29 septembre 2019

CfB rehearsal at Accidental Theatre

Chers amis,
You are cordially invited to our open rehearsal of the poetry reading ‘80 minutes with Seamus Heaney’, to be presented soon at the National Library in Dublin.

Our rehearsal will take place this coming Saturday, 5 October, at 3pm in the Rehearsal Room at the Accidental Theatre, 12-13 Shaftesbury Square, Belfast, BT2 7DB. 

There is no need to book your place for the rehearsal and no charge to attend. However, places will be limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis. It will last approximately 1.5 hours.

A quick reminder of the event:

An evocation by Jim Holland of his friendship with the poet through readings of early poems in English and French. Introductions and reading of poems in English by Jim Holland and versions in French by special readers Maryvonne LeRoy, Claudine McKeown, Allison Neill-Rabaux and Chris Tracey.

Drop us an email if you’d like any further information.

À samedi !

Philip

14 juin 2019

Visite guidée. Robert PIMLEY


Visitors to Belfast somehow don’t seem to be deterred by our often inclement weather. Many are easy to spot making their way round the city in large groups following a guide pointing out interesting features that locals seem not to notice. The word blasé might describe the resident’s apparent indifference. The weather was dependably unseasonal for the cercle’s last event of the year as a dozen or so members gathered for a visite guidée led round and conducted in French by Robert PIMLEY.

Robert has plenty of experience leading groups from France and while the majority take place from the comfort of a tour bus, he is just as at home in the pedestrianised areas of the “Half Bap” and the Cathedral Quarter.

Underway
Assembling at the Dark Horse at 18h 30 precisely our exploration starts with the Café House itself and the just completed embellishment of a poetry courtyard. The long term feature of dozens of yellow umbrellas suspended upside-down from the entry’s ceiling is just visible through the new gates - tantalisingly close as the rain falls heavily.

French groups visiting Belfast

Commercial Court as usual has plenty of people impervious to the weather and taking for granted the loud and clear commentary in French. They are used to such comings, soundings and goings. What was nice about this walk was that Robert treated us as if we were another of his French groups encountering the stops en route as if seeing them for the first time. This approach would be useful for those members who might at some future point find themselves in the role of escorting their visiting Francophone friends around the city.


On foot and on screen 
The visite made its way to various places of interest and eventually returned full cercle to the Dark Horse where part two of the evening would shortly begin. The sound and aroma of grinding coffee and French accordion music percolated the dampness. The physical tour over, it was time to join the virtual one.
In a sequence of about 30 diapositives Robert took us further afield to the compass points of Belfast. Again we were treated as French visitors who had arrived on a medium sized cruise ship in the Port of Belfast. This ship docks in Belfast several times a year and on one occasion was able, due to its size, to dock at Portrush.

The sequence of slides absorbed us for the next 45 minutes and this attendee picked up some interesting new facts about this place called home.

Un très grand merci !
Robert’s coffee had gone cold by the time he finished his tour de force - almost two hours in loud, clear French - and his tour groups, physical and virtual, expressed their warm appreciation.
Outside the rain showed little sign of easing as we left the final session of this year’s programme. At the courtyard another guide and another group, this time English-speaking, were looking through the gates - those parapluies still tantalisingly close.


Note: The programme for our 2019-20 season has now been finalised,  There is plenty to suit a range of interests.
Back in September,  À la prochaine !

05 juin 2019

Bulletin mensuel juin 2019

Chers amis,
The next meeting of the Cercle Français de Belfast will be …
on Mercredi (Wednesday) 12 juin 2019
at 18:30 for the walking tour and 19:30 for the virtual tour
in Dark Horse Coffee House,
30-34, Hill Street Belfast BT1 2LB (Directions attached)

Topic: A French walking and virtual tour of Belfast
Speaker: Robert PIMLEY

Join us for TWO guided tours of Belfast city centre en français. Plenty of information to share with any French-speaking friends you may have visiting.

***

Bal Feirste's next Workshop/Bal will take place on …

Saturday 8th June 2019
In The Sunflower Pub, Union St, Belfast (upstairs)
Dance workshop: 17.00-17.30
Bal: 17.30 - 19.00
(this is a free event, donations welcome)
Remember no experience or partner needed. The Bal is a time to practise your moves and guidance will be given at the start of each dance.
À bientôt
Philip

09 avril 2019

Annual French Dinner 2019

Chers Amis,

Have you registered for our annual French dinner?
While the dinner will be on Tuesday 30 April 2019, registrations must be returned by Tuesday 16 April 2019.
See full details of the delicious menu in our members' email.

Don't forget too that our next meeting will be on this Wednesday ..
10 Avril 2019 à 19h30
in Dark Horse Coffee House,
30-34, Hill Street Belfast BT1 2LB (Directions attached)
Topic: Art event: Mirka MORA
Speaker: Felicity Haire

Remember to make sure of your place at the table for our annual French dinner return your registration to …

Ray Largan, CFB Treasurer, 9 Dalboyne Gardens, Lisburn BT 28 3BX to arrive by Tuesday 16 April 2019.


Looking forward to seeing on 30 April and on Wednesday evening.


À bientôt, Philip

04 avril 2019

Bulletin mensuel : avril 2019

Chers Amis,

There is quite a lot coming up in April so let's begin with our own Cercle events.

The next meeting of the Cercle Français de Belfast will be on …

Mercredi 10 Avril 2019 à 19h30
in Dark Horse Coffee House,
30-34, Hill Street Belfast BT1 2LB (Directions attached)

Topic: Art event: Mirka MORA
Speaker: Felicity Haire

Observations on how this French-Australian artist’s insatiable spirit brought Parisian chic into Australian popular culture. Not only does Felicity draw upon extensive research to paint her portrait of the artist, she will also delight us with her own anecdotes as she knew Mirka personally. This promises to be a very special evening, in English and in French.
Note also that our cine club presentation this month is directly linked to Felicity's talk.

Cercle Français de Belfast's Cine Club.

This month our soirée cinéma becomes a 'cinema in the afternoon' event on ...
Sunday 14rd April
at 2:30pm (Please note the new starting time )
in The Sunflower Pub, 65 Union Street, Belfast (Directions) ...
with a screening of …

Monsieur Mayonnaise

An epic true story adventure starring artists, werewolves, heroes, Nazis, a comic book & baguettes ….with lashings of French mayonnaise!
Monsieur Mayonnaise is an artist’s epic adventure into his family’s secret past. Australian artist and film-maker, Philippe Mora (son of Mirka Mora), investigates his father’s clandestine role in the French Résistance in WW2 and his mother’s miraculous escape enroute to Auschwitz. Philippe, a Hollywood cult-horror movie director and pop-artist, adopts a Film Noir persona to tell his family’s story.


Dîner annuel Cercle français de Belfast ( Tuesday 30 April 2019)

Some folk have reported difficulties in opening the attachments to the 'Dîner annuel' email. I'm sorry about this especially as it seems they were not able to see the delicious, mouth watering menus. Attached is a new version of the email in PDF format which hopefully will overcome any problems. Remember reservations need to be returned with payment to: Ray Largan, CFB Treasurer, 9 Dalboyne Gardens, Lisburn BT 28 3BX to arrive by Tuesday 16 April 2019.


Franco-Irish Literary Festival

Jointly organised by the Alliance Française de Dublin and the French Embassy the 20th Franco-Irish Literary Festival (5thand 7th April) has a its theme “Women”
If you can't make it for the whole weekend, the main sessions take place on Saturday in the beautiful surrounding of Dublin Castle … et c'est gratuit.
The festival programme is online at ...



Bal Feirste's next Workshop/Bal will take place on ...

Saturday 13th April 2019
In The Sunflower Pub, Union St, Belfast (upstairs)
Dance workshop: 17.00-17.30
Bal: 17.30 - 19.00
(this is a free event, donations welcome)
Remember no experience or partner needed. The Bal is a time to practise your moves and guidance will be given at the start of each dance.


Looking forward to seeing you soon.


À bientôt, Philip

01 mars 2019

Tristes nouvelles : Anne Taylor. April 1932 - February 2019



It was with great sadness that we heard of the passing of our friend and colleague, Anne Taylor on her recent trip to Dublin.  Anne died suddenly, shortly after returning to her hotel following a meeting at the James Joyce Centre there.

Anne organised and led frequent tours in the footsteps of Joyce and his characters.  Her enthusiasm for the author was plain to see when she gave an erudite and delightful talk to the Cercle in 2016, entitled, James Joyce is alive and well and living in Paris.  We had encouraged members to contribute to the atmosphere of the talk by coming dressed in period style.  Anne outshone us all with her elegant attire and feathered headdress.  It was a treat.

She would later reprise the talk at the James Joyce Centre, Dublin and at an event in Lurgan, this time bringing along a period chair to add a supportive touch of gravitas.  Although an acknowledged expert on Joyce, Anne was also passionate about literature and books.  She read widely and among other writers had a special interest in Simone de Beauvoir.  It was thanks to that interest that she agreed to give our upcoming March talk on Feminism in France: Before and after de Beauvoir.  She had planned, using examples from the literary and political spheres, to take a light-hearted look at the position of women in France, from the sans-culottes to the present day.  She had shared her ideas with our présidente, Allison, who reports that Anne had travelled to France last summer to gather pictures and anecdotes about de Beauvoir.  Philip, who worked closely with Anne on her multimedia presentations, additionally noted that Anne was going to mention Room 10a in the Hôtel la Louisiane, where Simone de Beauvoir (along with many other French writers) stayed.  It was also the hotel in which Anne stayed on her visits to Paris.  “What a pity,” commented Allison,”we’ll never get to hear that talk in all its glory!”

The committee plans to proceed with the meeting scheduled for 13 March as a testimonial to Anne.  It will take place in the recently opened Orpheus, close to the Dark Horse Café.  Plans for that special evening are still unfolding but the intention is to pay tribute, through anecdotes, literary readings and song to the energy and wit of such an exceptional person.


Elle n’est plus avec nous et elle nous manquera beaucoup.


CfB committee