I voted for Chirac!!

A horrifying confession - but it was the story of the left in 2002 in France when Chirac and Le Pen were the 2 candidates left in the second round.

We went to an OU French association film day on Saturday where we saw 'Le Nom des Gens' - a querying of identity in modern France. It puts various modern French taboos in conjunction - the Holocaust, the Algerian war, race and asks what they mean for modern society, have they assimilated them or just glossed them over. Here's a trailer (no subtitles)and here's a shorter version - with subtitles and more inhibited! We had a few talks which explained some of the complicated cultural references... (just one) Arthur Martin (the name of the male protagonist) would be like being called John Lewis in the UK! The film is neatly set between the 2002 and 2007 French elections.

Teaser Tuesday - 27 April

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

"Hey, family? I just want to thank you for not teasing me when I change into shorts the second we get there."

again a teaser from Margot Page's Paradise Imperfect: An American family moves to Costa Rican mountains our book group book of the month!

Mutterings - April 20

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Steady :: as she goes
2. Sleep :: Deep
3. Thumb :: Sketch
4. Straighten :: Bend
5. Wake up! :: Alarm! (and the TV cabaret show with Billy Cotton back in the 50's..)
6. Diminish :: Shrink
7. Scarred :: Wounds
8. Horn :: Cape
9. Pace :: Steady
10. Correspondence :: Letter

As Night Falls

The news came though yesterday of the death of the writer Jim Cotter - the composer of numerous liturgies, prayer and a thoughtful speaker. His webite is here. Having just returned from a Maundy Thursday service ending in darkness may this prayer be a memorial.

Through the dark despairing depths and the drought of the desert, through the abyss opened up by our failings and folly, we dare to risk our cry to the living God. For you will not let us escape from our greatest good. In our struggle with you, fierce, fiery Lover, let some new glory be wrought and new and unexpected life come to birth.

From Jim's service for Maundy Thursday from 'Darkness Yielding'

Teaser Tuesday - April 15

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

Was this how it was supposed to be? I had no idea and nothing to compare it to.

from Margot Page's Paradise Imperfect: An American family moves to Costa Rican mountains - our BATS (book group) book of the month. Margot Page is a friend of Dave Mock the vicar of All Saints Macclesfield - but I'm quite enjoying the story of the trip - a family with young children throwing everything up for a year in Central America.

Mutterings - Apr 13

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Shame :: Disgrace
2. Business :: Monkey
3. Cats :: Youtube
4. Green :: Politics (I'm sure I didn't see the line below.. my mind just works the same as the compiler's!)
5. Politics :: Influence
6. Boston :: Tea Party
7. Healthy :: Fit
8. Pint :: Pot
9. Owner :: Occupier
10. Sorrow :: Child ( I see that See Him a lying on a bed of straw is behind this - though I had to web search for the link!)

Teaser Tuesday - April 8

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

Then we cross the river, and up the hill between high banks, and high over the road a metal suspension footbridge joins the halves of the estate the road, in its deep cut, divides. A the top of the hill Feltonfleet School [flowery font]

well that's what the text says and you have to imagine it! This is The Journals of Thomas Merton 'Run to the Mountain' the diaries of the Trappist monk. I'm currently in 1939 and deep in Merton's reflection on the start of the war.

Mutterings - April 6

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Rabbit :: Hat
2. Judged :: Show
3. Produce :: Stall
4. Bank :: River
5. Standard :: Gold
6. Mister :: Harris (A Tom Robinson Band number i think)
7. Tissue :: Sneeze
8. Summon :: Judge
9. Selfishly :: Blind
10. Chatting :: Light