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.

Why 14 July is celebrated as the national holiday in France.

Posted on July 14, 2019 by bill

franceinfo junior. Pourquoi le 14 juillet est-il la fête nationale en France ? Alors que les préparatifs pour le défilé touchent à leur fin, franceinfo junior se demande ce qu’est le 14-Juillet. Pour répondre à des questions d’enfants : Rémi Dalisson, … Continue reading →

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Trafficing in Art used to launder money.

Posted on July 12, 2019 by bill

“Il ne faut pas casser le commerce” : la laborieuse lutte contre le blanchiment d’argent sur le marché de l’art Dans son dernier rapport, Tracfin déplore le manque d’implication des professionnels du secteur dans la lutte contre le blanchiment d’argent. … Continue reading →

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Chest of drawers, that disappeared during the French Revolution, comes back again to Versailles.

Posted on July 12, 2019 by bill

Une commode disparue pendant la Révolution revient à Versailles Une commode du XVIIIe siècle vient d’être rachetée par le château de Versailles à un collectionneur américain, alors qu’elle avait disparu pendant la Révolution française. The piece of furniture from the XVIII … Continue reading →

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Caravagio found in Toulouse goes on display. (Judith and Holpherne.)

Posted on June 29, 2019 by bill

Le tableau du Caravage “Judith et Holopherne” aurait été acheté par un collectionneur américain. Was bought by an American collector. Le gestionnaire de fonds et collectionneur d’art américain Tomilson Hill serait le mystérieux acheteur de la toile.  Mis à jour le … Continue reading →

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French heatwave: Vehicle restrictions announced in cities. Apply for crit-air pollution sticker.

Posted on June 26, 2019 by bill

Pollution : Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg et Annecy mettent en place la circulation différenciée Cette mesure entrera en vigueur dès mercredi pour Paris, Lyon et Annecy et jeudi pour Strasbourg. This restriction will come into effect on Wednesday 26 June in … Continue reading →

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Angela Merkel becomes unwell during official ceremony.

Posted on June 19, 2019 by bill

Allemagne : Angela Merkel prise de tremblements au cours d’une cérémonie officielle La chancelière, qui aura 65 ans le mois prochain, avait déjà fait un malaise en décembre 2014. Elle avait subi une baisse de tension lors d’une interview sur la chaîne allemande … Continue reading →

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Mali; French helicopter damaged and three soldiers injured in offensive.

Posted on June 19, 2019 by bill

Mali : un hélicoptère de l’armée française endommagé, trois soldats blessés Les militaires ont été évacués en France par précaution, leurs jours ne sont pas danger, a annoncé lundi l’état-major des armées. Soldiers are not badly injured and were evacuated to … Continue reading →

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New cat/fox species?

Posted on June 15, 2019 by bill

Ce qu’il faut savoir du “chat-renard” recensé en Corse et présenté comme une nouvelle espèce. What to know of the “cat-fox” found in Corsica and presented as a new species. L’Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage … Continue reading →

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New Caledonia: Sharks slaughtered due attacks.

Posted on June 12, 2019 by bill

La Nouvelle-Calédonie va abattre des requins après deux attaques Une vingtaine de requins bouledogues, une espèce protégée, seront abattus prochainement après deux attaques, dont l’une mortelle. Twenty bulldog sharks, a protected species, were killed following two attacks, one of which was … Continue reading →

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Botswana decrimilises homo-sexuality

Posted on June 11, 2019 by bill

Le Botswana décriminalise l’homosexualité La Haute Cour du Botswana a décidé d’annuler l’interdiction de l’homosexualité en vigueur dans le pays depuis 1965. The High court has decided to to lift the prohibition on homosexuality in place in the country since … Continue reading →

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