Chers amis du Cercle français de Belfast,
Nous vous souhaitons à toutes et à tous,
Joyeux Noël, bonne année et bonne santé pour 2021.
Le comité du cercle.
Chers amis du Cercle français de Belfast,
Nous vous souhaitons à toutes et à tous,
Joyeux Noël, bonne année et bonne santé pour 2021.
Le comité du cercle.
Zoom talk on Wednesday 9 December by Leeann McKEE on Louis PASTEUR. us
Pasteurisation of milk, and of course wine, the discovery of optical isomers, vaccines for rabies and anthrax - all of these were discoveries by Louis Pasteur. He was a polymath in the fields of medicine, chemistry and bacteriology. Was he however a fraud? Let's look at the major works of the "Father of Microbiology" with the hindsight of his recently discovered laboratory handbooks and find out more about this complex genius.
Remember you will need to have joined our mailing list via cfbelfast@gmail.com in order to subscribe to the Zoom call.*
Looking forward to seeing you there!
How about a visit to Versailles?
Allison sent the link below describing it as “A ‘sight & sound experience’ – 6 episodes available in French and English”.
Believe me it is all that and more. Simply wonderful. Enjoy ….
Expodcast : Centre de musique baroque de Versailles (cmbv.fr)
À bientôt,
Philip
*In order to comply with the requirements of data protection regulations and out of respect for the privacy of our attendees you are requested not to take photographs nor make video or audio recordings during any of our Zoom meetings. And just to assure you that if you do sign up to our distribution list, Cercle Français de Belfast will never share your details with any other party.
soin de vous et de vos proches,
À bientôt, Philip
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Chers Amis,
This month's event is ….
Topic: Haussmann et Paris embellie
with: Hélène Guillet and Philip McGrory
Hélène et Philip vous emmènent dans le Paris de Napoléon III avec les grands travaux du Baron Haussmann pour l’embellissement de Paris.
Hélène and Philip take you back to the Paris of Napoleon III with the large-scale transformation of the city under the design of Baron Haussmann.
This presentation will take the form of a video to be available on the Cercle Français de Belfast's private YouTube Channel. Watch out for an email arriving in your inbox on Wednesday 11th November containing a link to the video.
Prenez soin de vous et de vos proches,
À bientôt, Philip
Le Petit Robert dictionary includes the verb zoomer and defines it as rapprocher le sujet grâce au zoom. Elaine BELL certainly brought her subject, Françoise Sagan's Bonjour tristesse, closer as she hosted her third Cercle de Lecture using the Zoom online meeting platform.
Elaine's annotated school copy of Bonjour tristesse |
Logging into the Cercle's virtual waiting room it was immediately apparent that Elaine's talk had attracted a substantial number of participants. Philip had previously emailed members with her notes so we were able to see the themes she intended to address in our bookclub discussion.
Now a practised hand for Zoom meetings Philip reminded us of some basic protocols, not least using the mute facility and the raising of a hand should those taking part wish to make a point or pose a question. Another tip was to use gallery view and clicking on that it was pleasing to see 25 people had joined the meeting.
Referring the reading group to her notes and speaking in French and English, Elaine conducted a lively exploration of the text and was adept at sounding out the views of the attendees. The exchanges were certainly animated and one comment received after the session commended the very high level of preparation and discussion. It was interesting to hear participants linking some of the novel's themes to other books and authors they had read. F. Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby was one such parallel and mention was also made of D.H. Lawrence.
Bonjour tristesse had also been made into a film using locations identified in the book and one of our members mentioned that he had walked several times past David Niven's house on one of those promontories east of Nice.
Other members commented on the experience of re-reading a text that they had first encountered at school. Indeed, Elaine proudly showed her copy, kept from her days as an écolière, which was liberally annotated with key points, marginal notes and vocabulary items.
The Zoom discussion format worked well and it was fascinating to see and hear members engaging with one another. When the microphones are unmuted and a person speaks that person becomes the current contributor and Zoom illuminates their screen. That makes it possible for members to see their interlocutors up close and with their name below their picture. As there were many new faces (and names) at the meeting that's a particular benefit of the online format.
It would be great to have CfB book club sessions more often and if members have suggestions for suitable titles, especially where the French book is available with English translation and possibly a film tie-in, please do let us know.
Meantime, un très grand merci to Elaine and Philip for another very successful meeting; and of course to everyone who took part. It was a most enjoyable evening. See you next time.
Bonne Lecture !
Chers Amis,
A little reminder that the book to read for our next event, our Cercle de lecture, on 14 octobre is ..
Françoise SAGAN’s Bonjour Tristesse.
French edition … available from sellers such as Amazon.co.uk and AbeBooks.co.uk
English edition … available on ebay.co.uk and from other sources.
A DVD of the film of the book “Bonjour Tristesse” staring Jean Seeberg, David Niven and Deborah Kerr is also widely available online.
Further information will follow later.
Prenez soin de vous et de vos proches,
À bientôt, Philip
Chères amies, Chers amis,
I hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe and well in these uncertain times. Many of us are enjoying the chance to finally be reunited with friends, as life returns to some sort of normality. The Cercle français de Belfast is delighted to be reopening its doors – albeit virtually – to bring you a new programme year with no fewer than fifteen talks and interactive events.
We’ll resume our physical meetings as soon as we’re sure it’s completely safe to do so. Until then, our talks and events will be held online, meaning you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your own home. All you need is the Internet, along with a computer, smartphone or tablet. This programme contains further information on how to participate in our meetings. If you’re still unsure about how to get connected, we’ll be only too happy to help.
I’m sure you’ll agree that this year’s programme has something for anyone who has an interest in French language and culture. Join us to hear and talk about French history, literature, culture, music, food, current affairs and much, much more. Keep an eye out for extra events we’ll be adding throughout the year, as well as details of our Extraordinary General Meeting.
On 9 September 2020, you’re warmly invited to Large soif, our online soirée d’accueil. This first event of the year is always free and open to all. Pour yourself a glass of your favourite tipple, chat with friends old and new, and find out more about the Cercle français de Belfast. I can’t wait to see you there!
Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly update and to follow us on social media. In the meantime, and on behalf of all the Cercle français de Belfast Committee members, I’d like to thank you for your continued support and friendship.
Amitiés,
Allison
Présidente, Cercle français de Belfast
Chers Amis,
How will you celebrate le quatorze juillet this year?
One way could be to join us in an online celebration.
The idea is simple. With the nasty Covid-19 virus being around many of us have been unable to visit France this year. We would like you to share three things with us …
1 What you are missing most about France.
2 What you are most looking forward to doing when next you can travel there.
3 What piece of music most reminds you of France.
The plan is that your thoughts and choice of music will be combined into a short programme to be broadcast on the Cercle Français de Belfast's YouTube channel on14th July. A sort of 'Desert Island Discs' if you like as we gently recover from isolation.
Please send your 'requests' by Friday 10th July either ...
… by email to cfbelfast@gmail.com in which case your words (in English or French) will be read for you before playing your choice of music.
Or
You might like to make a short audio/video recording and send it using WeTransfer (https://wetransfer.com/) to cfbelfast@gmail.com. Your recording and choice of music will be included in the programme.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Prenez soin de vous et de vos proches,
À bientôt,
Philip
What music from L'Hexagone are you listening to these days? Maybe you're not listening on record or cd and prefer to stream your music. Is it one of the classics or something more modern?
Please let us know! You can post your comments below.