11 décembre 2015

Walking the Camino


Louis Boyle, veteran of several trips along the world renowned pilgrimage route through France and on to Santiago in Spain, was the speaker for our December talk.  We learned early on that others too had walked various stages and there was an interesting exchange of tips and suggestions for those who might be considering following in their footsteps.

Louis began with a brief history of the pilgrimage route and then took us to St Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees.  Using a series of photos he conveyed both the sense of challenge and the camaraderie experienced by the walkers.  In the photos it was clear that Louis was travelling light while others seemed to be very heavily burdened.

He explained the importance of documentation for those taking part as well as the need to be organised.  Finding someplace to stay was a priority and Louis noted that some of his French fellow-travellers booked ahead.  He on the other hand found that if he set out early enough in the morning, around 7am, he could arrive in time for lunch, find lodgings, get laundry done and settle in for the evening in time for curfew at 10pm.  He had some amusing albergue anecdotes of staying in the pilgrim only hostels.













Louis displayed items associated with his camino walk.  He drew particular attention to his camino passport, needed for food and lodging en route, his compostella - authentication that he had completed the journey to Santiago and the iconic scallop shell worn as a badge by pilgrims and named after Saint Iago/James/Jacques.

Louis told us that he's off again next year to follow a feeder route starting at the medieval town of Le-Puy-En-Velay in the Auvergne.
We'll follow his journey with interest.
Merci Louis !

08 décembre 2015

Bulletin mensuel: décembre

Chers Amis,
The next meeting of the Cercle Français de Belfast will be …
on mercredi  9 décembre 2015 à 19h.30 
in the Dark Horse Coffee House, 
30-34, Hill Street Belfast BT1 2LB

Topic: Walking the French Camino 
Speaker: Louis BOYLE 

This meeting of our cercle is the first since the attacks in Paris on 13
November and organisers have allocated time before the talk to acknowledge
those tragic events. There will be a short presentation, followed by une
minute de silence. In addition, for members wishing to express sympathy
there will be a Livre de condoléances which will be forwarded to the
French Embassy.

Our evening then returns to our scheduled programme with Louis BOYLE
sharing his experiences of Walking the French Camino. Through a mixture
of slides and anecdotes, Louis will provide suggestions for those who have
been considering setting foot on this world-renowned pilgrimage route...

Cafefrancophilo 16 decembre 2015
La prochaine réunion du caféfrancophilo aura lieu le 16 décembre 2015 au
Dark Horse Coffee House, Belfast 
à partir de 19h.30
Thème: Le Luxe, c'est quoi?
Animatrice: Isabelle Chaboud

Following the successful and very enjoyable caféfrancophilo in
October, another evening of French conversation and chat in the friendly
atmosphere of the Dark Horse Café takes place on 16th December. This time
the motion for discussion is 'Le luxe, c'est quoi?'. Our animatrice for the
evening Isabelle Chaboud will introduce the topic and invite folk to share
their ideas on what they feel constitutes luxury.

Dance Workshop and Bal Folk 12th December 2015

Bal Feirste will be holding their monthly session ...
on Saturday 12th December
from 17.30 until 20.00 in Upstairs Madden's, Berry St, Belfast.

In the workshop (17.30 – 18.00) you will have a chance to learn the Mazurka
(a popular dance of France) and An Dro (from Brittany). Then in the Bal
you can put what you have learned into practice.


La Fête des Rois
This time La Fête des Rois falls on 6th January. This is one of the most
popular events in our programme and this year, as last year, to keep within
the legal capacity of the Dark Horse Café and to ensure that everyone has a
good time, attendance will be limited to those who register in advance.
Watch out for an email with full details arriving in your Inbox soon.

Looking forward to seeing you in the Dark Horse Café in December.


À bientôt, Philip

16 novembre 2015

Paris: Condoléances


Courtesy: Àine MacParland
Members of our cercle français have been in touch to express their support and sympathy for those affected by the Paris attacks of last Friday.  Some recalled our January post, highlighting the words of a song, to affirm that Paris sera toujours Paris .

While many followed and shared updates on social media others used the platforms to convey their own reactions.  Two of those are posted here: the picture above from Àine, who provided our art talk last December, and this heart-felt piece in both French and English from our frequent contributor, Hélène.….. 

Hier soir, alors que je découvrais l’horreur des attaques à Paris et au Grand Stade, je suis tombée sur des commentaires de lecteurs disant que la France n’existait plus, qu’il fallait quitter le navire avant qu’il ne soit trop tard, des messages pessimistes et défaitistes. Au-delà de l’horreur, je découvrais une France qui avait peur. Et puis petit à petit, j’ai lu des nouvelles avec une lueur d’espoir, des récits héroïques sans héros, des histoires de personnes qui ouvraient leurs portes à ceux qui venaient d’être témoins du pire que l’espèce humaine puisse faire, des chauffeurs de taxi qui emmenaient les gens loin de la violence sans les faire payer, des personnes qui allaient au secours d’autres sans penser une seconde qu’ils risquaient leur vie, des personnes hissant de parfaits inconnus sur le toit du Bataclan… Hier soir, malgré l’horreur, au-delà de la violence et de l’horreur humaine, j’ai reconnu la France dont je suis fière, celle où nous restons unis et solidaires et plus forts que les ténèbres.

VIVE LA FRANCE !
#fieredetrefrancaise #notafraid

Last night, as I was discovering the sheer horror of the attacks in Paris, I came across comments about France not being France anymore, about people fleeing away from a sinking ship, messages full of pessimism and defeatism. Beyond the horror, I discovered a country that was scared. Then gradually, as I continued reading, I saw a glimmer of hope through heroic stories with unlikely heroes, stories of Parisians opening their doors to welcome people who had just witnessed the worst thing humans can do to each other, taxi drivers ferrying people away from the violence and not charging them, people rescuing others without thinking that they could lose their own lives, people lifting complete strangers onto the roof of Le Bataclan… Last night, despite the horror, beyond the violence and the horror of humankind, I recognised the France I am proud of, the one where we are united and standing together, stronger than darkness. 

VIVE LA FRANCE!
#proudtobefrench #notafraid


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Nos plus sincères condoléances


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Note:  A minute's silence was observed today in Belfast, reported here by BBC Northern Ireland, and a book of condolence for those killed and injured was also opened at Belfast City Hall. The French Embassy in Dublin has offered people the opportunity to e-mail messages of condolence to jesuisparisireland@gmail.com which will then be published online on this dedicated page of its site.