A scary story!!!

Martine's Friday morning French class listened to Bernard Lavilliers' s beautiful song, Les mains d'or when Jac&Co came to visit Alliance Française in late 2014 and were to sing this song for us. There are some striking ( frappantes) and awe-inspiring images (des images impressionnantes) in the song and some vivid vocabulary (un vocabulaire évocateur), this is what Anne wrote afterwards:

On dirait... la nuit d’hiver est descendue , la maison est tranquille, les portes verrouillées et les rideaux fermés. Dehors, le ciel est clair et la pleine lune jette une lumière argentée sur tout . A l’interieur, les habitants sont endormis.  
Mais, dans l’entrée, derrière la porte, une ombre s’avance le long du plancher;  elle est très noire et dense, comme une flaque d’eau profonde. L’ombre se casse et des doigts noirs rampant vers l’avant, comme les ronces, s'arrêtent; puis la flaque d’ombre se reforme.  Un courant d’air froid arrive sous la porte. Encore une fois, la flaque d’ombre se casse et les ronces de la nuit s’avancent.  

Qu’est-ce qu’il y a? Un cambrioleur qui hésite à continuer? Ah non, c’est seulement un manteau accroché et une écharpe se déplaçant légèrement en raison du courant d’air.

I must say, nobody in the group discovered what the shadow was, very eerie.... ( étrange, angoissant)
If you would like to join one of our French tuition groups, contact us to be assessed and we'll find you a place in a group at your level. For more info...

Clue for the mot caché in last week's blog about la St Valentin  : tomber amoureux.

Do you know what happens in France for la St Valentin?

Where would you say la St Valentin is most celebrated? Here are some statistics taken in Metronews this week:

 

France comes in 3rd place ( 3ème place) after the US and the UK, with 51% of couples celebrating.
The most common presents are:
Un dîner ( a meal): 37%
Des fleurs ( flowers): 25%
Des parfums ( perfume): 22%
Des bijoux ou des montres ( jewellery or watches): 16%
Lingerie ou vêtements ( lingerie or clothes): 11%

What about doing a little game to learn some French vocabulary about love? After all, French is meant to be the language of love ( le language de l'amour) !

 

You will get the answer to the hidden word next week!

You may like to impress your girl friend ( petite amie) , boy friend ( petit ami), wife ( femme), husband ( mari) using some of the following quotes:

"J'ai besoin de l'air que tu respires comme de la seule atmosphère où je puisse vivre." ( I need the air that you breathe to stay alive)
Citation de Benjamin Constant ; Lettre à Mme Lindsay, le 23 novembre 1800.

"À toi ma vie, ma tendresse, à toi mon cœur pour toujours." ( For you my love, my affection, my heart forever)
Citation de Charles Trenet ; Votre visage (1947)

"Tu peux m'ouvrir cent fois les bras, c'est toujours la première fois." ( You can open your arms to me, it is always the first time)
Citation de Jean Ferrat ; Paroles de la chanson C'est toujours la première fois (1965)

Would you like to test your French? What about trying the Alliance Française test on line? For more info...

Did you know that le club de lecture in Bath is going to discuss Un pedigree par Patrick Modiano?

Le club de lecture ( book club) in Bath is now in its second year and Véronique, the French tutor, who is organizing it, is very pleased by the response and interest.
Students and teachers will be meeting next Thursday, for more info... 
Of course, Patrick Modiano was very much in the media at the end of 2014 as he won the Noble prize for literature ( Le prix Nobel de la littérature).
He started writing very young, he always had difficulty expressing himself orally and he found writing the best way to communicate. He has written numerous novels ( de nombreux romans), a lot of them talking about the occupation of France in the Second World War ( l'occupation de la France pendant la deuxième guerre mondiale), about the quest for one's own identity ( la recherche de sa propre identité), the absence of the father ( l'absence du père) . He has a keen interest in giving very detailed descriptions.
With the title Un pedigree, Patrick Modiano pays tribute ( rend hommage) to George Simenon who wrote an autobiographical novel ( un roman autobiographique) called Pedigree.
In Un pedigree, Modiano gives us details about his origins and his life up to the age of 22. His sentences are short, with  few verbs and no linking words, a little bit like lists.

There will be another book discussed after Easter so look out for the title on our website or email us at info@afbristol.org.uk to ask to be on our mailing list so that you can receive our newsletter with all the details of our events.

What is happening with Alliance Française in Bristol and Bath this coming week?

Audrey, our French tutor, in charge of the French drama workshops, is all set for the next show which will take place on Tuesday at 8.30pm, for more info on venue and time ...
The show is entitled Maître Chef after the English programme but also the French one, Master Chef.... Will you discover French recipes ( des recettes françaises) which you will want to prepare at home as soon as possible? Or will the recipes be rather "unconventional", we would say farfelues in French.... come and find out, either way, I can guarantee you will have a lot of fun as well as hearing some French all evening.
Do watch one of the videos, you will see a typical French scene, watch now...

If you live in Bath or near Bath, why not go to My French film festival to watch a series of courts-métrages ( short films) to discover a generation of young cineasts. For more details...