French National Anthem

~ joannerambling ~ 2 Comments

This week we are looking at the national anthem of France, which is “La Marseillaise”

It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Austria and was originally titled “Chant de guerre pour l’Armée du Rhin”, (“War Song for the Rhine Army”)

It was formally recognized as the French National Anthem in 1879, and it hasn’t been changed since.

The song has been a subject of debate since the start and has in fact been banned a number of times.

It was banned by Napoleon in 1804 till 1815

It was also banned in 1815 by King Louis XVIII, it was reinstated in 1830.

Only to be banned again during the rule of Napoleon III between 1852-1870 and reinstated again in 1879.

In 1887, an “official version” was adopted by France’s Ministry of War.

After WWII, the Ministry of Education encouraged school children to sing the anthem to “celebrate our liberation and our martyrs.”

It was declared the official national anthem in Article 2 of the 1946 and 1958 constitutions.

It is taught and sung in French schools. However, the song’s lyrics have been controversial, with some questioning whether it is appropriate to teach children the violent imagery in the song.

Here are the lyrics in French and English, which I found at ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/la-marseillaise-frances-national-anthem-4080565

FrenchEnglish Translation by Laura K. Lawless
Verse 1: Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L’étendard sanglant est levé ! (bis)
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes,
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras
Égorger nos fils, nos compagnes!		Verse 1: Let’s go children of the fatherland, The day of glory has arrived!
Against us tyranny’s
Bloody flag is raised! (repeat)
In the countryside, do you hear
The roaring of these fierce soldiers?
They come right to our arms
To slit the throats of our sons, our friends!
Refrain: Aux armes, citoyens !
Formez vos bataillons !
Marchons ! Marchons !
Qu’un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons !		Refrain: Grab your weapons, citizens!
Form your battalions!
Let us march! Let us march!
May impure blood
Water our fields!
Verse 2: Que veut cette horde d’esclaves,
De traîtres, de rois conjurés ?
Pour qui ces ignobles entraves,
Ces fers dès longtemps préparés ? (bis)
Français ! pour nous, ah ! quel outrage !
Quels transports il doit exciter !
C’est nous qu’on ose méditer
De rendre à l’antique esclavage !		Verse 2: This horde of slaves, traitors, plotting kings,
What do they want?
For whom these vile shackles,
These long-prepared irons? (repeat)
Frenchmen, for us, oh! what an insult!
What emotions that must excite!
It is us that they dare to consider
Returning to ancient slavery!
Verse 3: Quoi ! ces cohortes étrangères
Feraient la loi dans nos foyers !
Quoi ! ces phalanges mercenaires
Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers ! (bis)
Grand Dieu ! par des mains enchaînées
Nos fronts sous le joug se ploiraient !
De vils despotes deviendraient
Les maîtres de nos destinées !		Verse 3: What! These foreign troops
Would make laws in our home!
What! These mercenary phalanxes
Would bring down our proud warriors! (repeat)
Good Lord! By chained hands
Our brows would bend beneath the yoke!
Vile despots would become
The masters of our fate!
Verse 4: Tremblez, tyrans ! et vous, perfides,
L’opprobre de tous les partis,
Tremblez ! vos projets parricides
Vont enfin recevoir leur prix ! (bis)
Tout est soldat pour vous combattre,
S’ils tombent, nos jeunes héros,
La France en produit de nouveaux,
Contre vous tout prêts à se battre !		Verse 4: Tremble, tyrants! and you, traitors,
The disgrace of all groups,
Tremble! Your parricidal plans
Will finally pay the price! (repeat)
Everyone is a soldier to fight you,
If they fall, our young heros,
France will make more,
Ready to battle you!
Verse 5: Français, en guerriers magnanimes,
Portez ou retenez vos coups !
Épargnez ces tristes victimes,
A regret s’armant contre nous. (bis)
Mais ces despotes sanguinaires,
Mais ces complices de Bouillé,
Tous ces tigres qui, sans pitié,
Déchirent le sein de leur mère !		Verse 5: Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors,
Bear or hold back your blows!
Spare these sad victims,
Regretfully arming against us. (repeat)
But not these bloodthirsty despots,
But not these accomplices of Bouillé,
All of these animals who, without pity,
Tear their mother’s breast to pieces!
Verse 6: Amour sacré de la patrie,
Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs !
Liberté, Liberté chérie,
Combats avec tes défenseurs ! (bis)
Sous nos drapeaux, que la victoire
Accoure à tes mâles accents !
Que tes ennemis expirants
Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire !		Verse 6: Sacred love of France,
Lead, support our avenging arms!
Liberty, beloved Liberty,
Fight with your defenders! (repeat)
Under our flags, let victory
Hasten to your manly tones!
May your dying enemies
See your triumph and our glory!
Verse 7: Nous entrerons dans la carrière
Quand nos aînés n’y seront plus ;
Nous y trouverons leur poussière
Et la trace de leurs vertus. (bis)
Bien moins jaloux de leur survivre
Que de partager leur cercueil,
Nous aurons le sublime orgueil
De les venger ou de les suivre !		Verse 7: We will enter the pit
When our elders are no longer there;
There, we will find their dust
And the traces of their virtues. (repeat)
Much less eager to outlive them
Than to share their casket,
We will have the sublime pride
Of avenging them or following them!

Bipolar Disorder

~ joannerambling ~ 9 Comments

 First off there is a new post over here:https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/01/its-hodgepodge-day.html

Now today’s post

Good morning, all this week we are having a brief look at bipolar disorder, a condition I expect most have heard of but how many know anything about it, I know bugga all.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration. It is also known as manic-depressive illness or manic depression. It usually requires lifelong treatment and does not go away on its own.

The exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown, but a combination of factors may contribute to its onset and how it progresses. 

These include genetics as it often runs in families, the way a person’s brain functions as well as its structure as people with the disorder may have a different structure to those without it. The chemicals in our brains are involved in psychiatric disorders as an abnormal functioning of brain circuits that involve serotonin may contribute to bipolar disorder.

Of course, drinking alcohol or using some recreational drugs are believed to increase your risk of developing bipolar disorder.

Then there are environmental factors meaning things that are considered an adverse or life-altering event, such as bereavement, violence, or the breakdown of a relationship, can trigger or exacerbate symptoms. 

The condition has many symptoms that include the following

  • Overwhelming sadness
  • Low energy and fatigue
  • Lack of motivation
  • Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness
  • Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
  • Uncontrollable crying
  • Thoughts of death or suicide

Treatment includes medication such as mood stabilising drugs, antipsychotic and antidepressant medications, psychological therapy and some lifestyle changes may be called for.

This is a condition that requires lifelong treatment and is complicated and often will involve many assessments sometimes with different doctors in order to be diagnosed. There are no blood tests that will diagnose it, nor is there any medical or brain scans that will make a diagnosis easy.

Hello 2025

~ joannerambling ~ 2 Comments

Hello 2025, I hope you are a good year and one that we create some good memories in as we travel through this journey called life.

Yes, it is a journey with many twists and turns, potholes and uneven roads often narrow with a long drop off one side and no guard rail to stop us falling off the edge.

The older we get the faster the years speed by and we need to concentrate on what lays ahead of us, only checking our review from time to time because only looking behind us means we are not seeing the wonderful things in front of us. So, as we enter 2025, lets notice the beauty in front of us because it’s there if only we choose to see it.

Happy New Year, may it be filled with love, understand, compassion and acceptance. 

Fennec Fox

~ joannerambling ~ 4 Comments

First up there is a new post  over here:

http://jamfn.blogspot.com/2024/12/goodbye-2024.html

Hi everyone, how many of you have heard of the fennec fox?

I had noy heard of it till I was researching foxes for these posts. 

The fennec fox is a small fox native to the deserts of North Africa, ranging from Western Sahara and Mauritania to the Sinai Peninsula. Its most distinctive feature is its unusually large ears, which serve to dissipate heat and listen for underground prey.

The fennec is the smallest fox species, standing about 20cms or 8 inches tall and weighing up to 1.3kgs or 3 pounds.

In the wild, fennec foxes eat insects—particularly grasshoppers and locusts—as well as small rodents, lizards, birds and their eggs. They will also consume roots, fruits and leaves, which help them to hydrate.

In captivity should consist of a mix of meat and vegetables, and include supplements to ensure they get enough taurine, they should be eating 90% meat and insects, such as waxworms, morioworms, locusts and such. The meat should be low in retinol (vitamin A) and contain enough calcium and taurine. 

The other 10% should be vegetables and fruit, such as diced melons, berries, and leafy greens. Avoid fruits and vegetables that are high in carbohydrates or belong to the nightshade family, such as tomatoes and aubergines.

They can live up to 14 years in captivity and about 10 years in the wild. 

They typically give birth to one litter of pups per year, with between two and five young in a litter.

The female does not allow the male to interact with the kits until they are 5 to 6 weeks old. Parent-raised offspring are weaned by 8 to 10 weeks of age. Carrying, grooming, and nursing of the young continue until this time. Wild fennec foxes stay with their family until they are at least 1 year old.

In general, male fennec foxes tend to be slightly larger and heavier than females.

The primary threat to fennec foxes is human interference. They are commonly trapped for exhibition or sale to tourists, and there have been limited instances of human settlements encroaching on fennec populations. Native populations in the Sahara region also hunt fennec foxes. They are preyed upon by the Pharaoh eagle-owl; both adults and pups may possibly fall prey to jackals and striped hyenas.

They are currently listed as a species of least concern, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. While there are no major threats to the desert-dwelling wild populations, habitat loss still occurs in their native range.

Countries and Continents

~ joannerambling ~ 4 Comments

Hi everyone before starting this year’s countries to learn about I thought we would star with some basic information most people may know but many will not.

Like there are seven continents on this planet, a continent is one of Earth’s seven main divisions of land. The continents are, from largest to smallest: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

According to the United Nations, there are 195 countries in the world, with 193 being part of the United Nations and two not being members, those two are the Holy See (Vatican City) and the State of Palestine.

However, other organizations may list a different number of countries. For example, the CIA lists 237 countries. Many other nations also consider themselves to be fully-fledged nations. 

There are 54 countries in Africa, 44 in Europe, 48 in Asia, 23 in North America, 12 in South America, 14 in Oceania including Australia which is also considered a continent on its own and then there is Antarctica which of course has no countries.

Now you may be like me and think Oceania what the hell I wasn’t taught about this continent, I thought Australia was the sixth continent.

Well for some reason, those wise folks in geography academia decided we needed another way to identify them. And now we have Oceania. Oceania covers the whole area: All of Australia, all of New Zealand, PLUS the myriad of islands in the region that were orphaned without a continent home.

Also, Oceania is not considered a continent if you are using a geographical definition of continent. However, when dividing the world into 7 regions the islands of the Pacific are usually grouped with Australia and called Oceania, and sometimes these regions are called continents even though this is not technically correct.

When you think about it that makes sense since generally most people would say there is only one country in the continent of Australia. However, some say differently listing the following countries as part of the continent, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua and New Guinea, Samoa, Solomons, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Australia is one country. There are no other sovereign nations in the Australian mainland.

I find all that confusing and now have a headache.

Week 52 of 2024

~ joannerambling ~ Leave a comment

I had a good night, up dressed and looking forward to the day. It is a nice 20 degrees and my BGL was 6.1

I haven’t felt like doing much today and do not feel like dealing with people.

Tim cooked a nice meal for our lunch.

Steps: 5,138

JONATHON’S BIRTHDAY

I had a good night, although when I got up at 5am I was having trouble keeping my eyes open so went back to bed for only 25 minutes after which I felt fine.

It is a nice morning at 18 degrees we are expecting a top of 29 degrees, my BGL was 5.0 so that’s good.

The temp got up to 30 degrees, Tim had training this morning and said when he got home that he is now off till Friday.

Steps: 4,278

I had a good night, slept straight through the night, woke to a much cooler morning, in fact it is supposed to be a much cooler day.

The temp is 14 degrees and my BGL is 5.1

Received my grocery shopping and a lot was missing so rang straight away and the woman I spoke to rang the store who rang the driver who came back with the extra 3 bags of stuff.

This afternoon while he was using his grinder it slipped and cut his thumb, he said maybe he should go to hospital and have it stitched but he couldn’t be bothered, so he cleaned it and applied band aids.

CHRISTMAS DAY

I had a good night, woke only once, it is currently 15 degrees, my BGL was 5.0. it is supposed to be a stinking hot day

Sue came and picked me up to go see mum & dad, I left a Christmas card for them on their headstone.

Tim is cooking a baked lunch for us as well as Tasha, Blain and his girlfriend. Although they took their sweet time coming down, but it was good when they arrived.

I was starting to feel unwell so had to turn the air con in the bedrooms on to try and reduce the heat in the house which helped how I was feeling.

I have been feeling sad this afternoon but not sure why.

So, at 4.50pm I was walking to the toilet and fell over my left elbow hit the linen press door putting a small hole in the door. I managed to get myself off the floor and it gave me a headache.

My left elbow and knee are very sore but not even bruised.

Steps are low today didn’t do much only 2,105

BOXING DAY

I had a good night, woke only once, it is currently 15 degrees, my BGL was 5.0. it is supposed to be a stinking hot day. At the moment it is 16 degrees and my BGL was 5.0.

While watching telly we heard a strange sound like the dishwasher running, Tim went to find out what the issue was, it was a blocked toilet. He has rang and reported it and someone should be out within 2hrs.

After that we went to Kathy’s for lunch Michael made his awesome burgers which I really like. It was 34 degrees outside Kathy’s house inside it was ok as she had the air con going.

We arrived home at 2.20pm and here it is 28 degrees thankfully Tim turned the air con on before we left to go out.

I had a good night, didn’t wake at all till the alarm went off at 5am. I feel good and happy this morning.

For a while this morning it didn’t look like it was going to warm up much but by 1pm I had turn the air con on.

Sam came over and is in her room this is the second time this week after no coming over for a few months.

The plumber arrived at 5.30pm, checked the drains and toilet and said it looks like the blockage cleared itself, both Tim and I knew that but stilled wanted it checked out.

Seps: 5,088