From the President

 While in France they celebrate the arrival of spring and the lily of the valley (1st of May), in Australia the days get shorter, the nights get cooler, the gardens come on stage for a last act before winter, offering a colourful show with the shimmering colours of autumn. What a magnificent season! Autumn is also the season of apples, which is why this month I am offering you a delicious stewed apple recipe (compote), a real combination of flavours and textures, where several varieties of apples are used. This recipe is inspired by a recipe of Christophe Adam, a Parisian pastry chef with a predestined name!

And while I'm on the subject of flavours and aromas, this brings me to our latest film “Perfumes” during which we were able to discover other realities of the world of perfume creation, such as the perfuming of caves, factories and handbag leather! A subtle film with a dry sense of humour, played with perfect harmony by the two main actors. We all enjoyed it. For those who were not able to join us on the 18th, the DVD is available in our library.

*****

I now have to inform you about some disturbing news, Robert McCombie is in hospital after a bike accident that happened on Monday 24 April. A frightening fall, lots of pain, a total immobilisation and some relief after a MRI result of « only » a C2 vertebrae fracture. Robert is expected to come home early May and make a full recovery after six weeks in a brace. Thank you to all of you who sent messages of support, which have been passed on to Gail. We wish Rob all the best for a speedy recovery and send our best thoughts to Gail and Robert.

*****

Finally a message for all the mothers and the mothers-at-heart, Happy Mother’s Day!

Sylvie

From the President

 Welcome to your gateway to French events!

Unfortunately, Wal and I were forced to stay home, confined because of Covid, but I heard that not only was the dinner at Tidal successful, but it was absolutely delicious... I would be delighted to hear about your comments. You will find a copy of the Alliance Française de la Cote de Saphir’s pamphlet over the page and attached to your email, prepared by our talented librarian, Carole, which I highly recommend you to share with friends and possible members.

The French Language and Francophonie Week, which this year took place from 18 to 26 March, is a rendezvous for word lovers. The theme of this year’s edition was "Dis-moi dix mots à tous les temps" (Tell me ten words in all tenses) and invited us to reflect on our perception of and relationship with time, in particular by playing with the French words that express it, including: lambiner (dawdle), dare-dare (double quick) and "déjà-vu", which is widely used in Australia.

From this idea and with the arrival of Easter, I am offering you two word compositions based on the unavoidable, for our greatest pleasure, chocolate eggs, and wish you an eggcellent family, friendly, génér’oeuf and délici’oeuf (*) Easter weekend, as well as very pleasant reading and hope to see you all on Tuesday 18 April for our first movie night of the year, “Les Deux Alfred”, a light-hearted human comedy about a virtual world that will never replace real encounters ...

With all my friendship,

From the President

 Welcome to your gateway to French events!

Unfortunately, Wal and I were forced to stay home, confined because of Covid, but I heard that not only was the dinner at Tidal successful, but it was absolutely delicious... I would be delighted to hear about your comments. You will find a copy of the Alliance Française de la Cote de Saphir’s pamphlet over the page and attached to your email, prepared by our talented librarian, Carole, which I highly recommend you to share with friends and possible members.

The French Language and Francophonie Week, which this year took place from 18 to 26 March, is a rendezvous for word lovers. The theme of this year’s edition was "Dis-moi dix mots à tous les temps" (Tell me ten words in all tenses) and invited us to reflect on our perception of and relationship with time, in particular by playing with the French words that express it, including : lambiner (dawdle), dare-dare (double quick) and "déjà-vu", which is widely used in Australia. From this idea and with the arrival of Easter, I am offering you two word compositions based on the unavoidable, for our greatest pleasure, chocolate eggs, and wish you an eggcellent family, friendly, génér’oeuf and délici’oeuf (*) Easter weekend, as well as very pleasant reading and hope to see you all on Tuesday 18 April for our first movie night of the year, “Les Deux Alfred”, a light-hearted human comedy about a virtual world that will never replace real encounters ...

With all my friendship,

Sylvie

(*) génér’oeuf for généreux (generous) and délici’oeuf for délicieux (delicious)

From the President

 A warm welcome to our members and thank you for joining, or rejoining, the Alliance Française, I hope 2023 will provide you all with many opportunities to enjoy French activities and culture. The recent Welcome Party, held at Lilias and Mike's home, was a very pleasant event complete with joyful ambiance, sumptuous food, warm and pleasant weather and the opportunity to celebrate Roger Stuart’s new decade birthday. Once again, thank you Lilias and Mike for your hospitality, thank you all for your delicious contributions and thank you Anh-Thu for sharing the “big secret”. Roger, who had decided to be noticed during the evening, along with Johanna and Robert, taught us the art of eating cheese with a spoon... not a very French practice!

This month you are invited to read “Winter in Provence - A letter from Carpentras” an article written by Brigitte and Simon who seem to agree with Frédéric Mistral, Provencal poet and writer (1830-1914), who once said: “When the Good Lord begins to doubt the world, he remembers that he created Provence”. If you are like me, your suitcase will be soon packed, ready to join Brigitte and Simon in no time!

For your diaries, please note that on 17 March we are organising a French-inspired dinner at Tidal Restaurant (Merimbula), for which you will soon receive an email with all the necessary details, followed in April by the first French film night. Further details will be published in next month's La Mouette for the film night.

While I'm on the subject of cinema, let me remind you that the French Film Festival will be held in Canberra from 9 March to 5 April. Comedies, suspense thrillers, historical dramas, family films and, of course, romance, there is something for everyone.

Sylvie

From the President

 Welcome back to your monthly dose of French goodies.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by family and friends and an exciting beginning of the year.  As G.K. Chesterton proclaimed, “The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder”.  So, the committee and I asked ourselves what we could offer that was different, what we could bring you that was new, how we could use this year to offer you wonder and fun. For many of us, the commencing of a new year brings feelings of optimism and possibility, from dreams to actions, January is the month of good resolutions, so let's marvel in 2023…

Our first event of the year to start 2023 with a bang is the Welcome Party to be held at Mike and Lilias’ place on Saturday 11 February. This year, we will take the opportunity to “pick the king” (tirer les rois) and eat the famous frangipane cake, the recipe for which is given below. I hope to see many of you there.

In the year ahead, I look forward to maintaining our focus on putting members first, continuing to offer you great occasions to meet and have fun. Wishing you a great year,

Sylvie

From the President

 The days drag on longer, the sky relaxes, spring is coming and with it the hope that we can all get together for outdoor activities such as pétanque and picnic… if the rain agrees to stop bothering us!

Concerning our movie night of last month, I am well aware that I should have said a few words at the end of the film, but I must admit that I was a little ‘stunned’, under shock and that I had to ‘digest’ the film in order to be able to talk about it, which was done during our Papotage & Blah-Blah session. The choice of movie was made taking into account the subject, the actor, who was absolutely excellent, and the rating given by the film critics and the audience, but we did not expect such violence, both in the shots and in the words... I promise you a lighter, more entertaining choice, for our next movie night.

Last month Brigitte and Simon donated some French fashion magazines, if you are a fashion aficionado, they are available at our cupboard at the Tura library.  I again encourage you to read our newsletter, it is full of gripping articles, including a story about Camargue, which makes it worth reading. You will also discover the history of “prendre l’apéritif” (having a pre-dinner drink), an essential guide on asparagus (a spring vegetable in France) and other interesting articles. I don't need to tell you more, I'm sure you are already reading it!

Bonne lecture, enjoy reading.

Sylvie

From the President

 Your monthly dose of Alliance Française has just landed in your inbox, so I encourage you to spend some time reading and enjoying French culture. Speaking of French culture, a friend of ours recently mentioned that she was able to “hear” my French accent in my writing, so you may have to listen up carefully…!

We held our AGM on September 8, followed by the French film ‘En Guerre (At War)’, which certainly did not leave the audience indifferent. There was no difficulty with the AGM despite the notable decision of Robert McCombie who, after six years of service on the committee as President, decided to step down from that role. We all greatly appreciated the energy, continued presence and enthusiasm with which Rob helped to organise our Alliance and I certainly am counting on him to help me in my new task. Grand merci Robert.

Our next event is the Car Adventure Tour, followed by a picnic on October 23, Pétanque should soon have a new court, and your dedicated committee is working on the programming of different and interesting events. Stay tuned!

Sylvie