Fifty years after his death, Jim Morrison is still remembered for his poetry, lyrics and sometimes outrageous performances with The Doors. His grave in Paris is a shrine to the American singer. When Morrison died, apparently of a heart attack in Paris in 1971, he joined the tragically notorious “27 club” of rock stars and … Continue reading “The Doors Singer Morrison Remembered”
Queen Elizabeth II has awarded a George Cross medal to the National Health Service. It is one of the highest honours that can be awarded to British civilians, for “acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger.” On 5 July, the 73rd anniversary of the creation of … Continue reading “Queen Honours NHS Heroes”
In our series of author videos presenting our Reading Guides, here’s To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee presented by its author Lynda Itouchène. Find out more about the guide on the site compagnon.
In our series of author videos presenting our Reading Guides, here’s Jane Eyre presented by its author Lynda Itouchène. Find out more about the guide on the site compagnon.
If you find yourself close to Belgium this summer, it’s worth heading to Brussels for the Aboriginalités exhibition: more than 250 paintings by First Australian artists who innovate using traditional techniques and subject matter and modern materials. Art is a very important part of Aboriginal spiritual and cultural life, part of a vast system of … Continue reading “Aboriginalities”
Calling all detective fiction fans: Lyon’s Quais du Polar festival is back from 2-4 July with the cream of crime-fiction authors from around the globe in genres from adult to kids’ fiction, comic books and more. A couple of Anglophone authors who caught our eye are David Vann from the U.S.A. and R.J. Ellory from the … Continue reading “Quais du Polar Lyon 2021”
On July 4th, the U.S.A. celebrates its independence. And where better to do that than in Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, and where the Declaration of Independence was written? The Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, renamed Independence Hall, truly deserves the title “birthplace of the nation”. It was here on July 4, 1776 that … Continue reading “Happy July Fourth!”
Multi-national, multi-lingual theatre company Footsbarn will be playing a few dates of their new show Crock of Gold in the Allier and Paris before setting off for a summer tour of Ireland. For fifty years, Footsbarn has travelled the world with its unique mix of theatre, music and circus, drawing its inspiration from the many … Continue reading “The Leprechauns and the Crock of Gold”
For two weeks every summer, London is the world capital of tennis. Wimbledon is more than just a tennis tournament. It’s a national institution with some typically British eccentricities. This year’s tournament is from 28 June to 11 July. British tennis players have not dominated world tennis historically. Andy Murray has rectified that somewhat in … Continue reading “Time for Tennis at Wimbledon”
Tennis has a very idiosyncratic scoring system, and no one is sure why. Most sports count points by ones. But in a game of tennis, the players don’t start at zero, they start at “love”. If one player then scores, they have 15. The next score is 30, so you would probably expect the following … Continue reading “What’s the Score?”