Cher tous,
Welcome to the special edition of
“La Mouette on Vacation” Before flying off to France, Wal and I are spending a
few days in Perth, staying with Wal’s daughter; this is where I am writing to
you from.
I returned last week from a
four-day stay with my daughter in Melbourne, where I was blown away by the
changes in Romi, my grand-daughter. She is not even a year old yet, but is
already showing some truly surprising signs of independence and determination.
My daughter’s response to this was, “Mum, she takes after someone,” I thought
to myself that she must be referring to Romi’s great-grandmother… While I am on
the subject of being a grandmother, I recently read the book "Nanaville –
Adventures in Grandparenting", written by Anna Quindlen. The book takes a
humorous and tender approach to the experience of being a grandmother, exploring
the challenges and joys of this new role after having been a mother. As it is
written on the book cover “This tender book should be required reading for
grandparents everywhere”.
And since I am on the subject of
books, for those of you who enjoy (or would like to) reading in French (or
other languages), you can buy books in Australia from: Intext books services -
www.languageint.com.au and Abbey bookshop - www.abbeys.com.au
Now, let's talk about our film
night on 21 April, which brought together 25 of us. “Presi Sylvie sat on a
wall, Presi Sylvie’s computer had a great fall and all the IT experts couldn’t
put it together again”… It seemed to go on forever, but my computer and the
projector eventually managed to connect and we were finally able to watch the
film, and based on your comments afterward, it’s clear you all really enjoyed
it. The movie was not only a lovely stroll through the streets of Paris, but
also a moving and touching experience, making for a truly enjoyable evening.
Line Renaud was simply magnificent, and Dany Boon, stepping away from his usual
comic roles, delivered a performance that suited him perfectly.
You may remember that our
end-of-year lunch celebrated the theme “our members are talented”. Here’s
another great example of that in action. Since retiring, Greg Hunting has
discovered a passion for photography, with a particular focus on nature and
wildlife. His work is truly worth exploring. I encourage you to take a look at
his website, “Accidental Postcards,” by clicking on the link:
https://accidentalpostcards.com
My go-to in French food are essentially
cheeses and with 1,800 cheeses, there are many to discover. Wal and I will be
visiting the region famous for Tomme, Roquefort and other cheeses, before
heading to Normandy, renowned for its wide variety of cheeses, I am going to
indulge myself to my heart’s content… or rather, to my stomach’s satisfaction!
To continue on this theme, this month’s recipe is a classic of French cuisine:
cheese soufflé.
On page 3 of the May La Mouette,
you will find a new article by Wal about the village of Les Bories, an open-air
museum that invites you to travel through time and that I highly recommend you
to read. Many of you are also travelling this month, so I wish you a wonderful
holiday and look forward to hearing about your new discoveries and experiences.
To those of you staying at home, I wish you lovely autumn days and look forward
to seeing you again in June.
Warm regards, Sylvie
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