MANNERS AND OTHER MATTERS

I haven't been to Europe this year and will have to wait until next year to visit now.  There are a number of reasons why, mainly my family related visits to Sydney from my home in Perth,  but also because I have had friends visiting from overseas and interstate and the renovations on my beach house have continued.   While I have kept up with my French language online courses following my visits to the Institut de Français  I have missed the interaction with living as a local in a little French village and testing my language skills particularly during my visits to the weekly markets. But the advantage has been that I have been able to appreciate much of my own country.  My regular trips across my country offer the most fabulous panorama of the landscape.  I have been enchanted by the changing vistas offered as I peer down from a window seat.  I hope you enjoy my transcontinental picture journey. Lea...

It has been six months since I posted to this blog.  For a number of reasons.  Those of you who are regular bloggers probably never get "blog block"; it occurred when my imperative to write, to share life's matters and my thoughts on life's manners seemed so much less important than living the life which has been mine for the last six months. But the "block" has lifted, and after so many very special events, most of which  involved modern and traditional manners in one way or another, this post is a chronicle of the "block" time. It all started in September last year. My son turned 30, the same age I was when he was born.  So many memories resurfaced as we  shared stories of the growing up and maturing of "my baby". Rather than having a large party, his choice was a lunch for family and close friends...a world apart from the fast paced life he had lived for the previous ten years. He is a considerate, worldly and well mannered man ...

The autumn tonings are showing in my trees and the wisteria vines... My two favourite seasons here in Western Australia are autumn and spring, and somehow they affect me the same way...positively...despite that metaphorically autumn is aligned with the coming of the end of…life, relationships, and more;  while spring signifies new life, new beginnings. For me autumn is a time of gentle beauty;   and reflection.   Because the climate here is not overly distinctive between the seasons,  as it is in the east of Australia, having mild temperatures in autumn and spring,   mild to hot summers and mild to cold winters, with never a snow flurry, the leaves on the trees are often the first indicator that the season is about to change. The autumn sky is a vibrant blue but the pool water is too chilly for me to swim... I planted, in front of my house, five deciduous trees 25 years ago and every year when their first leaves begin to either fall or tur...

Teenagers in the early 1970s...(Google Images) I am going to celebrate a milestone birthday later this year and unfortunately it doesn't commence with the number "5"!  The year is going to be filled with adventure.  I am returning to France for a month to immerse myself again in a course at the Institut de Français in Villefranche-sur-Mer; I will be visiting my beautiful grandson on the other side of my continent;  and hopefully visiting Far North Queensland with my partner as well.  And in between, indulging myself with the contracts I will choose and enjoy with  The Percy Institute of International Protocol. Recently I have been trying to place myself in this "age" in which I find myself;  perhaps the easiest way to do this is to revert to remembering the people my parents and their friends were in their 60's? In the early 1970's I was still at high school, looking very similar to the girls in the photo above...somewhat awkward.  I al...

I am a tourist in Monte Carlo (photo a fellow tourist 2013) Three days ago, I returned to Australia after a seven week sojourn in France, during which I completed a four week French language immersion program at the Institute de Français in Villefranche-sur-Mer. I have written about my observations of the wonderful Institut in recent posts. Jet stream from aircraft sending a "kiss" to my apartment in Villefranche-sur-Mer (photo LP 2013) The course was followed by a two week mother/son “road trip” firstly through Provence, and then through the wine growing regions of Bordeaux. My son and I,  both “foodies”, challenged ourselves by attempting to emulate some of the beautiful meals we shared. While visiting the fresh food markets in the little towns and stocking up on provisions,  I practised my French with the stall owners while he chose the various vegetables, fruits, fish, fruits de mer,  poultry and meats with which we would try and reconstru...

Villefranche-sur-Mer, as seen from  Cap Ferrat (Photo LP 2013) After almost seven weeks my sojourn in France is ending in a few days.  Having spent short holidays in France over the past 30 years, I wanted to stay for a longer period and to have the opportunity to live like a local, albeit a transient one.  My month long course at the Institut de français in Villefranche-sur-Mer enabled me, for five weeks, to mix within the welcoming community of that ville...to share their market, their boulangerie, their boucher, their inclement weather, and their daily greetings as I would commence my walk up the hill to my "school" each morning.  The teachers and administration personnel at the Institut were, each and every one of them, encouraging of we students, even while they corrected our language and at times laughed with us over our mistakes.  The two teachers who conducted my class, Intermediate 3, over the four...

Language schools are notoriously difficult to choose. Does one want an intensive learning experience, an experience which offers a range of opportunities to complement language with culture, a school which offers a style of teaching which suits the adult student,  a school which encourages the modern vernacular of the chosen language, and immersion? When I was selecting the language school with which I would invest my time, and money, all of these considerations were paramount for me, no one more important than the other. The Institut (photo LP 2013) My research led me, via numerous internet bypasses, to the   Institut de Français  and I have been a student now in the four week immersion course for two weeks.The program is unique in its approach to language learning...writing notes is discouraged, and speaking freely without fear of mistakes is encouraged. Grammar is incorporated, rather than being the primary target of the learning experience. I...

Institut de Fran çais, Villefranch sur Mer (photo Tripadvisor) I am leaving this afternoon on a 25 hour trip from Perth, Western Australia to Nice in France, to take a one month language immersion course at the Institut de Fran ç ais in Villefranch-sur-Mer. My son will then join me for two weeks to travel through Provence and then onto the wine growing areas around Bordeaux. While having spent a lot of time in France over the years on short holidays, I have never had the chance to immerse myself in the language and the culture, to have the opportunity to "live like a local" at least for the four weeks in Villefranche.  I will be shopping at the markets, finding my way on the local public transport, attending church on Easter Sunday...and cooking to fill my little apartment in the Old Town of Villefranche with soothing and comforting smells while discovering new tastes and recipes. Near St  É million (photo LP 2006) My first two weeks will be spent al...