francofiled

  It was nice to come across an old box of French coins - francs and centimes - in use before the country moved to the Euro in early 2002.  For some reason, call it coincidental, I decided to check on how many francs there were to the Euro back then and I discovered that the conversion rate was €1: 6,55 francs. I also discovered that the old French coinage ceased to be legal tender on 17 February 2002 when the Euro became the official currency. A coin-cidental twentieth anniversary.

I have been toying for a long time with this idea:  Taking a stay@home wine tour through the Beaujolais Crus.  I like Beaujolais and find it an excellent food friendly wine.  It's made with the Gamay grape and there are ten distinct classifications.  Over the next weeks and months I aim to taste each of them. Some have been favourites down the years and some are old friends with whom to get reacquainted. Above is an acrostic and below a set of clues.  If you would like to join me on this stay@home journey then use the clues to work out the name of the cru and then look out for tasting notes in future posts on this blog. Here are the clues: 1.   Starting to get foggy in France. (8) 2.   A flower field? (7) 3.   A windmill in France. (6,1,4) 4.   This one on the side. (4,2,8) 5.   Includes a girl's name or a boy's with an extra letter. (8) 6.   Others have left too. (6) 7.  Ends in Russian currency. ...

"They called us the Inseparables" Lasting friendships that were formed in early childhood are a fascination for me. What is it that brings individuals together, keeps them together and makes them inseparable? And for me, as an avid Francophile, add to that the “mystery” of why a novel by French writer Simone de Beauvoir should come to light years after the celebrated author’s death then I’m hooked. I had first learned of this book having spotted it on NetGalley, a site that sends pre-publication copies in eformat and sure enough I applied to read it and was duly sent a copy. Of course I had been much aware of Simone de Beauvoir, her relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre but I had been more used to reading about her rather than her work. I am so sorry that I didn't start sooner because I just loved this book.  I was grateful for the introduction by Deborah Levy who rightly pointed out that her foreword  contained  spoilers .  I decided to stay with that however as it he...

  I very much enjoyed A Sunday in Ville d'Avray by Dominique Barbéris and found it an atmospheric read. The story unfolds in an area close to Paris where I once stayed and I felt transported back to that time and place. That's one sure way to get involved in a story - to have a sense of sharing a part of it. At the time of reading the nights were on the turn with the new season bringing earlier dark evenings. The book matched the weather and this was perfect autumnal reading with descriptions of "sodden leaves macerated in heaps" forecasting the outdoor reality. I picked up my copy by chance at a favourite bookstore where the owner seeing my intended purchase asked me to wait a moment as he had some bookplates signed by the author. He returned a short while later with the plate and positioned it on the title page for me. Brilliant, I'm grateful to the author and the bookseller for their little acts of sharing. I'm even more invested in the book now. More  A S...

Le Cercle français de Belfast has just published its new season programme for 2021-2022. Some events will be streamed, others held in place when health restrictions permit and some will be in both formats thanks to live streaming. Participation in Cercle events has widened considerably over lockdown as many new members from further afield than Belfast have been able to join in its virtual presentations. For more details see  https://www.cerclefrancaisdebelfast.org/p/programme.html

  Spotted it straightaway on the cheese shelf of my local supermarket. Caprice des Dieux. It might be new here but I tasted it for the first time decades ago. It was one of those introductory tastes to the French cheeseboard and I would often eat it sandwiched in a baguette. Yes it's industrial and at a remove from the artisanal varieties I enjoy these days but it still holds a special place in my taste memories - a first embrace in this amour de fromage. 

 A Bastille day breakfast to start the day right. Couldn't find my French flags so improvised with fruit bowls of blueberries, yoghurt and raspberries. Croissants and apricot jam to follow, love it! Bonne continuation !