Chers tous,

Once again, a fantastic French wine degustation! The evening was a perfect mix of fine wines, delicious cheeses and pâtés and great company. Special thanks to Brent McKay of Amazing Grapes, who provided a selection of fine wines that delighted our palates and our senses. These tasting evenings are not only informative and enjoyable, but they also provide an opportunity to discover some interesting wines and enjoy a very relaxing evening... all right, the wine must have had something to do with it!

Many of us enjoy the Tour de France, not just for the race itself, but also for the scenery, the history, the wealth of information and the famous "Plat du Tour". Due to the Olympic Games, this year the Tour de France will start a week earlier than usual, on 29 June, and will be quite different with a new starting location, its first gravel stage, a non-Paris finish and a different type of final stage. As you know, the Tour de France has always ended in Paris, with several laps around the Louvre and Champs Elysées, due to Olympic preparations in Paris, it will end in Nice on July 21 with an almost 34 km individual time trial. If you would like to download the route (bilingual F/A edition), follow the link:

https://storage-aso.lequipe.fr/ASO/cycling_tdf/tdf24-parcours.pdf

Unveiled on 16 May Saint Honoré’s Day (Saint Honoré being the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs), the French postal service “La Poste” has printed 594,000 mouthwatering copies of a new baguette stamp, which captures the scent of bread in the ink. The baguette, which won intangible heritage status from UNESCO in November 2022, is considered a jewel of French gastronomy. “The baguette, the bread of our daily lives, the symbol of our gastronomy, the jewel of our culture", La Poste says on its website. “The baguette is the embodiment of a culture and customs that are deeply rooted in the daily lives of the French. It stands for a ritual, that of going to the bakery, a local business rooted in the regions, attracting 12 million consumers every day. The fact that 6 billion baguettes are made every year confirms its emblematic status as part of France's food heritage.”

The Art in Miniature group is holding its annual exhibition at the Raglan Gallery and Cultural Centre in Cooma from 3 July to 18 August 2024. The opening will be hosted by Anne Masters, Director of the Gallery of Small Things (ACT), on Saturday 6 July at 2pm. If you are passing through Cooma, I encourage you to visit the exhibition (Wednesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 3.30pm). You are going to think that it is not really French, to which I would reply that one of the exhibiting artists, Jocelyne Godber, is French.

I look forward to seeing most of you on 14 July in Madame d'Aulnoy's Parisian salon, and if you are worried, no heads are likely to roll, because we will be there at the end of the 17th century, with the Revolution still to come...

A bientôt!

 Chers tous,

Despite the relatively small number of participants, the screening of Notre-Dame On Fire was a great success and received plaudits from the entire audience. This powerful movie, in which everything is based on fact and nothing seems plausible, gripped us, moved us and kept us on the edge of our seats until the striking destructive fire was extinguished. I encourage you to read Davina and Barry's report on the film (see page 5), and if you were unable to attend the screening, to borrow the DVD, which is available to our members from our library corner.

If you are interested in the Olympics and decide to follow them, you are bound to travel, because while Paris has been chosen to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in reality 39 venues will welcome athletes from around the world. As host city, Paris will host the competitions at 26 Olympic and Paralympic venues representing 35 sports, with 8 other cities in the Île-de-France region hosting major sporting facilities. The Château de Versailles has also transformed its gardens for the equestrian, paraequestrian and pentathlon competitions. Two other towns will host handball, shooting and football events, and the harbour of Marseille will host all the sailing events, while the surfing competitions will take place in Tahiti.

Before I say goodbye, do not miss the extraordinary chance to celebrate this year’s Bastille Day event, it will not be just another date on our event calendar, but a grand rendez-vous, with a promise of a great evening of celebration! Promote the event amongst family and friends, enrol, select your menu and pay your contribution by 23 June.

Looking forward to seeing you all on the occasion of our French Wine Tasting event, Je vous dis A bientôt!

Sylvie

 Chers tous,

Welcome back to your monthly invitation to take part in local French news! A big thank you to everyone who came along to hear about our recent trip to Europe. It is quite difficult to talk about everyday life, to recount events, emotions and sensations, while at the same time trying to interest your listeners, but I hope that Wal and I have succeeded in giving you what you were hoping for and making you want to go away somewhere, and why not to Normandy and Brittany? There are a thousand and one reasons to visit these two regions, the history, the legends, the beauty, the inspiration, the art… it’s all around you.

Our next get together is on 23 May, for the showing of the film-documentary “Notre-Dame on Fire”. A meticulous reconstruction based on eyewitness accounts, cross-checking and expert reports, this film is breathtaking and spectacular, instructive and captivating, a masterpiece, which I urge you to come and see.

In this month's newsletter you will find all our regular articles, including an interesting story written by Frances Perkins on the acquisition of their property in the Lot region, and a critique of the movie “Anatomy of a Fall” written by our talented Anh-Thu Stuart.

In a few days, Mother's Day will be upon us, and while in France mothers are given roses and lilies, in Australia they are given chrysanthemums. Did you know that in France this is the cemetery flower, the one that is placed on the graves in early November? Let me tell you how surprised I was the first time I received a pot of chrysanthemums for Mother's Day! I wish all mothers and the mothers-at-heart a beautiful bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day.

Sylvie

 Dear all,

A big thank you to everyone who took part in our "Moules-frites / chipolatas-frites" lunch, a super big thank you to all the helpers, for setting up the tables, helping in the kitchen and the final clean-up, and finally another big thank you to all of you who said how much you enjoyed the event. It is a real pleasure to have you all by my side. The Pambula Masonic Hall seems to be the ideal venue for this type of event, offering a semi-professional kitchen, a comfortable room and plenty of parking, so all we have to do now is come up with other ideas for events of this type, perhaps with products that are easier to find, no mussels that give you blisters, no sticky garlic cloves and no shallots that make you cry!!!

5 years ago already at around 6:20 pm on Monday 15 April 2019, a gigantic fire broke out in Notre-Dame de Paris, partially destroying the cathedral. The flames caused the collapse of its "forest" or framework, part of which was eight centuries old, its famous spire, the clock and part of the vault, but at the cost of a superhuman effort, the firefighters managed to preserve most of the structure as well as the façade and its two towers.  Today, the spectacular restoration work continues apace, gradually restoring the cathedral to its familiar silhouette in the Parisian landscape… 5 years ago already. Time flies, without us even taking the time to think about it….

 I am pleased to announce that the film Notre-Dame brûle (Notre-Dame on fire) is the film chosen for our first French film night in May. It is an excellent film and one not to be missed.

Before I say goodbye, the French movie Anatomy Of A Fall is playing in a number of cinemas, including Merimbula, so if someone who has seen the film would like to write an article about it, we would be very grateful. By the time you read this, the Easter weekend will be over. I hope you had a great time with your family and friends, and that Maître Chocolat was invited to your table!

I look forward to seeing many of you on the Friday 19 April for our next event, a Normandy-Brittany Talk and Slides.

Sylvie

 Dear all,

The weather wasn't as kind as expected, but the welcome party was a warm one. Joie de vivre, laughter, good humour, conversation and delicious food made the evening a real success. Thanks again to Lilias and Mike, but also a big thank you to all the participants and the many little hands who helped with the washing up and tidying up. It almost makes you want to organise a Welcome Party every month... !

To make sure you don't miss any of the events that may be of interest to you, we have prepared a list, which you will find on page 2 of this month's newsletter and which I invite you to print and consult regularly.

In this month's French Corner, I talk about pigeon lofts. In this regard, the French army has something unique compared to other armies in Europe. Do you have any idea what it is? It's the only one in Europe that still has carrier pigeons in its ranks. And finally, for fans of French cinema: The 35th Alliance Française French Film Festival will take place in Canberra (Palace Cinema) from March 7th to April 2nd 2024..more than 40 films await you this season! To see the program follow the link:

https://tiptopweb.cachefly.net/affff2024/affff-program-canberra.pdf

I look forward to seeing many of you on 22 March for our "moules frites / chipolatas frites" lunch. A très bientôt,

Sylvie

 Hello everyone,

Our touristic, historical and gastronomic adventures continue, but the end of our journey is approaching and it is from our last destination in France, Cornouaille, a historical region on the west coast of Brittany, that I am writing this message. I hope you all had a wonderful festive season and that Santa spoilt you. I would like to take this opportunity to once again wish you a Happy New Year and all the best for 2024 and I hope that your New Year's resolutions include another year of membership with the Alliance Française de la Côte de Saphir.

A little birdie told me that the Coupe d’Antibes went very well, despite the absence of most of the committee members, due to holidays or a re-occurrence of Covid. Thanks to all the participants and to Patricia Dive (Trish) for the report and photos that you will find below.

This month's newsletter is packed with Frenchtastique (French & fantastic!) articles and news, including a very interesting article on the Musée d'Arromanches, the first museum built to commemorate 6 June 1944 (D-Day) and the Battle of Normandy, and an update on the repair work at Notre-Dame.

The first recipe of the year takes you to Normandy, but I can't hide the fact that the choice was very difficult, as Wal and I tasted so many good things during our holidays in France, breads, charcuterie, regional dishes, cider, pommeau des Charentes, cheeses, pastries and other delights, including sea spiders (araignée de mer).

You will have received Mike's email about our first event of the year, our traditional Welcome Party, so I look forward to seeing many of you on 10 February 2024.

Bien cordialement,

Sylvie

 Dear all,

It is from Germany, The Netherlands and France that I am writing to you this month; France where Wal and I will celebrate Christmas with my family, as well as my Mum’s 95th birthday and where we are looking for new stock!!! When I say “stock”, I am talking about ideas for our French Corner topics, films for our movie nights, articles and photos to take you on a stroll and, for the home cooks among us, a couple of classic, or not so classic, French dishes, so if you are planning to dazzle at your next dinner party, hopefully you will give these recipes a try.

On 9 November, 27 of our members attended the screening of The Kitchen Brigade and, judging by the applause at the end of the film, it was a great success. The film certainly has a political point of view, but it's also a funny and moving film and for those of you who couldn't make it to the screening, I highly recommend you borrow the DVD from our library (ask Rhonda if you don't know how).

I thought it would be useful, both for new members and to facilitate our encounters, to get to know our members better. So I would like to suggest that we use our "Coin Français/French Corner" to present biographies from time to time, the first being that of Brigitte Leroy. You all know that Brigitte has been a member of our Alliance for several years and that she has been a French teacher for many of you, but did you know that she was a Business Analyst for a Stockbroker Company and that she was also a white swan at one stage in her life? Find out more starting on page 4 of this month's newsletter.

I would like to invite you all to attend our Welcome Party on the 10th of February 2024, which is always a wonderful evening and the perfect time to help us build some great projects together for the coming year! As usual, Mike will be sending you an e-mail in good time with details of the evening.

Christmas is around the corner, time for feast organising, home decorating and all the bits and pieces that come before Christmas, such a lovely time of the year… I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, un très joyeux Noël et une excellente nouvelle année.

Sylvie