francofiled

                                        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...