May 14, 2012
While their demise continues almost everywhere else in the western world Circuses still live on in France. Nowhere could this be more evident than in Strasbourg this week under the Big Top (“The Cathedral”) of the Cirque Arlette Gruss. Indeed, their giant installation sitting just adjacent to the N4, on the fringes of the Jardin des Deux Rives, is hard… Read more…
April 17, 2012
Thought I should do a quick plug for the show that is premièring at the Pré0 in Oberhausbergen this Friday. Entitled “Le Moche” (The Ugly One) it is the very first production by the recently formed Adrenaline Theatre Company. Directed by local comedy colossus Bruno Dreyfúrst it boasts a strong cast of local comic talent, perhaps most notably Aude Koegler… Read more…
March 26, 2012
Yesterday was the first time, in the six years that I have been living around the corner from Strasbourg’s Palais de la Musique, that I had the opportunity to attend a performance by the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Arguably it was possibly not the most ideal way to gauge the talents of the hundred or so musicians, that make up Strasbourg’s… Read more…
March 20, 2012
I have in my hand a piece of paper. An attestation. Again. My heart sinks just thinking about it, not just because we went through the same thing last year, but because this attestation, that is supposed to be the end of the story I know will be far from that. This piece of paper is just the latest shot… Read more…
February 15, 2012
Beef and Pork apparently – though exactly which bits remains a mystery. The Vienoise sausage on the other hand (or Wiener if you prefer) contains Veal and Pork – though exactly which bits also remains a mystery.
February 15, 2012
On the 7th of March 2011 URSSAF wrote to me to acknowledge that I had indeed overpaid them for my 2010 financial year (and last as a freelancer under the Benefice Non-Commercial BNC regime). Ten days later they sent me a statement that underlined the fact that approximately three thousand Euro that was sitting in the state coffers was actually… Read more…
January 4, 2012
A rather usual event is taking place this Friday (6th Jan) in Strasbourg and it is one that should interest all Anglophones in the Alsace-Baden region; because Inédit Théâtre will be presenting their first ever English Impro-comedy show at the Cammionneur. “On a naked stage, two (French) comedians and a musician, using suggestions from the audience, create scenes to entertain… Read more…
December 2, 2011
Last night I paid my first visit to Strasbourg’s home of contemporary theatre to see a French production of William Shakespeare’s classic tale of impossible love. The Théâtre Nationale de Strasbourg (TNS) is known locally for it’s commitment to producing high-quality modern theatre and this production, playing in the Bernard-Marie Koltès auditorium until the 10th of December, was no different…. Read more…
October 27, 2011
The recently published plans for Strasbourg’s Place du Chateau have caused some discontent among the locals. Set between the southern facade of the Cathedral and the main entrance to the Palais Rohan, the Place du Chateau occupies an area bigger than the Cathedral itself. Until recently this not insignificant public space was, unbelievably, a pay and display carpark; notable only… Read more…
October 10, 2011
Well, maybe, certainly if you are becoming an English teacher in France, which let’s face it is the default career for anglophone Expats in the Hexagon: Casier Judiciaire National This bit of paper tells your employer how many times you’ve been convicted of molesting a student. (Well, one assumes). It is issued by the Ministry of Justice and liberties and… Read more…
