We live in what is usually—and somewhat inelegantly—referred to as a “cul-de-sac”. It is a dead-end street, a blind alley; an impasse of sorts. Those are funny words when you consider them. The place is either the bag’s ass, the street where even the end is bereft of life, where nothing can be seen, or a predicament without any solution. Everything is locked at a standstill.
Sometimes I feel that I might be a bit unlucky when it comes to technology. I'm typically the girl whose computer displays the blue screen of death without warning the day before handing in a big assignment, the one whose USB stick mysteriously doesn't show any document when plugging it into the conference hall computer before a big presentation, and definitely the one whose phone will stop uploading pictures to the cloud for no reason at all. If there is a one-in-a-million chance for a critical error to happen to anyone, then you can be sure that it has happened to me. Twice.
Former capital of the Counts of Hainaut, chief town of the province and European Capital of Culture 2015, Mons is a charming little town that is well worth a weekend…
Former capital of the Counts of Hainaut, chief town of the province and European Capital of Culture 2015, Mons is a charming little town that is well worth a weekend…
Former capital of the Counts of Hainaut, chief town of the province and European Capital of Culture 2015, Mons is a charming little town that is well worth a weekend trip. As a resident of Mons, I had to share my tips for a nice weekend in our region with you. Am I being objective? Probably not. But have seventeen years in Mons taught me a thing or two? Absolutely.
Every month, I write about three things I really liked as a way to reflect upon the good things. In May 2022, I like the new Kobo Elipsa e-reader, Intimations by Zadie Smith, and It Came from The Glass Curtain! by Adam Paxman.
Like many people I know, I tend to keep my electronics for as long as possible, because (1) I always find that everything is too darn expensive — a trait I've inherited from my dad, I'm afraid —, and (2) I feel guilty whenever I have to replace them because there is no real way to know what sort of damages discarded electronics cause on the environment. So I still had my first Kindle, a 4th generation device from 2011, which I still loved, but lacked some features I really needed.
I don't typically write about Belgium, and it is a shame, to be honest. If I may say so myself, my (tiny) country has a lot to offer, and I'm not just talking about chips, chocolate, and beer (though they are ok, I guess). Take those random castles you've never heard of, for example.
Quick, easy, and delicious. Ingredients 500g chicken breastsTwo organic lemons200g green olives, pitted3 cloves garlic40g butterCanola oil150 ml waterSalt, pepperGround paprikaGround chilliGround nutmeg8 sage leaves3 branches of thyme6 bay laurel…
I am an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, and my former students always speak to me in English. Even those who attended my class over ten years ago. Their mother tongue (at least, for most of them) is French; so is mine. Yet, whenever I run into one of them in town or on social media, they address me in English.