Author Archives: bill

About bill

Worked in the technical / engineering area as a Science Laboratory Technician and as an Aeronautics Engineer. The artistic side involves writing under the nom de plume of Billy Olsenn, his recently written play 'A Case of Wine' was staged by the players group Straight Make-Up at the 2012 Birr one act drama festival. It's next staging was in the one act circuit is in Cavan, at Maudebawn on Sat 10 Nov 2012. Then it was performed in the Bray, Co.Wicklow at the very popular one act festival in January 2013. Next play is FEAR. A dark tale about revenge on the cruel death of two pensioners by young thugs. Neighbours hatch a devious and dangerous plan to exact old-style revenge. Bill is a member of the Drama League of Ireland and his plays have been critically vetted and certified as original pieces of work by the DLI. Another literary project is that of commemoration of an aircraft crash on Djouce mountain in Wicklow in 1946. Bill wrote articles for the 50th, 60th and most recently the 70th anniversary, (12 Aug 2016) all were published in the Wicklow Times and ensured the survivors of the crash, all French Girl Guides, were not forgotten. Articles reproduced on this website. But mostly this site gives a more general European and specific French slant on popular and not so popular articles of French news, translated to English by the author. Each article is translated on a paragraph by paragraph basis so easy to read in either language and even possible to improve either language by comparison of the short English and French paragraphs. Amusez vous bien. The author is currently writing an easy to read technical aviation book centered around the Fokker 50. Another interest is that dealt with in another of Bill's websites www.realnamara.net, a Statue of the mother of God, Mary. It was erected in 1972 in Dublin, at the end of the Bull Wall near Clontarf, and my grandfather William Nelson, was the main instigator of that project. I give talks on the history of the statue and my grandfather's adventurous and dangerous life at sea. Technical assistance with each website is by J O'N.

TV humorist sacked after injudicious joke about domestic violence against women.

Posted on December 14, 2017 by bill

L’humoriste Tex ne présentera plus “Les Z’amours” sur France 2, après une blague sur les femmes battues. He will not be presenting any more “Les Z’amours” on France 2 after making a joke of battered women. L’animateur était à la … Continue reading →

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Weather deterioration in France. Notably in the east and Alps. Avalanches possible.

Posted on December 9, 2017 by bill

Huit départements de l’est de la France placés en vigilance orange “neige et verglas”. Orange alert for snow and ice in eight departments. (Eastern France/ Alps). Sunday 17 and Monday 18 December. Il s’agit de l’Ain, la Côte-d’Or, le Doubs, le Jura, … Continue reading →

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Jean d’Ormessan, de l’Accadémy Francaise est mort.

Posted on December 7, 2017 by bill

publication de Gallimard. 15 h ·  Homme de lettres et de culture, écrivain. Gallimard 5 décembre, 09:02 · En hommage à Jean d’Ormesson disparu cette nuit, les Éditions Gallimard vous invitent à relire ce poème d’Aragon qui avait inspiré les … Continue reading →

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Johnny Halliday dies at 74 years of age. Fans are stunned.

Posted on December 6, 2017 by bill

“C’est l’anéantissement complet” : les fans de Johnny effondrés après l’annonce de la mort du chanteur. “This is totally overwhelming”: Johnny’s fans stunned after the announcement of the singer’s death. Nadine, Eric, Christophe… Ils ont consacré une grande partie de leur … Continue reading →

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Brexit: Brits stall the Phase 1 accord.

Posted on December 4, 2017 by bill

Brexit : le Royaume-Uni et l’Union européenne échouent à finaliser leur accord. The UK and the EU talks ran aground at the final hurdle. Un accord d’étape aurait ouvert la voie aux négociations commerciales réclamées avec insistance par Londres. London … Continue reading →

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Bosnian Croat commits suicide in court by swallowing poison.

Posted on November 29, 2017 by bill

Condamné par le Tribunal pour l’ex-Yougoslavie, un ancien chef militaire se suicide en avalant du poison La scène, filmée, a eu lieu quelques secondes après la confirmation de sa condamnation à 20 ans de prison. The scene was filmed seconds after … Continue reading →

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De Vinci painting: Salvatore Mundi: Doubt thrown on authenticity. C/F post on 15 Nov 2017.

Posted on November 24, 2017 by bill

Un Léonard de Vinci controversé aux enchères : “Ce qui cloche, c’est le majeur de la main droite du Christ”. The right hand of Christ is wrong and not typical of De Vinci. La vente aux enchères mercredi à New … Continue reading →

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Endangered animal species in France.

Posted on November 23, 2017 by bill

EN IMAGES. Visons, lapins de garenne, chauves-souris… Ces espèces menacées en France. Rabbits, bats…Among the species at risk in France. L’Union internationale pour la conservation de la nature (UICN) publie sa liste rouge des espèces menacées ou quasi menacées dans … Continue reading →

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Property tax in France: new rules on payment by 2020.

Posted on November 21, 2017 by bill

CARTE. Taxe d’habitation : combien d’habitants seront exonérés dans votre commune en 2020 ? La suppression de la taxe d’habitation pour 80 % des foyers fiscaux français va créer un manque à gagner de plus de neuf milliards et demi … Continue reading →

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Extra-stellar asteroid shows up in space.

Posted on November 21, 2017 by bill

Ce que l’on sait d’Oumuamua, l’astéroïde provenant d’un autre système solaire. Known as Oumuamua, this asteroid came from another solar system. Cette observation sans précédent a été confirmée lundi par des astronomes. Elle ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre sur la formation d’autres mondes stellaires dans … Continue reading →

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