Since it’s Valentine’s Day, here’s a link to an article about people who “found love” in bookshops.
Valentine’s Day cards are really supposed to be anonymous. In Thomas Hardy’s ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ Bathsheba Everdene sends one in jest to William Boldwood, with inevitably gloomy consequences, this being a Thomas Hardy novel. You have to take it as read in a Hardy novel that fate will come and bite you at some point.
But, of course, nowadays it’s another occasion for card manufacturers to make bot more money: cads for your boy/girlfriend, fiancé(e), spouse, probably even your dog! Where is true romance?
Enough of that. Here’s some stuff about that romantic nation, the French.
“The French government has been accused of making its new language tests for foreigners seeking residency or nationality so hard even its own citizens would fail them.
An impact report on a new immigration law expected to come into force before the end of the year suggested the stricter requirements could lead to 60,000 people being refused permission to remain in France.
The tests, which cost around €100 (£83.20), are part of bill passed a year ago, that includes tighter border controls and tougher measures to expel foreign migrants. Ministers argue its primary aim is to promote greater integration of foreigners.”
Here’s a link to the whole article on that subject.
I wonder if all of us Britons would pass such a language test for use of the English language. Of course, Mr Gove might tell us that’s why our schoolchildren need to learn about and be tested on such things as fronted adverbials and use of the subjunctive! I remember reading something about the test for citizenship and wondering how many of us know enough about our history and culture to pass the test.
Getting back to the French,, it seems that there has been a 25% rise in the oven chip market in recent years. So much for national pride in the skill of cooking and gastronomy! And not only do theyvlike oven ships but apparently they now prefer chunky English style chips to slender french fries!
I was under the impression that Belgium was the home of chips rather than France. However Is do remember as a student eating “frites” from street vendors, served with mayonnaise or mustand rather salt and vinegar.
Incidentally, I have now learnt the French for “junk food”: la malbouffe.
Yesterday I remarked on the removal of the tent village from the centre of Manchester. Manchester authorities are not alone in this. Here’s a report from Wednesday from the USA:
“A northern California city passed a law targeting unhoused people that will ban camping on public property and make “permitting, aiding, [or] abetting” encampments illegal – a provision that has caused worry among non-profits and advocates.
The city council in Fremont, California, adopted the sweeping new ordinance – which has been described as one of the strictest in the state – on Tuesday with Fremont’s mayor arguing such action was necessary to ensure residents’ health and safety in the Bay Area community of 226,000. City officials were insistent that the law would not be used to target aid workers, but declined to clarify that point in the ordinance itself.
The proposal, with its unusual language about aiding and abetting, had attracted considerable attention and condemnation from civil rights groups and community organizations. Nearly 20 such groups signed a letter urging the council to vote against it, describing it as “misguided” and warning it would create “legal liability and devastating humanitarian consequences”.”
And then there are reports of Israel not allowing the entry of mobile homes into Gaza to provide homes for Palestinians returning to the ruins of their former homes. I suppose the thinking behind it is that there is always the risk of temporary homes becoming permanent!
Now, however, it looks as though the first stage of the shaky ceasefire might remain in place after all. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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