Café Babel

Je voudrais juste vous recommander un magazine que j'ai découvert il y a peu et qui me semble très intéressant pour trois raisons:
1° c'est un magazine d'actualité européen: par ses articles nous pouvons nous informer de ce qui se passe dans cette grande Europe de 27 états;
2° c'est un magazine que l'on peut lire en différentes langues: anglais, espagnol, français, allemand, catalan, polonais
3° j'adore la section Tour de Babel qui compare des expressions idiomatiques dans les différentes langues européennes où elles existent avec des sens similaires et m'a fait bien rire!
Donc voilà de l'information, de la culture et des fous rires européens, c'est le cocktail du mois que je vous propose de découvrir.
http://cafebabel.com/fr/default.asp

The Da Vinci Code

Sylvia Neveu put the titles of a few novels to read in English or in French on the blog. It is a good idea. Notably, she proposed the Da Vinci code.
I came to the Da Vinci code by …the film. I saw this movie in French (sorry) when it was released in France. Film critics had “murdered” the film saying it was no good, too long, it had a bad scenario, and that it was “a commercial one” and so on. These film critics are the same ones who judge films at the Festival of Cannes. Generally, the nominated films have a limited success and we are often bored with them because they are “intellectual” or rather film critics claim so! I found the film very good because the scenario, the actors and the music are very good and we are in the dream domain, even if the subject is heretical and has been discussed for a thousand years between protagonists…with the same certainties or uncertainties.
A few weeks after, I read Dan Brown’s novel in English of course. I found this book gripping and it was difficult to “take my nose out of it”. I read it like a thriller! It doesn’t matter if what was written is true of false, it is well done. I think that the success of the film and the book is due to the fact that we are on the boundary between the real and unreal and we are constantly rocked between them.
Have a good reading
Claude.

Just a piece of advice:
If you want to improve your French vocabulary, read novels in French with the help of an electronic translator (it is the best). It is difficult at the beginning but it is a good way to make progress.

Driving in the UK

We are a large population sharing a small island, so we experience many problems on our overcrowded roads. Everyday we encounter traffic queues, roadworks and accidents.

Learning to drive is very expensive. Lessons cost about £20 (€30) and most people need 12 or more. The test is in two parts, theory and practical, costing about £80 (€120). You must pass both parts to earn your licence. While they are learning, drivers must display large, red Ls on the back and front of their vehicle. They can change to green Ls for the first year after passing.

Drivers must buy a Road Fund Licence annually, but so far our motorways are free. Insurance is another heavy cost and fuel prices are very high.

Despite all these problems, driving is extremely popular and many families own more than one car. French visitors are surprised to see us driving on the left, but in our opinion it's the right side!

Carole