Bonjour,
This month, my Mot is a little longer than usual. I hope you
will forgive me and, above all, find my prose interesting! After a
well-deserved break, our first event of the year, the “Welcome (Back) Party”,
took place on 7 February at Lilias and Mike's house, but in a new format since,
to the delight of many members, we hired a caterer, Sapphire Coast Eats. A successful
evening, with 48 members, set in a wonderful atmosphere, with pleasant food,
plenty of laughter, and lively conversations—yet another truly memorable
evening! A big thank you to you all and a special one to our hosts, Lilias and
Mike.
In February, we also organised our first French-language
lunch debate, which took place on Thursday 26th at Metro restaurant in
Merimbula, bringing together 10 guests around a very convivial and chatty
table.
I strongly encourage you to show your support by visiting
Anh-Thu and Roger Stuart’s double exhibition that is taking place from the 20th
of this month at the Artspace Gallery in Bermagui. You will find all the
details on page 3 of La Mouette.
In this issue, La Mouette brings you more highlights from the
French scene, including an article that is sure to catch your attention on Les
Carrières de Lumières, a venue dedicated to digital art located in a former
limestone quarry in Les Baux-de-Provence (southern France). Floor-to-ceiling
projections of famous artists' works and music, creating a unique, 360-degree
sensory exhibition inside the 14-metre-high cavernous space. A fascinating experience
and a very interesting article written by Wal.
The Alliance Française French Film Festival is back for its
37th edition with 38 films celebrating the diversity of French cinema. From 5
March to 8 April (Canberra screenings will run until 12 April). For our
cinephiles the program is available via https://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org/
I recently read an article entitled ‘Eat cheese like the
French’, which I decided to share because it is not only relevant, but also
very informative: In a formal setting, the French have their cheese after the
main course but before the dessert – a sensible attitude as you will still have
enough appetite to enjoy the cheese. A small green salad is often served with
the cheese course, the sharp crunch and fresh bitterness of the leaves making a
refreshing contrast to the richness of the cheese. Bread is the favoured medium
of delivery rather than biscuits, plain so as not to distract from the flavour
of the cheese, and small hunks are torn off to accompany each mouthful not too
much! We are not making cheese sandwiches here. Or you could enjoy your cheese
au naturel in a more rustic, straightforward way – which would still be
eminently French.
To conclude, I discovered that the Dunkirk carnival
(Dunkerque - north of France) includes some rather surprising competitions,
including the world championship for the best seagull cry!!! I will tell you
more about this in next month's French Corner (the carnival continues until 18
April). Are there any volunteers to start training for the 2027 championships?
All that remains is for me to wish you happy reading, happy
movie viewing, happy seagull cry training and happy cheese tasting!
See you very soon, on 12 March in fact, for our first picnic
of the year.
Sylvie
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