A bunch of Charlies

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January 13, 2015

150114chSo satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo lives-on. It’s mission to raise a chuckle from the absurdities of life and poke fun at hypocrites will continue unabated – and for this I am glad. No-one should be considered above criticism. Religions, politicians, businessmen, celebrities all deserve to have their words and influence deconstructed.
And this is where the whole “Je suis Charlie” campaign falls down…


Pope Frank

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November 26, 2014

Frank was in town yesterday to nag the bureaucrats about their lack of enthusiasm for encouraging peace and cooperation between the peoples of Europe. He came, he spoke, he left. The only difference between him and the elected officials in the audience, as far as I can tell, is that he wasn’t required to sign-in […]


Farts de ski and New Beaujolais

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November 21, 2014

A juvenile observation for you today: the wax you put on your skis is known as “fart” …   Sorry. I was genuinely pleased to see New Beaujolais on the shelves of my local corner store yesterday.  What’s not to love about a young, fruity wine eh? Best of all – it’s only 12% proof, […]


Paying by card from abroad

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November 20, 2014

So how exactly am I supposed to pay for anything online if TSB consistently block me from making online payments? You’d think things like click-safe, double-password protected cards would get processed without much ado by your bank – seeing as the secondary “clicksafe” password is there to ensure you are who you say you are […]


Sturp sturp sturp

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November 19, 2014

There are many Anglicisms that have made their way into the French vernacular. I have already mentioned the ‘F’ word – which the French seem to think is no more offensive than saying ‘bottom’.  My latest find in this regard is a digital radio station self-baptised “Fuckin’ Good Radio” or Radio FG for short on […]


Masterized

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September 30, 2014

You may have noticed a slight down-shift in the number of blog posts here over the past two years. This is because I have been somewhat busy doing a Masters at the University of Strasbourg during this time.  It is over now however, so I can finally find time to bring AEIS back to life. […]


Juncker and all that

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June 27, 2014

The staggering level of hypocrisy and anti-EU venom gushing forth from the political mouthpieces of the United Kingdom at the moment is really starting to get my chèvre. What makes matters particularly nauseating, for those of us who are little more seriously invested in the European project, is that the rhetoric is not confined to right-wing Europhobes. Shame on you Ed, Nick et al…


The Secret Throne

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March 21, 2014

Instead of a rambling post about the layout of the University Arts faculty I thought you might appreciate my musings presented in a more creative manner, today.  There follows my March offering to the Strasbourg English Writers Group – a true story – enjoy! ****************** With his belly still luxuriating in its recently added contents […]


Cheese and Zombies

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February 25, 2014

Stromae_2011 I first stumbled across the World Music section in Tower Records in my late teens. This, I thought, is where all the hippies must come to buy their whale and pan-pipe music. Considering it was supposed to represent the musical capacity of the majority of planet earth – it was pathetically small. […]


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