I'm in XTC over this English settlement.

Advantages: Great album, still sounds great twenty years later.
Disadvantages: A few duff tracks.

...Way back in my youth I was introduced to lots of different music by my peers, there was such a varied amount of sounds in the early eighties that we were spoiled for choice and as such, my tastes became eclectic. One minute I would be listening to Michael Jackson, the next I would be rocking along with Queen or Led Zeppelin. There was also a huge live music culture in the west coast of Scotland, a healthy part of that was focused in my area and I was a regular at all the local live venues to hear my favourite local bands. Whilst roadying for a mates big brothers band I heard them playing a tape of a band called XTC, I was Immediately captured by their middle English pop sound, they seemed to offer something just that wee bit different from everything else and I was hooked from that moment. English Settlement is one of these...

jimblob 26.10.2003 · Read review
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Review of English Settlement - XTC

C'est magnifique, mais?.

Advantages: Nice town
Disadvantages: Shame about the palace

...sense of the word. Forgive me this introductory diatribe. I'm trying to come to terms with, or at least to articulate, why I deeply dislike Versailles. Not the town of Versailles, which is a pleasant enough suburban sort of place with some good cafés and an excellent market, but the palace. And the more I think about it, the more it comes down to the degree to which the palace, and its grounds, reflect the character of the king who caused it to be built. You may, for all I know, already be aghast at such heresy. Don't all the guidebooks wax lyrical about Versailles' magnificence? Indeed they do. It's unique, a World Heritage Site, one of the greatest of the world's palaces. Two days minimum are needed for a proper visit, insists the Michelin Green Guide. Well, the Miche would say that, wouldn't it, full as it is...

torr 28.11.2006 (05.12.2006) · Read review
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Review of Versailles

One day in Versailles...dangerous

Advantages: Ludic, history, decorations wonderful
Disadvantages: /

...Having visited the castle of Versailles, I am desired to further push my curiosity from this place of.history. I buy the CD-Rom of game which the name is : VERSAILLES, plot at the court of the sun king. I like much this game and I remake it with regular interval with always as much of pleasure. The palate in which you will move that of 1685 reconstituted very well thanks to technology 3D. Graphics are exceptional and give impression which we visit the rooms of the true castle of Versailles. The sound is a music but which with long tired the one but anything prevents you from cutting the music. The music is different according to the place where you are. In this game, all is realized to incite the gamer to visit this historical place later on. The goal of the game is like its name to thwart a plot: to put the hand...

joel56 01.12.2001 · Read review
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Review of Versailles (PC)

Le roi soleil et moi! (The Sun King and I)

Advantages: A fabulous day out
Disadvantages: One day is not enough, you will be exhausted!

...If you are going to Paris, my advice is forget Disneyland, go to Louisland! Here you can experience what life was like in the days of Louis the XIVth, at least for the well off in society. But this place is huge, so you will either have to be selective in what you see, or perhaps you could spend two days here (with hindsight, this is what we would have done.) In this review, I will tell you about what we saw, and perhaps a bit about what we missed, and offer some advice on how to make the most of the time you have available. I am afraid it might be a bit long, but you can always skip the bits that are not relevant to you, which is why I put headings in. ~Getting there~ ***************** As we were staying in Paris itself, we took a commuter train from gare Montparnasse to get to Versailles. This was relatively inexpensive...

weetoon 20.01.2006 (08.06.2006) · Read review
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Review of Versailles

Star Trek comes to Reykjavik

Advantages: Central location, superb use of technology, and not expensive either
Disadvantages: None that I can think of

...The Settlement Exhibition is a relatively new addition to the cultural landscape in Reykjavik, having only been opened to the public for a couple of years. It is situated on Aðalstræti in the centre of the oldest district of the city, and the remains of the Viking settlement that form the focus of the display were uncovered during construction work for a new hotel in 2003. Public interest in the discovery was so great that the government decided to preserve the integrity of the site and the archaeological research conducted there has provided a wealth of information about how the earliest settlers lived, all of which has been carefully preserved and beautifully presented in this fascinating museum. The centrepiece of the exhibition is the site of a Viking longhouse that was inhabited from the early 10th century, and to the north...

JVL 19.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Settlement Exhibition, Reykjavik

Versailles or the city I live in.

Advantages: really beautiful city, not so far from Paris.
Disadvantages: this is a city...

...Hi! This is my first op on this English Ciao website, and this is the reason why I chose to talk about the city I live in –Versailles. Yes, Versailles…in France. I’m a French girl studying the English language and Civilisation, and since I’ve really appreciated reading your opinions for a time, now I’ve taken the decision to join and write my own. So if you notice some grammatical mistakes or vocabulary ones, do not hesitate to tell me, I’ll be delighted to improve myself. Well, in fact I don’t really live in Versailles, but in the city just next to it; my flat is at the borderline between Viroflay and Versailles. Most of my activities take place in Versailles. I’ve been to highschool there, I often go shopping in Versailles, or made sport there, I also love to drive by...

frenchlady 20.03.2003 · Read review
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Review of Versailles, Miami

The Versailles of Maribor ? Mais non!

Advantages: The house stands in beautiful grounds, entrance is cheap
Disadvantages: Exhibtion is of limited interest

...of couples marry here. One either side, adjoining rooms in much worse condition can be viewed but only here and there can you see fragments of the old paintings. There was originally a house here during the Renaissance period which, I am told, was almost entirely destroyed by a fire and hence, rebuilt in the Baroque style. The exterior is pretty enough and the interior is worth seeing for the Knights Hall frescoes and the extravagant main staircase made of marble but I wouldn?t recommend a visit to see the museum particularly. I read after our latest visit that the mansion has been described as the ?Versailles of Maribor? ? but I suppose a building doesn?t have to be that grand in Maribor to gain that particular epithet. There are no places in the grounds to get refreshments but the nearby village of Razvanje has several places to get...

fizzytom 11.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Betnava Mansion, Maribor

A Partridge In A Pop Tree

Advantages: A Sprawling Eclectic Pop Epic
Disadvantages: Some Tracks Are A Touch Too Long

...Artist: XTC Album: English Settlement (1982) The year is 1982. Andy Partridge, chief songwriter and musician of XTC has a long player's worth of pure gold up his sleeve. The charts are full of meaningless tosh and lightweight pop. All the decent punk and post-punk acts have either dried up, fallen apart or gone off into fringe areas far away from the charts. Only XTC can save pop-rock !! In January of 1982 "Senses Working Overtime" became the Swindon outfit's first top ten single. In February the band's fifth album was released to widespread acclaim amongst the music press and managed to get as high as No.5 in the album charts. XTC had broken through...for a short while at least. On opening track "Runaways" bassist Colin Moulding explores, with some empathy and honesty, the plight of runaway children. No punches are...

andystrong 06.12.2003 · Read review
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Review of English Settlement - XTC

Settlement

Advantages: Third book in the new Saga
Disadvantages: Fantasy that will not appeal to everybody

......

Coloneljohn 08.06.2005 · Read review
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Review of Scepters (Corean Chronicles) - L.E. Modesitt

The Rain of Louis XIV

Advantages: Opulence, gardens, paintings
Disadvantages: Crowds

...they quickly blocked each room causing a swiftly growing backlog of people jostling to get from room to room. The second room again did not disappoint; a large bed decorated with ostrich feathers, walls with luxuriant wallpaper and large paintings. However, as I entered the third room I began to realise that once you have seen one room in Versailles you have seen them all. There are only so many paintings and ceilings that you can oh and ah over before you start to get an impending feeling of déjà vu. The Palace was not as rich as I had expected it to be. I only spotted one chandelier! The tapestries and wallpapers seemed faded and uncared for and the rooms looked as though they had been stripped and the contents left out for the rag and bone man, as most of the rooms were devoid of furniture. This meant that it was difficult to...

Ophelia 09.09.2003 · Read review
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Review of Chateau de Versailles, Paris