francofiled

The Christmas continental market is in Belfast again and it's always great to welcome the French stall holders back to our city... especially if they offer mouth-watering pastries.  I resisted temptation until the moment I spotted the stall of Le Petit Gascon with its sign drawing attention to an array of sliced custard tarts. As I explained in une part de flan , a post on this site from exactly 4 years ago, this pastry has a special place in my heart.  And so it wasn't long before I was holding a slice having explained to the server, c'est pour manger maintenant!  Sensing my appreciation a trader from another stall called over, Venez ici, monsieur! while pointing at some freshly made chichis (churros) . I shouted that I'd be back later but really, for me at least, there's no comparison between these two pastries and I'm sure that once I get back it'll have to be another slice of flan.

Less than a week ago, last Wednesday, our cercle français met to reflect on the First World War battle of Verdun.  As we approach the one hundred year anniversary of the battle, we were exploring the theme of devoir de mémoire , the duty to remember.  The battle lasted 300 days and accounted for three quarters of a million casualties, with fatalities of 162,400 on the French side and 143,000 on the German.  A devastating death toll. On Friday, 13 November, just over 300 days since the 7 January attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo and the Kosher supermarket, Paris was attacked again, in several places at once. 129, mostly young people, were killed. The government's response has been forceful.  Président François Hollande says that France is at war. The notion of being at war reminded me of our Verdun reflections.  These had included a short segment on Guillaume Apollinaire , a poet who served on the front line of the Western Front.  At the onset o...

What a lovely honour. Last night at the second reunion of the Cercle français de Belfast 's caféfrancophilo, Jim Holland dedicated his mémoires de la France piece to yours truly. The evening was a great success and sets the standard and tone for subsequent meetings of the group. We numbered 24 and it was great to hear the Dark Horse Coffee House resonating with stories of Les objets qui vous tiennent à cœur. Allison Neill-Rabaux was our animatrice for the evening and in addition to displaying her impeccable mastery of French she did a fantastic job, keeping us on track and on time. Brilliant. Posted with Blogsy