An interesting French-English connection.

Happy days?

As you know, our current topic is childhood/school memories. Here is an idea: Why don't you add a photo of yourself as a child to your post? I know you may not have an electronic copy of your early photos, but there are scanners in the library which you could use, or perhaps you can ask someone for help? I can help too, if it's a problem. If you need more time to get to your family archives, write your post now and add the photo later. To encourage you, I have decided to add mine. :)

The photo was taken when  I was about five or six years old. Our family was on a camping holiday in Mazury, with my parents' friends. One of them brought with him the lovely creature I am holding in my arms here - a long-haired dachshund puppy named Dada, whose daughter became my beloved pet-dog years later. 

Now, I've done my bit, how about you?

All Saints' Day vs. Halloween

It's the time of year when we turn to the supernatural, whether in a more serious and traditional manner (All Saints' Day) or more entertaining one (Halloween). Do you have any opinions about the introduction of the Anglo-Saxon tradition of Halloween to Polish cultural life? Does it upset you or do you enjoy it? I would like you to write about this on your blogs. If you are totally neutral about the issue, you can choose to write about your own way of celebrating those of your loved ones who are no longer around, at this time of year. Do you travel a lot? Do you meet your family? Another option is to write about the ways the French celebrate their deceased friends and family. All ideas and contributions related to the topic are welcome.

Welcome back!

Here we are, back to work! I hope you reach all your goals and achieve whatever you've planned to achieve this year. I also hope that you will find time to write your blogs and share your opinions, discoveries and observations with your readers here. Please do not neglect the reading part of the project. The major task is to write a post every week, but it is equally important that you read what others have written, and place your comments. Only then will your blogs be truly alive.

Our first topic is holiday reading. I asked you to write something about a book you read during the holidays. I have read quite a few actually, some of them really good, but I've decided to tell you about the one that was a big disappointment. Joanne Harris's books have been my holiday "guilty pleasures" for quite some time, so when I saw her new novel (a thick one!) on the book stall in Collegium Novum in May, I knew it would take some of my reading time in the summer. Well, it did, but midway through the book I began to suspect that it would not fulfil my expectations. Inspired by virtual reality and Internet writing, the author attempted a rather risky literary device of several unreliable narrators. The effect is that the reader is left totally confused, nothing holds together and when you find out what really happened (or you think you have), it doesn't make much sense. I do like experimental narration, like Zadie Smith's NW, for example, but somehow this went badly wrong. I read the whole thing with the hope that things would become clear in the end, but they never did. In short, a rather upsetting reading experience. I hope the author of Chocolat and many other wonderful books will get it right next time!

Simplicity. Beauty. Perfection.

Listen to this, and most of all watch it. It has moved me to tears. Really!



Is there anything you would like to recommend? A new song? Singer? Band? An old one which you have just found out about? Or perhaps something you forgot and have now re-discovered? Share it with us in a post, please.

A film review

Here is your first task:
Write your thoughts on a movie you have seen recently. Give us some basic information about the production (director, cast, etc.) and a short plot summary - no spoilers please! :)
Then express your own opinion on the movie: how it made you feel, whether it was what you had expected, and whether you would recommend to your readers. If you can find a trailer somewhere online, try to embed it in your post. You can use the "Insert a video" option in your blog editor.
You need to complete the task by the end of this week (Sunday, 1 April).
I'm looking forward to your posts!

A new chapter

A new semester is just beginning and so I am meeting my new students tomorrow. I hope things work out OK :)
Just to give you a little bit of practice in everyday English, and to tie in with current events, I would like to share a short video of yesterday's Grammy Queen - Adele. It is a preview of a longer program with Adele, aired by CBS just before the Grammy Awards show on Sunday night. I know EVERYBODY loves Adele these days, but she really is something special. There has never been a star so open about herself, so honest and so friendly. Not to mention her incredible voice, of course. Anyway, I hope you like it: