francofiled

FRANCE magazine has a brand new look, introduces new sections and columnists and still keeps those in-depth articles that make past issues such useful points of reference. I like it ! As a print and digital subscriber, I've been enjoying the new format for some days now and it's been hard to stay tight-lipped about the changes. The folks @Francemagazine on Twitter have been keeping the new look under wraps until today's official launch date and I wasn't keen to spoil the surprise. Now that it has hit the shelves, I thought it might be of interest to share what I notice and like about the changes. What strikes me most is the light, friendly, typeface supplemented in parts by a stylish, cursive font. There's an example of this on the front cover - a sense of adventure. All of the things that I liked about the previous format are still there but revamped and there is a lot of new stuff. This is immediately apparent from the double page contents spread. I much prefer...

The Cercle francais de Belfast has launched its new programme d'activites and we hope that there is plenty to interest you. The programme has been produced as a trifold booklet and we aim to circulate it widely. The membership push is on so do spread the word and we'll look forward to seeing you at as many events as possible.... And if you haven't yet seen what's in store why not head over now to www.cerclefrancaisdebelfast.org and check it out? A bientot !

It was a pleasant Friday evening at the start of a long weekend as we set off to Castlemarket Street in Dublin to dine at La Maison . Knowing that we appreciated French food and wine some friends had recommended the place to us and had talked expansively about their own choices. So with table easily booked online and with some advance checking of the menus we were full of expectation. The street was packed with scores of people - after-office party goers; young; young-at-heart and visitors like ourselves. We moved through a covered terrace and were shown to a ground floor table near the door. Our warm welcome was soon supplemented by a tray of breads and a pâté of pureed gherkins, onions and shallots - délicieux ! To get further into the mood we settled back with a pastis and took in the surroundings: the most obvious thing about the décor was the crispness of it all - sparkling glassware, white paint and linen, posters and black and white photographs. Friendly and professio...

The PARISIANER picture, as explained in a previous post , arrived as promised and was soon off to be framed. Here it is in its new home and a lovely talking point it is too. Nice to have been associated with this project. Do check out the previous links for more information.   Posted with Blogsy

The beautiful Alpine town of Annecy, near the border of France and Switzerland has been in the news recently as a result of poor air quality. Apparently the cold air from the mountains keeps pollutants closer to ground level and causes a build-up of nasty micro-particles.  This is paradoxical in a way because the famous lake at Annecy is one of the cleanest in the world. Low-cost flights to Geneva make it easy to get to Annecy and that's what we did a few year's ago. We're thinking of going back because it was one of the most relaxing (and we think healthiest) holidays we ever had. Here is how Le Dauphine newspaper treated the story . It uses the term coup de grisou which admittedly I had to look up. It means "firedamp", a miner's name for a methane explosion that occurs when the gas comes into contact with air.  Sounds about right. That got me to thinking though ... what's being done about it? The town is certainly taking it seriously and ac...

Having heard about the lovelocks appearing on the Lagan footbridge I took a stroll to see for myself. There may not be as many as on the bridges of Paris where several years worth have been fastened to the metal grilles and the key thrown into the Seine but there are certainly enough to show that the trend has taken hold. Will they be allowed to stay ? Campaigners in Paris have been urging city officials to remove them arguing that they spoil the view of some of the most beautiful parts of the city. So far, as reported earlier on this blog , no action has been taken. Just last week however a section of railing fell off raising further concerns about the safety of the bridges. Check out this piece on BBC for more on that and a hyperlink to a comment piece on whether locks on bridges are romantic or a menace. Will they be allowed to remain in Belfast? Should they be allowed? Is there a middle way? An alternative?   Posted with Blogsy

A friend's post on social media directed me to this article   focussing on cork growers and why cork has such a positive effect on the environment.  The challenge is that recycling of cork is a work in progress and much more needs to be done to avoid it ending up in landfill sites. So from now on I'm saving wine corks like this one from a recently enjoyed Moulin A Vent -  after all what goes around comes around.

When workmen were seen taking away a padlock festooned section of balustrade on the Pont des Arts in Paris last week it sparked off some concerns that the "love locks" - cadenas - would be removed from other bridges too. The Libération newspaper reports here that there are no plans to do this however it also pointed out that not everyone is in favour of them and would like them removed. A no love locks campaign has been set up and has organised a petition. Check it out here . Since they first appeared about 6 years ago the locks have multiplied to approximately 700,000 and on the Pont des Arts alone are estimated to weigh about 40 tonnes. The locks on the much smaller Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, formerly known as Passerelle Solférino and don't look as if they would cause too much trouble. But how to remove them should that be necessary? By replacing the balustrade. There are no keys as having locked their love couples throw them into the Seine. The locks are...

The origins of this talk by Hélène GUILLET and Philip McGRORY date back to an idea of then French President, Nicolas Sarkozy to mark Ireland's chairmanship of the European Union. He had the idea of an exhibition charting connections between the two countries. The exhibition was set out in a series of panels with commentaries in English, French and Irish. We were therefore honoured that the person tasked with providing the French translation was none other than our speaker, Hélène. Our speakers explained the origins of the Collège des Irlandais in Paris on the rue des Irlandais near the Sorbonne. Hélène showed us a picture of a wedding ceremony being performed in the famous cultural centre. It was her wedding from two and a half years ago in which she married Cairan who also worked on the President's commemorative project mentioned above. Next, Philip brought us closer to home and into Lisburn. He shared a little known fact that Lisburn was the only town in Ulst...

                                        It was a talk that we had wanted to do for a long time at our French Circle, le Cercle français de Belfast . And so it was that around twenty of us braved the inclement February weather and settled in the warmth of the Dark Horse Coffee House as Claudine McKeown presented her personal look at the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of Paris, home to many renowned artists and writers and as we were to hear to Claudine herself in her student days Claudine, ably assisted by husband Seamus in managing the technology, explained that her talk would be in French, supported by PowerPoint slides in English.  This approach found favour with many present. She started by locating the area geographically in Paris, highlighting some of the key landmarks of the 6th arrondissement. Claudine then focussed on the construction of the Abbey churc...

One of the things I really enjoy is browsing French newspapers online. It was therefore a lovely surprise to see a photo in Le Berry républicain , of a gentleman I first met over 40 years ago.  There he is, in a group celebrating the heritage of old Vierzon in the Cher département. That's the same Vierzon as in the Jacques BREL song, Vesoul. now over 40 years old itself and incorporating those much quoted phrases: "T'as voulu voir Vierzon,  Et on a vu Vierzon." The Brel song did plenty to confirm Vierzon's position on the map, right in the centre of the Région Centre.  There is an interesting article, also from Le Berry républicain, posted by another blogger  here  and relating the relationship between the song and the town. A few minutes more, and a little bit more digging, revealed that the old Vierzon group has an online presence and there was a postal address. I'll be writing soon to renew the contact. Technology is great, but a greeti...

Chers amis, La première réunion du caféfrancophilo, a u Cercle français de Belfast, aura lieu le 26 février 2014 au Dark Horse Coffee House, Belfast à partir de 19h.3 0. Notre conférencier sera Jim Holland et notre thème: Traduire, c'est trahir? Nous discuterons le po è me, Quand vous serez bien vieille de Pierre de Ronsard et la version de William Butler Yeats. L’entrée sera libre. En espérant vous voir nombreux! Cordialement CfB Posted with Blogsy

Brilliant! The PARISIANER is here and well worth the wait. As explained in a previous post the project was to create a series of covers for an imaginary magazine about Paris. 100 artists were invited to take part and the result is first class. Affectionate; amusing; ascerbic; it is difficult to choose a favourite from the collection. Good then that as part of the crowd funded initiative my subscription included not just the book of covers but a print of one of them. That'll be framed before long. As for the crowd funding itself it surpassed its target. A great idea! Where next?   Posted with Blogsy

The next talk in the Cercle's programme will take place this Wednesday when Claudine McKeown presents her personal look at the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of Paris, home to many renowned artists and writers. And of course, the famous church that gives the area its name. We'll meet up at the Dark Horse Coffee House at 7.30pm in Belfast's own bohemian and artistic Cathedral quarter. See you then?! À bient ô t! Posted with Blogsy

Last month's réunion of the Cercle français was a colourful and festive occasion. The tables of the Dark Horse Coffee House had been moved to the perimeter to leave plenty of space for dancing and the walls were draped in bleu, blanc, rouge bunting. Musicians from BalFeirste played Breton music on a variety of instruments including the bombarde. The atmosphere at this early stage of the evening was full of buzz and chat. Philip McGrory lived up to the MC in his name and soon had us organised for the evening. First up, he explained was a demonstration of a gavotte. Vanessa and Fergus took to the floor, others of the troupe joined in and our evening got into its rhythm. Following a spell of more music and chat, we were called back to order for a couple of magic tricks. Magic, Magi and the fête des rois. In a nice touch, one of the magician's tricks involved participants who were all French. He supplied them all with menus from the restaurants of famous French chefs and som...