Chers tous,
Welcome to the September edition of your favourite
newsletter. On that note, do you realise that if you are reading this
newsletter, you are already halfway to your next trip to France!
Six members of the Papotage and Blahblah group braved the
cold wind and met up on 30 July at The Eddy by Toast café in Merimbula for a
delicious, chatty and cheerful get-together. During lunch, the fact that we
were speaking French attracted the attention of two younger women, one French
and one Flemish; I will leave you to imagine just how varied our topics of
conversation were!
Following an idea by Ian Showman, on 4 August, 33 members of
the Alliance Française gathered for a delicious lunch at ‘The Barracks’, the
student-run training restaurant at TAFE NSW Bega. For those of you who were
unable to attend, the menu was a true tribute to French cuisine, featuring
gougères, a ham hock terrine, duck confit served with a sour cherry jus,
melt-in-the mouth lamb navarin, a silky ratatouille and pommes Anna, to name
but a few of the dishes we were served. To round off the meal, we were treated
to some classic French desserts: profiteroles with hazelnut praline, crème brûlée
and crêpe Suzette — the perfect ending to a truly delicious meal. (see photos
on page 3). A huge thank you to Ian for this brilliant idea and to Mike for his
brilliant execution.
On 9 August, Wal and I went to Headland Theatre to see the
play “The Brainstorm”, and were delighted to catch up with a few members of the
Alliance Française. Patrick Dickson’s performance stands out for its intensity:
he takes to the stage alone for nearly two hours to portray several characters
and accents, whilst also evoking Guernsey’s wild seascape. Hats off to you, Mr
Dickson – you have captivated and enthralled us. Read on page 6 Simon Alridge’s
review.
Most of you will have heard about the photo competition
organised jointly by the Alliance Française network and the French Embassy in
Australia. You’ll find the details on pages 4 & 5, as well as on the
Alliance’s blog https:// afsaphir.blogspot.com/ I hope many of you will
participate in this event. Our next event is taking place on 17 September. I
definitely encourage you to join us for dinner, followed by the AGM and the
screening of the movie Les Choristes (The Chorus). Released in 2004, the film
was (and still is) a huge hit with the public, a little gem that you will
discover, with immense pleasure. The film is short and effective, funny and
poignant, cruel and tender. A little masterpiece that concludes with a
wonderfully nostalgic touch. I highly recommend it to you.
To finish my chitchat, I have a message specifically for our
car rally enthusiasts: for family reasons, I am unfortunately unable to
organise our rally this year. I can assure you that this is only a
postponement, and I look forward to seeing you all again next year for another
day of discovery and fun.
Sylvie
