough yet for the house heating to be put on, and the oven was still warm in the kitchen, after I had done some baking this morning.

I decided to read my latest book in french. It is an excellent book very clearly written and not too difficult to read. The title is "Les Enfants de la liberte"  I also had my english book to read (a trivial  book of humourous light fiction.), so I read a chapter from each of my books. By then the weather was getting  a little bit brighter but still quite damp.

I made a light lunch of salad, boiled eggs, feta cheese, veggie sausages and mini veggie samosas with chutney.

In the afternoon we went to the charity shop to donate a few bags. We had done a big spring clean the other day,  when we all managed to find a lot of things that we no longer needed. It is surprising how much stuff  one accumulates! The charity we chose this time was the dog charity shop. I don't know why? I think It must be that I have seen a lot of sad doggy adverts, about poor little abandoned puppies on TV lately!

Even though it was cool and damp it was pleasant enough for a walk. Husband and myself both enjoyed the walk out to the far side the village to charity shop. He said he appreciated the cool air,  which was nice and cool on his eye ( recent cataract operation) We decided to walk the long way home past the Village Hall and through the housing estate, past the green space and the woodlands. Here we heard Wood pigeons, crows and black birds, as well as  some smaller birds chaffinches and other finches, there was lots of lovely bird song in the trees and plenty of bird activity in the woods. 

However, we decided it was too cold to sit down on the bench for long, and best to keep warm, by moving about. We walked down cemetery lane and through the cemetery, then the footpath past the park, but it was too wet on the grass to walk in the park today, so we took the outer pavement footpath round  instead. It was lovely to see the trees and the large green field.

Then we finally arrived back at home, the 2 cats were eagerly awaiting for us on the porch, looking slightly wet and bedraggled. My son was there stroking them quickly, then dashed indoors to get them their food. "I Wonder where they have been hiding?" said my son. They ate their food on the porch then raced indoors to find a place on the arm chairs their favourite spot by the large sunny window,  where they proceeded to groom themselves, before falling fast asleep until the early evening!    

After the meal the evening was spent listening to music, then watching a film on TV. It was a bit cold, so we put the electric- log- effect fire on to take the chill off. Then it was cocoa and bed with a hot water bottle! Ah the great British summertime!!

   A woodland with foot path  A Woodland walk today.

A woodland in spring

                              

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Oral Presentations New Confidence!

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Monday, 9 June 2025, 00:48

I was once asked to be a Bible Reader at our local church(they said I had a nice clear voice)  At that time I was rather shy, I doubted myself and my reading abilities. However, since taking an "English Language course" with Open University I have gained a lot of confidence through my studies of english, especially with the Oral presentations.

Now, I could feel even  possibly confident enough to become a volunteer Reader at church!  this is something that I would like to do, but I would never have  had the confidence to do so in the past. Today I feel confident enough to make a Bible  reading presentation-  Thanks to studying english with the Open University!

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Les Enfants de la Liberté

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Saturday, 7 June 2025, 19:46

Je suis en train de lire "Les enfants de la liberté" (2007) en langue française, du grand romancier français Marc Levy. 

C'est l'histoire de la lutte de deux jeunes frères(Juif) qui rejoignent le mouvement de résistance, pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. 

C'est une histoire très engageante et je trouve la langage assez facile à comprendre.

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God's Love For Us

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Edited by Gill Burrell, Friday, 6 June 2025, 15:31

Our God is a good and  compassionate God.

 "His mercies never cease" (Lamentations3.22. Bible Old Testament) 

Lamentations is a book in the Old testament that can give us hope. It is a book about the grief that Jeremiah and God's people felt after the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians and now the people who lived there were faced with uncertainty and exile, but God promised them that 'because of His great love for them they will not be consumed.'  He had made a covenant with them and that would remain with them forever. 

In life when disaster strikes us or we find ourselves facing difficulties that threaten to completely destroy us, we

should pray and put our whole trust in God. He will be our friend and support us. 

He will help us, He will give us hope and provide for us according to our needs, Because "His mercies never cease"

Trust in God. He loves you and wants to help you. You are his dear child. Pray to him and talk to Him,follow his commandments in the Old Testament of the Bible and in the New Testament follow teachings of Jesus.

Here are a few reminders of God's love from the Bible. 

" For God so loved the world (us)....(John3.16)

"He will not forsake us.....Deuteronomy 31.6

He will observe your  coming in and your going out"...........( Psalm 121) 

For he shall give his angels charge over thee....... (Psalm 91 v11) 

So Remember let us take courage and have faith, for God is with us.

Deuteronomy 31:6: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

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