I have been trying this technique in reverse

I am attempting to learn French again (preparing for my trip to Brittany). I read somewhere that the reason people in other European countries pick up English so well is because they listen to so much English-language music. I have been trying this technique in reverse by listening to French CDs on the long drive to work each day. Yesterday it was Sandrine Francois (she has a very beautiful voice – I am surprised she is not more widely known). This morning I tried an Alizeé CD. One of Alizeé’s songs (Moi Lolita) was in the UK charts last year, but otherwise she hasn’t had much success over here.

More interviews today for the post of Marketing Assistant – all of them fairly good candidates. One young chap appeared to be very confident, smiling, meeting our gaze and speaking with a determined voice – and yet his hands were shaking. He hid this very well, but when Neil Hancock and I discussed the candidates later he remarked upon it, and put a big black “NO” on his CV (he writes everything in thick black marker pens which is very intimidating – especially when someone on the Sales Desk is late back from lunch and finds a note saying WHERE ARE YOU? on their desk).

While we were conducting one interview Neil Hancock stopped and went over to his desk (we were seated at the long table) and made a short ’phone call saying: “Can you spare a couple of hours this afternoon? We need to do a knee-capping and I need you to drive his car back” (which implied someone – probably one of the field sales staff who has missed his targets for this month – was going to be fired and his company car taken away).