petite anglaise

April 29, 2007

in bed with petite

Filed under: book stuff — petiteanglaiseparis @ 8:37 pm

So, I made the 20H on TF1 today.

Tadpole cried all the way through it (because I dared to put my finger to my lips and say “shhh”) so I didn’t actually hear a great deal the first time around. I just moaned “oh god, why did I have to be having a bad skin day?” over and over again. And rocked back and forth in the foetal position on my (now very famous) scarlet bed.

I just can’t believe they cut the part where I was accosted by a harmonica playing madman in the bar, or the wonderful sequence in which I bought a nice, ripe melon from the fruit and veg store. Or the very staged scene where I pretended to tidy Tadpole’s bedroom. But all in all, not bad. And yes, my lovely editor is French too, even though she works for Penguin in England…

NB The cover image you can see at the end is the picture I used for the front page of my book proposal – it’s an illustration by the super talented Lucy Pepper.

Big thanks to my good friend Rhino75 who worked the YouTube magic in close collaboration with the one and only Miss Kitty.

——————————————————————

Version française rapide pour les visiteurs français:

Au lit avec petite

Et oui, finalement j’ai passé au 20H de TF1 aujourd’hui.

Tadpole (ma fille) a pleuré pendant tout le long (parce que j’ai osé lui dire “chut!”, la main sur les lèvres) et donc je n’ai pas entendu grande chose au premier visionnage. Je me suis simplement contentée de répéter “mais pourquoi je devais avoir une si mauvaise peau ce jour-là?” plusieurs fois, avant de me mettre dans la position foetale sur mon lit écarlate désormais célèbre.

Je n’arrive pas à croire qu’ils ont coupé la séquence où j’ai été pris en ôtage par un fou jouant son harmonica dans le bar (il voulait vraiment me voler la vedette ce monsieur, il fallait le voir); ainsi que la scène où j’ai acheté un melon bien mûr au vendeur de fruits et légumes. Ou encore le passage (truqué) où j’ai rangé des jouets dans la chambre de ma fille. Mais en gros, pas si mal. Et oui, en effet, mon éditrice Katy est une française, travaillant pour Penguin à Londres…

NB L’image de la fin est la couverture de la proposition de livre que j’ai préparé l’été dernier, avec une image conçue par la très talentueuse Lucy Pepper.

136 Comments

  1. I watched and finally discovered ….you ! You are a start right now ! Congratulations.

    Comment by Peggy — April 29, 2007 @ 8:41 pm

  2. I meant a star….oups

    Comment by Peggy — April 29, 2007 @ 8:41 pm

  3. Hey, it’s great!

    Comment by Claire — April 29, 2007 @ 8:45 pm

  4. That is great! And your French is so perfect, I am jealous… I wish my English could be that way. Anyway, I look forward to reading your book next Spring.

    Comment by Bibil — April 29, 2007 @ 9:00 pm

  5. Je t’ai vu! :p Biz*

    Comment by Xenia Kerimov — April 29, 2007 @ 9:06 pm

  6. Je suis francaise et j’ai regardé TF1 ce soir. Je suis vraiment contente qu’il existe des personnes simples comme vous qui réussissent, juste pour quelque chose de simple, un talent caché. Restez comme vous êtes. Et merci pour le bonheur de lecture que vous allez apporter à beaucoup beaucoup de personnes!!!!

    GOOD BYE I hope the best way for YOU…

    Comment by celine — April 29, 2007 @ 9:13 pm

  7. God knows what you said, but it sounded sexy. You looked very Julie Delpy with all that unkempt hair. So you did have your desk facing the window after all?

    Comment by Welsh Cake — April 29, 2007 @ 9:15 pm

  8. Bravo à toi !! c’est grace à TF1 que j’ai découvert ton blog. Et le serveur était saturé, il m’a fallu patienter …

    Bravo à toi !!

    Comment by laurent — April 29, 2007 @ 9:21 pm

  9. Great interview. Well done you. And I love your view from the studio.

    Comment by london gal — April 29, 2007 @ 9:24 pm

  10. cooo! i’ve never been on the french news before!!!
    come to think of it, I’ve never been on ANY news before.
    :)

    thanks pa

    Comment by lucy pepper — April 29, 2007 @ 9:26 pm

  11. you were really good PA, even French Husband was impressed
    Good luck to you
    Maria

    Comment by Maria — April 29, 2007 @ 9:27 pm

  12. Nice pink on your bed sheet :) More seriously, your French is really good. You don’t really have that English accent. I wouldn’t know where you are from just by listening to you…Well done !

    Comment by dilafa — April 29, 2007 @ 9:33 pm

  13. It was only a 35-minute bulletin after all, so it is understandable that they couldn’t show it all. As I already said in a comment on the previous posting, it came out very well indeed; I didn’t realise your editor was French – she seemed to have an English name.

    I notice that “meet the bloggers” on BBC Radio 4 is still available at
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/meet_the_bloggers.shtml

    I listened to that again last week. I thoroughly enjoyed the 40 minute interview with you which became around 5 minutes as broadcast.
    Once again, well done!

    Comment by Pierre L — April 29, 2007 @ 9:35 pm

  14. Great — just hope that the impots weren’t watchng too… since Claire C DID mention the tidy sum and all… the taxman will come sniffing soon enough — incorporate yourself into a holding in the Netherlands, like the Stones….

    Comment by magillicuddy — April 29, 2007 @ 9:59 pm

  15. You may come out of your foetal position now. You looked great, and did a fine job. How could someone who enjoys dark chocolate with their red wine do poorly? Hm?

    Congratulations on the all the success and attention!

    Comment by Robert — April 29, 2007 @ 9:59 pm

  16. Félicitations !
    pour ma part j’ai un blog aussi. C’est mon défouloir et il me permet parfois de prendre du recul sur ma vie.
    Bonne continuation à vous.
    LaetiBoud.

    Comment by laetiboud — April 29, 2007 @ 10:00 pm

  17. The taxwoman recognised me on the phone the other day, having read about me in a newspaper. I am so screwed.

    Comment by petite — April 29, 2007 @ 10:02 pm

  18. Congrats on the 20h avec Claire Chazal and commiserations about the taxwoman… Don’t worry about the skin, YouTube is quite blurred anyway so you looked radiant.

    Comment by Ariel — April 29, 2007 @ 10:14 pm

  19. Exactly, like Ariel I thought you looked radiant, m’dear, and the whole piece was great!! I liked the café scene at the end – you must be getting free drinks there by now ;-) Chapeau!!

    Comment by rhino75 — April 29, 2007 @ 10:34 pm

  20. I certainly didn’t pay for that one! (I bought my own melon, though).

    Comment by petite — April 29, 2007 @ 10:39 pm

  21. Excellent !

    x

    Comment by oxo — April 29, 2007 @ 10:55 pm

  22. Bonjour,

    That was great. My French is terrible, I only got about every 5th word, but great non-the-less. Maybe if I watch four more times I will get it all.

    Best wishes.

    Comment by Mad William — April 29, 2007 @ 10:58 pm

  23. Congratulations for your interview…

    For once, we got to see some good english invention…nothing to see with Marmite or english pudding…:-)

    wish you the best for the coming (good) days

    Comment by bruno — April 29, 2007 @ 11:10 pm

  24. You looked great, if a little shy – but then, your career as a world star is barely a year old ;-)
    Cool choice of color in the bedroom too.

    And I wish my English accent were half as good as your French accent. You sound a bit foreign but not really British. Impressive.

    Comment by ontario frog — April 29, 2007 @ 11:20 pm

  25. I saw you on TF1 and thought you spoke very well but that’s not so surprising seeing you’ve been living in France for so many years.

    Congratulations on your success. I look forward to reading your book when it comes out.

    Comment by Andrea — April 29, 2007 @ 11:28 pm

  26. My favourite bit is the one that has a French peasant cross-pollinating apple trees.

    Comment by Daphtne — April 29, 2007 @ 11:30 pm

  27. I tuned in to TF1 on Saturday night, but it appears your segment aired on Sunday, now that I’ve flown back to NYC. Blazes!

    I know they keep doing the whole Bridget Jones comparison, but I actually found your blog and travels more entertaining and original than the whole Bridget Jones saga…

    I know they draw these comparisons routinely in the media, but sometimes, I think these comparisons do the artist a great disservice. Anyway, I’m happy the French news is airing this too, because not only does this help boost public recognition for your book, etc. but it also is a very important story that needs to be told and communicated more in the French media. I initially felt they were a little slow to catch on at first.

    Anyway, enough of the verbose…be proud of this and keep being brave! :0)

    Comment by Mlle Smith — April 30, 2007 @ 3:07 am

  28. Super — what a great clip! It was too fast for me to follow all of the words, but no matter.

    Comment by xl — April 30, 2007 @ 3:36 am

  29. Greetings from across the pond!

    I think I heard the word “blog”. Everything else was greek to me…. I guess my high school French many many many years ago is buried dormant somewhere–not that it was ever any good. Do you think Rosetta Stone would help?

    Anyway, it was nice to see you and hear your voice. I too look forward to the book. : )

    Comment by linda from jersey (that's new jersey USA) — April 30, 2007 @ 3:48 am

  30. Good one, Petite. Your bad skin day wasn’t at all noticeable on Youtube. Very cool and sexy.

    Comment by AussieGil — April 30, 2007 @ 4:18 am

  31. Even though this period is stressful/exciting, ENJOY it! Talk about turning a lemon into a lemonade. I’m very pleased for the way things are turning out for you! You are ‘living the dream’ and proving inspiration for many. Thanks.

    Comment by roberta collins — April 30, 2007 @ 4:19 am

  32. I am so impressed with your French! You didn’t sound English at all to me! It’s my own dream to get a book deal myself, but then again, I don’t know it seems kind of scary. I thought you looked great and did a wonderful job with this, as always!

    Comment by Marie — April 30, 2007 @ 6:17 am

  33. Watch while Petite crosses the road near the start – you can actually hear her thinking, “I wish this guy in front of me would walk faster”.

    Comment by Hywel Mallett — April 30, 2007 @ 7:47 am

  34. Wonderful promotion! And your quartier looks just as appealing as you have described it. Nostalgie totale!

    Sandlander

    Comment by malcolm thomson — April 30, 2007 @ 7:55 am

  35. Je viens te souhaiter bonne chance !!! J’ai vu le reportage hier sur TF1… Good Luck… et à Bientôt pour te lire en France…

    Comment by Helene — April 30, 2007 @ 8:39 am

  36. Welldone pretty “petite”.
    All my best wishes of happyness to you.

    Je te souhaite de rencontrer au fil de ta vie ici de supers français…et des “créatifs culturels” (culturals creatives)

    Stéphane
    habitant 75014

    Comment by TERRIEN — April 30, 2007 @ 8:41 am

  37. mais tu parles vachement bien français! dommage que l’on ne parle que l’anglais tout le temps :)

    Comment by maitresse — April 30, 2007 @ 9:04 am

  38. About time your fans saw You! I don’t understand the ‘lingo’ but hey you looked so damn good! This is just the start… Wishing you the very best… Just adore your blog xXx Go for it!!!!!

    Comment by Nigel — April 30, 2007 @ 9:11 am

  39. I too would be nervous at the thought of speaking one of my foreign languages on national TV (come to think of it, I would be freaking out about being on TV full stop, whatever the language) but you more than pulled it off!

    Congrats!

    Comment by Sparkle — April 30, 2007 @ 9:36 am

  40. A great story – you look and sound great. The cover looks beautiful. All the staged scenes (“walking around” – “crossing a street” – “writing”) are very amusing.Well done!

    Comment by Danny — April 30, 2007 @ 9:55 am

  41. Petite, any chance of sending us on just a JPEG of your melons?

    Comment by Trevor — April 30, 2007 @ 10:09 am

  42. C’est grace a cette interview que j’ai découvert ton blog et donc le livre que tu comptes éditer. J’aime beaucoup cette proposition de couverture présentée à la fin de l’interview ^^ trés sympa, trés colorée bref cela donne envie de lire et découvrir !
    Je suis actuellement sur un projet d’écriture d’un roman inspiré de mon blog ^^ Ca avance mais c’est compliqué (peur de se tromper malgré les retours que j’ai).
    Bonne continuation !

    Marie

    Comment by chroniqueblonde — April 30, 2007 @ 10:17 am

  43. ce cool je suivi tf1 hier soir
    c’est bien je te souhaite beaucoup de succes………
    traduit ton livre en france si possible
    bon courage

    Comment by barry — April 30, 2007 @ 10:22 am

  44. God your French is brilliant

    Comment by Maxi — April 30, 2007 @ 11:12 am

  45. Hi, i discovered your blog exactly when I watched these news report, and i congratulate you for the effect of your blog! Keep on going, and don’t hesitate to come and hang around my two blogs!

    Comment by salmazen — April 30, 2007 @ 12:07 pm

  46. Congratulations , you should consider ireland for a few years (no taxes on droits d’auteur). I can’t believe they said “sum considerable et pactol”.

    Comment by ann — April 30, 2007 @ 12:45 pm

  47. Petite your French is Terrific !!! looking forward to get your future best seller :)

    Comment by Eric — April 30, 2007 @ 1:08 pm

  48. Yaxlich didn’t understand a word that you said but he thought you said it very well. He wasn’t so sure about the staged scenes, though. They were clearly cleverly stage managed as he didn’t see a single beret, stripy t-shirt or string of onions.

    Comment by Yaxlich — April 30, 2007 @ 1:15 pm

  49. Absolutely delighted for you. I’m sure Lucy will do your cover justice.
    And your French is absolutely wonderful!

    Comment by cream — April 30, 2007 @ 1:20 pm

  50. For Trevor:

    Petite,

    Your skin looks good, even on the better quality vid at TF1 website. You lips look a little roughened though :-(

    Let’s hope it is from lots of kissing :-D

    x

    Comment by oxo — April 30, 2007 @ 1:21 pm

  51. Haven’t seen it myself yet but when I asked my (French) parents about it, they told me they saw you on the news! My mum also said you sounded very French (please take this as a compliment!!)
    They haven’t really understood what a blog is exactly – come to think of it, they still aren’t too sure where to find the button to start the PC… – but they sure found your story very interesting!
    Keep up the good work, Petite Anglaise!!

    Comment by Em — April 30, 2007 @ 1:28 pm

  52. Looked good. I don’t speak French, so I’ll just go with everyone else’s advice on the diction.

    Comment by Damian — April 30, 2007 @ 1:33 pm

  53. Congratulations!
    I enjoyed the bit where you were on your laptop, trying to type calmly, and obviously failed because you had to hammer the Backspace key for a while to remove the evidence.
    (Maybe I’m wrong).
    Formidable. :)

    Comment by Mikeachim — April 30, 2007 @ 1:40 pm

  54. I have no idea what was said, but I loved it!

    Comment by SaltyCracker0 — April 30, 2007 @ 1:42 pm

  55. I just watched it on TF1.fr – congratulations!

    Comment by Mdx — April 30, 2007 @ 1:45 pm

  56. J’ai vu la séquence vous concernant. J’ai été très touché par votre parcours et votre audace.
    C’est l’occasion de découvrir ce que vous faites!
    Le net est, à présent, le meilleur moyen de faire parler de soi!
    Sans avoir vu les rush, j’ai trouvé le reportage très convainquant. C’est la raison pour laquelle j’écris ce message!
    Bonne continuation dans vos beaux projets!
    Salutations de la Belgique.

    Guy J’Espère

    Comment by Guy — April 30, 2007 @ 1:52 pm

  57. You appeared to have handled yourself well. Nice spot, though it serves me right for not taking French in high school. (Though the Spanish came in handy, having had so many friends from Puerto Rico, not to mention all the Spanish-speaking patients I encountered over the years.)

    Is TFI a news-magazine style program, along the lines of say “60 Minutes” here in the States?

    Comment by Dave of the Lake — April 30, 2007 @ 1:54 pm

  58. bon courage Petite!! Your french is impeccable and it gives a wee scottish lass like me hope of learning the language too…

    Comment by aminah — April 30, 2007 @ 2:25 pm

  59. Hi Petite Anglaise,

    I am contacting you regarding a blog survey I am conducting. I am a Ph.D. candidate in Mass Communication at Penn State and my dissertation project consists of a survey that looks at women bloggers’ perceived motivations for and effects of their blogging.

    I am sending the survey to a number of bloggers, and I would like to invite you to participate in it as well. Participation should take approximately 15 minutes of your time. I would appreciate it tremendously if you would be willing to take the survey. If you decide to do so, please follow the link below:

    http://www.personal.psu.edu/cds205/blog/signin.htm

    I would be very happy to share the findings of my study with you once it is completed!

    If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

    Thank you in advance,

    Carmen

    Comment by carmen — April 30, 2007 @ 2:33 pm

  60. Votre blog est splendide et il est très agréable de vous lire. Vous avez du talent et j’espère que votre premier livre sera un succès. Bonne route !

    Comment by Philippe D. — April 30, 2007 @ 2:36 pm

  61. Bonjour je m’appelle Mélanie
    Je suis une petite Française de 11 ans
    Qui a regardé Le journal de 20h et qui apprécie beaucoup
    ce que vous faîtes
    J’acheterai votre premier livre,promis !
    Bonne Chance

    Comment by MéLanie.M — April 30, 2007 @ 3:24 pm

  62. to Dave of the Lake :

    TF1 is just one of the bigest TV channel here in France.
    The fact that’s the moist popular doesn’t do french inteligence great justice hehe

    But news are quite well handled in that channel.

    Comment by Thierry_J — April 30, 2007 @ 3:32 pm

  63. Hello, i saw you on the tv, it is simply wonderfull for you what is happening, i wish for you a lot of luke and success because you diserve it.
    take care.

    Comment by Aurelux — April 30, 2007 @ 3:52 pm

  64. Wow! You look lovely Petite.

    My French is somewhat lacking, but did I hear her say that you a bit like Bridget Jones but more serious? I should hope so! It’s one thing being a wit, but they do know that you are real and she is fictitious don’t they?!!!

    What fantastic publicity for you. Well done!!

    Comment by Sally Lomax — April 30, 2007 @ 4:13 pm

  65. “The fact that’s the moist popular doesn’t do french inteligence great justice hehe”

    Moist popular? Would one get very wet watching it? ;-)

    (Sorry, couldn’t resist teasing you Thierry. I know you meant “most.” I appreciate the explanation.)

    Comment by Dave of the Lake — April 30, 2007 @ 4:31 pm

  66. Oh go on Petite, you’re no fun at all.
    OK, just a JPEG of your snapper in that case!

    Comment by Trevor — April 30, 2007 @ 6:16 pm

  67. my, um, snapper? I might if I knew what it was…

    Comment by petite — April 30, 2007 @ 6:22 pm

  68. Snapper – can mean either Tadpole, (i.e. “whipper snapper.”) or in another sense, what lies between your legs……Depends on the context……..

    Comment by Dave of the Lake — April 30, 2007 @ 6:27 pm

  69. This is somewhat off topic, but, I am tempted to ask it.

    In listening to you speaking French, I remember how difficult it was for me when, first trying to learn Spanish, having the need to translate in my head what I wanted to say from English. There comes a point for those when the second language no longer needs this process, when it becomes second nature.

    When did you find yourself having the ability to do that, Petite? How long did it take for your command of French become as natural to you as using English?

    Comment by Dave of the Lake — April 30, 2007 @ 6:32 pm

  70. I think you looked lovely. I hope that after one kid and several years of good times I can be 1.) thin and 2.) still appearing to be younger than a mum of one.

    One can dream!

    Comment by reavolution — April 30, 2007 @ 6:52 pm

  71. bravo pour ce reportage et ta reussite, effectivement ton francais est parfait mais je trouve que tu as plus l’accent allemand qu’anglais :-)

    Comment by frey — April 30, 2007 @ 6:59 pm

  72. What do you mean, bad skin!? You looked great. Nice outfit too. And to be introduced by the great Claire Chazal – quelle honneur! I love your blog and I love that you retain your love of France throughout.

    Comment by Matthew — April 30, 2007 @ 7:16 pm

  73. Magnifique! You look great, Petite. It was too bad I couldn’t understand it. I know I’ll be waiting for that book to come out.

    Comment by Jean-Luc Picard — April 30, 2007 @ 7:50 pm

  74. Very nice! I didn’t understand the whole interju but most of it. Good for you!

    Comment by Mais oui — April 30, 2007 @ 8:29 pm

  75. First time I heard you speak French Petite! Wow, I’m impressed, it’s friggin’ perfect! Even my mom saw you on TV and called: “I saw Petite Anglaise on TV last night, not the one I saw first, the real one”!

    (private joke)

    Comment by frog with a blog — April 30, 2007 @ 9:05 pm

  76. Hi Petite,

    Your French is VERY impressive indeed! Well done and good luck with the final stages of your book. I hate revising and editing and polishing – it feels like I don’t know whether the words and story are good any more. Mostly, it feels like it’s a load of rubbish. Hope you don’t feel like that.

    Comment by Lotus Flower — April 30, 2007 @ 9:42 pm

  77. incroyable, tf1 me fait connaitre mes proches congeneres. we probably crossed each other at the Café Charbon, dit “La Mine”, 8-10 years ago then, but i just learned yesterday about your existence. your french little accent sounds swiss to me :) so you’re already a parisian girl and a celebrity of parisian republic area. good work and chance for your books!

    Comment by mikooli — April 30, 2007 @ 9:56 pm

  78. Hi Petite — I’ve been reading your blog for years but this is the first time I’ve left a comment.
    I didn’t understand a word you said either (still trying to get to grips with the French language) but you sounded good and looked great.

    Looks like life is sweet for you just now — sometimes you seemed kind of lonely in the past.

    Hope wee Tadpole is fully recovered from her fall.

    Comment by Scottie — April 30, 2007 @ 11:32 pm

  79. OH oh what an amazing story..sometime the life is good
    sometime not…i am a “old” french in england ;)

    Comment by monique/E — April 30, 2007 @ 11:36 pm

  80. I wasn’t expecting to learn anything interesting on the “JT”.. I don’t even know why the hell I swicht the TV on! Anyway, I think it’s a great idea, keep it up! Nice to read about fellow citizens over here. Your bravery is admirable and makes us proud of being british!
    great stuff!

    Comment by Gravesen — May 1, 2007 @ 12:11 am

  81. Congratulations ! You, you looked great ! No, your skin doesn’t look bad ! Yes your apartment looks good ! No you shouldn’t have mentioned money (oh well – too late now !) !

    Well done for showing everyone just how a new class of working person is evolving. You’re something for us all to aspire to.

    Comment by Michael Irwin — May 1, 2007 @ 12:26 am

  82. bravo à toi!
    delphine

    Comment by Delphine — May 1, 2007 @ 2:06 am

  83. Hey! “Blog” and “Blogger” are the same in English and French~ :)

    That’s all I got. LOL.

    Comment by meritt — May 1, 2007 @ 3:02 am

  84. You rock! Congratualtion!

    Comment by Ellen — May 1, 2007 @ 5:11 am

  85. did you know that tf1 is really the most rubbish french tv in france?

    Comment by john — May 1, 2007 @ 6:50 am

  86. The media always cuts out the things that we think would be more interesting…but that’s just the way it is. Great job nonetheless!

    Comment by Caffienated Cowgirl — May 1, 2007 @ 8:38 am

  87. Je vous ai vu sur TF1 ce qui m’a permis de lire un peu votre blog, je vais passer un oral d’anglais et j’aime beaucoup lire votre blog car cela m’aprend beaucoup sur l’anglais, car avant je dois avouer que je ne suis pas très forte. Alors merci beaucoup pour ces petit moments d’anglais!!

    Comment by Amélie — May 1, 2007 @ 9:19 am

  88. Je te découvre à la télé ,et je t’affirme en fait que la France entière te découvre, car ce n’est pas rien de passer chez Claire Chazal; C’est pas banal l’aventure que tu vis .Quelle sobriété dans ta tenue,et dans tes paroles.With the pleasure to read you in the near future and make me a real progress to undestand english very very well.

    Comment by kazawak — May 1, 2007 @ 9:21 am

  89. I read your post about the impending arrival of the film crew and wondered what it would be like … feeling more than a little sympathy for you.

    Sunday night, at a wedding in Holland, local Antwerpen television phoned up … would I be willing to take part in a piece they’re putting together on foreigners making a new life in Belgium … the emphasis being on language.

    I immediately confessed to possibly being the worst Nederlands speaker in the country but they seem more intent on filming the blended family and how we communicate, with an interview with me at some point.

    So I said yes, life’s an adventure and all that but I am concerned about the likelihood of appearing to look like Dawn French. I watched your youtube, not seeing the bad skin you talked of and noting that you look slim and seemed so very fluent in French :)

    Anyway, congratulations. Looking forward to the book.

    Comment by Di — May 1, 2007 @ 10:13 am

  90. Well, it’s reassuring that others don’t necessarily see me the way I see myself, although I think the blurred effect of the file compression has done me a lot of favours…

    Comment by petite — May 1, 2007 @ 11:05 am

  91. Bonjour petite anglaise.
    J’ai vu le reportage sur TF1 sur ton blog, et j’ai tout de suite noter l’adresse pour venir le voir.
    J’ai juste une petite suggestion à faire, je ne connais absolument pas l’anglais et j’aimerai qu’on puisse lire ton blog en francais car je ne dois pas être la seule à avoir très envie de le lire mais à n’y rien comprendre!
    Merci d’avance, et j’espère que tes livres sortirons aussi en francais.

    Comment by mimi — May 1, 2007 @ 11:33 am

  92. hello Catherine

    I came acroos your site after having seen you on TF1

    You are such a pretty english woman , like all those i’ve always dreamt about

    but i’m too old for you by now

    well , all this being said , let me congratulate you :

    1) for you nice and fresh blog
    2) for your coming book ( may be a great author is born)
    3) for your personality , your love of Paris and French life , while keeping your English identity , and that’s teh way i feel europe should be like

    i myself have no blog , although i joked with some friends that i would be candidate to french presidential elections , and that’s why i built a site for it

    i live in the 19ème , so may be we’ll meet someday , belelville is also one my favourite places in paris

    good luck petite anglaise
    i wish , for you and your litte Tadpole , all the best
    joel

    Comment by joel bouard — May 1, 2007 @ 11:52 am

  93. Oh aren’t you just gorgeous!!!
    What bad skin? You look utterly fabulous and so pretty, darling.
    Your French is excellent too.
    I thoroughly enjoyed seeing you in your little world, even if it was minus the melon.
    Well done, you darling girl!!!
    xx

    Comment by the domestic minx — May 1, 2007 @ 12:37 pm

  94. Le “2O heures”, en France, c’est un peu la consécration ;). Je suis tes aventures depuis quelques mois déjà et je suis ravie de constater ton succès littéraire annoncé. Bien sûr, si une maison d’édition cherche à te publier en français et qu’il te faut la traductrice idéale, je suis là !! :-D Just kidding, but I would LOVE it, et je vois exactement comment ton texte devrait être en français. I Hope Tadpole’s lip looks better. I loved her translation into “Oh la la !”.

    Comment by Laurette — May 1, 2007 @ 4:56 pm

  95. My French is not as good as it once was. All I got from le Francaise rapide was the sky falling on your head!

    Comment by Robyn — May 1, 2007 @ 6:42 pm

  96. Off topic, but – France2 needs a new translator, Petite. apparently the previous one didn’t know the difference between public and private jokes

    http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/politiques/250888.FR.php

    Comment by Alice — May 1, 2007 @ 7:49 pm

  97. Alors, j’avais du mal a discerner qui etait plus jolie : Mme Chazal ou Mlle Anglaise. Je pense celle-ci. Tu es une vedette qui merite bien une place sur la tele francaise ! Une emission pour Petite ! Une emission pour Petite !

    K

    Comment by Kermit — May 1, 2007 @ 7:54 pm

  98. Yay! Outfit was spot on, you looked truly fab.
    Now let me have another look as all other commenters have found amusing quirks while watching for the 16th time.
    And let us not forget the chance of more Gallic blog-fun in the shape of your ageing Bellevillian Lothario…..

    Comment by Flighty — May 1, 2007 @ 8:13 pm

  99. Sorry, I hear the site was down last night/this morning. All fixed now. I’d like to take this opportunity to say that if you are looking for a host, I can’t recommend A Small Orange enough. I email to say there is a problem, and it is fixed within 5 minutes.

    Comment by petite — May 2, 2007 @ 9:08 am

  100. Oh, but you were so poised, charming and articulate… well done! (This comment in lieu of those I simply could not make about the “lip incident” postings, which had me absolutely squirming — poor brave little Tadpole, and poor brave little you “mummy just wants to keep you safe” being the bit that had this single mum on the verge of tears!)

    Comment by kitikat — May 2, 2007 @ 9:08 am

  101. AAARGH!!! I MISSED it! How gutting! So thanks to the guys who posted the link to You tube. And Petite, you looked FANTASTIC hon, if it was a bad skin day, you couldn’t tell from the film on You Tube.

    You are going from strength to strength chick, well done, makes me feel like maybe I can make something of my life here in France after all!

    All the best

    Nix

    Comment by Nix — May 2, 2007 @ 10:38 am

  102. You are such an interesting writer. I am an Australian living in London. I enjoy reading about your life so much that I put family members in the US and Australia in touch as well.

    Comment by Eiluj — May 2, 2007 @ 12:49 pm

  103. enidd thinks your penguin editor was very brave to be interviewed in french. and two books commissioned. well done, and, don’t worry about the skin, you looked lovely! if only enidd’s bad skin days were that good.

    Comment by enidd — May 2, 2007 @ 3:25 pm

  104. Very cute. You look like a young blonde Lisa Loeb with those glasses. I have no idea what you were saying, but you were speaking french, which is always a plus :)

    Comment by homeimprovementninja — May 2, 2007 @ 4:20 pm

  105. Here’s another picture for Trevor:

    Comment by Claire — May 2, 2007 @ 8:34 pm

  106. Psych psych psych!!! (New Englander lingo, but you’ll get the enthusiastic wind of it)

    Hey, any publicity is good publicity, and if the idiots want to make parallels to BJ and it helps sell the book(S!), great to hear it.

    You still write well, so there’s a great future ahead.

    And you come across just great on the telly. I’ve been there and done that, and just hated it. You gotta do it, and keep that lovely smile on – but it’s all to the good. Think of all the other bloggers who are now keeping their jobs, thanks to your example!

    Comment by Alethea — May 2, 2007 @ 10:30 pm

  107. Although my French is poor I was able to follow along because you speak so clearly!

    I was hoping you’d say “the monkey is on the branch” because that’s a phrase I know particularly well.

    Alas.

    Comment by Bill — May 2, 2007 @ 10:53 pm

  108. I am a complete fan of Dame Edna so you have to read this aloud in a male falsetto or it’ll sound pompous.

    “I do love your accent when you try speaking French – it’s wonderful, please don’t ever lose it! But you should do something about those glasses – they are just a little tooo sensible don’t you think, like facial brogues? So p’rhaps something more fetching to brighten up the serious little physog, darling? You can always wear those ones indoors when you’re feeling cross.”

    Now, where did I put my map of France. It’s the Loire this time, then ceret….

    Comment by andrew — May 3, 2007 @ 12:40 am

  109. Ah Petite…you and your glamorous life! And your bedroom is ENORMOUS! At least on tv…

    Comment by Louis — May 3, 2007 @ 3:05 am

  110. I discovered your blog thanks to the TF1 report. For the record, I thought you looked great. I’m glad you won your case at the Prud’hommes, your ex-boss was stupid. I’m looking forward to reading more of your blog. I suppose you don’t take request but I’ll take my chances. I’d love to hear your opinion about the presidential election. I love to hear about how foreigners view my country and I’m curious to read your views on the subject. No hard feelings if you choose not to post about this, it’s your blog after all and I’ll keep reading no matter what.

    Comment by kadyn — May 3, 2007 @ 5:03 am

  111. I don’t know how they managed to make 12M2 look so big. Clever cameras they have… I think he shot me from half way down the corridor to Tadpole’s room.

    As for the glasses – they are a bit severe, they were my special secretary glasses. I’m going to look for new ones, but when I bought those, that shape was in fashion and it was hard to find anything else. (And I can’t wear lenses for more than a couple of hours these days, my eyes don’t like them any more).

    Comment by petite — May 3, 2007 @ 6:50 am

  112. brilliant ! & from a nosy point of view great to have a better idea of where you live and work. You came across as very natural, having some experience of filming I know that is far from easy…

    Comment by Kate — May 3, 2007 @ 7:10 am

  113. Oh, I like your glasses!

    Comment by suzanne — May 3, 2007 @ 9:49 am

  114. “I don’t know how they managed to make 12M2 look so big. Clever cameras they have… I think he shot me from half way down the corridor to Tadpole’s room.”

    The camera operator used a wide-angle lens.

    Comment by Passante — May 3, 2007 @ 12:36 pm

  115. Thereby widening my bottom too?

    Comment by petite — May 3, 2007 @ 1:59 pm

  116. >>Thereby widening my bottom too?

    Nothing wrong with that. Hasn’t Sophie Dahl made the waif look uncool yet?

    Comment by oxo — May 3, 2007 @ 2:56 pm

  117. Number 106 – Sorry my French is rubbish but when did they make a parallel with a blow job?!

    Comment by Welsh Cake — May 3, 2007 @ 4:24 pm

  118. No, no — simply widening your appeal!

    Comment by Passante — May 3, 2007 @ 4:25 pm

  119. Great French accent !

    And I like the post title, too.

    Comment by Roads — May 3, 2007 @ 4:54 pm

  120. petite anglaise deviendra grande … =)

    Comment by Aude-Line — May 3, 2007 @ 5:30 pm

  121. BJ? What? I think I missed something too?

    Although every time I look at that freeze frame image above I have to resist the urge to photoshop it.

    Comment by petite — May 3, 2007 @ 5:46 pm

  122. Funny girl! I went to a dinner party where Cynthia Payne was guest of honour (!) I asked her what the most requested sex act was and she said BJ, which astonished me – why pay for what you might get, if you play your cards right, at home…

    Comment by Welsh Cake — May 3, 2007 @ 6:05 pm

  123. Keep the glasses. They have a “sexy librarian” motif to them. See:

    Comment by homeimprovementninja — May 3, 2007 @ 8:02 pm

  124. So nice to get a real (even if staged) insight into your environment and even nicer to listen to a Brit not murdering a foreign language in an embarrassing way. Though even I’m getting fed of the BJ comparison. Great stuff….

    Comment by Paola from mirrormirror — May 3, 2007 @ 8:32 pm

  125. Maybe it’s because I am slightly hungover but you look incredibly smart and sexy in the video. There is something sensual about your ability to be so articulate in a foreign language. I’m reminding myself of that character in a Fish Called Wanda, but there you go.

    Comment by Dan — May 4, 2007 @ 2:36 am

  126. “Although every time I look at that freeze frame image above I have to resist the urge to photoshop it.”

    Pair of horns or the ever popular Hitler moustache? :)

    Comment by bonkers — May 4, 2007 @ 6:14 am

  127. The key question here is this: Do you think you could hook me up with the dishy, blond presenter at the beginning of the video? I would enjoy having my way with her.

    Comment by matamoros — May 4, 2007 @ 8:57 am

  128. Claire Chazal? She’s beautiful isn’t she? About 50 and amazing for her age.

    Comment by petite — May 4, 2007 @ 9:00 am

  129. Love your accent! Petite fait tourner les tetes! bravo!

    Comment by Zeina — May 4, 2007 @ 10:03 am

  130. Somebody else (with glasses) who you look like:

    the fit bird from the Pipettes.

    Comment by homeimprovementninja — May 4, 2007 @ 1:40 pm

  131. Ahh Petite, you looked wonderful, and tho my French is a bit rusty you sounded very Parisienne a moi.
    Cheers

    Comment by Beau — May 4, 2007 @ 4:51 pm

  132. Re: 106, I think BJ here means Bridget Jones…

    Comment by purple — May 4, 2007 @ 7:25 pm

  133. Que dire de plus…bravo et vivement le bouquin ! Le reportage de Tf1 m’avait déjà fortement emballé, l’article que je viens de découvrir dans le glamour m’enchante encore plus. J’ADORE !!

    Comment by Neledisapersonne — May 4, 2007 @ 9:25 pm

  134. Purple was right. But I suppose if blow jobs will help sell the books … no, no, never mind.

    Comment by Alethea — May 5, 2007 @ 11:26 pm

  135. You are real ! You speak French ! And you can type with two hands rather than two fingers (I wish I could !)

    I think that was really decent of you to go and pay your bar bill with cameras rolling.

    Will you be out rioting tonight as Mme Royal invited everyone to do if Sarkozy wins the election ?

    She’s obviously got shares in Renault and hoping for replacement sales when they torch cars tonight.

    Well keep safe – thank’s for sharing your TV slot with us !

    Comment by Voyager — May 6, 2007 @ 6:32 pm

  136. Although I didn’t understand a word of it and I should- being that Canada is bilingual, I did love the perfect French accent. Very Parisienne. Everything sounds beautiful in French and Italian, non?

    Comment by dawn — May 7, 2007 @ 11:21 pm


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