Enjoyed last night's Cercle Francais launch of the new season. Plenty to keep us going until May 2014. And already some suggestions for the following year's programme.
Technology worked okay and as ever The Dark Horse in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter contributed its own unique ambiance. French talks just work in this grand cafe styled coffee house.
The programme available at www.cerclefrancaisdebelfast.org promises a treat for the senses and the sense of smell was activated last night as participants were scented with a tiny blast of Chanel No:5 and that's because Coco features in this season's programme.
It was nice to greet a strong contingent of French nationals who for the time being are making their home in Belfast. Long may that continue!
Napoleon's last strand at Mount Saint Michael
Our touring holiday in Cornwall brought us to Mount Saint Michael at Marazion, near Penzance. Like its more famous relative Le Mont Saint-Michel it sits offshore and is reached by a rock causeway when the tide is out. We made the steep ascent to the castle home of the St Aubyn family who still live there today. It's open for tours and there is plenty to see.
If you do visit and make the short tour of the castle then look out for the framed relics of Napoleon which include a lock of his hair and a remnant of coat sleeve.
You can check out things to see and do at Marazion here.
Posted with Blogsy
Paris Tales
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| Paris Tales, translated by Helen Constantine, Oxford |
A friend suggested I read this book of short stories. And I am enjoying doing just that. The collection comprises 22 stories by writers that include Maupassant and Colette and take the reader from mid-19th century to a future undated time - I particularly liked that one, Manuscript Found at Saint-Germain-des-Pres by Frederic Beigbeder.
The works have been translated by Helen Constantine who also provides a personal introduction and notes that she has "not chosen these texts for their social or historical interest, but because they evoke particular places." She has helpfully included a map of the Paris Arrondissements annotated with a numbered reference to each of the stories. That makes the collection perfect for taking along on that next trip; stopping at a cafe and reading. Short stories for a short break?
Like books about Paris? Check out this post from a while back.
On a roll: Souvenir
Hertford House: The Wallace Collection
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| Hertford House, Manchester Square, London |
A light rain made us hurry our steps up Bond Street, past the tempting array of small restaurants and into Manchester Square to Hertford House, home of the Wallace Collection.
We had learned much about Sir Richard, son of the fourth Marquess of Hertford at various events organised by the Richard Wallace Trust (Lisburn) and this was our first time at his London home. We recognised the building immediately as it bears very close resemblance to his home, Castle House in Lisburn, now occupied by the South Eastern Regional College.
Another clear sign was the presence of a Wallace Fountain to the right of the entrance. We had arrived. Inside, what struck most was the sumptuous elegance of the place. A gorgeous red carpeted staircase with marble columns on each side. We went upstairs leaving the armoury collection for another time. There were several galleries. Art everywhere. And left to us as a philanthropic legacy. Wow!
Boucher's The Rising of the Sun (1753) caught my attention and kept it! Then I discovered the treasure of Ruben's Rainbow Landscape (1635). The Laughing Cavalier (1624) by Franz Hals had been the subject of a hugely expensive bidding war between Sir Richard and the Rothchilds. We won!
The Wallace Collection is a very visit-able gallery. Compact enough for a short tour but large enough for sustained and lengthy inspection. We only had a couple of hours and had promised ourselves a visit to the courtyard restaurant and cafe for a pot of tea. It was an elegant and leisurely affair. Indulgent? Sure, but not extravagant. We had refreshed our imagination in the galleries and now it was time to satisfy the sense of taste. We left reluctantly. It was a long overdue first visit.We will go again soon and stay longer next time.
L'Empire de la Mort: The Paris Catacombs
The Dark Horse Coffee Shop was soon packed and Philip McGrory got the technology going for his talk on the Paris Catacombs. He began by taking us through the early history of the site as one of Paris's main limestone quarries. He explained that in 1780, the main cemetery of the city, the Cimetière des Saints-Innocents near Les Halles was forced to close due to its dire threat to public health. The decision was taken to remove remains of those buried there to the disused quarry site and to establish an Ossuary. Remains from other cemeteries were added with the result that skulls and longbones of around 6,000,000 people are preserved there.
Using pictures and web sources, Philip escorted us on a virtual tour. We visited the Workshop and saw how quarrymen cut through the stone to leave pillars of rock standing to support the ceiling. We stopped at the Quarrymen's footbath, a spring where workers drew water for mixing cement; We moved into the Ossuary, marked by a sign over the doorway instructing, " Arrête c'est ici l'empire de la mort". We stopped at the Sepulchral Lamp one of the oldest structures in the catacombs. Quarrymen lit fires in the lamp to create draughts and currents of air. He brought us to Gilbert's Tomb, a piece of reinforcement work designed to look like a stone sarcophagus. And of course we viewed those skulls and longbones. Philip had sourced the biblical origins of the text on the picture above and, thinking about it, we spared thoughts for people now long gone. Finally, we exited to a quiet Parisian street which showed little awareness of what lay beneath.
A show of hands revealed others had also been and all commented on the respectful silence of the place, several metres below the metro and the nearby Place Denfert Rochereau.
Our evening came to a close with several people saying they had not known that the catacombs existed. They mentioned that they would be paying their own visit the next time they were in Paris.
Thanks Philip for a thoroughly researched, fascinating and respectful tour.
CFB programme launched
The opening event to launch this year's programme for the Cercle Français de Belfast took place on Tuesday evening in the Dark Horse Coffee House in the Cathedral Quarter. Nearly 50 people turned up and several took out membership on the spot. The programme is a varied one and many of the speakers were present to explain what their talk would cover. Check out the planned events here.
After the programme was announced some of the participants took to the floor to provide commentaries on photos they had taken on a recent trip to France. Amélie had submitted a photo of a château in her native Franche-Comte and urged us to go visit; Hélène, an inhabitant of Paris showed her photos of the Basque Country and a beautiful coastal chateau close to Biarritz. Helene's contribution was closely followed by Michael who this and every year heads to Provence in search of Azur blue skies. That colour was much in evidence in his photos of Avignon and Uzes, in the Languedoc. Claudine shared some fascinating photos of another chateau, concentrating this time on its use as a prison for some well-to-do offenders. Claudine's husband, Seamus followed up by showing pictures of his gardening efforts around the family home near Blois. Finally, Jim shared a photo montage of French country windows set to music with accompanying captions which he translated.
There is something about evenings such as this when members share their experiences and enthusiasms. Many of those attending complimented the night and the programme. Relaxed and informal, the atmosphere of the Dark Horse could have matched a grand café in Paris and certainly there was a buzz of conversation in both English and French. We need to do more of this.
Were you there? Do you agree? See you next time!
À la prochaine!
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