December 2011 Newsletter - Alliance Française Rockhampton

le bulletin
Alliance Française de Central Queensland
INSIDE
A Wedding in Angers
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Social and Cultural Activities
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Issue 7
Dec 2011
Susan Yates
UN WEEKEND GÉNIAL
The highlight of the last six months was definitely the French
language atelier d'immersion supported by funding from the
Film Festival profits and held at North Keppel Island
Environmental Education Centre, 15 - 16 October. North
Keppel was the ideal place to be. Tout s'est passé super
bien - everything went beautifully - from every point of view.
The welcome we received from the principal and the catering
staff could not have been more friendly and we were delighted
on our arrival to hear French music and to find red, white and
blue paper flowers and decorations in the dining room.
The first workshop, le français argotique, was conducted
by Geoff Galagher and Susan Yates. Geoff was formerly
Head of Languages at The Illawarra Grammar School and is
now teaching with the Alliance Française de Wollongong. He
explained the difference between le francais parlé (spoken
French) and le bon français or le français correct (formal or written
French) and the different registers that exist within spoken
Geoff Galagher, Sandra Pearson and Pascale Levacher French, from the kind of colloquial language that is used by
most people, such as sympa for gentil or mon copain for mon ami marked in the dictionary with one asterisk - through slangy expressions such as j'en ai marre for j'en ai assez - marked with two
asterisks - to language that is known as vulgaire, such as swear words marked with three asterisks. Geoff gave the students
dialogues in slang and Susan gave them dialogues in French text language (di, tu fé koi 2 bo ce soir? - ri1 2 spéc, pkoi?) to
"translate" into normal French. The workshop concluded with a rap song by Diam, Confession nocturne, which seemed almost
like a foreign language for many of us but which became much clearer when we heard it again with the accompanying
videoclip on Sunday.
The second workshop, Le langage du sommelier et l'art de la
dégustation du vin, was conducted by Pascale Levacher and Greg Moore.
Pascale presented les sept règles de la dégustation du vin, e.g. wine tasting should take
place in a room with plenty of light and without any distracting odours when the
taster is beginning to be hungry. We then learnt of les trois étapes de la dégustation du
vin, i.e.analysis from the visual, olfactory and taste points of view. We discovered
all sorts of interesting facts such as that when you sniff the wine for the first time
(le premier nez) you must not let the glass move, but the second time (le 2e nez) you
must turn the glass in order to en dégager les odeurs. Greg, who had chosen the
wines, then asked us to fill out a fiche de dégustation which involved complex analysis
judging la teinte du vin (colour) and choosing the dominant element of the odour
(végétal, floral, fruité, épicé, etc).
After the workshops on Saturday there was time for a swim or a walk to
Maisie Bay and then people practised intensively for the evening's after-dinner
entertainment. The first item was a short play with very colourful and inventive
costumes, The Grand Cheese Theft, an amusing mix of French and franglais,
Alliance Française de CQ
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Dec 2011
Un weekend genial continued
A wedding in Angers continued
written by two students from
Filomena Olsen's postbeginners class and performed
by Fil and her students. With
characters such as l'lnspecteur
Clouseau, Napoléon, Marie
Antoinette and Pépé Lepew all
trying to solve the mystery of
the missing cheese, it had the
audience in fits. A game of
charades presented by Susan
Yates' students from the
intermediate class involved
guessing the identity of
characters such as Harry
Dylan Gannan as Chef Louis in
Potter ("D'abord j'ai habité
The Grand Cheese Theft
chez mon oncle et ma tante").
To conclude the evening, Pascale's students from the advanced class
handed out candy bananas for the audience to wave around while
joining in a hilarious karaoke session singing La banane.
Sunday's activities began with yoga on the beach. Nerida
O'Hare showed us how to enjoy le soleil, la mer et les oiseaux while
stretching and improving our flexibility. For the morning session
Filomena and Nola Pontifex demonstrated and explained the
different steps necessary to cook baked ricotta and macarons fourrés au
chocolat. Obviously the participants had to taste the dishes! After
lunch, there was a game of Trivial Pursuit testing our general
knowledge of France, French history and French culture, organised
by Bernadette Moore and Fil and full of tricky questions (did you
realise that le plus ancien monument de Paris is not Notre Dame but
l'Obélisque?). To conclude, Geoff conducted a French song
workshop which included a lesser-known Edith Piaf song, La foule,
Ray Ventura‟s amusing 1935 song, Madame la Marquise, and Geoff's
adaptations of existing songs such as Bushwackers by L. Tigers.
The accommodation - cabins with balconies looking out onto
the ocean - was comfortable and most of us slept well despite the
noisy morning chorus of birds. The food was wonderful and the
island staff made a special effort to give us a French experience madeleines for morning tea, croissants for breakfast, and soupe aux
oignons, coq au vin and a delicious tarte tatin for dinner.
We owe thanks to all the teachers and students who conducted
such interesting workshops, and particularly to Geoff Galagher, who
came from out of state. We also owe a huge debt to Nola, Pat,
Nerida, Bernadette and Pascale, whose efficient planning covered
every detail. We were very happy that Brisbanite Sandra Pearson, a
former teacher and a founding member of our Alliance Française,
was able to join us for the weekend. Above all, il faut remercier the 31
participants in the immersion weekend, who created a wonderful
atmosphere of bonne humeur and camaraderie. Everyone agreed that we
should repeat the experience next year.
at weddings here. Charlotte, Thibaut‟s new wife,
made the only speech - to thank everyone for
coming.
During breaks between the meal courses we
saw PowerPoint presentations of Thibaut and
Charlotte from birth to present day. We also
played games, one where the newlyweds wore
headphones to block out the PA system while the
MC asked guests to stand if they were connected
to a particular situation. For example “friends of
the bride‟s father” or “people who were living
overseas at a particular time”. The bride and
groom could not hear the question and had to
guess it by observing the people standing. When
Dec 2011
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Chateau d’Angers
Kelvin and I stood they had a pretty good idea of
the question asked.
On Sunday, after a nice sleep in, we walked
around Angers visiting the Chateau d’Angers,
which was built in the 13th century and is home
of the famous apocalypse tapestries. These
tapestries depict quite detailed scenes from the
book of Revelation in the Bible. We did a town
tour on Le Petit Train, a good way to rest our
sore feet. Compared to Paris, Angers was a
much quieter and more relaxing place to be.
Cafes and restaurants and cafes are more
welcoming and more comfortable. We especially
liked our galettes in Angers – one of the best
meals we had.
Thibaut and Charlotte‟s wedding was the
highlight of our French holiday and we really
enjoyed the experience. Since Thibaut and
Sandy‟s stay with us, we have had other French
students at our home. The benefits are
reciprocal. We help them with their English and
they help me with my French. We also have a lot
of fun showing them our part of the world.
Issue 7
A Wedding in Angers
doctors. The building also serves as a war museum (after 5
hours there was still more to see) and houses the tomb of
Napoléan, an impressive sight. Ceremonies such as a
recent memorial service for soldiers killed in Iraq are still
held in its courtyard .
Before attending the wedding we toured the
Champagne region, visiting Reims (its cathedral famous
as the place where the French kings were crowned),
Epernay and the home of Moët and Chandon champagne
as well as a private producer of champagne – Dauby. We
preferred the taste of the Dauby champagne to that of
Moët & Chandon. We also toured the Paris Catacombs
created at the end of the 18th century. In 1785, because
many cemeteries at that time had become overcrowded and
were posing health risks, the Council of State arranged for
the removal of human remains and for their storage in the
large underground quarry system below Paris. The number
of people resting there would be in the millions.
On the day of the wedding (23 July) we caught the
TGV train to Angers. It travelled the 300km journey in
90 minutes passing through fields of wheat, maize, cattle
and modern wind generators. We were met by Thibaut‟s
cousin, Thomas, who was our host for the night.
Beth Scott
In 2009, through the Alliance Française two young
French students, Thibaut Cador and Sandy Bensoussan
contacted us seeking accommodation for their stay in
Rockhampton while they did research at the CSIRO, then
located in North Rockhampton but now based in
Townsville. Sandy and Thibaut proved to be perfect
guests and really appreciated the „country‟ side of
Rockhampton and its surrounds. We spent many
weekends together visiting places of interest such as the
Caves, the Crocodile Farm, Byfield, Cooberrie Park,
Blackdown Tableland, Carnarvon Gorge, the gemfields,
1770, Yeppoon, Moura and Biloela.
On his return to Paris, Thibaut became engaged and
invited us to attend his wedding in Angers - a city of
about 200,000 people located 300 km south west of Paris.
After lots of thought we decided to attend the wedding
and on July 20th 2011, accompanied by four friends, we
landed in Paris. We had booked Broca Apartments - Rue
Broca in the Latin Quarter close to Rue Mouffetard,
famous for its market and those little specialty shops we
longed to see such as boulangeries, chocolateries,
charcuteries, pâtisseries and endless cafés and restaurants.
That night we were the guests of Thibaut‟s parents
who live in an apartment at the Hôtel des Invalides.
Thibaut‟s father was previously an army general and
surgeon but his current job as Director of Les Invalides
entails mostly administration duties. Les Invalides is a
hospital built by Louis XIV to house and care for soldiers
from the royal armies. Most of the returned soldiers living
there now are mainly amputees and victims of war. The
hospital is their home and provides rehabilitation and
prosthetic services. It is also a training hospital for student
Kelvin and Beth Scott with Thibaut and Charlotte Cador
The wedding mass took place at 2.30 pm in the
Catholic church of Sainte-Gemmes-sur-Loire, and the
reception was held about 5km from the church - a little
out of town in a lovely rural setting. There we spent the
next few hours enjoying petit fours, champagne and
socialising in the relative warmth of the afternoon. We
were amazed at spending such a long time outside – maybe
the French don‟t get to do that very often. At about 9 pm
we moved indoors to begin the meal. Dessert was served
at midnight followed by dancing to American Rock‟n Roll.
They joked about this and said they hoped we weren‟t
disappointed that we were not dancing to French music.
I‟m sure I‟ve danced to the same music (Continued P2)
Les Invalides
Alliance Française de CQ
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Dec 2011
Social and Cultural Activities
Naturally the Immersion Weekend overshadowed all other social and cultural
events, but that is not to say that they have been overlooked. We have continued
to try do something each month. In July we had a very successful Bastille Day
celebration at The Capricorn Resort. We were quite excited by the quality and the
presentation of the food. The chefs
(there were two of them) had trained in
French Cuisine in Mumbai and made a
special effort that was very much
appreciated.. The entrée, „Filet de Canard
infusé dans une sauce aux prunes servi avec des
Oranges caramelisées à l’huile de noix’,
pictured, set the mood for the evening.
Some members opted to stay overnight
and meet for breakfast at The Keppel Bay Sailing Club, a fantastic spot
overlooking the ocean.
Evening conversation at the Parkhurst Tavern and the film, Elle s’appelle
Sarah, were both well attended in September. Although we usually try to have a
film early in the year, there was so much on this year that we managed just the one.
To end the year we celebrated
Christmas and Le Beaujolais
Nouveau in a beautiful garden
setting at Nerida and Randel
O‟Hare‟s home near Yeppoon.
Everyone brought a dish so we
enjoyed a wide range of French
cuisine with Le lapin and La mousse
au chocolat being among the
favourites. The terraced garden,
with tables on three levels, lent
itself beautifully to the celebration
Susan Yates and Thomas Frey at the
and we thank Randel and Nerida
Christmas party
for sharing it with us.
The Alliance de Central Queensland is always looking for opportunities to
connect with the public. We thank The Morning Bulletin, which has generously
printed stories that have helped us advertise our activities and classes during the
year. Our latest initiative is to present a one hour radio segment, once monthly, on
4YOU, FM 98.5. 4YOU is the radio station of Capricorn Community Radio which
is totally staffed by volunteers to give people and organisations of our community a
local voice. The Alliance is also relying on volunteers to present the segment and
we thank Steve McCutcheon and Dylan Gannan who did a great job on our
first segment, 4 December. The due date of our next broadcast is 8 January.
Books
Dec 2011
Recently I was given this
book with one page in
French and the facing
page an English
translation. I have found
it a great way to learn
some French idioms and
to improve my
translation skills. Pat
From the Editor
Thank you to Susan and Beth for
their contributions in what has been a very
busy six months. A wedding in Angers will
be of interest to those who met Thibaut
and Sandy when they were living in
Rockhampton and joined in some of our
social activities. (See le bulletin, Dec 2009)
Pat Handley
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Classes
Adults
Beginners, intermediate and
advanced; new beginners in
January and July only
Wednesdays 6.30 - 8.30 p.m.
Library, Glenmore High
School
Qualified Teachers
Children
For details of 2012 classes
phone Susan Yates
(0410 878 536)
Private
By arrangement
Susan Yates (0410 878 536)
Bernadette Bernleitner(4933
0301, 0438 642 778)
Interpreting
Bernadette Bernleitner
NAATI qualified
Calendar 2012
Conversation group Fridays,
1 p.m. at the old Customs House
Evening Conversations, replacing
the lunchtime meetings as advised.
Film Festival
Bastille Day Dinner
AGM
Immersion Weekend
1 - 3 June
14 July
12 Dec
To be
decided
Terms
Term I
Term II
Term III
Term IV
1 Feb - 28 March
18 April - 20 June
11 July - 19 Sept
10 Oct - 12 Dec
Facebook
Thanks to Pascale, you can now
visit us on Facebook. Search for
Facebook Alliance Française de
Rockhampton (Australie) to see our
page.
Websites
Alliance Française de Central Q‟land
www.afrockhampton.com
Federation of AF‟s of Australia
www.alliancefrancaise.com.au
Look on our website for details
of class times, back issues of le
bulletin, and events.
We will also be posting
Pascale‟s notes on La dégustation
du vin.
Issue 7