From the President

 Chers tous,

I am writing these few words a few days before Wal and I leave for a two-month trip to France and Spain. The French part of our trip will include Normandy, a seven-day walk in Auvergne, the Cévennes and Provence, which could be an opportunity to organise another photo-discovery-evening and a source of inspiration for the travellers among us.

Conviviality and French tradition came together on 14 August during our lunch at the Masonic lodge: 34 members at the tables, croque-monsieur and croque-madame sandwiches in abundance, a green salad for balance... and to finish, my great-grandmother's legendary chocolate mousse. A pleasant moment, as simple as it was delicious. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who lent a hand, both in the dining room and in the kitchen, during the preparations and the final clean-up. Without you, this lunch would not have been possible. See photos on pages 5.

At Kerry's request, this month's recipe page will include the three recipes from the 14 August lunch: the croque-monsieur and the vinaigrette, both of them already published in previous editions of La Mouette, and my great-grandmother’s chocolate mousse.

Your monthly dose of French news:

• From the 1st of September the 70m-long Bayeux Tapestry will be closed to the public, while renovation works take place in the United-Kingdom, and will not reopen until October 2027, so if you had planned to see it, all you have to do now is be patient.

• The European Heritage Days, which this year runs on September 19, 20 and 21, will see some 17,000 sites across France opening their doors to the public. Included are the Elysées Palace, the Senate, some ministries, embassies, castles, industrial sites, workshops and even private villas. Should you be interested, you can discover the program on: journeesdupatrimoine.culture.gouv.fr/en/programme#/

Put adventure back on your calendar and join us at the end of November for our next Car Adventure Tour. As we are going to a touristic area booking in advance is more than highly recommended. For those of you who are keen to be part of this event, (some having already registered), you’ll find all the details you need on page 4 of this issue.

Wishing you all a very good AGM evening and an enjoyable movie, See you in November,

Sylvie

From the President

 

Chers tous,

Last month we had the pleasure to welcome Libby Hepburn and Patricia Daly in our Papotage & Blahblah group. We are now 13 members (including myself), all as chatty, funny and talented as each other and all delighted to share good times together while learning this difficult language that is French!

Bastille Day Celebration ! 32 members came together for a delightful gathering full of discussion and laughter, with a fantastic ambiance. Thanks to the very short quiz " , the delicious lunch and the scenic videos playing in the background, it was almost a mini escape to France. Thank you all for making this such a memorable day! Long live our frenchship and Vive le 14 juillet. See photos on page 3.

A few weeks ago Wal and I went on a trip to Victoria, it was walnut, hazelnut and chestnut season and of course we brought some home. The shopkeeper highly recommended a soup from Chestnuts Australia.  Gourmet as I am, you know me, not only did I make this soup, Spicy chestnut, pumpkin & pancetta soup, but also another one, Chestnut & mushroom soup. They are so good that I am sharing both recipes with you today. 

I recently read an article about Paris and Parisians’ attitude! At one point in the article, the author mentions public toilets. I know it is not really an interesting subject, but it can be surprising. Let me explain: there are plenty of public toilets in Paris, mainly those stand-alone, self-cleaning ones with a city map on the outer wall. These are a French invention, conceived 40 years ago by JC Decaux. On its website, the company proudly claims that “with 15 million users a year, the 435 toilets in Paris are the most visited places in Europe”. So much for the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower and so on… 

Our next Car Adventure Tour will take place on 27 November 2025: As we are going in a touristic area booking in advance is more than highly recommended. For those of you who would like to take part - and I hope there will be many of you - you'll find all the details you need on page 2 of this issue.

Hoping to see many of you at our Croque-Monsieur / Croque-Madame lunch,

A bientôt,

Sylvie

From the President

 Cher tous,

Our French lunch on 19 June brought together 10 members around a table in the garden of Candelo Café. With clear skies and sunshine, we enjoyed dining outside in a friendly, chatty atmosphere, all made for a very enjoyable afternoon (photo page 2). Our next lunch will be at the Tathra Wharf Cafe in early August.

French wine tasting on Thursday 26 June: for the first time, this biennial event offered a surprise: a tasting of truffle-based preparations to accompany the excellent French wines chosen by Brent McKay (Amazing Grapes, Canberra). With a total of 26 participants, including members and their guests, the evening offered a very pleasant mix of flavours and conviviality. In short, we all had a great time! Thank you to everyone who joined us for a most enjoyable event, not forgetting a huge thank you to Lilias and Mike for their hospitality (photos page 3 of your July edition of La Mouette).

In place of the usual recipe of the month, you'll find the recipe for the two favourite truffle preparations from the wine tasting evening: truffled Brie and mushroom & truffle spread. I hope you will enjoy them.

You might remember that our last Car Rally ended in Milton and, on this occasion, some members of the Alliance Française of Milton-Ulladulla joined us for our prize-giving dinner. Thrilled with the idea of organising their own car rally, they are coming to Merimbula at the end of the month. We would like to return the favour, and are inviting you to a joint lunch which will take place at the conclusion of their rally on Saturday 26 July at 1pm, either at Wheelers or the Wharf Restaurant. Mike will email you an invitation as soon as the venue has been chosen. It's a great opportunity to meet some very pleasant and cheerful ‘colleagues’ (I know those who have met them won't disagree with me!), exchange ideas and spend a relaxing afternoon in good company. We hope to see many of you there!

Time for your monthly slice of French news:

• Next month, the 44th Boules Carrées world championship will be held at Haut-de-Cagnes (Var) - you read that right, it is all about square boules, a game of boules with a real edge… ! Details of this particular game can be found under “Le Coin Français / French Corner” of this month’s newsletter.

• Le Tour de France: the start of the 112th edition of the Tour de France will commence from the European Metropolis of Lille on Saturday 5 July 2025, the finishing line will be as usual at The Champs Elysées on Sunday 27 July 2025. To discover the route and its stages https://www.letour.fr/en/overall-route

• France has voted to revive village cafés and bistros. From 200,000 cafés and bistros in 1960, France had just 38,800 by 2023. This situation mainly affects rural areas, despite the fact that their presence contributes to economic life and social cohesion, by keeping residents in the area, attracting tourists and businesses, and creating jobs. On 10 March this year, French MPs adopted, by 174 votes to 2, a bill aimed at simplifying the opening of bars in municipalities with fewer than 3,500 inhabitants, where there are none. The bill must now be examined by the Senate, the upper house of the French parliament.

• The eighth edition of Votre plus beau marché (France’s best market), organised by TV station TF1, has announced the name of the winning market, after millions of votes. Of the 24 markets in the running, the Béziers (Languedoc-Roussillon) market won the competition, with the Royan (Poitou-Charentes) market coming second and the Bergues (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) market third. So if your holiday takes you to one of these towns, don't forget to pay a visit to the market.

Hoping to see many of you at our Bastille Day luncheon,

A bientôt,

Sylvie

From the President

 Dear all,

As Somerset Maugham said, ‘there are few things as pleasant as a picnic’, and our picnic on Thursday 29 May was definitely pleasant, relaxed and convivial. 20 members got together to enjoy plenty of delicious food, brilliant weather and fresh air. You will find photos on page 3.

This month I would like to share some important news with you, the first and most significant being, that I have been promoted to the rank of grandmother! My granddaughter Romi was born on 17 May at 11.40pm and is as cute as a button.

In a recent referendum, Parisians voted for the pedestrianisation of more streets as well as increased planting of trees and flowers. More than 66% were in favour of the measure that will see 500 new pedestrianised streets. Work is now under way to identify which streets are suitable, it is estimated that it will take three years to implement all the work.

New requirements to travel to Europe:

⁃ The Entry/Exit System (EES) is expected to start in October 2025

https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees_en

⁃ The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will start operations in the last quarter of 2026

https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en

I really encourage you to leaf through the pages of this monthly newsletter, as it contains all sorts of articles on Limoges porcelain, corkscrews, music festival, etc., which are bound to be of interest to you.

Looking forward to seeing you in June for our next French Wine Tasting,

Sylvie.

From the President

 Chers tous,

Today is 1 May, a public holiday in France to celebrate Labour Day, which commemorates the social achievements of workers and has its origins in the fight for the eight-hour day. It is synonymous with International Workers' Day in most countries. It is also Lily of the Valley Day. Back on 1 May 1560, King Charles IX of France was presented with lily of the valley (muguet) flowers as a lucky charm. The King appreciated the gift so much that he decided to gift the flowers to every lady of his court every year on 1 May. This gesture started to become more commonplace at the beginning of the 20th century with men presenting lily of the valley flowers to women to express their affection. Nowadays, it has become custom to give a sprig of these flowers as a token of appreciation to close friends and family members on 1 May. For one day each year, the French government allows the tax-free sale of lily of the valley flowers on the street to promote this tradition and ensure its continuation.

Due to the persistence of French subtitles refusing to give way to those in English, your cinema night (24 April) began with a somewhat unexpected plot, but thanks to Lil and Mike Warren the evening was saved by replacing the film La Dégustation (The Degustation) with Eiffel, a film which in the end was apparently enjoyed by everyone. Many thanks to Lil and Mike for their responsiveness. For those of you who weren't interested in La Dégustation but would like to see Eiffel, the DVD is now available from our library. Please contact Rhonda, our librarian, should you need more details.

An exhibition on a cast-iron cocotte (casserole dish) may seem a far-fetched idea, but to mark its centenary, the Le Creuset brand has decided to pull out all the stops. The famous cocotte, the essential star of our grandmothers' kitchens, celebrated its centenary with a temporary exhibition held in Paris on 16 and 17 April. https://www.lecreuset.com.au/centenary/cap0216.html

An article published in France Today Magazine: “No Whey! Is The Future of French Cheese at Risk?” attracted my attention ; France without Camembert and Brie seems unthinkable, so if you agree with me and are interested, read the short article on page 3 of this month’s newsletter.

Looking forward to seeing many of you on 29 May for our picnic day! Please bring a chair, a bottle, and a plate to share, but before making any preparations, wait for Mike’s message with all the necessary details.

A très bientôt, See you soon,

Sylvie

From the President

 Bienvenue and welcome to the April edition of La Mouette! I would like to start this month's Mot du Président with a sincere thank you to Patricia Dive (Trish) for her continued and painstaking work as editor of La Mouette, and a further thank you to those of you who contribute from time to time. I hope you all enjoy this collaborative work, as well as (or: and enjoy) reading our newsletters.

15 March French regional dinner at Wheelers: 39 enthusiastic members, where good food, good humour and very pleasant weather all came together for a very enjoyable evening, the icing on the cake being that we were also treated to having a French waitress. Have a look at the photos on pages 4 and 5.

Our group of French speakers met for lunch on Friday 28 March at Sunny's Kiosk. As usual, the conversation was lively, especially as we were celebrating Brigitte's birthday. The next lunch in French is scheduled for June, will we have a birthday to celebrate…?

In this month's La Mouette, you will find another interesting article on Marie Curie written by Wal, the synopsis of the film The Tasting (La Dégustation), which we invite you to see on Thursday 17 April, and a truelicious recipe that I recommend you prepare and taste.

From 31 May to 21 September, the National Gallery of Australia presents Cézanne to Giacometti. The exhibition¹, which brings together more than 80 works from the collection of the Museum Berggruen (Berlin) and more than 75 works from the collection of the National Gallery, offers a journey through the rapidly changing face of European and Australian art during the 20th century

Le Courrier Australien, French-language newspaper in Australia, which has reported on significant historical events since 1892, is offering its second Collector’s Book, bringing together more than a century of news articles. Volume 2 takes you on a journey through time to discover the crucial moments in the Franco- Australian relationship. From the post-war years to the diplomatic complexities of the modern era, this collection of articles and photographs sums up the shared history and enduring friendship between the two nations. If you are interested, you can purchase volumes 1 (1892-1945) and 2 (1944-2024) by clicking on the following link: https://www.lecourrieraustralienfriends.org/shop

Easter is just around the corner again, so I wonder if you know that in France it's the bells that bring the chocolates to the children? In fact, one of the most intriguing Easter customs in France is the silence of the church bells. Beginning on Maundy Thursday, church bells across the country fall silent; according to tradition, the bells are said to have “flown to Rome” and return on Easter Sunday, joyfully ringing to celebrate the return of Christ, naturally they also signal the beginning of Easter egg hunts and other festivities.

Before saying goodbye, I would like to wish you an abundance of chocolate and a wonderful Easter, Joyeuses Pâques!

Sylvie

¹ Works from Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Paul Klee and Alberto Giacometti.

From the President

 Chers tous,

A little birdie (two in fact!) told me that with nearly 40 members present, great food and excellent hosts (as always!), and no rain despite the forecast, the Welcome Party was a success all round. Many thanks to Lilias and Mike for their hospitality and congratulations to all of you for your involvement in the evening.

Our French lunch-debate took place on Tuesday 25 February at the Toast Cafe Pambula, bringing together 11 guests around a very convivial and chatty table. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, and the food, as always, was a perfect blend of flavours to complement the very lively discussions taking place at the table. The group left the café with smiles on their faces, looking forward to the next meeting.

This month, you will find a very interesting article on pp 3-4 written by Wal, as well as an article on the Lascaux cave in our Coin Français/French Corner section; I highly recommend that you read both articles.

Should you want to practise your French, the French comedian and actress Tania Dutel will be performing at the Canberra Street Theatre on May 20th. Her style is characterised by feminist and frank humour, tackling personal issues with a certain audacity. The show will be performed entirely in French.

Finally, for fans of French cinema, you can find the programme of the Canberra French Film Festival by clicking on the following link: https://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org/films/canberra

News from France:

You may remember that last year, in one of the ‘French Corners’, I talked about the famous zinc roofs of Paris, I just want to add that the skills of Parisian zinc roofers and ornamentalists have been included on UNESCO's official list of the  Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.  Lonely Planet has named Toulouse as the top city destination in its Best in Travel ranking 2025. Known for its stunning  terra-cotta architecture, the city is often referred to as the “Pink City.” The travel guidebook publisher said that the city is  offering a maze of charming streets ‘overflowing with art galleries in repurposed industrial spaces, excellent food and  scenic river and canal banks’. A destination to consider for your next holiday in France… 

The people of the village of Dorlisheim in Alsace have set the record for the longest tarte flambée (a traditional Alsatian  dish called flammekueche - recipe published in La Mouette in June 2021) at 45.85 m, beating the previous record of  38.80 m set in June 2022. To bake this giant version, the locals built a special device consisting of a double oven and 46  metres of stainless steel plates forming a tunnel. The recipe required 35 kg of pastry, 35 kg of cheese and cream, 40 kg of  bacon, 15 kg of onions and two and a half hours of cooking. The tarte was then sliced and sold for charity.

A très bientôt,