Alliance Française de la Côte de Saphir
35th year anniversary picnic lunch
In response to members’ feedback it has now been decided to celebrate the 35th anniversary of our Alliance with a picnic.
When? Friday 22 September at 12 midday
Where? At Lions Park, Pambula Beach. Drive along Coraki Drive in Pambula Beach and you’ll see a little, white-fenced driveway entrance on the left before you go down the hill to the river mouth. There’s a large pergola, BBQ’s and picnic tables maintained by the Lions Service Club community.
What to bring? Bring a plate to share and BYO drinks. Sylvie and Wal will be providing the birthday cake!
What to wear? Wear something typically French or typically Australian!
ST PATRICK’S DAY FRENCH DINNER AT
TIDAL RESTAURANT
On Friday, 17 March a total of 28 attendees (seven of whom
were guests of Alliance members) celebrated St Patrick’s day with a French
dinner at Tidal Restaurant. Of course, many of you will be aware that St
Patrick was not French but as all French celebration days have a patron saint,
and as the seventeenth was indeed St Patrick’s day, we made him an honorary
Frenchman for the day. We extend our apologies to any Irish members of our
group who feel slighted by this initiative but feel that it can be justified by
the Gaelic roots shared by both France and Ireland.
As always, Executive Chef Gavin Swalwell at Tidal Restaurant
provided an excellent menu and served a suite of wonderful dishes which were
enjoyed by all. The new location of the restaurant on the foreshores of
Merimbula Lake provided diners with some of the best views of Merimbula at a convenient
location easily accessible to most of our members. In addition to our own local
native French speakers, we were glad to welcome on this occasion two guests from
Provence, Isabelle and Abdel Oustalet, who were staying at Brigitte and Simon’s
house which they located on a French house swap website. Isabelle and Abdel
were wonderful and charming visitors who spent a week touring around our region
and appreciated its many points of beauty. However, coming as they do from the region
of France which boasts the world famous Miliiau viaduct, they were amused and
fascinated by some of the rickety wooden bridges in our shire. Regrettably,
something of a pall was cast over our celebrations with the news that President
Sylvie was diagnosed with Covid and was unable to attend due to her
‘confinement’ (an expression which has different connotations in English from
what it has in French). However, while her symptoms were initially very uncomfortable,
I understand that she is now over the worst of it and is on the mend. We send
Mme Presidente our best wishes and hope for her speedy recovery.
Car Adventure Tour
The weather gods were smiling on Sunday 23 October as 7 cars
(teams) and 22 Alliance members set off on the Car Adventure Tour. Although it
was overcast there was no rain so we had perfect conditions for driving.
We were the last ones to meet Sylvie who handed us cryptic
instructions which we had to work out in order to find Wal. We quickly solved
the first clue and found Wal at Bar Beach looking like Wal in “Where’s Wally?”
He handed us an envelope which contained a list of 33 questions, quizzes and
riddles that we needed to answer throughout the Car Adventure.
First stop was the Merimbula water tank where we had to find
the name of the creator of the artwork on the water tank. We probably lingered
a little too long looking for the name of the artist. Eventually we resorted to
the internet where we found that the artwork was created in 2016 by local
artist Stan Squire.
The route then led us towards Bega, then Quamma, Cobargo,
Bermagui and finally Tathra. On the way we had to work out a variety of clues
e.g., look for Ned Kelly, count solar panels and wooden bridges, look for a
certain farm gate with Seldom Inn on it , and spot a group of letter boxes. We
had no idea there were so many groups of letter boxes in the area that look
very similar! Although we did not decipher every clue we gained a great deal of
satisfaction when we worked out the answers to some of them.
The Car Tour finished at the Mogareeka Lions Park in Tathra
where prizes were awarded and a picnic lunch was enjoyed with lots of laughter
and shared stories of our Adventure Tour. We are looking forward to the next Adventure
Car Tour now that we have worked out Sylvie’s style of cryptic clues. Next time
we will have at least three team members, one to drive, one to navigate and one
to research the internet! Many thanks to Sylvie for organising such an
enjoyable day.
Patricia Dive and Nikki Jane
2022 AGM
The
Annual General Meeting of Alliance Française de la Côte de Saphir was held on 8 September 2022. The committee and contact details are shown in the following table.
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President
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Sylvie
Dubrulle
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0409240259
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mansynette@gmail.com
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Vice
President
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Robert
McCombie
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0407294486
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robertgmccombie@gmail.com
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Secretary
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Michael
Warren
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0411024998
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mikewarren1954@gmail.com
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Treasurer
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Kerry Hunting
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0409589 301
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khintura@gmail.com
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Librarian
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Carole Thomas
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0412 884 304
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carolethomas@bigpond.com
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|
La Mouette
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Patricia Dive
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0414372823
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pj.dive@bigpond.com
|
|
General
Committee
|
Wal Wolzak
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0419 918 329
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wal.wolzak@gmail.com
|
|
Membership
|
Kerry Hunting
|
|
|
|
Pétanque:
|
Michael
Warren
|
|
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Sapphire Coast Car Adventure Tour, February 2022
Report by Anh-Thu Stuart
My reaction after completing the first half of this tour can be summarised in three words: Formidable! Intéressant! Original!
Congratulations to Sylvie and Wal, the creators of this adventure!
The inaugural event of the Car Adventure Tour was scheduled for August 2021. However, due to Covid, it was postponed to the 13th of February 2022. As a result Sylvie and Wal had to revise their intial plan making many trips in the region and updating the questionnaire. Sylvie and Wal were inspired by a photo they took in 2017 in Pornic (Brittany) of several 2 CVs, part of a 2 CV Rallye Automobile.
February 13th was a beautiful sunny day. We started in the car park at Park Street in Merimbula and Sylvie gave each of the teams a set of papers with instructions on what to do to complete the adventure. There were 25 participants in 8 teams with exotic names such as Red Hot Oldies, Les Navigateurs Perdus, les Espoirs.
The circuit was approximately 130 km long starting at the car park in Merimbula and ending at the Mandeni Family Park. There were 45 questions to answer and two tasks to complete. In some cases we could not move forward unless we solved the riddle.
The questions were clever and the answers which we could come up with were very informative of the region. For example "Why was Whipstick so named and by whom?" The full answer is "Whipstick received its name from the teamsters who used to camp there on the trip from Monaro to the seaboard with the Monaro wool clip. It was here that they cut their whip-handles for the place was famous for its young mountain ash, stringybark and she-oak trees. The teamsters called these young trees whipsticks.” What is amazing is that Google could not help us answer some of the questions!
The Rebus puzzles or picture riddles were fun to solve. But one that had us beaten was the one that involved Nethercote. We guessed in the end that it was Nethercote because there was a coat in the picture!
We had to interrupt our adventure in Wyndham because we had to go to Canberra for a Jazz concert, but we wish we had done the full trip. For us it was fun but it also provided an interesting discovery of our region. The back country behind Eden and Pambula was beautiful as we were winding through picturesque country lanes and crossed many rivers and creeks. We look forward to the next one.
Report by Rob McCombie
Before we left Wyndham, among other things we had to
determine how many windows of a particular building faced the street. This led to a deep philosophical discussion
among Les Navigateurs Perdus as to what, existentially, constitutes a
window. For example, is a fenêtre à
battants one window or two? Is a
porte-fenêtre a window at all? Still
scratching our heads, we decided that Candelo was our next destination, not
because any of us had been to Piedmont, Italy, from whence Candelo gets its
name, but because we knew that it was the next closest town and it had a
speedway at the entrance to the town.
After Candelo, the clues took us on towards Toothdale and
then got us lost within the sprawling metropolis of Wolumla (we were after all
Les Navigateurs Perdus) but we sensed that we were on the home stretch and started
to work hard on collecting seed pods and pine cones and trying to think of the
names of French cars, and remember how many creeks and roundabouts we crossed
during the day.
In the end The Red Hot Oldies blitzed the field not only with
First Prize for the rally, but also for being the most elegantly attired team
for the day. A big congratulations to
them on their skill and local knowledge.
Second prize went to imaginatively-named ‘Car Rally’ team while the
presciently-named ‘Navigateurs Perdus’ stole the Lanterne Rouge (Wooden Spoon)
prize.
After the prizes were awarded, we all sat down to a pleasant
lunch enjoying the stunning weather and the caroling of the very tame local
magpies. I strongly support Anh-Thu’s words of thanks and congratulations to
Sylvie and Wal for having introduced us to a novel and interesting event and
one which hopefully can be repeated in our future annual programs.
Coupe d’Antibes
Although numbers were down it did not dampen the enthusiasm
of the members competing for the Coupe d’Antibes on Sunday 5 December. Onlookers
were entertained with a high standard of play.
The winners were Les Jolies (Jessica Smith, Lilias Warren and Mike
Warren) while the runners up were Très Belle (Mareta Collins, Brigitte Leroy
and Kerry Hunting) who were undefeated until the final match.
2021 Welcome Picnic Day
The weather
was ideal for our 2021 Welcome Picnic/Pétanque day. 34 members attended and
enjoyed a relaxing day playing and watching pétanque, catching up with friends
and meeting new members.
The highest
score on the day was achieved by Arc-en-ciel (Peter Johnson, Brigitte Leroy and
Jan Showman), 13 to zero (!) against valiant players who were unlucky on the
day.
President Robert McCombie presented French wine and the Coupe d'Antibes to the winners, "Les Trois Amis" (Nikki Jane, Bill Schwensen and Mike Coghlan)
Runners up were "Napoleon" (Phil Woof, Greg Dive and Barry Hewes)
Spectators enjoy the competition
WELCOME PARTY 2020
Our big event to make a
start to 2020 was the welcome function held at Mike and Lilias’place on
Saturday, 8 February and was attended by over 40 members and guests. This was
an outstanding success given the absence of a number of members who were
visiting interstate. A highlight of the evening was the generosity and culinary
skill of the many who provided us with a tempting array of entrees, mains and
desserts from regional France. I would like to thank all of those who brought something
along and made the night a success. Another highlight was the attendance of two
new members, John and Helen Verhelst who we welcome most warmly to our group.
French Wine Tasting - 29th November 2019
Brent Mackay of Amazing Grapes in Canberra will again be presenting a wide selection of French wines in time to boost member’s cellars for Christmas and the New Year. Brent grew up on the Sapphire Coast and still has family here. He supplies wines to several of the regional hotels and clubs, including Tura Beach Country Club. A range of French wines will be presented by Brent for us to try at no cost or obligation to buy but you will be able to order any of the wines on the night if you wish. The event will be open firstly to members, then if the numbers allow, guests may be invited by members for a nominal charge of $5 pp. Mike and Lilias Warren are again hosting this event from 5pm to 7pm. If you would like to attend please email Mike Warren at mikewarren1954@gmail.com by 24th November. There will be plenty of information and tasting notes provided on the night. The last tasting was very successful and provided excellent quality wines at bargain prices.
Wine
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Region
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Price
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NV Madame Du Monte Blanc de Blanc
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Alsace
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$12
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NV Monmousseau Brut Etoile Rose
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Loire Valley
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$20
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2017 Le Chat Noir Pinot Gris
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Aude Valley
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$13
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2017 Jean Luc Mader Riesling
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Alsace
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$25
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2017 Domaine Pichot Vouvray Sec Coteau
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Loire Valley
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$22
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2016 Gerard Bertrand Special Reserve Chardonnay
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Languedoc
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$20
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2018 Atrea Rose
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Provence
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$15
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2017 Parnasse Syrah
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Languedoc
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$13
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2016 Mont Redon Cotes du Rhone Reserve
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South Rhone
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$18
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2015 Barons De Rothschild Mouton Cadet
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Bourdeaux
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$25
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A Surprise Wine
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???
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$19
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Coupe d'Antibes
The Christmas Party and Coupe d’Antibes pétanque competition will be BYO everything, including food, drinks, cutlery, crockery and chairs. There will be a complimentary Kir Royal, French bubbly or a soft drink to greet you before the competition begins. And don’t forget to bring something for Morning tea! Date: Sunday, 8th December 2019 Time: 10:00am for welcome drink & the teams' draw Place: Mandeni Family Fun Park, Sapphire Coast Drive, Tura Beach RSVP: If you wish to participate in the Coupe d’Antibes, please email / call Clive Roberts by Monday 2nd December at cliverob@internode.on.net or on 6495 9324. This is always a very sociable and fun day to see out the year. I hope all our members can join us, if not for pétanque, at least for lunch and perhaps, a glass of wine! We hope to see you there!
Rob McCombie and the Committee
French Inspired Lunch
On
Sunday 3 November we enjoyed our last French inspired lunch of the year at
Wheelers’ Restaurant, Pambula. Thirty-two of our members enjoyed wonderful
food, good wine and great company. Our Maître(sse) d’ got into the French
flavour of the occasion wearing a French beret and greeted us all on arrival
with a cheery ‘Bonjour’ Even the welcome shower of rain which fell while we
were eating didn’t dampen our spirits. The only thing that slowed us down a bit
was the trivia quiz which had most of us scratching our heads trying to
remember critical names and dates. Not so, however, for Neil Porter and his
team who carried off first prize in grand style.
Lumiere Recorder Concert
Sunday 29 September, St Clements Church, Merimbula
2019 AGM
At the 2019 AGM the following members were elected to various positions:
President: Robert McCombie
Treasurer: Kerry Hunting
Secretary: Mike Warren
Committee and Editor of La Mouette: Clive Roberts
Committee and Librarian: Anh-Thu Stuart
Committee: Liz James and Trish Dive
The AGM was followed by the film ‘C’est La Vie’ which was a hit at the 2018 Alliance Française French Film Festival. Members then retired to the Top Pub for a delicious dinner, drinks and conversation.
Bastille Day Lunch at Tathra Hotel
(see Home and La Mouette for details)
FRENCH WINE TASTING EVENT –
FRIDAY 7 JUNE 2019
Your Alliance arranged another free French Wine Tasting event and again the wines were supplied by Brent Mackay of “Amazing Grapes” of Canberra. A range of 9 French wines were presented by Brent for us to try and most attendees were happy to order at very attractive prices.
French Film Night
Nibbles and wine set the mood before the film "The Student and Mr Henri" which was a lovely story with many laughs and some serious moments, enjoyed by just over 30 members and guests. And the late dinner at the Top Pub was a great social occasion with the kitchen providing excellent pub style food. I good night out. And we'll have another one in September.
Les Miserables Cabaret and Dinner
30 March 2019
Oaklands Event Centre
Alliance Française de la Côte de Saphir
2019 Welcome Party - Saturday 9 February 2019, 6pm
Christmas Party & Coupe d’Antibes 2018
What a Memorable Day !!!
Sunday
dawned bright, sunny, warm and calm and members of the Committee and volunteer
helpers began setting up ready for our final event of the year. Little did we
know that by 10 am there would be a raging gale and heavy rain sweeping in at a
45 degree angle!! Oh, and it felt like the temperature dropped by about 10
degrees! A quick weather radar search by Mike Warren indicated that the storm
should clear in about half an hour so we literally battened down the hatches
& declared an early morning tea. That proved to be a very good decision as
not only was the radar prediction correct, it gave all of the 28 attendees a
chance to catch up and it was an excellent excuse to enjoy the wonderful
assortment of cakes, slices and biscuits ahead of the competitive pétanque
matches. Before play began, President Robert welcomed everyone and announced
that there would be an additional prize this year for the player demonstrating
the most ‘Style’. Robert explained that it would be judged solely on the way
the player delivered the boule, not the end result and Margaret Gaunson agreed
to be the adjudicator. Eventually we started an hour late thanks mainly to the
sterling efforts of President Robert who worked diligently with his blower to
clear the large pool of water on pitch number one. We also decided to shorten
the time limit on matches to 20 minutes and this enabled us to get back on
schedule. Liz James, who had not played pétanque before volunteered to be
collator and general match organiser which meant the playing number was reduced
to 9 teams of 3 players. Many thanks to Liz for an excellent job. A preliminary
round was necessary & this resulted in a win for ‘les Formidables’ and an
early exit unfortunately for ‘les Canards’. The first round matches were all
very close with just a point or two being the difference. Winners were ‘le
Cassoulet’, ‘les Femmes de Style’, ‘Tonnerre’ and ‘les Poilus’. The defeated
teams of ‘les Optimistes’, ‘The Mudrunners’ (very apt for the conditions), ‘Maillot
Jaune’, (who could not repeat last year’s victory) & ‘les Formidables’ took
their losses sportingly & were enthusiastic spectators for the remaining
matches. The first semi-final was very competitive but finally ‘le Cassoulet’
pulled clear of ‘les Femmes de Style’. The second was a convincing win for ‘les
Poilus’ beating ‘Tonnerre’ by 14 points to 4. The Grand Final between ‘le
Cassoulet’ (Brigitte Leroy, Mike Coghlan & Bill Schwensen) and ‘les Poilus’
(Wendy Coghlan, Bruce Gaunson & Mike Warren) was an entertaining match
enlivened by plenty of encouragement & barracking from the spectators. In
the end ‘les Poilus’ finished strongly to win by 10 point to 5. You could say
that ‘le Cassoulet’s’ goose (or should that be duck) was well and truly cooked
!! Before the presentations by the President to the winners & runners-up, Margaret
Gaunson announced the winner of ‘le plus stylé’ award. To the acclaim of
everyone, the clear winner was Brigitte Leroy who received a bottle of wine.
Félicitations à Brigitte !
Clive Roberts
“Repas Lyonnais”
Seventeen
members and four guests enjoyed a sumptuous 5 course Sunday lunch at Waves
Restaurant on 4th November. The theme was the Lyon area, which has the reputation
of being the culinary capital of France. The food and wine were excellent, as
was the company (of course). The amuse bouche was a cucumber and mint
vichyssoise, which was very refreshing and livened up the taste buds. The
conversations were in full swing but when the trivia teams were formed and the
quiz questions reviewed, there were more serious debates. Except on Table 2
where the hilarity was a constant backdrop throughout the afternoon. Maybe less
than serious answers were being debated??
For entrée,
it didn’t matter if you chose the pork and apple terrine or the crab and prawn bisque,
both were full of flavour and enjoyed by all. To freshen the palate, a deep red
raspberry sorbet was just the ticket to prepare for the fresh Eden fish fillet
with saffron & potato puree and tomato fish sauce or the pan seared duck
breast, with orange & sweet potato puree, asparagus and red wine jus. The
trivia was hotly contested, with three teams finishing with 14 correct (out of
20), so the tie breaker question was required, with a team from Table 1 the
clear winners. The prizes for the three team members had been carefully
selected and wrapped by Liz James and included items typical of the Lyon region
including Puy lentils, hand-made chocolate truffles, dried French herbs and tea
lights (representing the Festival of Lights held in December, which is a major draw
card in Lyon for locals and tourists). Well done and thanks Liz.
The
supplementary tie breaker question wasn’t needed but when asked, the diners
needed some encouragement to increase their estimates of the number of
restaurants listed on TripAdvisor for Lyon. The trivia questions and answers
are included on page 3 in the November edition of La Mouette for your entertainment.
I bet your estimate of the number of
restaurants in Lyon will be well under the number listed in the answers! Desserts
of chocolate and salted caramel tart with vanilla ice cream or cream brulee
with tulle and berry compote were enjoyed by all but I didn’t notice much
sharing between partners!! The matching wines included a glass of champagne on
arrival and a range of local and French red and white wines, which were well
suited to the dish they accompanied. They included a red wine from the Rhone region,
which was fitting, as Lyon is in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The crème brûlée was matched with a
botrytis “sticky” which had just the right level of sweetness. Those who chose
the chocolate tart were matched to a French calvados that had a delightful
apple cider aroma and a throat warming taste. It was well after 3pm before the
crowd stirred to leave and many happy faces were evident. Some of the guests
enjoyed themselves so much they are considering joining Alliance Française.
Mike Warren
AGM and French Film Night
The Annual General meeting of Alliance Francaise de la Cote de Saphir was held at 5.30 pm Wednesday 5th September 2018 at the CWA Hall, Toalla St, Pambula. The Committee for 2018 / 19 consists of:
President - Robert McCombie
Treasurer - Kerry Hunting
Secretary - Mike Warren
Committee & Library - Anh-Thu Stewart
Committee & La Mouette editor - Clive Roberts
Committee - Liz James
The AGM was followed by a French Film Night. The film was Summer Hours by Olivier Assayas who posed the question ‘how much or how little are we obliged to honour the wishes of our parents after they're gone?’ In the film, the divergent paths of three forty-something siblings collide after their mother (Edith Scob), heiress to her uncle's exceptional 19th century art collection, dies suddenly, leaving them to come to terms with themselves and their differences. Adrienne (Juliette Binoche) a successful New York designer, Frederic (Charles Berling) an economist and university professor in Paris, and Jeremie (Jeremie Renier) a dynamic businessman in China, are forced to discuss the practical details concerning the collection: preserve or sell? Display, or protect?
Bastille Day Dinner and Cabaret
We celebrated Bastille Day on 14 July with a fabulous French themed three course dinner at Oaklands Event Centre with a French Cabaret entertainer of the highest calibre.
Eliane Morel studied Voice at the Canberra School of Music, completed a BA Hons in Theatre at UNSW and a Diploma of Playwriting at NIDA and is now a principal singer with Opera Bites in Sydney (https://www.operabites.com.au/). This year she will be appearing in Don Pasquale, Die Fledermaus and The Barber of Seville, as well as numerous concert performances. She has worked as a concert singer throughout Sydney and Regional New South Wales, including concerts for Newcastle Festival Opera, Newcastle Musica Viva and the Sapphire Coast Musical Society.
Eliane has performed as an actor/singer for Citymoon Theatre, Kantanka Theatre and the Asian Australian Artists’ Association and is currently writing ‘Disenchanted’ - a cabaret about characters in fairy tales whose stories are never told – to be performed as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival, 2018.
FRENCH WINE TASTING EVENT
A group of 36 eager
wine tasters turned out for a taste of 9 different French wines on Saturday 16
June. The evening started with our Sommelier, Brent Mackay from Amazing Grapes
in Canberra opening bottles of “bubbly” (Veuve Ambal Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc
de Blanc NV). It was a great start to the night and at only $17 a bottle, many
were ordered. A Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc (a 2016 Beau Mayne from Dourthe Wine
Estates) pleased many a palate and at $15 a bottle was also good value and an
interesting comparison to the NZ style.
Some expected the
Alsace Riesling to be too sweet but were pleased to taste a lovely dry Riesling
(the 2016 from the domain of Joseph Cattin). The quality shone through at $21 a
bottle and a few were ordered as well. Many were looking forward to tasting
another wine from the Vouvray area, as we had enjoyed them at both previous
tastings. This beauty came from a growers co-operative that some members had
visited in 2017. The Lys Vouvray Tranquille Tendrevoe was well supported by
orders on the night and as we now know, these chenin blanc white wines from
Vouvray can improve for decades.
Many recall lovely
French Rosé’s from Provence and the Tres Trois Rosé filled the spot. As the
name suggests, there were three drivers for this wine - geography, geology and
climate and it was described as “as a classically expressive, pale and dry
Provence Rose”. The 2016 Le Chat Noir Pinot Noir, had a distinctive label and
was described as a “a brilliant, and inexpensive French pinot noir from the
Aude Valley, rather than Burgundy which might explain why the makers can
produce such concentration and flavour for so few dollars”. While it was a
pleasant pinot, only a few of those present were sufficiently impressed to
order more.
The first of the reds
was a Lavau Cotes du Rhone Rouge blend. This lighter style red was maybe too
light for most of the crowd, even at $16 a bottle. But some were ordered. The
difference in style between Shiraz and Syrah was explained by sommelier Brent
who poured the 2016 Syrah from Parnasse, in the Languedoc region, priced at
only $13. It appears many of the members prefer their shiraz a little bigger,
more substantial, and are able to find good Australian shiraz at a similar
price. The last of the advertised wines was from Bordeaux, a 2014 Château Pey
la Tour from Dourthe Wine Estates, which pleased many of those present. At a
price of $28 a bottle, you would expect to be happy and a few were ordered. As
with most of the reds presented, they tasted better with more time to breathe.
The surprise of the
night was the wine used for an “options game”. This guessing competition saw a
few bemused faces and some confusion, as most were not able to pin it down as a
“typical Bordeaux blend”, predominantly Merlot and from New Zealand. The 2016
Te Mata Merlot / Cabernets was a tasty if perplexing wine on first tasting but
Kaye Separovic won through the crowd to take the prize.
There were many happy
and appreciative comments on the night and the next day, including “a fun night
out”, “quite educational” and “a good time”. Brent indicated he was happy to
run another event if we asked him, so our Treasurer Kerry Hunting did so !! So
watch this space!
Mike Warren
(Brent supplies Bermagui
Cellars, 4 Bunga St, Bermagui so why not call in for your wines when next in
Bermagui .)
FRENCH FILM NIGHT
L'École Buissonière (The School of Life) (2017)
This film was a touching story of a young boy whose life was transformed when he left an orphanage in the city to live in the countryside. We had a capacity attendance and the film was enjoyed by all. If you missed it you can borrow the DVD from our Library.
Synopsis Filmmaker Nicolas Vanier (director Belle and Sebastian 2013) borrows from his own childhood experiences growing up in Sologne to make l'École Buissonière (The School of Life ) – a feel-good story about a boy whose miserable existence in a Parisian orphanage is changed forever when he is taken to live in rural France. Paul (Jean Scandel) has only ever known the dark, prison-like world of high walls, fear and melancholy of the orphanage in which he lives. When entrusted to the care of Célestine (Valérie Karsenti) and Borel (Éric Elmosnino,The Bélier Family,) Paul is whisked away to leafy forests, misty ponds and vast fields of Count de la Fresnaye for whom Célestine and Borel work. When he befriends an eccentric poacher, Totoche (FrançoisCluzet, The Intouchables, 2011), Paul learns about life, the many secrets of the Count’s mysterious forests and that his coming to Sologne was more than just pure chance.
Breathtakingly photographed, Vanier’s film is a loving child’s-eye ode to the beauty of the natural world – and what it can teach us about life and death – that cannot help but make everyone who sees it smile.
Welcome Party 2018
Our first social event of the year, the Welcome Party, was held at
Lilias and Mike Warren’s house on 17th February. More than 40 members and
guests attended - the largest attendance so far. Everyone was greeted and made
very welcome with a glass of Kir Royale, French champagne or a soft drink.
Much work had been done by Lilias, Mike and volunteers to ensure that
everyone had a comfortable place to sit and enjoy the vast array of food
available. An authentic atmosphere was created by a French radio station
playing in the background, and a display of French and Australian flags and
colourful murals.
Anh-Thu Stuart gave a bi-lingual welcome address introducing the
Committee members & a French guest, Aurelia Monfort, recently arrived in
Cobargo from Lille.
The main event of the evening then began with a delicious French
onion soup and a variety of dishes including casserole de poulet, boeuf bourguignon
au vin rouge, quiche lorraine, and salade niçoise to name but a few. There followed
a delightful range of desserts to choose from including tarte aux poires, crème
au caramel and other delicious treats culminating with a lovely selection of
cheeses. The standard of catering improves every year and indeed was a match
for the best of local restaurants.
Many thanks to everyone for making it such a great start to the
year and particularly, to Mike and Lilias who were so generous in opening up
their lovely home to everyone and making us so very welcome.
French
Regional Lunch – Seafood and Seaside
In October a group of 40 members and guests enjoyed the French seafood
lunch and trivia quiz at Indulge Restaurant at Tura Beach Country
Club. The main meals included a choice of Bouillabaisse, Trellis of
Salmon and Kingfish or a non-seafood alternate, Beef Cheeks.
The desserts were magnificent ! Whether you chose the Crepes
with Orange Meringue, the Tarte Tartin or the Tarte Citron, all were very well
presented and tasted even better.
The trivia quiz included a series of multiple choice questions with
links to the French seaside and cuisines from those regions. Tie
breaker questions had been prepared but were not needed on the day, as there were
clear winners of the quiz. But “waste not, want not” … (see below, the
correct answers are underlined).
1. A
Galette is similar to a Crepe. Where do Galettes originate
from? Upper or Lower Haute-Bretagne (Upper or Lower
Brittany)? Galettes originate from Haute-Bretagne (Upper
Brittany), or Gallo country, Crêpes from
Basse-Bretagne (Lower Brittany).
2.
The Spotted Ratfish is actually a harmless relative to the shark
family. What is the colour of its
eyes? a Black b) Red c) Emerald green
3. Was France the first country to ban supermarkets from
throwing away unsold food and instead must give to charities and other
services? Yes, in 2016.
French Film Night
The
French Film Night on Wednesday 16 August was
attended by more than 30 members and guests. After convivial nibbles and
drinks, the film ‘Rosalie Blum’ was very well received.
Most of the attendees then adjourned to the Top Pub for dinner and a good
chat.
Bastille Day Dinner
A big thank you to all 92 of our members
and their guests who attended our annual Bastille Day dinner at the Tura Beach
Country Club. This is the biggest attendance we have had for many years and
probably the biggest ever.
The Tura Beach Country Club provided a
great venue and a wonderful menu which was enjoyed by all. With Mike Warren as
MC and Greg Hunting as quiz master the evening was lively but relaxed and
bottles of French wine found their way to the fortunate few who had an amazing
knowledge of French history and culture. Mareta Collins was in good voice
and led us all in delivering a rousing rendition of La Marseillaise. A special
thanks needs to go to Treasurer Kerry Hunting for her work in organising the
event and to other committee members who assisted.
Amities
Rob McCombie
Free French Wine Tasting
Thursday 22 June from 5pm to 7pm
About 30 people attended the free French Wine Tasting event. The wines were supplied by “Amazing Grapes”, a wine distribution company from Canberra owned by Brent Mackay. Brent grew up on the Sapphire Coast and still has family here. He supplies several of the regional hotels and clubs, including The Lakeview Hotel.
Brent selected the following wines for us to try at no cost or obligation.
- 2015 Madame Coco Blance de Blanc, Aude Valley, $18
- 2015 Parnasse Sauvignon Blanc, Languedoc, $14
- 2014 Domaines Schlumburger Pinot Blanc, Alsace, $25
- 2015 Bertaine et Fils Pinot Noir, Aude Valley, $18
- 2014 Dourthe Estates Terasse de la Jolle, Medoc Bordeaux, $30
- 2014 Bernard Schurr Cotes du Rhone Village, Southern Rhone, $22
Dinner at the
Ritzy Wine & Tapas Bar
The last
day of our lovely Autumn here on the Sapphire Coast saw a gathering of 33
members enjoying a Tapas meal at the Ritzy Wine & Tapas Bar in Merimbula.
Ritzy’s had kindly allowed us to create a bit of ‘French atmosphere’ with our
French flags, tablecloths & settings so there was a festive air. After
enjoying pre-dinner drinks and catching up with old friends in the bar, we all
sat down to await the feast. We were not disappointed as Ritzy’s maintained their
high standards of food and service, delighting us with a varied selection of
tasty courses. We started with a lovely fresh garden salad, and a selection of marinated
olives and toasted bread. This was quickly followed by ‘melt in the mouth’ orange
and chili calamari cooked to perfection. Next came delicious grilled pork chorizo
then lovely and tender lamb cutlets marinaded in mint, garlic and lemon. All
the while everyone was enjoying lively conversation with plenty of laughter,
washed down with a variety of beverages, including French wine. Word has it
that Bill was even conversing in French with Hilaire! Incroyable! Next we had blue
cheese risotto balls and to finish the main course there was double crumbed,
triple cream, deep fried local Tilba Brie. Delicious! Finally the dessert was
either vanilla bean panacotta with espresso syrup and brandy snap or baked
banana pudding with salted caramel sauce and Bailey's cream. I think it is fair
to say that a good time was had by everyone! Photos are shown in the June
edition of La Mouette.
Roll on the
next event!
Clive
Roberts
Conversation en Français
La deuxième réunion des membres de l'Alliance qui jouissent parler français a prit place le 3 mars au Garden Room du Pambula Golf Club. Wolfgang parlait de l'histoire fascinante de son grand-père paternel, qui était un esclave en Asie centrale après avoir devenu un prisonnier de guerre de l'armée tsariste pendant la Grande Guerre, qui voyageait 6,000 km pour retourner chez soi et qui devenait un maître verrier, c.à-d. un gardien du savoir secret comment produire les mille variétés de verre en mille couleurs différentes. Cette petite histoire menait à une conversation animée entre les sept participants. Conclusion: il vaut la peine de répéter cette expérience utile et stimulante.
Nous sommes informés que désormais nous serions obligés de payer un loyer de $50 pour chaque reunion au Garden Room au Pambula Merimbula Golf Club. Par conséquence j’ai réservé une pièce à la bibliotheque municipale à Tura. Notre prochain rencontre aura lieu le 7 avril, 11:00 heures au Meeting Room. Tout le monde est bienvenu –– à condition qu'ils parlent exclusivement en Français. Si on cotise une somme d’ un dollar par personne nous pourrons facilement payer le loyer de $7.50 demandé par la bibliothèque. La Tura Bakery, où on peut acheter du café et des gateaux, est à quelques pas de l’entrée de la bibliothèque.
French Film Night
The French Film Night on Tuesday 28 March for a showing of the film ‘La Famille Bélier’, was attended by 30 members and all reports are that it was a very good choice of film. The DVD is now included in the AF library cupboard, hosted at the Tura Marrang Library.
For the Béliers their sixteen-year-old daughter Paula is a vital member of their eccentric clan. As the only non-deaf member of the family she acts as their ears and mouth allowing the townspeople to communicate with the often misunderstood Béliers. One day this harmony is thrown in to disarray when Paula discovers a raw and untapped gift for singing and with the encouragement of her music professor decides to audition for the prestigious Maîtrise de Radio France music college in Paris. However, this leaves Paula with a painful dilemma: does she stay with her family or take her first steps towards independence and adulthood?
The film won a number of awards including Best Actress & Best Female Newcomer in the 2015 Lumiere Awards and Best Female Newcomer in the 2015 César Awards.
2017 Welcome Party
On 11 February almost 50 members attended the first event of the AF year, the 2017 Welcome Party. See the President's message on the home page for more details.
Photos shown in La Mouette are repeated below.
Christmas Party
& Coupe d’Antibes 2016
On the
beautiful Merimbula morning of Sunday 27th November a large, enthusiastic group
of AFCS Pétanque players gathered at Mandeni Fun Park for the 2016 Coupe
d'Antibes. On arrival everyone was offered Champagne (with Peptides) or some
other stimulant. When the Draw was done by the stewards, the 10 teams, who
chose their own names, were:- Les Beaux Arts ( Georgia, Jessica, Simon ) The Three Musketeers ( Bill, Clive, Kerry ) In your Dreams ( Julie, Margaret, Pete ) Rossignol ( Brigitte, Hilaire, Val ) Belles d’un Jour ( Benedict, Donna, Lilias ) Les Deplorables ( Mike, Narelle. Patricia ) Chanel No. 7 ( Ian, Jean, Mareta ) Groggos ( Greg, Olive, Wendy ) Bocce (
Jan, Maggie, Michael ) Marie Lune ( Gabriel,
Marie-Helene, Neil ).
Two
Preliminary matches were needed and The Three Musketeers defeated Les Beaux Arts and Rossignol triumphed over In your Dreams. In the quarter-finals
Belles d’un Jour were better than Les Deplorables; Chanel No. 7 toppled the Groggos (too much Champagne before the match?); The Three Musketeers
out-fenced Bocce; and Marie Lune flew too high for Rossignol.
In the
semi-finals Belles d’un Jour out-perfumed
(!!) Chanel No. 7 whilst The Three Musketeers armoury was
too big for Marie Lune.
In the
Grand Final were two teams whose consistent line, length and innate cunning all
morning had made them worthy contenders for the Title. Firstly, The Three Musketeers, namely Kerry, Bill, and Clive. In the other corner Belles d’un Jour, namely Benedict, Donna and Lilias. The battle raged and the lead
was hotly contested. When the time limit allowed for only one more end, the
score was 7 points each ! You could have cut the air with a chainsaw - it was a
cliff-hanger with every shot a potential clincher. In the end the coaching from
beyond the grave by Alexandre Dumas helped The Three Musketeers to a memorable victory - in time for a belated, but delightful,
lunch.
Congratulations
to all contestants, and thanks to the organizers. “ Bonne Chance pour 2017 !”
Michael
Quinlan *Thanks to Julie Welsh for taking the photos
A TASTE OF CAJUN AT THE WHARF
Thirty
Alliance members gathered at The Wharf for a French inspired Cajun lunch on
Sunday the 23rd of October. There was a good mix of long-term and newer members
and singles and couples and the day was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Following a
welcome from our new President, Robert McCombie, which included some
interesting, and as it turned out, useful background on Cajun history, mains of
Cajun Fish and Chicken Gumbo with dirty rice, were served. Clive Roberts provided
postcards with more Cajun facts and this set the scene for a quiz about Cajun
settlement and culture in America prepared by Mike Warren.
The winners
of the quiz, Georgia Partridge, Ian Goater and Elaine Johnson took home bottles
of Cajun spices together with recipes and gift vouchers for ingredients from
Woolies. Perhaps we will get to enjoy some more some Cajun food at our next
annual Welcome function!
Kerry Hunting
2016 Annual General Meeting
The AGM was held on Monday 5 September 2016 and a copy of the President's Report is shown on the home page of this blog. The Office Bearers and Committee members elected on the night were:
President: Robert McCombie
Treasurer: Kerry Hunting
Secretary: Mike Warren
Committee: Clive Roberts, Michael Quinlan
French Film Night
Twenty or so members enjoyed the drinks, nibbles and film on Wednesday 17 August.
"The French Minister (Quai d'Orsay)" was indeed a "sparkling and savvy comedy of political manners", with plenty of laughs. Members then made up a large table at the Top Pub at Pambula for a late dinner.
Bastille Day Dinner
The celebration of
Bastille Day this year was tinged with sadness following the tragedy in Nice.
We were deeply saddened and shocked to hear of another such horrific event in
France. However, with this in mind, all who attended our dinner seemed to enjoy
the evening. We were pleasantly surprised when the entree selection included
escargots; the Golf Club had not mentioned this in our discussions. It was
certainly a welcome addition to the menu and was well received.
The Garden Room at the
Pambula Merimbula Golf Club was a great venue for our private function and the
room was set up beautifully thanks to Club staff and AF committee members. This
year we added some fun games, Celebrity Heads as an ice breaker and 'Vrai ou
Faux', as a bit of frivolity between courses. Some of the questions found holes
in our French general knowledge, much to the dismay of some!
All in all, the Club
did a magnificent job with the arrangements, menu and staffing for the event. A
very special thank you to Margaret Gaunson for all her efforts to make sure all
was right on the night and that no detail was overlooked. Thank you also to
Julie Welsh and Denise Brown for their assistance in setting up, planning the
questions, making signs for our game and the decorations. Please keep the
people of France in your thoughts and prayers. Photos from the dinner are shown below.
French Wine Tasting Evening
On 12th May, 23 Alliance Francaise members and 15 guests gathered at Mike and Lilias Warren’s house where Steve Bryant from Negociants Australia presented a tasting of six French wines. Mike made a brief welcome in English, then persuaded Denise Brown to provide a welcome in French, which was appreciated by all. Mike then advised the guests of the benefits of AF membership pointing out that copies of la Mouette were available as well as membership applications.
Meanwhile Steve was opening the bubbly (a Louis Bouillot, 100% chardonnay from Burgundy) and the conversations, as well as the wine, were already flowing. Steve’s mentioned that most French wines need to be consumed with a meal to fully appreciate their values. Before we knew it two hours were gone and Steve departed with a number of orders. Members and non-members alike said it was a good event and quite informative about a range of wines from France.
French Film Night
The French film “Être et Avoir" (To Be and To Have) was enjoyed by about 40 members and guests on 20 April 2016 at the CWA Hall, Pambula. Nibbles and French wines fuelled spirited conversations before the film and afterwards many members adjourned to the Royal Willows for supper.
Easter Egg Hunt and French Picnic (see Home page for details)
Welcome Party - see the Home page. Additional photos are shown below.
Christmas Party and Coupe d’Antibes 2015
