Scarlet's tag

Now being tagged has coincided nicely with me having nothing whatsoever to blog about. I mean there are things I could drone on or moan about, things I could share with you, but instead I'm going to stick to answering these ten questions:

1.Do you prefer asking questions or answering them
My mother used to tell me that I talked too much and listened too little. She was right and now I make a conscious effort to let people speak (and I even try my hardest not to interrupt).


2. What is your favourite joke? [Or favourite one liner?]
Heard about the mushroom who went to the party? He was a real fungi

3. Have you ever fantasized about being on Big Brother [the well known TV show... I'm not alluding to incest]
Never - but I am a fan of the show (on a purely 'interested in the psychological interaction between lots of sociopaths' type of interest - yeah, honest.)

4. Have you ever wanted to enter a talent show?
Nope.

5. Is Simon Cowell really necessary?
Umm, I don't mind him but I don't think he loves this woman he is marrying. Did you see how they pecked each other on the cheek at the award ceremony last night on tv? That's not love. Some say she is a beard but I do not know.

6. Tea or coffee?
Tea - strong, without sugar and with soya milk

7. What is your favourite perfume? Or smell?
Current favourite perfume is Jo Malone's Red Roses. Until I fell in love with this I thought I was a citrussy type of person. I was wrong.

8. What is the quickest route to Wales from where you live?
Why would I want to go to Wales? (only joking, Mark - I've had some lovely holidays in North Wales)

9. What does the word 'Wales' conjure to your mind?
That accent and Tom Jones of course

10. Are you dreading dreaming up ten questions to ask six bloggers?
No - because I won't pass on a tag, not even for the gorgeous Scarlet

Blog your way to fame - part 2

There is another blog which made the writer very famous but I bet not many of you here have read it. I know that I didn't read it when it was at the height of its fame. The blog is Nightjack and it has been the subject of a court case, when The Times tried to find out the name of the blogger behind it. It is a fascinating blog written by a detective and it went on to win The Orwell Prize last year.

I came to this blog very late and was mesmerised by it. The blogging detective deleted it but luckily someone put the archives back online (link above). Following his notoriety the detective was inundated with agents, publishers, television people - all eager to get him to sign an exclusivity deal and a big fat contract but he refused. How do I know this? He is a friend of mine, well more accurately we used to work together and have renewed our contact via Facebook. He is a man of integrity and passion and it just goes to show that some people do not want riches or fame (although I think that both will be his - in his own name - before too long).

Blog your way to fame

What have these two women got in common? They have both written blogs that got read by the right person at the right time and they subsequently gained fame and riches. On the right is Julie Powell, the Julie behind Julie and Julia.

On the left is Catherine Sanderson who is the blogger behind La Petite Anglaise

Both blogs are still online, Catherine's is much more guarded now than it used to be, Julie's is one that I am getting to know whilst I eat my lunch.

So, fellow bloggers, it could happen to you.

Anonymous

I deleted a comment from my last post, left by a Newark, Nottingham-based person. I deleted it but that doesn't mean I haven't thought about it. He or she left the comment in relation to what I had put in one of my own replies to someone in the Comment Box.

Now this is what I had put

well, one of the things that I think is important with netiquette - I know certain bloggers who blog an awful lot and I am always leaving comments on their pages but they seldom do on mine. That is not good netiquette. You are not included in this btw - in fact 99% of the people on my blogroll are not included in this - I am just thinking of one person and it has begun to bug me.

The anonymous commenter then replied
Self-centered much? Maybe they dont -want- to comment.


My reply to the anonymous person is this - why did you choose to be anonymous? You must be a reader of this blog to be interested enough to actually read the comments that others have left. Why not come out and say what you want without hiding? As for this regular blogger 'not wanting to comment' on my blog. I see that they visit all their other blog friends on a regular basis so why choose eight times out of ten not to visit and comment on mine? I feel quite justified in thinking and putting this.

As for being 'self-centred' - blogging is a self-centred pursuit, my friend. So yes, I am self-centred.

What do you all think - if you repeatedly find that someone whose blog you go to whenever a new post is published does then not do the same for you - does it wear thin or do you stay loyal to them regardless?

Spammed!i

Haven't we all had a lot of spam lately. I just don't understand the mindset of these spammers. As if we would ever voluntarily seek them out after flooding our comment boxes with their rubbish. I'm still determined not to resort to word verification though. From what I can see in the blogosphere even people with word veri still get spammed. And what's with people who elect to have word veri and then also comment moderation? Why have both?

What I've done is just set comment moderation for comments left after ten days - it always seems to be the older posts they target.

And now for something completely different: I gave up on the Ben Elton - he's not a very good writer and his book didn't hold my interest at all. I've moved on to Graham Greene - I know his name is legendary but I'm ashamed to say I've never read any of his books. I have seen some films based on his books but - just 50 pages into The Heart of the Matter - well I might just have a new literary hero-worship blooming (although he does love his similes).

I didn't want to end the year on a viral

We should all ring out the bells and celebrate this joyous day. I know it's not party time for New Year's Eve yet, but that is not why I am rejoicing anyway.

I now know how to attach a toilet float, bleed a radiator and my chest of drawers with the drawer that I yanked on and broke has now been swapped with those belonging to Mr FF. My lessons in extracting the OU zip files via Windows - the only thing this OS is used for in our household - will take place later, as will mastering the sound system connected to the projector. It's the toilet float I am most happy about though - whoever would have thought that being able to click a green plastic end into a white plastic spool at the bottom of a toilet cistern would have made me grin with sheer delight.

Mr FF will leave here about 6am Sunday morning and is booked into a Paris hotel; a subsequent flat share for a few weeks in Paris is all set up, which takes the heat off and leaves me time to make appointments for him to view prospective studios at his leisure, which we can then furnish with all our spare stuff - a taste of home for him.

Fellow bloggers - I hope 2010 brings you a few crumbs of comfort, some glasses of cheer, a tickle and a cuddle and a lot of happy moments. We can never expect perpetual happiness - it would get boring - let's just ask for a few laughs over the next twelve months and many happy meetings in the blogosphere

Bisous à tous

Yes, it is Henry in the photo - and his mum

I really do feel very loved in a bloggy way by 'knowing' all of the people who bother to stop by my blog, let alone leave a witty, pithy and caring comment. I mean there are hundreds and thousands of blogs out there and it is very hard to say what draws one to certain bloggers and their output and not to others.

With the exception of willow, I try and steer clear of blogs with a black background because I find it a bit of a strain to read. Also music that suddenly strikes up when I hit a blog is a no no, although there are a few bloggers who I respect so much that I just hit the mute button before their page loads. Another bugbear of mine is too many pictures. I find it slightly tedious to scroll down through lots of computer images to get to the words - although lots of personal photos are lovely to see.

As you've probably worked out by the above I am a picky sort of person. As I get older I seem to be less bashful or reluctant to say what I think and am rather turning into my mother who was known for her forthrightness. A beauty in her youth, she ended up looking and sounding rather like the smaller of the Two Fat Ladies by the time she reached her seventies - haughty, proud and indeed quite bolshy, but with so much elegant charm that people could not help but be drawn to her.

Someone to whom I was very drawn was a blogger who has not been around for a while. Her initial blog was from the perspective of her lovely Schnauzer Henry and then she had a blog in her own right. We have stayed in touch and even though I miss seeing her out here with us, her emails are as delightful as her blogs used to be (the following is with permission, as is the photo above):

Henry comes to work every day and has his own little basket next to my desk and he’s as happy as ever. On the ‘Goliath’ side of things, it is ongoing and unlikely to be resolved soon, one way or another. I feel much less worried now because ‘Goliath’s’ case is WEAK, in my view and I think it is being solicitor led simply for fat fees (because solicitors get paid in cases like this win, lose or draw). It will definitely go into 2010, we’re not even half way through it. I miss my bloggy pals, but can’t get caught up with it again. I’m ploughing all my energies into work and earning money. I don’t even have the internet at home because when I get home all I want to do is relax and steer clear of all things relating to computers, as I’m in front of one all day every day.


So there we are - disappear from our blog world and if you have touched my heart you will always be hearing from me. Schmaltzy or what?

I'm taking a blogging holiday

It's becoming clear to me that I am indeed my own worst enemy. I'm not revising for my exam as diligently as I should be doing and I am messing about in Blogland a bit too much. There are now 20 days to go before I sit in last year's large hotel room in Paris with four other examinees and two invigilators. It is just like school exams - the paper face down on the desk, a huge clock  showing the three hours counting down, a heart racing like thunder  and waiting to hear those words - when I say NOW then please turn over the paper and begin your examination. That is after we have produced our passports to prove that we are indeed who we say we are. 

Now I really need all my concentration to cram a lot of stuff inside my brain. I've not got a very good memory for facts and quotes. I've done very well with my essay marks - I'm still awaiting the final one but initial feedback from my tutor said it was very good indeed (her exact words), so I'm confident it will be around the low to mid-80 percentile. However, to get a good end of course overall result,  my exam must be good. I've decided not to return here until  June 16th when this will all be done and dusted.

I will miss you and your blogs and hope to catch up on all your activities when I return. Of course my comeback post will be huge so it's best you have a little rest from me in the meantime.

Toodlepip

Take out the old and ring in the new

It's hard not to use clichés at this time of year and get slightly melancholy about the passing of time. But let's try to desist, eh.

It's been a good year for me and at last my blog has finally come of age - it's only taken me about four years to perfect the art of keeping it up-to-date. It has also meant that I've got to know some fantastic bloggers out there and, despite never having met any of you, I think of you as friends. Sometimes virtual friends can be as good as or - (dare I say it?) - even better than real life friends. You don't get interrupted, let down or put upon by blogland friends. You don't have to answer the phone to them if you are not in the mood or remember to send them cards for events. You can dip in and out of their lives, as they do with yours and they are articulate, witty, funny and kind.

I hope that all bloggers who have dallied here for a while and who write all the cracking posts that I love to read have a good year ahead. Let's hope there are good books, good wines and good food and laughter to be had over the next twelve months.

merci beaucoup

Even though I've been blogging for quite a few years now it is only in the last two months or so that I feel I have made some good friends in blogland. I like to read about their lives and -it seems - they like to read my ramblings. I've got to admit that I'm enjoying blogging more and more and to be awarded a cute little thing to stick on my sidebar is the icing on the cake. It's been given to me by Kathy here and her blog is so novel, with images and words that really do make me laugh. We hit it off straight away and I wish that she lived nearer so that I could stalk her. If you take a look I'm sure you will agree that she does in truth have a Fabulous Blog.

However, for me to put this award on my sidebar and play by the system of blogland etiquette, I have to obey some rules which are as follows:

Copy and paste the rules and instructions in your post.

When you post about receiving this award, make sure you include who gave you the award and link it back to them.

Post five winners and link it back to them as well.

Post five of your addictions.

Add the award image.

Let your winners know you gave them an award by leaving them a comment on their blog.

So, here we go with my five addictions.

I think it's fair to say that blogging has become one of my addictions. It never used to be so - I've had my blog for nearly four years and in most of that time I was very ambivalent about it. It is only since I updated my template from one of the old ones to a more modern one (about two months ago) that my view about blogging changed. I suppose it is the same as neglecting your appearance for a long time because you can't be bothered and then all of a sudden you wake up, decide you look a mess and resolve to change. Well, that was how I suddenly felt about my blog and now I love being in Blogland.

If owning an animal can ever be called an addiction, then I am addicted to our two bichon frisé dogs. I can't imagine life without a dog around and, even though it is a tie and sometimes (not often) inconvenient, I would not be without them. I like them to look good and they go to the groomer every five weeks.

I'm addicted to learning and when we first moved to the French countryside I felt slightly concerned that I would mentally waste away. I then began an Open University course which I enjoyed so much that I decided to carry on and study for a BA in the Humanities. When I eventually get that I'm going to carry on with a Masters and then - if I'm still alive- think about going for a Doctorate even though I'll shuffle forward on my zimmer frame to be awarded it.

Hmm, this isn't easy because I have quite an addictive personality and consciously have to stop myself from getting too obsessed with things, but I have to come up with two more so...

Even though my politics are more in tune with the Guardian and maybe a dash of the Independent, I always look at the Daily Mail online every morning. I'm not going to link to it because I don't want to pass on bad habits.

and finally...

I'm addicted to paying a bill straight away. I think this stems from an early flat-share I was involved in where none of us paid bills very regularly and a Crisis Situation would develop fairly regularly, with my parents being called on to help out. Consequently, now that I've grown up a bit, I've gone to the other extreme.

My bit is now over and I'm going to pass this award on to the following five bloggers:

Blu because she is another expat in Brittany - one who takes beautiful photos of nature - and because blue is my favourite colour

frankofile because she is yet another expat in Brittany (hmm, do I detect a theme here?) - she tells much more about daily life in Brittany than I do and I like to see what goes on in her department.

brother tobias because he is witty and worldly and sophisticated.

contemporary troubadour because it must be very difficult to conduct a romance on a long-distance basis and she writes about it so very well.

carol because I like the things she writes about and I like to see the photos from Thailand.

It's been so hard to single out five bloggers and I think everyone should have at least one award on their sidebar. I must try and design a French Fancy award which I would give away indiscriminately.

Is veri unnecessary ?

I have it on good authority, well marc anyway, that word veri on the blog comment form is not really necessary these days, mainly because Blogger have been doing so much to detect spammers.

I must say that in the two weeks that I have dispensed with verification I've not had anything untoward left in my box as it were. My, isn't the English language strange?

Web logs

The first time I heard the term 'blogging' was during the BBC programme Have I Got News For You - it must have been about nine or ten years ago (when Angus Deayton still looked like a bright young thing). Paul Merton (on the right in the photo for all you non-Brits) was talking about weblogs and Ian Hislop - in his usual semi-sneery but very funny way - repeated the word incredulously 'weblogs...blogging you say...who would want to read the thoughts of ordinary people over the internet' ? Obviously I'm paraphrasing here because I can't recall the exact words Hislop used, but you get the idea. I'm sure Hislop also said words to the effect of 'it'll never catch on' but maybe he didn't. If he didn't then he should have, because it was the sort of thing that he would say.

When I find an interesting-looking blog obviously the first thing I do is read the latest entry then, if my interest is piqued, I check out the profile and - again if interest is maintained - I go to the first few entries that the blogger ever made. A blogger's first few posts usually contains so much personal information, maybe things that they should not even be divulging and, basically, as a rather curious person (okay then, just bloody nosy), I like to know loads. Discretion usually creeps in after the blogger's nearest and dearest has had a read, then a rant -'why on earth did you put this?'- and a more detached viewpoint is then followed. Having said that, some of the blogs I read contain such personal and intimate details that sometimes I really worry for them.

I'm quite a secretive blogger. I seldom say much* about my truly personal life. I'd rather read about yours.



*having said that, I do cover subjects like my father's death and my 18 day stint in hospital which I reckon could be classed as truly personal, not to mention my taste in footwear.

I took the plunge

French Fancy has now become purply-pink - and I even managed to move my blog counter all on my own. At last my blog has moved into the new era as I think my old template was one of the very earliest designs. It takes so little to make me happy these days.

The thing is that I should really be cracking on with the first marked assignment from the OU for this new course. I've read all the relevant chapters about Mozart and Don Giovanni (how come nobody ever says anything about Da Ponte who wrote the libretto; it's always Mozart, Mozart,Mozart - but he only wrote the music - only! - like I ever could). I've done my introduction but, to be frank, this first essay seems more like a Music A-level theme - lots of analysis wanted about orchestrations, rhythm, melody. You'd think with my dad having been a professional musician and my having had piano lessons for about five years that I'd be thrilled to have a music question. Not a bit!

So that's why I'm wasting my time trying out different templates, fiddling with my blog, reading other people's, - I think it's called displacement or something.

Low-tech me

For a mad moment this morning I thought about updating my blog layout to one of the bells and whistle ones. I even tried it and then got in a panic when my blog counter disappeared. I hunted through various Blog Help advice to try and see where the original template was stored. I wasn't thrilled with the replacement layout; I'm a creature of habit really and I like a lot of things to remain constant.

Anyway, panic over, I reverted to my original layout and I even c&p'd some html(she said proudly) into my page to reinstall the counter, which is now a scrolling version of what I had before. I could easily try and become more of a Modern Person with all this html lark, but I'll just bury myself in studies of 18th Century Europe and leave all the techy stuff to you lot.

Numbers

This morning my blog counter on the left showed that there have now been 3000 people from 80 countries that have popped in to see what I've been up to. Having said that, I'm not sure if it's a case of repeated hits from a regular select few pushing up the totals. I experimented a couple of times with friends in different countries and, after their repeated visits, my 'hit' from their respective place did not increase at all so I have to assume that it is indeed 3,000 different people. For the first year I didn't even have this counter and I wonder how many visited me then?

The counter has been quite educational for me. Burkina Faso is a place that I'd never even heard of and then reading the local paper the other day I found out that a school in my town is actually twinned with one from there. It's a small African country near Liberia, in case you are wondering and what a coincidence that I'd actually heard of it, just from this thing that I like to do.

Sunny Thursday

Well, they were right, the ubiquitous 'they', when they called this little micro notebook the blogger's friend. Since I was first given it I have blogged and blogged and I have nothing but good things to say about my little ASUS Eee. The other day I had to do some testing on my regular pc and it seemed so weird to be using a mouse again and as for the big clunky keyboard - forget it. This little machine follows me around the house and I don't know how I managed for so long without one.

Copyright

It's begun to bother me a bit about posting other people's work on my blog without acknowledging their origin, especially those creative and unusual fruit cut-outs. Ive done my best to track down their source but I've not been able to find out the person behind them. I got sent them in an attachment by my doc who I had cause to visit this morn and I wondered if he knew - but it hadn't even crossed his mind to try and find out.

So, anonymous artist who takes everyday fruit and vegetables and makes striking images from them - my thanks to you and I'll carry on trying to find out who you are.

Eee

I've just been given a little micro-laptop as a present - an ASUS Eee and it seems so strange to be typing on such a small keypad. I usually type quite fast but I'm watching my fingers move around these keys as slowly as someone who never learnt touch-typing.

Spring

I am so amazed at how long it has been since I last blogged and how few I have done over the last couple of months. It's the Drifting In Brittany syndrome I think; there's always so many little bits and pieces to do that the days fly by, even though nothing I do is mega-important.

The Open University course takes up a large percentage of my time. I have an exam in Paris in mid-June and I've already started revising for it, even though my course is still going on. I've begun going to an atelier to do craft type things - I've taken up the knitting needles once again - Been growing seeds to plant in the garden later this year - seen people and done Stuff.

The more I see of the UK on the news the happier I am that we are living in the French countryside.

2008

Well the year has started pretty much as expected - buried in books for the OU course and trying to be a novice techy reading code.

That is the main reason there have been no new entries lately. I realise of course there is nothing worse than popping into blogs and finding nothing that is current. Bear with me; I'm going to try and do better.