The Library

The Library

The library contains books that I either possess or have read/used or which have been recommended to me. If you wish to purchase any of them, take a look on Amazon, using the link on the left. You will also find other books about the same and other subjects listed on Amazon. Happy hunting and happy reading!

Genealogy/History:

Cottle, B. “The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames” 1978 Penguin
Hanks, P & Hodges, F “A Dictionary of First Names” 1990 Guild Publishing
Christian, P “The Genealogist’s Internet” 2003 The National Archives
Blatchford, R “The Family and Local History Handbook” 7th Edition 2003 BALH
Cole, J & Titford, J “Tracing Your Family Tree” 1998 Countryside Books
Richley, P “The Everything Online Genealogy Book” 2000 Adams Media Corp.
Colwell, S “The Family Records Centre A User’s Guide” 2002 The National Archives
Herber, M “Ancestral Trails” Second Edition 2004 Sutton Publishing
Priestly, H “The What it Cost the Day Before Yesterday Book” 1979 Kenneth Mason
Wilshier, P “The Pound in Your Pocket 1870-1970” 1970 Cassell
McGrandle, L “The Cost of Living in Britain” 1973 Wayland
Fitzhugh, T “How to Write a Family History” 1988 A&C Black
Hey, D “Family History and Local History in England” 1987 Longman
Munby, L “How Much is That Worth” 1996 BALH
Palgrave-Moore, P “How to Record Your Family Tree” 1986
Titford, J “Writing and Publishing Your Family History” 1996 Countryside Books
Tyrwhitt-Drake, B “Value of the Pound Computer Program 1999 Drake Software
Kamm, A & Poulet, C “Britain and Her People” 1990 Colour Library Books

Proofreading/Translating/Education/Writing:

Horwood, T “Freelance Proofreading and Copy-editing A Guide” 1997 ActionPrint
Butcher, J “Copy-editing The Cambridge Handbook” 1978 Cambridge Univ. Press
Ritter, R “The Oxford Dictionary for Writers & Editors” 2000 Oxford Univ. Press
Ritter, R “Oxford Style Manual” 2003 Oxford Univ.Press
Kahn, J & Ilson, R “Reader’s Digest Reverse Dictionary” 1989 Reader’s Digest Assoc.
“Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook” A&C Black (published annually)
Le Robert & Collins “Senior Dictionnaire français-anglais/anglais-français 2003
Roget’s « Thesaurus » Longman

Healing/Angels/Spirituality/Unusual Phenomena/Religions:

Brennan, B “Hands of Light” 1988 Bantam
Angelo, J “Your Healing Power” 1995 Piatkus
Spear, W “Feng Shui Made Easy” 1995 Thorsons
Honervogt, T “Reiki” 1998 Gaia
Cainer, J & Rider, C “The Psychic Explorer” 1997 Piatkus
Cooper, D “Angel Inspiration” 2001 Hodder & Stoughton
Knight, C & Lomas, R “The Hiram Key” 1996 Century/Random House
Weinman, R “Your Hands Can Heal” 1989 Thorsons
Virtue, D “The Lightworker’s Way” 2002 Hay House
Virtue, D “Healing with the Angels” 2001 Hay House
Tachi-ren, T “What is Lightbody?” 1999 New Leaf
Hancock, G “Fingerprints of the Gods” 1995 BCA
Wilson, C “From Atlantis to the Sphinx” 1996 Virgin
Hope, M “The Sirius Connection” 1996 BCA
Gilbert, A “Magi” 1996 BCA
Lubeck, W “Reiki for First Aid” 1995 Lotus Light
Irwin, N “Understanding Crystals” 1991 Aquarian Press
Norris, S “Colour Healing” 2001 Dorling Kindersley
Sugrue, T “The Story of Edgar Cayce” 1997 A.R.E. Press
Lampert, V “Angel Messages” 2001 Cico Books
Winer, R “Le Nouveau Dossier du Triangle des Bermudes” 1976 J’ai Lu
Fowler, R “UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors” 1979 Bantam
Patton, G & Mackness, R “Sacred Treasure, Secret Power” 2001 Pan Books
Baigent, M, Leigh, R & Lincoln, H “The Holy Blood & the Holy Grail” 1996 Arrow
Baigent, M, Leigh, R & Lincoln, H “The Messianic Legacy” 1996 Arrow
Gardner, L “Bloodline of the Holy Grail”
Whiting, J “Religions of Man” 1984 Stanley Thornes
Aubarbier, J, Binet,M & Bouchard, J "Wonderful Cathar Country" 1994 Editions Ouest-France
Charlewood, S "Greening the Laurel" 'These few poems are a tribute to those Bons Hommes and Bons Femmes, who still serve the Good God, as they always have done.' (Sylvia, author).

Rennes-Le-Château visit

Raymonde flying!

Demelza, Verity & Raymonde in front of the Tour

Thursday 11th August, I took the girls to Rennes-Le-Château. I had read about it in various books including the one I am reading now, “Bloodline of the Holy Grail” by Laurence Gardner. Over the last few years, I have been meaning to go there and we live but an hour away. I woke up in the morning and thought: “I’m going to Rennes-Le-Château today”.

Upon entering the church of St. Marie Madelaine, we immediately met the devil, such a charming chap! My attention was mostly drawn to the stained glass window showing Mary Magdalene drying Jesus’ feet with her hair, after having anointed them with spikenard, as we are told in John 12:3. This, of course, is very significant to ‘those with ears to hear’. This was presumably the act of Jesus’ bride, as only she would have been allowed to do this. More of that line of thought another time………

We went to look at some crystals and one of the twins pointed out some pendulums. Looking at them, I had a choice between a rose quartz and an amethyst one. Knowing that it is important to hold the crystals, I first held the rose quartz pendulum to get the feel of it. When I hung it back up, it began swinging rather a lot while I was holding the amethyst one. The latter felt very cold in my palm and just did not feel right. I put it back and it too started to swing, which seemed to make the rose quartz swing even more, as if it was asking me to choose it. I did.

Rennes-Le-Château is steeped in history, mystery and significance. I will not go into that now.

I took some photographs with my ordinary camera as well as my digi-camera, as I have been experiencing problems with the digicam (since I dropped it on some stone steps). I have included some photos taken with the digicam; the other photographs are still on the film in my other camera, so you and I will have to be patient for those. I have also found some on the internet.

We saw the tower, La Tour Magdala, where l’abbé Saunière had his office and library, but we did not do the paid museum visit. I was not there as the full tourist and wanted to look beyond the tourist trappings and perhaps be inspired – I was inspired, but that is for another time…….

Incidentally, the twins, Demelza and Verity, being true teenage girls, enjoyed the book and gift shops and bought themselves some rings with semi-precious stones, and Raymonde, our four year old, was fascinated by and fell in love with the mountains and the beautiful scenery. She did not want to leave, but came along reluctantly once I had taken some photographs of her with the mountains in the background, while she stood on a wall pretending to fly over the mountains. I promised to take her back another day. I will keep to my promise.

Completed availability template

Some of you may be wondering what the title of this post means.
I was an associate member of a society for proofreaders and editors.
This is my résumé template which I sent two times a month to the society, letting people know that I was available for work.......

> Contact name: Sarah Jane Pritchard>
> Contact email address: pritchard(dot)geoffrey(at)libertysurf(dot)fr>
> Town: Plaigne, France>
> Telephone number: 0033 468606490>
> Qualifications and previous experience: BA Hons in RS & Education,
PGCE in RS & English,
Attestion from Académie de Montpellier stating that I can be an English lecturer in French schools;
Status: Qualified teacher Ref: RP83/70237
“Basic Editing: A Practical Course” Nicola Harris
> I have lived and worked in France since 1995, mainly teaching English, but increasingly doing private translation work and proofreading. Have work experience including proofreading in the accounts departments of a paper company and the Public Trustee Office, London.
> Skills: Proofreading (including proofreading of translations from French to English)
Typing
Translation (French to English)
Fact checking/research>
> Subjects: History/genealogy, religions, education, language, translations (French to English), general, handcrafts, theatre/drama/entertainment, children's books, tourist information, fiction/non-fiction, Reiki, accounts (single entry book keeping).>
> Details of work undertaken: Written and electronic media: books, journals, articles, essays, manuscripts, brochures, letters etc.

Proofreading and translating

I am dedicated to the pursuit of correctness!

Can you see the 4 deliberate mistakes in the introductory paragraph?

What is a proofreader?

A proofreader usually reads a manuscript after it has been edited and type set. They check for and correct any grammer, spelling, punctuation, word usage or sense, and printing errors. Often the proof, as it is called, is compared with the copy editor’s copy, making sure that corrections have been properly carried out. Other times they have nothing to compare it to. In both cases, they mark the copy with standard proofreader marks that are understood by writers and printers. When they read copy from a computer screan, they make the corections themselves. If you have a second language, as I do, such as French, you can do proofreading of translations from the second langauge into English. As I have patience, an eye for detail and a passion for books, I enjoy proofreading. Perhaps it is the teacher in me!

To be a proofreader, you need a love of books and to enjoy reading and to be good at spelling and grammar, but this is not enough. You also require mental stamina, a lot of patience, logic, application, organisation, concentration and the tools of the trade (red and blue pens, pencils, rubber...).

What is a translator?

A translator is a professional person who converts texts from one language to another, but also translates the message in the text and reproduces it for an audience with a different language, as well as a different social and cultural background. So, to be a translator one must be able to do more than just be able to read, speak and write another language. Many translators specialize; that is, they concentrate on certain subjects, areas or markets. Some of these translators have qualifications such as degrees that qualify them to do a certain type of translation, while others have gained relevant experience whilst working in specific subjects or occupations.

Why bother to proofread?

Did you see my statement at the top of the page? That sums it up! Accuracy is so important. The days of embarrassing mistake-ridden texts must come to an end! I am sure that everyone, like me spots mistakes in newspapers, books (I have even spotted them in books about proofreading), brochures, magazines and so on. These mistakes take my attention away from what is being said to me in the text, and therefore the text is not doing its job properly. Accuracy in any business documentation, in any language, is essential because it reflects that organization’s commitment to quality.

The world could be in a bit of a mess without proofreaders! A great amount of information is published today, from books, magazines, newspapers, manuals, newsletters, brochures and leaflets to online books, newsletters, e-zines, and of course, websites. The English language is too complicated for your computer chips and your spellchecker is not enough. I read an amusing poem recently which showed this to be very true. The computer has, however, opened up avenues for proofreaders and most businesses print literature in one form or another so a proofreader is a very necessary human being.

In the case of translations, the proofreader is needed to insure that the translations have been done correctly. A proofreader can improve the quality of a translation. The combination of a translator and a proofreader insures that cultural and grammatical skills are always considered. One should have the same experience reading a translated document as reading the original. So, the proofreader reads and compares the original and the translation to verify the translators work, making sure that the target language is accurate grammatically, but also socially and culturally.

(Deliberate mistakes corrected: grammar, screen, language, corrections)