Author: THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Michael Stevenson, aka Dai Bando, Johnny Foreigner, Monsieur Pas De Merde, is a blogger of French and British culture. His blogs "Pas De Merde" and "The Hobbledehoy" have been called "marvelous" by some, and "meh" by others.

Géraldine: Learning French through love songs

Listening to French music is a great way to improve your French oral comprehension and speak more modern, everyday French. Today, we’ll discover a famous French love song — perhaps you can use some of these romantic phrases in your own life! Hymne à l’Amour (= Anthem for Love, literally) is a song from 1949 by the very famous French singer Édith Piaf. She was a huge star between 1935 and 1960.

Let’s walk through this French love song’s history, some of its lyrics, and see how you could use some of this French poetry yourself! Take care and stay safe. – Géraldine

Montmartre: Can Paris’s art and cabaret district survive Covid-19?

The Paris area of Montmartre is known for its artists and cabarets, dating back to the days when it was a haven for the likes of Van Gogh and Picasso. It’s normally packed with tourists but since Cov…

Source: Montmartre: Can Paris’s art and cabaret district survive Covid-19? – Encore!

Kamala Harris knows things no vice president has ever known

Men in power might sympathize with women’s issues, but Kamala Harris knows them by heart.

By Monica Hesse | Washington Post

In the week before the country potentially elects its first female vice president, I’ve been trying to write a sweeping essay about progress and trailblazers and glass-breakers and what it all means. But what I keep thinking about is this: At some point in Kamala Harris’s life, someone has instructed her to carry her keys like a weapon when she walks to her car. Someone has said, Get them out of your purse even before you leave the grocery store. Arrange them between your fingers, and if someone attacks you, aim for the face

How do I know this? Because this is Woman 101. It’s the first page of the instruction manual teaching us how we’ll need to navigate the world. I have never met a woman who hasn’t heard this piece of advice. And I doubt that in 232 years of male leadership there’s ever been a sitting president or vice president who has.

I keep thinking about how, at some point in Kamala Harris’s life, she has painstakingly reviewed her office wardrobe with the understanding that the difference between “slut” and “feminazi” is a few inches of worsted-wool hemline. At some point, she has approached a stranger in a public bathroom because the Tampax machine is broken again, and she has said, I’m so sorry, but do you have — and then she didn’t have to finish the question because women in bathrooms know that there is only one end to that question.

Continue reading “Kamala Harris knows things no vice president has ever known” →

World Leaders Ready Themselves for a Biden Presidency

After a drawn-out vote count, many global leaders were quick to respond to Joe Biden’s election victory, with most sending congratulations and vowing to work with him.

Leaders from around the world continued to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden on Sunday, though several officials have remained silent.

In Europe, where many hope Mr. Biden will reverse some of the decisions of the Trump administration, leaders in Germany, France and Italy as well as the secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization applauded Mr. Biden’s win.  [ . . . ]

Continue at WALL STREET JOURNAL: World Leaders Ready Themselves for a Biden Presidency – WSJ