An alphabetical
listing of all our resources available for borrowing by members is available to
download in .pdf format here (updated 16/10/2022)
The AF library
cupboard has been relocated to the Tura Merrang library at Tura Beach. If it
your first time, ask the library staff where the Alliance Francaise cupboard is
located and the code to open the combination padlock. There is quite a
variety of resource material for you to borrow: novels, art books, videos,
DVDs. Make a point of using the resources and increase your knowledge of les
choses françaises.
To access the materials stored in a locked cupboard you will need to:
1. Unlock the
combination padlock and chain on the cupboard handles (the code has something to do with posting a letter from here)
2. Choose your
item(s) for borrowing (there is a complete list in a red folder)
3. Complete the
borrowing details in the book provided
4. Close the
doors and replace the chain through the handles and close the padlock
5. Rotate the
combination tumblers so that opening code IS NOT showing.
• Please respect the 2-week time limit for borrowing.
• If you are going on holidays, ensure that items are returned prior to your departure.
• Take special care of the surface of the CDs and DVDs.
Some reviews of items from our library:
New addition to the Library
In 2022 Carole Thomas donated several books, Brigitte and Simon donated some fashion magazines and Clive Roberts donated a series of the original TV program "Maigret" on DVD.
Regine
and Wolgang Kasper kindly donated to the library a new DVD: “Nannerl,
la soeur de Mozart, (“Mozart's Sister”). It is in French with
English sub-titles. Regine commented that “it is an engaging story, well told.
While fictional it aims to be historic, with some romance on the side and
lovely music, of course. It is very beautifully filmed with excellent costumes,
cramped coaches, sick children, sad princesses in a monastery, an enamoured dauphin.”
The Director is Rene Féret.
The main
character is portrayed by the very talented Marie Féret, one of the director's daughters. For more information see:
Plein Air – Les
Impressionistes Dans Le Paysage by Stéphanie Grégoire
‘Plein air: Manet, Monet, Sisley, Cézanne, Van Gogh....’ Dans la
première partie le livre montre comment le choix de ces motifs nouveaux –
guingettes, jardins, champs de courses, bords de rivière – influence les
choix techniques pour le cadrage, la couleur ou la composition.
La seconde partie, ' l'invitation au voyage', est un parcours à
travers les lieux qui s'identifient aujourd'hui avec l'histoire du
mouvement. Une très abondante iconographie (236 reproductions en couleur,
hors des sentiers battus) aide à cette rédécouverte d'un grand sujet.
by Carmen Coutts-Smith
The Guide to Lodging in France's
Monasteries (Book Review)
This guide by Eileen Barish is one of several she has written to
assist travellers to France, Italy and Spain. Her entries include accommodation
in historic buildings in unforgettable settings. Details of websites and
email addresses allow you to book ahead and take advantage of inexpensive
accommodation in cities, towns and and villages.
Many of the places include meals for around 30E per person per day. If you
haven't yet discovered the website for the Book Depository in the UK, take a
look, as there are 22 million titles available and shipping is free around the
world. bookdepository.com I have ordered this Guide and am eagerly
awaiting its arrival. by Carmen
Coutts-Smith
The Allure of Perfumes
Do you know of a particular scent which stirs up memories of a
person or a particular place? As is mentioned in SAVOIR FAIRE, Great Traditions of French Elegance, “a tiny drop of perfume can
recall the story of a lifetime.”
Most of us are enticed by Nina Ricci's L'Air du Temps, Je Reviens by Worth, No 5 by Chanel, or Cacharel's Anais Anais etc...but do we associate them with
ambergris, musk, herbs, the gummy resin called 'tears' or 'concrete'?
Coco Chanel once said “A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no
future.” Well, how is your future looking? Packaging perfume is an art in
itself with the design of the bottle crucial to the success of the
contents. Who hasn't perused the shelves in department stores and commented
on the beautiful bottles, the colour of the contents and lightly sprayed the
test strip ?
Main ingredients of perfume are natural essences obtained from
flowers such as roses, jasmine and tuberose as well as herbs. Tons of flower
petals are used together with solvents to create 'concrete'. It takes 350
lbs of jasmine petals to obtain one lb of 'concrete'. Also, it takes one
ton of lemons to produce 5 lbs of essential oil for use further in the perfume
process.
If you wish to read about the process by which beautiful
fragrances are made, then read more in the book Savoir faire to
be found in out Alliance Française library.
Carmen Coutts-Smith
