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.

Attack in Paris today (Fri), Carrousel de la Louvre, halted by army vigilantés patrol.

Posted on February 3, 2017 by bill

Dernier (Latest) Sat 4 Feb. Attaque au Carrousel du Louvre : le pronostic vital de l’assaillant n’est plus engagé. Full details still to be revealed. L’homme avait été grièvement blessé par des tirs de ripostes des militaires après avoir attaqué … Continue reading →

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Storms and high tides hitting W and N/W coasts of France.

Posted on February 2, 2017 by bill

Quatre départements de l’ouest de la France placés en vigilance orange pour vents et vagues-submersion. Four departments in west of France have been put on Orange alert for high waves causing flooding. Les vents devraient être particulièrement violents vendredi, samedi … Continue reading →

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Etoile de Bessèges. Cycle racing begins in France for 2017. Results stages 1,2,3, GC after 5 stages.

Posted on February 1, 2017 by bill

Etoile de Bessèges The start of the first competitive bike racing for season 2017 will begin today Wednesday 01 February at Bellegarde. Five stages will challenge 188 riders on the route du Gard (Region 30, Capital Nimes, Languedoc-Roussillon), SE France, … Continue reading →

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Thief robs boulanger and flees with nothing.

Posted on January 28, 2017 by bill

Pyrénées-Atlantiques : le braqueur d’une boulangerie repart sans butin… et en s’excusant. But he does apologise! La tentative de braquage a eu lieu samedi matin à Oloron-Saint-Marie, dans les Pyrénées-Atlantiques. (region 64, SW France, capital Pau) Des baguettes de pain sur … Continue reading →

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French presidential Socialist primary, second round on Sunday. Benoît Hamon & Manuel Valls.

Posted on January 27, 2017 by bill

Primaire de la gauche : à trois jours du second tour, le match des meetings entre Benoît Hamon et Manuel Valls. Les deux finalistes de la primaire de la gauche ont rassemblé leurs partisans jeudi soir en région parisienne. Franceinfo … Continue reading →

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Heavy snow-fall in the Sahara, images of Algeria.

Posted on January 25, 2017 by bill

EN IMAGES. Il a (encore) neigé sur les dunes du Sahara. Two snow-falls one moth apart. Le sable a été recouvert de blanc dans le nord-ouest du Sahara algérien. The sand was covered in white in the Algerian NW Sahara. … Continue reading →

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Seven new mini-galaxy groups discovered.

Posted on January 23, 2017 by bill

Des scientifiques affirment avoir découvert sept groupes de petites galaxies Ces petites galaxies sont situées entre 200 000 000 et 650 000 000 d’années-lumière de la Terre. Leur existence pourrait expliquer comment se forment les galaxies plus grandes. These small galazies … Continue reading →

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Birth rate drops in France for second consecutive year.

Posted on January 17, 2017 by bill

Natalité en France : deuxième année de baisse consécutive Publié le mardi 17 janvier 2017 à 12h40 par France Inter Selon une étude de l’INSEE, la fécondité a de nouveau baissé en 2016, avec 1,93 enfant par femme. La France … Continue reading →

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Snow and ice hits throughout France. Elderly couple die in frozen lake in the Loire.

Posted on January 16, 2017 by bill

Intempéries : la neige s’installe dans le pays Dans la Loire, deux personnes ont perdu la vie dans un accident de voiture en raison du verglas. Ailleurs, la neige a provoqué des difficultés de circulation. Driving conditions difficult everywhere. FRANCE … Continue reading →

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Boeing 747 freighter crash into Kirghizstan village on approach to airport, at least 37 dead.

Posted on January 16, 2017 by bill

Kirghizstan : le crash d’un avion-cargo sur un village fait au moins 37 morts L’appareil s’est écrasé au petit matin sur des habitations près de l’aéroport de Bichkek. (Near it’s northern border with Kazachstan) Débris de l’avion-cargo turc qui s’est … Continue reading →

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