Je ne regrette rien?
on Nov 21, 2009 in South Africa 2010 France Ireland Handball sport Thierry Henry Frogs Football FIFA world cup Soccer Thierry HenryAfter France won their World Cup qualifier against Ireland last Wednesday at the Stade de Fraud, Paris, with Thierry Henry’s handball the cry went up around France’s former Republican ally “Liberté, égalité, fraternité et repla...

The Hand of the French
on Nov 20, 2009 in South Africa 2010 France Ireland Handball sport Thierry Henry Frogs Football FIFA world cup Soccer Le French Hand job! Merde!Feelings are running high in Ireland after the country failed to qualify for World Cup 2010 in South Africa. The only topic of discussion in Ireland today is the French Hand job! Merde!! Ireland suffered the cruelest of Worl...

Belle de Jour
on Nov 16, 2009 in Criminalisation UK British Drama Wolverhampton Call Girl anonymous blogging Belle de Jour Escort Girls Dr Brooke Magnanti Prostitution London Dr. Brooke MagnantiCongratulations and solidarity across the Blogosphere to Dr. Brooke Magnanti who has outed herself as the blogger and former Escort girl “Belle de Jour.” Magnanti has said in her coming out interview with The Times, the former...

Armistice Day 2009 - End of a generation
on Nov 12, 2009 in Beaurevoir British Cemetery Henry Allingham Poppy Armistice James McMahon Edward Kenny Flanders Battle of the Somme France Harry Patch Bill Stone Great War J R Tolkien Cenotaph The passing of the First World War generation was marked by a special memorial service at Westminster Abbey today as millions of people across Britain and Europe observed the two-minute Armistice Day silence.Ninety-one years after the guns fell silen...

Jewish Prague
on Nov 9, 2009 in Franz Kafka Rabbi Loew Jewish Prague Golem Theresienstadt Holocaust Josefov Czech Republic Praha Shoah Jewish Museum Prague Czechoslovakia Old Jewish CemeteryPrague is one of the oldest Jewish Centres in Central Europe and the Jewish Community has over one thousand years of history. Most of the Jewish sites of Prague are in the Josefov, The Jewish Quarter. When this was redeveloped in t...

Art Nouveau Prague
on Nov 9, 2009 in Barcelona Alfons Mucha Prague Art Nouveau Pařížská Avenue Municipal House Architecture Riga Prague Czech Republic Glasgow Praha Obecní Dum Municipal HouseSince the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1991, Prague has become one of Europe’s - and the worlds - most popular tourist destinations. As in London, Paris, and Rome, visitors flock to the gorgeous buildings and monuments that grace...

Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum
on Nov 6, 2009 in University of Oxford Oxford Ashmolean Museum Dreaming Spires Oxford Murders Covered Market Elias Ashmole Cornmarket Morris Dancers Xmas Oxfordshire UK Rick Mather Regular blogistas will know that my favourite English City is the “City of the Dreaming Spires” the university city of Oxford. With so much learning going on Oxford contains many homes to the Muses or Museums to give them their more familiar titl...

Prêt a Manger?
on Nov 2, 2009 in Food Miles Business Ethics Fresh Food Food and Drink Agribusiness Prêt a Manger Brazilian Chicken Take a trip to your local branch of Prêt a Manger and the chances are you'll be made aware of their "fresh ingredients" boasts. So the news that the high street chain is importing frozen chicken from Brazil may come as a surprise to you as it did to...

Tayto - the proper Irish Stuff
on Oct 31, 2009 in Tayto Mr. Tayto Irish food Tandragee Castle Ireland Food and Drink Crisps Tayto Crisps Irish Diaspora Dublin Rarely can there be a group as worthy of support as this (The Tayto appreciation society on Facebook) - I had to join as in an increasingly transient world the continuity and happiness provided by Tayto is important! My life and Tayto have crossed on...

Halloween – Another great Irish Pagan Festival!
on Oct 31, 2009 in All Hallows’ Gaelic Hill of Tara Ireland Halloween 31st October Celtic folklore Celts Irish Pagan Festival Samhain Hallowe’en seems to have grown around the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, marking the end of the light half of the year and the beginning of the dark half. All Hallows' Eve, has over the years moved from the Celtic Festival of Samhain to trick-...