Les Anglophones à Pau : Interview avec Arlene Bonamy ; Anglophones in Pau : Interview with Arlene Bonamy

Migration trajectory and oral history of English speakers in the city of Pau ; Female British citizen, aged 52 at the time of the interview. She was born in Northern Ireland and her father worked for the Royal Ulster Constabulary. She details elements of growing up in Northern Ireland, during the Troubles, and speaks of the IRA, and the difficulties. She speaks of the difficulties related to religion, attending church, as well as growing up in an environment, in what she perceives today as being void of emotions, or discussion about the issues going on in Northern Ireland, and in particular, in Belfast, where she lived. Her entire schooling was done in Northern Ireland, until she went to university in Edinburgh, to become a Physical Education teacher. She met and married a Frenchman, and they had one child, a son. They moved to Pau, where her husband came from, but subsequently divorced. She details life as a single mother, raising her son, and the (moral and civic) education that she gave to him. She discusses her re-marriage and her job as a teacher of English. She broaches the subject of language-learning, and expresses her opinions on the English-speaking community in Pau. She speaks, finally, of her love of the mountains, the countryside, and her pleasure to walk in in the mountains, that she describes today as being her ‘religion’. ; Citoyenne britannique, âgée de 52 ans au moment de l'entretien. Elle est née en Irlande du Nord et son père travaillait pour la Royal Ulster Constabulary. Elle décrit en détail son enfance en Irlande du Nord, pendant les Troubles (Conflit nord-irlandais), et parle de l'IRA et des difficultés qu'elle rencontrait. Elle évoque les difficultés liées à la religion, à la fréquentation de l'église, ainsi qu'au fait de grandir dans un environnement qu'elle perçoit aujourd'hui comme vide d'émotions ou de discussions sur les problèmes de l'Irlande du Nord, et en particulier de Belfast, où elle a vécu. Toute sa scolarité s'est déroulée en Irlande du Nord, jusqu'à ce qu'elle entre à ...