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