Sunday 27 January 2013

Busy next couple of weeks for Alliance Française de Bristol:

Our French cookery workshop is starting next Tuesday with our excellent chef and French teacher, Isabelle.
The students will soon find out what they are going to cook in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. As well as learning to cook French dishes, they will be speaking French and learning the vocabulary related to French recipes such as:
faire cuire: to cook
faire bouillir: to boil
faire revenir: to fry
faire mijoter: to simmer
faire blanchir: to blanch
faire blondir: to lightly brown
arroser: to baste
allonger une sauce: to add to a sauce
écumer: to skim
arroser: to baste
assaisonner : to season
émincer: to cut thinly
épaissir: to thicken
égoutter: to drain
mettre au four: to put in the oven
allumer: to switch on
éteindre: to switch off
mettre ou dresser la table: to lay the table
débarrasser la table: to take the dishes away 
faire la vaisselle: to do the washing up
remplir le lave vaisselle: to fill the dishwasher


The course is full but you can see what the last group of students prepared in the video below:



You can still join  other activities with Alliance Française de Bristol, for instance come and enjoy the fun at our show of games and sketches at The Hen & Chicken on 5th February at 8.30pm. Our French teacher, Audrey, has been doing some French drama with a group of students who have prepared some amusing sketches. For more info...

Sunday 20 January 2013

See if you can guess!!

Suzanne, student in Jocelyne's Thursday morning French class, has written a riddle ( une devinette ). It is always so clever to make up a riddle, never mind in French!!! Will you guess??? Vous allez deviner??

Si c'était un signe
De ponctuation
Ce serait un point
D’interrogation.


Si vous voulez 
Exprimer l’incertitude,
Il faudrait que vous vous serviez
De celui-ci dans vos études.


On aurait pu le voir
Si on avait cherché,
Parce que  beaucoup de fois
Dans tout ce poème il parait


Je me sentirais  bien
Si vous saviez,
La chose caché, qui n’est pas rien,
Dont cette devinette a parlé


Si nous avions voulu comprendre
Cette catégorie grammaticale,
Nous aurions dû  faire tout pour apprendre
Les trucs du  conditionnel!
Suzanne



You can come and learn tenses, vocabulary, how to write poems or learn to cook in French with Alliance Française de Bristol et Bath. For more info...

Sunday 13 January 2013

Christmas ( Noël) is not far away and some students still write about it:

A student in one of Jocelyne's French classes has written the poem below:

C'est temps de Noël, quand tout le monde est occupé,
Quoi porter, quoi manger, quoi acheter?
Certaines personnes commencent les preparations à l'avance,
Parce qu'elles aiment  faire de  Noël un moment  d'excellence.
D'autres attendent jusqu'à la dernière heure,
Puis, le 25 Décembre, ils  ont peur!
Mais quand la famille et les amis se rencontrent,
Tout le monde est content, y compris les enfants.

Lauren

Lauren did a short intensive French course with Alliance Française de Bristol last June and join one of the regular French tuition groups in October: Well done Lauren!

We're looking into the New Year now and more French cookery classes are starting at the end of the month, if you are interested, please get in touch as soon as possible. For more info...




Sunday 6 January 2013

Did you know that the French eat galettes today?

Today is epiphany ( l'épiphanie) and the tradition is to eat a special cake called la galette des rois. This custom is a reminder of the kings who brought presents after the birth of Jesus. On the 6th January, the idea is of tirer les rois ( to draw the kings), it means to hide une fève , originally a broad bean, now a small porcelain trinket representing baby Jesus, in the cake. Whoever has la fève in their piece of cake is the King ( le roi ) or the Queen ( la reine)  and wears a golden crown ( une couronne dorée). This tradition is a favourite among children who do hope they will have la fève!

Here is the recipe for la galette:

Ingrédients:
60/100 g de poudre d’amandes
60/100 g de beurre non salé
60/100 g sucre
1 œuf
1 cuillérée à soupe d’alcool pour parfumer.

Préparation: 
Mélanger tous les ingrédients dans l’ordre donné. 
Préparer ou acheter une pate feuilletée pur beurre.
Dans un moule,  beurrer le fond, étaler une couche de pâte, mettre le mélange dessus , ne pas oublier la fève et enfin ajouter un deuxième rond de pâte sur le dessus. Coller les bords avec du lait. 
Cuisson:
Dans un four à 160 degrés environ pendant 30 à 40 minutes.


Thank you to Martine, one of the French teachers at Alliance Française de Bristol, for her recipe!

Here is  a student, Chrissie, in a Wednesday evening French class who found la fève last year:


All the students in the French tuition classes will be busy next week eating galettes!! 
Why not join in the fun, enrol in one of the French groups,either in Bristol or in Bath. For more info...