#Fleur Robinson

[justforbooks]

Fleur Adcock

One of the leading New Zealand and British poets of her generation who was fascinated by the past and ancestral voices

Fleur Adcock, who has died aged 90, was one of the best loved and most esteemed poets in Britain and New Zealand. The full span of her work from 1960 until 2024 was published earlier this year in a 600-page volume of collected poems to coincide with her 90th birthday. She also translated Latin and Romanian verse, and edited The Oxford Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry (1982) and The Faber Book of Twentieth Century Women’s Poetry (1987).

Fleur’s deceptively relaxed conversational style is often barbed with an oblique take on reality. As the poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy said: “The sharper edge of her talent is encountered like a razor blade in a peach.”

Her poetry deals with life’s surprises and oddities, the unexpected or unexplained that can cut the ground from beneath your feet. Take the conceit of Regression, a poem from 1967: “All the flowers have gone back into the ground.” What appears familiar and recognisable becomes uncannily different as in dreams or nightmares.

In the same way Fleur probes the everyday with psychological accuracy. This appears in even her most tender poems, such as On a Son Returned to New Zealand (1971), about her first-born son, on his way home to his father: full of motherly pride in the first two lines – “He is my green branch growing in a green plantation. / He is my first invention” – she acknowledges the pain of parting with the wry comment, “No one can be in two places at once”.

Yet she is equally adept at melodrama: the awful realisation of the mistakes one has made, that haunt us in the middle of the night, occurs in Things (1979) when, at 5am: “All the worse things come stalking in / and stand icily about the bed looking worse and worse and worse”.

Fleur not only wrote about children, lovers, family relations, and increasingly, as she got older, her ancestors, but her world of affections, as the Australian poet Peter Porter called it, extends to animals both mythical and real, insects and creatures. In her precise observation, even the most insignificant or repellent win her admiration.

Slugs coupling “glide about, / silently undulating: two / slugs in a circle, tail to snout” and she exults at their climax: “they’ve dressed themselves in a cloud of foam, / a frothy veil for love-in-a-mist”.

In the groundswell of women’s poetry of the 1980s, Fleur – one of the few female poets to have joined Edward Lucie-Smith’s circle, the Group, in 1963 – became a voice to be listened to. She was an influence on a younger generation of poets that included Duffy, Carol Rumens, Vicki Feaver and Jo Shapcott, especially in writing about subjects such as smoking, celibacy, old age, masturbation, illness and bereavement, and thus opening up new topics for poetry.

There were some risqué tongue-in-cheek poems acclaiming the solo woman, like Smokers for Celibacy (1991), which concludes “Altogether, we’ve come to the conclusion that sex is a drag. / Just give us a fag”. Others celebrate women as superstars, fantastic figures of legend, elevated stratospherically, such as The Ex-Queen Among the Astronomers (1979), whose “hair / crackles, her eyes are comet-sparks” and who “brings the distant briefly close /above his dreamy abstract stare”.

Fleur was born in Papakura, in New Zealand’s North Island, to Cyril Adcock (who published as CJ Adcock), a teacher, and Irene (nee Robinson), a music teacher and writer. Fleur’s sister, Marilyn (later the acclaimed novelist Marilyn Duckworth), was born the following year.

In 1939 the family travelled to Britain so that Cyril could study for a doctorate in psychology at Birkbeck College, London, with war breaking out while the move was in progress. The sisters were evacuated, first to Grange Farm in Leicestershire – but other moves followed and Fleur counted 11 schools in seven and a half years.

Upon the family’s return to New Zealand, she studied classics at Wellington girls’ college and Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. In 1952 she married the poet Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, and they had two sons, Gregory and Andrew. They divorced in 1958; a second marriage of five months followed in 1962, to the writer Barry Crump, before Fleur departed for Britain in 1963.

She had already written most of her first collection, The Eye of the Hurricane (1964), which was published in New Zealand: many of these poems are placeless, reflecting her passion for the English landscape and inability to engage with the natural world of her native country.

When settings appear, as in her next volume, Tigers (1967), published in the UK, there is a sting. Stewart Island (1971) begins: “‘But look at all this beauty,’ / said the hotel manager’s wife”. It concludes with the image of a seagull descending with jabbing beak, and her comment, “I had already / decided to leave the country.”

Although Fleur’s work fitted into the mainstream of postwar British poetry despite its outsider interrogations, she carried out her personal explorations with the zeal of a newcomer. She developed a passion for places and journeys: the landscapes of Northern Ireland introduced her to her maternal roots, and made her aware of the ethnic complexity of her New Zealand identity; she fell in love with the Lake District, discovering Dorothy Wordsworth’s journals, as Arts Council creative writing fellow at Charlotte Mason College of Education in Ambleside (1977-78) , and then with the north of England, as Northern Arts literary fellow at the Universities of Newcastle and Durham.

Well established by then, and familiar to many as a poetry commentator for the BBC, she resigned in 1979 from her position at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office library to become a full-time writer. Later she supported herself when necessary by tutoring for the creative writing organisation Arvon.

After the publication of Poems 1960-2000 (2000), Fleur stopped writing for a decade. But then a late flowering occurred, with five new volumes, enough to double her previous output, as she became, in her words, “embarrassingly prolific”.

A strong motivating factor was her fascination with the past and ancestral voices; this was tied up with her reconciliation with New Zealand, a reunion effected over decades by constant travel back and forth, but now more intensely focused on the early years, her parents and their colonial origins.

It was a sideways glance at her country of origin, fuelled by her curiosity about places and her unceasing search for connectivity, an elliptical rather than a full circle. Poems in The Land Ballot (2015) and Hoard (2017) record excursions and road trips: titles include Kuaotunu, Rangiwahia, Drury, Pakiri, Ruakaka, Alfriston, Helensville and Raglan. Reviving memories, they fill in those gaps invisible in the earlier work that had shaped her poetic signature.

They also completed Fleur’s voyage of discovery within the frameworks of her immediate past, the genealogical past and the deeper past of New Zealand’s colonial history.

Among many honours Fleur was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Poetry in 2006 and the New Zealand Prime Minister’s award for literary achievement in poetry, 2019.

She is survived by her sons, Gregory and Andrew, six grandchildren, Oliver, Lilian, Julia, Ella, Cait and Rosa, and seven great-grandchildren, Charlie, Ash, Seth, Alexandra, Jean, Ella and Mira Fleur, and by her sister, Marilyn.

🔔 Fleur Adcock, poet, born 10 February 1934; died 10 October 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[wankerwatch]

Commons Vote

On: Passenger Railway Services Bill (Public Ownership) Bill: Committee: Amendment 14

Ayes: 111 (95.5% Con, 4.5% DUP) Noes: 362 (97.0% Lab, 2.5% Ind, 0.6% SDLP) Absent: ~177

Day's business papers: 2024-9-3

Likely Referenced Bill: Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill

Description: A Bill to make provision for passenger railway services to be provided by public sector companies instead of by means of franchises.

Originating house: Commons Current house: Commons Bill Stage: 3rd reading

Individual Votes:

Ayes

Conservative (106 votes)

Alan Mak Alberto Costa Alex Burghart Alicia Kearns Alison Griffiths Andrew Bowie Andrew Murrison Andrew Rosindell Andrew Snowden Aphra Brandreth Ashley Fox Ben Obese-Jecty Ben Spencer Bernard Jenkin Blake Stephenson Bob Blackman Bradley Thomas Caroline Dinenage Caroline Johnson Charlie Dewhirst Chris Philp Claire Coutinho Damian Hinds Danny Kruger David Davis David Mundell David Reed David Simmonds Desmond Swayne Edward Argar Edward Leigh Gagan Mohindra Gareth Bacon Gareth Davies Gavin Williamson Geoffrey Cox George Freeman Greg Smith Gregory Stafford Harriet Cross Harriett Baldwin Helen Whately Iain Duncan Smith Jack Rankin James Cartlidge James Cleverly James Wild Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Wright Jerome Mayhew Jesse Norman Joe Robertson John Cooper John Glen John Hayes John Lamont John Whittingdale Joy Morrissey Julia Lopez Julian Lewis Karen Bradley Katie Lam Kemi Badenoch Kevin Hollinrake Kieran Mullan Kit Malthouse Laura Trott Lewis Cocking Lincoln Jopp Louie French Mark Francois Mark Garnier Mark Pritchard Martin Vickers Matt Vickers Mel Stride Mike Wood Mims Davies Neil Hudson Neil O'Brien Neil Shastri-Hurst Nick Timothy Nigel Huddleston Oliver Dowden Patrick Spencer Peter Bedford Peter Fortune Priti Patel Rebecca Harris Rebecca Paul Rebecca Smith Richard Fuller Richard Holden Robbie Moore Robert Jenrick Saqib Bhatti Sarah Bool Shivani Raja Simon Hoare Steve Barclay Stuart Anderson Stuart Andrew Suella Braverman Tom Tugendhat Victoria Atkins Wendy Morton

Democratic Unionist Party (5 votes)

Carla Lockhart Gavin Robinson Gregory Campbell Jim Shannon Sammy Wilson

Noes

Labour (351 votes)

Abena Oppong-Asare Abtisam Mohamed Adam Jogee Adam Thompson Afzal Khan Al Carns Alan Campbell Alan Gemmell Alan Strickland Alex Baker Alex Ballinger Alex Barros-Curtis Alex Davies-Jones Alex Mayer Alex McIntyre Alex Norris Alex Sobel Alice Macdonald Alison Hume Alison McGovern Alistair Strathern Allison Gardner Amanda Hack Amanda Martin Andrew Cooper Andrew Gwynne Andrew Lewin Andrew Pakes Andrew Ranger Andrew Western Andy MacNae Andy McDonald Andy Slaughter Angela Eagle Anna Dixon Anna Gelderd Anna McMorrin Anna Turley Anneliese Dodds Anneliese Midgley Antonia Bance Ashley Dalton Baggy Shanker Bambos Charalambous Barry Gardiner Bayo Alaba Beccy Cooper Becky Gittins Ben Coleman Ben Goldsborough Bill Esterson Blair McDougall Brian Leishman Callum Anderson Calvin Bailey Carolyn Harris Cat Smith Catherine Atkinson Catherine Fookes Catherine McKinnell Catherine West Charlotte Nichols Chi Onwurah Chris Bloore Chris Curtis Chris Elmore Chris Evans Chris Hinchliff Chris Kane Chris McDonald Chris Murray Chris Vince Chris Ward Chris Webb Christian Wakeford Claire Hazelgrove Claire Hughes Clive Betts Clive Efford Clive Lewis Connor Naismith Connor Rand Damien Egan Dan Aldridge Dan Carden Dan Jarvis Dan Norris Dan Tomlinson Daniel Francis Danny Beales Darren Paffey Dave Robertson David Burton-Sampson David Pinto-Duschinsky David Smith David Taylor Dawn Butler Debbie Abrahams Deirdre Costigan Derek Twigg Diana Johnson Douglas Alexander Douglas McAllister Elaine Stewart Ellie Reeves Elsie Blundell Emily Darlington Emily Thornberry Emma Foody Emma Lewell-Buck Euan Stainbank Fabian Hamilton Fleur Anderson Florence Eshalomi Frank McNally Gareth Snell Gareth Thomas Gen Kitchen Gerald Jones Gill Furniss Gill German Gordon McKee Graeme Downie Graham Stringer Grahame Morris Gregor Poynton Gurinder Singh Josan Harpreet Uppal Heidi Alexander Helen Hayes Helena Dollimore Henry Tufnell Ian Lavery Ian Murray Imogen Walker Irene Campbell Jack Abbott Jacob Collier Jade Botterill Jake Richards James Asser James Frith James Naish Janet Daby Jayne Kirkham Jeevun Sandher Jeff Smith Jen Craft Jenny Riddell-Carpenter Jess Asato Jess Phillips Jessica Morden Jessica Toale Jim Dickson Jim McMahon Jo Platt Jo Stevens Jo White Joani Reid Jodie Gosling Joe Morris Joe Powell Johanna Baxter John Grady John Healey John Slinger John Whitby Jon Pearce Jon Trickett Jonathan Brash Jonathan Davies Jonathan Hinder Josh Dean Josh Fenton-Glynn Josh MacAlister Josh Newbury Julia Buckley Julie Minns Juliet Campbell Justin Madders Karin Smyth Karl Turner Kate Osamor Kate Osborne Katie White Katrina Murray Keir Mather Kerry McCarthy Kevin Bonavia Kim Johnson Kim Leadbeater Kirith Entwistle Kirsteen Sullivan Kirsty McNeill Laura Kyrke-Smith Lauren Edwards Lauren Sullivan Laurence Turner Lee Barron Lee Pitcher Leigh Ingham Lewis Atkinson Liam Byrne Liam Conlon Lilian Greenwood Lillian Jones Linsey Farnsworth Liz Kendall Liz Twist Lizzi Collinge Lloyd Hatton Lola McEvoy Louise Haigh Louise Jones Lucy Powell Lucy Rigby Luke Akehurst Luke Charters Luke Murphy Luke Myer Margaret Mullane Marie Tidball Mark Ferguson Mark Hendrick Mark Sewards Mark Tami Markus Campbell-Savours Marsha De Cordova Martin Rhodes Mary Glindon Mary Kelly Foy Matt Bishop Matt Rodda Matt Turmaine Matt Western Matthew Patrick Matthew Pennycook Maureen Burke Meg Hillier Melanie Onn Melanie Ward Miatta Fahnbulleh Michael Payne Michael Shanks Michael Wheeler Michelle Scrogham Michelle Welsh Mike Amesbury Mike Kane Mike Reader Mike Tapp Mohammad Yasin Nadia Whittome Natalie Fleet Natasha Irons Naushabah Khan Navendu Mishra Neil Coyle Neil Duncan-Jordan Nesil Caliskan Nia Griffith Nicholas Dakin Nick Smith Nick Thomas-Symonds Noah Law Oliver Ryan Olivia Bailey Olivia Blake Pam Cox Pamela Nash Pat McFadden Patricia Ferguson Patrick Hurley Paul Davies Paul Foster Paul Waugh Paula Barker Paulette Hamilton Perran Moon Peter Dowd Peter Kyle Peter Lamb Peter Swallow Phil Brickell Polly Billington Preet Kaur Gill Rachael Maskell Rachel Blake Rachel Hopkins Rachel Taylor Richard Baker Richard Quigley Rosie Duffield

Rupa Huq Ruth Cadbury Ruth Jones Sadik Al-Hassan Sally Jameson Sam Carling Sam Rushworth Samantha Dixon Samantha Niblett Sarah Champion Sarah Coombes Sarah Edwards Sarah Hall Sarah Jones Sarah Owen Sarah Sackman Satvir Kaur Scott Arthur Sean Woodcock Seema Malhotra Sharon Hodgson Shaun Davies Simon Lightwood Simon Opher Siobhain McDonagh Sojan Joseph Sonia Kumar Stella Creasy Stephanie Peacock Stephen Kinnock Stephen Timms Steve Race Steve Witherden Steve Yemm Sureena Brackenridge Tahir Ali Taiwo Owatemi Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Tim Roca Toby Perkins Tom Collins Tom Hayes Tom Rutland Tonia Antoniazzi Tony Vaughan Torcuil Crichton Torsten Bell Tracy Gilbert Tristan Osborne Uma Kumaran Valerie Vaz Vicky Foxcroft Warinder Juss Wes Streeting Will Stone Yasmin Qureshi Yuan Yang Zubir Ahmed

Independent (9 votes)

Apsana Begum Ayoub Khan Imran Hussain Jeremy Corbyn John McDonnell Rebecca Long Bailey Richard Burgon Shockat Adam Zarah Sultana

Social Democratic & Labour Party (2 votes)

Claire Hanna Colum Eastwood

[hatchetburiied]

FLEUR LA VIE TROUPE

In short, they're basically a traveling group of quincies during the time of Yhwach's rise to power in the Wandenreich/Europe founded by Florence Wheth (A Gemischt quincy) and the proper name of it is Fleur La Vie troupe [Flower of Life Troupe]. They usually performed very anti-wandenreich/anti-yhwach music but it wasn't the forefront of their music. [They normally performed Bluegrass/Country type of music (As well as Folk)!] They weren't just a performance troupe but they were also a form of a traveling speakeasy so to speak, various members would perform music while others would serve food and drinks to entertain their patrons. This was their way of earning money to survive and with how charismatic their front lady was….it was pretty easy. They were all basically wiped out (save for a few members) due to how blatant their propaganda was against Yhwach's rule- their music still lives on to this day even if few people remember the origins of the songs.

The Members so far are:

Florence Wheth [Founder]

Sabirah Wheth

James 'Jay' Darcy

Gale March, Lenore Lee (rebellenlied)

Nova & Tamara Buckley (they belong to magiclcss)

Noah Gringoire

Rose Homna, Leanne Robinson (Hxbiris)

[aureliushq]

hello, tags ! we are a hybrid tumblr / discord semi-appless canon and original character roleplay group set in a modern day alternate universe in the wizarding world ! we have a lovely group of very dedicated players, and we would love to welcome some new members into our aurelius family !

below the cut, you'll find our most wanted characters ( but feel free to join with whoever you're drawn to, we will happily welcome you with open arms! )

fleur delacour (we have gabrielle! who is emily alyn lind fc, feel free to use any suitable fc for her sister)

younger twin potter brothers! (we have harry (maxence danet-fauvel fc), the middle child scarlet (ella purnell fc) and oli potter who is our youngest and is a twin, so we’d love his twin to come in!!! fc is felix mallard)

percy weasley (we have fred & george (josha stradowski fcs), ron (cameron monaghan fc), and ginny (abigail cowen fc), we’d love a percy! suggested fcs: harris dickinson, nick robinson, joe alwyn, louis hofmann, george mackay, callum turner, any suitable fc!)

dennis creevey (we have colin, fc must be suitable to be brothers with henrik holm fc)

parvati patil (we have padma!!! must be simone ashley fc)

dean thomas (we have harry, ron, seamus, and almost neville — we’d love to complete our gryffindorm squad!)

children of gideon or fabian prewett (we have most of the weasley kids so we’d love to bring in some cousins for them!)

child (or children) of remus lupin (we have children of james, peter and, remus, and we’d love more marauder squad children!!!)

child of regulus black (this would be very fun and spicy, esp since we are also looking for a child of sirius, so they’d be cousins!)

borgin child (we have a burke, now we need a borgin! see more info here)

astoria greengrass

daphne greengrass

theodore nott

millicent bulstrode

marcus flint

rolf scamander 

cho chang (change/alter name if taking)

[visitaurelius]

AURELIUSHQ is an established  alternate  universe  golden  trio  rp  set  in  a  wizarding  world  where  hogwarts & voldemort  never  existed  with  plenty  of  wanted  connections  and  canons  /  semi-canons  available  !! anti - jkr. open since DEC. 1ST 2022. we are currently going through a mini revamp + time jump, and would love new members to join us in the excitement! we have a lovely group of dedicated players, and we are very welcoming and would love to bring more active, committed players into the group !

below are our most wanted canons / semi-canons + connections:

fleur delacour (we have gabrielle! who is emily alyn lind fc, feel free to use any suitable fc for her sister)

younger twin potter brothers! (we have harry (maxence danet-fauvel fc), the middle child scarlet (ella purnell fc) and oli potter who is our youngest and is a twin, so we’d love his twin to come in!!! fc is felix mallard)

percy weasley (we have fred & george (josha stradowski fcs), ron (cameron monaghan fc), and ginny (abigail cowen fc), we’d love a percy! suggested fcs: harris dickinson, nick robinson, joe alwyn, louis hofmann, george mackay, callum turner, any suitable fc!)

dennis creevey (we have colin, fc must be suitable to be brothers with henrik holm fc)

parvati patil (we have padma, and we'd love parvati!!! must be simone ashley fc)

dean thomas (we have harry, ron, seamus, and almost neville — we’d love to complete our gryffindorm squad!)

children of gideon or fabian prewett (we have most of the weasley kids so we’d love to bring in some cousins for them!)

child of regulus black (we have the child of sirius, so we'd love a cousin for them! must be at least half korean, as the child of sirius black is a han sohee fc)

astoria greengrass

daphne greengrass

theodore nott

millicent bulstrode

marcus flint

rolf scamander 

cho chang (change/alter name if taking)

[sweetbunpura]

Obsidian Woodsdale

I didn't like how I did one of my OC's, so i did a total redesign on him.

Formally Night Alexander, now Obsidian Woodsdale!

Based on:

Queen Narissa

VA: 

Zeno Robinson (Fogado from Fire Emblem Engage)

Other Names:

Seadragon-san - Floyd 

Monsieur Chaos - Rook

Ozzy - by anyone who wants to call him that

Obi - Cater and only Cater

Species:

Human/Fae

Gender:

Male

Age:

18

Birthday:

11/21

Height:

180m - 5’11

Eye Color:

Pink

Hair Color:

Purple

Homeland:

Fleur City

Background:

Born as the 5th kid in a family of 10, Obsidian is the middle child and the 3rd son. Instead of going to Noble Bell, he beelines for NRC stating that it looked like it would be a better experience than NBC. Outside of the frequent overblots, he’s having a great time. He also streams in his offtime. 

Personality:

Obsidian is a pretty chill guy and spends most of his time either streaming or in the gardens. Very sociable, can be seen spending time with the light music club members.

Dorm:

Diasomina

School year:

3rd

Class:

3-C, Student no. 3

Occupation:

Student

Club:

Mountain Lovers Club

Best Subject:

Ancient Magic

Dominant Hand:

Left

Favorite Food:

Flan

Least Favorite Food:

Peppers

Dislikes:

Lilia’s cookings

Heights

Hobbies:

Streaming

Photography

Gardening

Playing his saxophone

Talents:

Gardening

Unique Magic: 

Chaos, Chaos - Causes anyone he casts it on to start causing chaos and mayhem, can infect multiple people with it.

Friends & Acquaintances: 

Cater Diamond - Boyfriend 

Jade Leech

Silver

Malleus Draconia

Lilia Vanrogue

Sebek Zigvolt

Kalim Al-asim

Rook Hunt

[odnagnisul]

100 livres à avoir lu dans sa vie (entre autres):

1984, George Orwell ✅

A la croisée des mondes, Philip Pullman

Agnès Grey, Agnès Bronte ✅

Alice au Pays des merveilles, Lewis Carroll ✅

Angélique marquise des anges, Anne Golon

Anna Karenine, Léon Tolstoï

A Rebours, Joris-Karl Huysmans

Au bonheur des dames, Émile Zola

Avec vue sur l'Arno, E.M Forster

Autant en emporte le vent, Margaret Mitchell

Barry Lyndon, William Makepeace Thackeray

Belle du Seigneur, Albert Cohen

Blonde, Joyce Carol Oates

Bonjour tristesse, Françoise Sagan ✅

Cent ans de solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Charlie et la chocolaterie, Roald Dahl ✅

Chéri, Colette

Crime et Châtiment, Féodor Dostoïevski

De grandes espérances, Charles Dickens

Des fleurs pour Algernon, Daniel Keyes

Des souris et des hommes, John Steinbeck ✅

Dix petits nègres, Agatha Christie ✅

Docteur Jekyll et Mister Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson ✅

Don Quichotte, Miguel Cervantés

Dracula, Bram Stocker ✅

Du côté de chez Swann, Marcel Proust

Dune, Frank Herbert ✅

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury ✅

Fondation, Isaac Asimov

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley ✅

Gatsby le magnifique, Francis Scott Fitzgerald ✅

Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers, J.K Rowling

Home, Toni Morrison

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

Kafka sur le rivage, Haruki Murakami

L'adieu aux armes, Ernest Hemingway ✅

L'affaire Jane Eyre, Jasper Fforde

L'appel de la forêt, Jack London ✅

L'attrape-cœur, J. D. Salinger ✅

L'écume des jours, Boris Vian

L'étranger, Albert Camus ✅

L'insoutenable légèreté de l'être, Milan Kundera

La condition humaine, André Malraux

La dame aux camélias, Alexandre Dumas Fils

La dame en blanc, Wilkie Collins

La gloire de mon père, Marcel Pagnol

La ligne verte, Stephen King ✅

La nuit des temps, René Barjavel

La Princesse de Clèves, Mme de La Fayette ✅

La Route, Cormac McCarthy ✅

Le chien des Baskerville, Arthur Conan Doyle

Le cœur cousu, Carole Martinez

Le comte de Monte-Cristo, Alexandre Dumas : tome 1 et 2

Le dernier jour d'un condamné, Victor Hugo ✅

Le fantôme de l'opéra, Gaston Leroux

Le lièvre de Vaatanen, Arto Paasilinna

Le maître et Marguerite, Mikhaïl Boulgakov

Le meilleur des mondes, Aldous Huxley

Le nom de la rose, Umberto Eco

Le parfum, Patrick Süskind

Le portrait de Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde ✅

Le Petit Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery ✅

Le père Goriot, Honoré de Balzac ✅

Le prophète, Khalil Gibran ✅

Le rapport de Brodeck, Philippe Claudel

Le rouge et le noir, Stendhal ✅

Le Seigneur des anneaux, J.R Tolkien ✅

Le temps de l'innocence, Edith Wharton

Le vieux qui lisait des romans d'amour, Luis Sepulveda ✅

Les Chroniques de Narnia, CS Lewis

Les Hauts de Hurle-Vent, Emily Brontë

Les liaisons dangereuses, Choderlos de Laclos ✅

Les Malaussène, Daniel Pennac ✅

Les mémoires d'une jeune fille rangée, Simone de

Beauvoir

Les mystères d'Udolfo, Ann Radcliff

Les piliers de la Terre, Ken Follett : tome 1

Les quatre filles du Docteur March, Louisa May

Alcott

Les racines du ciel, Romain Gary

Lettre d'une inconnue, Stefan Zweig ✅

Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert ✅

Millenium, Larson Stieg ✅

Miss Charity, Marie-Aude Murail

Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf

Ne tirez pas sur l'oiseau moqueur, Harper Lee ✅

Nord et Sud, Elisabeth Gaskell

Orgueil et Préjugés, Jane Austen

Pastorale américaine, Philip Roth

Peter Pan, James Matthew Barrie

Pilgrim, Timothy Findley

Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier

Robinson Crusoé, Daniel Defoe ✅

Rouge Brésil, Jean Christophe Ruffin

Sa majesté des mouches, William Goldwin ✅

Tess d'Uberville, Thomas Hardy

Tous les matins du monde, Pascal Quignard

Un roi sans divertissement, Jean Giono

Une prière pour Owen, John Irving

Une Vie, Guy de Maupassant

Vent d'est, vent d'ouest, Pearl Buck

Voyage au bout de la nuit, Louis-Ferdinand Céline ✅

Total : 37/100

[ellednorih]

Ce sont des robinsons malades : il leur faut piétiner le bleu. Des plages n’y suffisent pas, ni de longues stations dans les ports, accoudés au parapet de pierre, ni leurs collections d’images peintes, leurs croix de fer forgé, leurs idoles de plastique ou de bois peint, leurs carnavals et leurs cortèges commémoratifs. Il leur faut encore des mots insolvables et des figures de rhétorique, des phrases où la pensée flotte dans des habits trop grands, des fleurs en bouquets ou en pots, des symboles, des rites et des systèmes, toutes sortes de machines fabriquant des éclairs et de la fumée, de grandioses mises en scènes de Naissances et d’Apocalypses. Prêter à leur âme des contours, la mettre en boîte, et s’enfermer avec elle dans ce sépulcre, le dos tourné au bleu du ciel.

Jean-Michel Maulpoix, Une histoire de bleu (1992)

[kenovele]

Bog’s blog week 1

Yaaay premier blog d’une longue série. Enfin, c’est le plan… Voilà une grosse semaine que nous avons fait nos aurevoires à nos chères et tendres liègeois(es) et il est temps de vous donner une petite update. Une chose est sûre, le départ a été déchirant. Le concept du départ implique toujours les gens qui partent et ceux qui restent. Ceux qui partent doivent reconstruire leurs fondations sans leurs racines et ceux qui restent ont un grand vide à combler. Ces deux groupes se différencient car l’un amorce le changement, l’autre le subit. Je suis sincèrement désolé qu’on ait eu à vous laisser derrière mes lecteurs adorés. On vous aurait tous pris avec si ça ne tenait qu’à nous. J’espère que quand le deuil de nos vies ensemble sera consommé, on pourra s’atteler à faire de nos retrouvailles une réalité.

Le voyage s’est passé sans trop de problème. Il a eu son lot de stress et de bonnes surprises. Par exemple, le bus qui nous amenait de Bruxelles jusqu’à Frankfurt nous a déposé directement à l’aéroport. Nous avons également été accueilli par la famille Robinson à 3 heure du matin à l’aéroport d’Auckland avec un magnifique Bouquet de fleur pour Kate.
   
Les premiers jours dans notre nouvelle vie avec Kate ont été intense émotionnellement. Ils le sont toujours après un grand changement, même si c’est ma cinquième traversée. Comme ils disent dans « bienvenu chez les Chti » : Un étranger pleure deux fois, quand il arrive et quand il part. 

Les difficultés viennent de différents angles : 

- Fatigue liée au décalage horaire.

- Manque d’activité physique.

- Besoin de trouver sa place dans cette nouvelle dynamique, nouvelle communauté. 

- Vie sociale sérieusement amputée. 

- Absence de plan court, moyen terme pour lesquels se réjouir. 

- Organisation des choses basiques pour se sentir chez soi. 


Nous avions connaissance des challenges à venir et on essaie de mettre tout en place pour avoir une transition aussi douce que possible. La stabilité est l’objectif principal.

 Pour la fatigue, le problème se résout de lui-même. L’alcool est à éviter. Pour l’instant je n’ai bu que 6 bières (et une coupe de champagne en arrivant… et quelques cocktails dans l’avion…). Je jure que je fais un effort. N’oubliez pas que c’est le début de l’été ici. 


Il y a un terrain de tennis à 3-4 km de chez Robinson. Le temps a été assez misérable depuis qu’on est arrivé. On était aussi fort occupé chaque soir. On a donc décidé qu’on allait s’organiser pour y aller à partir de la semaine prochaine. C’est la première fois qu’on fera un sport compétitif en couple. J’espère qu’on sera capable de laisser les « hard feelings » on the court. Je peux déjà vous dire que ça risque de chauffer. La suite au prochain épisode.  Nous sommes actuellement extrêmement rouillés. Il faudra quelques sessions avant qu’on puisse s’engager dans un affrontement. 
 L’escalade est sur pause pour l’instant étant donné que 90% de notre équipement est à Rotterdam et attend le feu vert pour naviguer jusqu’à nous. Dès qu’on a une occasion pour aller au nord d’Auckland, on s’arrêtera à une des deux salles de bloc qu’il y a up there. Malheureusement, elles sont trop loin pour être inclue dans notre routine.

 J’ai fait pas mal de recherche pour le Kitesurf. Encore une fois, les meilleurs spots sont au nord d’Auckland et y parvenir implique des heures de trafic horrible. Il y a deux options de notre côté d’Auckland. Soit à l’ouest à port waikato (où on surf normalement) mais le spot n’est pas idéal pour Kate qui débute. Soit à l’est, mais je n’y suis jamais allé. En fonction de la direction du vent et dès que les planètes s’alignent, nous ferons une sortie. 
 Pour ce qui est du surf, nous n’avons qu’une seule planche donc il faut que je passe quelques coups de téléphones à mes contacts (mes anciennes familles d’accueil) pour en récupérer une autre. Je garde un œil sur le forecast. 

 Kate a recommencé à travailler mardi, après seulement 2 jours back in NZ. Elle appréhendait un peu mais ça s’est très bien passé. Je pense que ça l’aide beaucoup pour se réintégrer. Le travail a beaucoup d’avantage quand tu veux bien les voir. Kate adore se relaxer quand le boulot est fait. Elle aime le contraste. Je la comprends, une vie sans contraste est fade. Je pense aussi que rester dynamique empêche la peur, l’incertitude et le doute de s’immiscer. Sa mauvaise toux va mieux mais elle aura duré 2 semaines. 
 De mon côté, L’idéal serait que je puisse bosser comme kiné asap. Malheureusement, je n’ai pas résolu ce problème en amont et je dois le prendre de front en aval. Je vais donc au boulot avec Kate pour être dans une ambiance studieuse pour avancer là-dessus. En parallèle, j’apprends l’informatique, Kate me forme pour faire son travail sur le terrain et je suis censé aller bosser avec Jamie la semaine prochaine. Donc je remets doucement mes pieds dans la vie active en variant les plaisirs pour préserver mon équilibre mental. It’s all about balance. 

Notre vie sociale n’est pas bien large atm. Elle comprend la famille et le travail (de Kate). Nous comptons bien l’agrandir en recontactant mes familles d’accueil, mes amis d’high school et en créant de nouvelles connaissances à travers nos activités. 
 On a fait « art night » mercredi dans l’atelier de Jamie et il a posté quelques photos sur instagram avec une invitation to « any artist to come around » pour la semaine d’après. Il a eu pas mal de réponses et je pense qu’on sera 4 de plus à la prochaine édition ! 
 J’espère également qu’avec l’été viendront les opportunités sociales. Top rock nous manque profondément mais sans regret. On a tiré le maximum de goûtes de ce fût qu’on a pu.   

 Depuis notre arrivé, nous avons organisé pas mal de chose pour faire de la NZ notre petit nid. La chambre de Kate a été complètement rangée et réarrangée pour devenir la chambre nuptiale qu’elle est aujourd’hui ;). 
 L’achat d’une petite voiture est en route. Kate l’a payé 8500 $ soit 5000 euros. On doit aller la chercher mardi. C’est une Nissan March de 2016 avec 60 000 km au compteur. Elle a un tout petit moteur et ça va faire du bien au portefeuille dans le contexte actuel. 
On discute beaucoup avec Jamie du projet de la tinyhouse v1. On veut commencer dès que possible. Pour l’instant le plan est de faire notre maison temporaire sur une remorque. Je vous tiens au courant lorsque les plans sont fixés. 
 Je suis allé au supermarché pour acheter un peu de nourriture. Cela passe aussi par-là, la sensation de se sentir chez soi. Food is important. C’est une façon facile de stabiliser ses émotions. Je suis donc allé acheter des Kumara, des garlics bread, des ginger beers, du chorizo (pour mes croques), … Tous ces petits produits néo-zélandais mettent du baume au cœur et ravivent de chouettes souvenirs. 

 Nous sommes partis au lac ce weekend. La météo était supposée être digne de nos pires journées belges. A savoir, une savante combinaison du froid, du vent et de la pluie. Il y avait des alertes météo sur toute la côte est. 
Mais de nulle part, après une aube orageuse, le temps s’est éclairci. Il y a eu des douches occasionnelles mais rien qui ne nous empêche de faire nos activités :

- Ski nautique

- Pasta making

- Bière sur la nouvelle terrasse 

- Reading 

- Dessin avec des pastels


On a fait une de nos spécialités camping samedi soir, à savoir, des pâtes pesto. Les Robinson ont adoré faire des pâtes fraîche. C’était surement la seule chose qui manquait à notre recette déjà bien rodée parce que c’était divin. On a également dégusté le plus délicieux des desserts : une poêlée d’essais couronnées par une victoire et un titre de champion du monde pour l’équipe féminine de Rugby (les black ferns). Toute la nation est derrière les filles actuellement parce qu’ils passent les matchs sur la chaine public et parce qu’il faut payer un prix exorbitant pour regarder les mecs sur les chaines privées. Leur match hier soir était un grand moment de sport. Le suspense a duré jusqu’à la dernière seconde. Je les remercie pour leur effort car elles m’ont permis de dormir d’un sommeil paisible.


En résumé, nous allons très bien mais la stabilité ��motionnelle qui mène à l’intégration et au bonheur prendra du temps. Je suis déterminé à le faire correctement pour pouvoir vous accueillir avec un sourire honnête et profond dès que possible ! 

[prose2passion]

love Leila Slimani.

Read and reviewed recently:

Dans le jardin:

as well as these two:

Read recently 📚

[kvb227-n11044144]

I was researching the abject art movement, and I again encountered Doreen Garner's work. I had seen some of her pieces in passing, but I had never properly investigated the artist, so it was interesting to go back in and research her work and motives for myself. I find the way that she forces people to view her work through the incredible detail she includes, while making them appear almost repulsive. I think this ties into my practice quite well. Garner creates art as a form of activism for black women, protesting against oppressors, while also making an effort to highlight and bring awareness to the atrocities of the past, allowing her work to declare that the past will no longer go unseen.

Doreen Garner, Rack of Those Ravaged and Unconsenting (detail), 2017, silicone, foam, glass beads, fiberglass, insulation, steel meat hooks, steel pins, pearls, 96 x 96 x 96″.

Image Source: https://www.artforum.com/events/doreen-garner-and-kenya-robinson-238364/

Another artist I found interesting was Andrej Zunka. His works are fascinating as they create a shift from the expected reality. One series that I found striking was The Fleur, which digitally manipulated real flower species to overstate the small features which make them unique. He created really fascinating concepts, and it's amazing to realise that the concepts very nearly exist in nature already. It highlights the beauty of biodiversity, and highlights what we stand to lose should we allow these species to die out.

Connexa Chamaemilla (Left) and "The Tulipa Nodatus" (Right), Digital Images, Andrej Zunka (2022)

Image Source: https://thursd.com/articles/ondrej-zunka-explores-human-dependency-on-plant-species-through-digital-botanicals

[thekitmanuk]

Wrexham AFC Extend Macron Kit Deal 2023-24

Non league football kit news as yesterday it was announced that Wrexham AFC and Macron have agreed a one year contract extension which will run until the end of the 2023-24 season. Wrexham AFC Extend Macron Kit Deal 2023-24 Macron became the Wrexham AFC kit supplier in 2016, and with the contract extension it will take the partnership into an eighth year. Wrexham AFC CEO Fleur Robinson said:…

[sims2snfkggh]

The Voetsol Legacy generation #4: The Robinson family (Luca, Cody and Lore)

The second Robinson-household of generation 4 includes Luca, Cody en Lore. When her kids were younger, Luca’s kids had a father - Maarten. It was so statisfying to see how sweet Maarten was with Cody, despite his temper. He often was impatient and even though Luca wanted to help him with that, she was too sweet and patient. Maarten knew exactly how to handle very tantrum Cody had. 

Short after Cody, Lore was born. She was a little shy girl that didn’t like to be put in the spotlight, but loved her brother. It rememinded Luca of herself when she was a kid. (Even though she’s super friendly, outgoing and spontanious.) Luca and Maarten would have loved to get more kids. Luca was so proud that she was the first of her siblings that had a kid: the first two kids of generation 5. And she wouldn’t have been more proud to raise them together with Maarten.

When they just fell in love, at first they didn’t think it was a big deal that Maarten was such a lot older than Luca. It’s the woman that has to carry the child, after all. If it had been to them, they would’ve had lots of more babies. But unfortunately Maarten’s left the earth a lot older than everyone would have thought.

Cody was so sad about it...

At this moment, almost 12 years later, both Cody and Lore are almost young adults. Lore’s social skills grew and she became an insider, but sometimes in a wrong way. With her dastartly mind, she lost the charming character she had as a toddler. As a kid and a teen, she had periods of sadness. Even though her mum started dating some guy again, she never wanted to have a ‘new dad’. And Luca, of course, accepted that.

Her one year older brother Cody stayed as hot-headed als he was as a toddler. Running became his angermanagement, which did worked out perfectly combined with his active personality. Getting along with other Sims wasn’t hard for him and he had many friends in high school. That been said: Cody was ready for adulthood.

That day Luca decided to throw a new year’s eve party, didn’t bother him at all. He wasn’t such a family-Sim as his mum, but was fine with it. There was booze, after all!

And Luca? She was happy with the fact she invited her father Tijmen, the last generation 3 Sim that alive, as well as her 2 brothers and 2 sisters with their spouses and kids. Also, she invited some second cousins. Because yea, she’s family oriënted after all, right?

Loek Robinson, an outgoing goofball who loves outdoors and aspires to be a friend of the world (just like Luca), is Tijmen’s oldest son. Next to him: his youngest brother Twan Robinson.

Twan remains the Benjamin of the family, so Loek often gives him parenting advice. However, there’s one big difference between their early youth: since Loek’s and Twan’s sons are born on the same day, Twan gives Loek some advice in return every now and then. 

Beside Loek, Luca and Twan there’s the twin: Fleur and Joy. Even though they’re both adults, they are the most irresponsible of Tijmen’s 6 kids. Fleur likes Sims and parties, and also likes games like ‘Don’t Wake The Llama!’. 

Bram finds the game very tensioning. It makes him squint.

And at the point all of the sticks collapses, everyone’s done with the game. Bram’s pissed off, and Fleur decides one thing: playing a game with a kid every now and then is one thing. But having kids of her own? Not her thing.

A good time to go home, maybe? Nah. If it’s up to Twan, he’d stay up all night! He’s still all so excided about this confetti they bought for new year’s eve. Tijmen finds it all quite cute.

But Fleur’s twin sister Joy? She’s a little less of a party animal today, it seems. (But above all: she’s just lazy.)

[visitaurelius]

AURELIUSHQ is an established  alternate  universe  golden  trio  rp  set  in  a  wizarding  world  where  hogwarts & voldemort  never  existed  with  plenty  of  wanted  connections  and  canons  /  semi-canons  available  !! anti - jkr. open since DEC. 1ST 2022. we are currently going through a mini revamp + time jump, and would love new members to join us in the excitement! we have a lovely group of dedicated players, and we are very welcoming and would love to bring more active, committed players into the group !

below are our most wanted canons / semi-canons + connections:

fleur delacour (we have gabrielle! who is emily alyn lind fc, feel free to use any suitable fc for her sister)

younger twin potter brothers! (we have harry (maxence danet-fauvel fc), the middle child scarlet (ella purnell fc) and oli potter who is our youngest and is a twin, so we’d love his twin to come in!!! fc is felix mallard)

percy weasley (we have fred & george (josha stradowski fcs), ron (cameron monaghan fc), and ginny (abigail cowen fc), we’d love a percy! suggested fcs: harris dickinson, nick robinson, joe alwyn, louis hofmann, george mackay, callum turner, any suitable fc!)

dennis creevey (we have colin, fc must be suitable to be brothers with henrik holm fc)

parvati patil (we have padma!!! must be simone ashley fc)

dean thomas (we have harry, ron, seamus, and almost neville — we’d love to complete our gryffindorm squad!)

children of gideon or fabian prewett (we have most of the weasley kids so we’d love to bring in some cousins for them!)

child (or children) of remus lupin (we have children of james, peter and, remus, and we’d love more marauder squad children!!!)

child of regulus black (this would be very fun and spicy, esp since we are also looking for a child of sirius, so they’d be cousins!)

borgin child (we have a burke, now we need a borgin! see more info here)

astoria greengrass

daphne greengrass

theodore nott

millicent bulstrode

marcus flint

rolf scamander 

cho chang (change/alter name if taking)

[therobinsonwayoflife]

‘Then, at nineteen, [Franny] moved to Rome, a period she describes in a characteristically distilled way: “I went out with some boys. I rode horses. A pleasant and at once meaningless existence.” ’

—The New Yorker

[fleurdeneuf]

A, Z, Y, J, O

A: Amelie Poulain

Z: EliZabeth MacMillan (that was all I got!)

Y: Ysabeau de Clermont (thanks for that one, @paigenotblank!)

J: Jack Robinson

O: Julia Ogden

a-z character meme