Some poems in the shape of a kite ( un cerf-volant).

Martine's French class has been working on the vocabulary of the sea ( la mer) and she asked her students to start with one noun ( un nom),  two adjectives ( deux adjectifs) and three verbs ( trois verbes) and finally four nouns ( quatre noms) all linked to the first word then to carry on with trois verbes, deux adjectifs  to end up with un nom. See the results below in the shape of a kite ( un cerf-volant) :

L'océan

Vaste, profond

Inonder, clapoter, se noircir

Vague, clapotement, galet, salinité

Déferler, monter, goûter

Jaune, salée

Flaque.

Geoffrey

Feu

Effrayant, mortel

s'enfuir, repousser, craindre

Evasion, horreur, consternation, espoir

Observer, acclamer, croire

Paisible, éteint

Eau

Maureen

You don't need to be able to write poems to join a class. Alliance Française de Bristol is starting a completebeginners' class on 4th April, if you would like to join this class, please contact us. For more info...

Did you know that Alliance Française de Bath is having a wine tasting evening next Saturday?

Lionel Lamadon, our specialist on French wines, is travelling from Bristol to Bath, to give a talk on rare wines ( les vins rares) especially selected for students taking French tuition in Bath as well as their French teachers, their friends and anyone interested in French wine and the French language.
If you would like to hear about Lionel and his talk, listen to the podcast.

If you would like to find out more on the talk, go to the Alliance Française de Bath event page. For more info...

Here are some sayings about wines by famous writers, poets and a film director:

La vérité est dans le vin. Pline l'Ancien ( Truth is to be found in wine)
Servez-leur du bon vin, ils vous feront de bonnes lois. Montaigne. ( Give them good wines, they'll make good laws)
Le vin est la plus saine et la plus hygiénique des boissons. Pasteur ( Wine is the healthiest and the most hygienic of drinks)
La tentation existe pour que l'on y cède. Maupassant ( Temptation is there to give into it)
Un type qui ne boit pas de vin ne connaîtra jamais le bonheur. Chabrol ( A chap who does not drink wine will never know happiness)
Le vin est le fils du soleil et de la terre. Claudel ( Wine is the son of the sun and of the earth)
Un homme qui ne boit que de l'eau a un secret à cacher à ses semblables. Baudelaire ( A man who only drinks water has a secret to hide from his companions)

Please don't go and drink too much after reading these quotes, remember what every advert says in France these days: Buvez en modération! ( Drink in moderation!)

Did you know that Alliance Française de Bristol is having an evening on Le Mont Blanc and the Chamonix valley next Friday?

Elisabeth, ex French teacher for Alliance Française de Bristol et Bath, gives excellent talks ( interventions) on various French topics.
On Friday, 8th March, she is going to take us to la vallée de Chamonix and up le Mont Blanc with a fantastic selections of photos.

 

We will live through the first climbs ( les ascensions), we will be transported to the first Winter Olympic games ( les premiers jeux olympiques d'hiver), we will discover French writers like Frison Roche who wrote novels set in le Massif du Mont Blanc. We will also see how the tunnel ( le tunnel du Mont Blanc) and tourism are affecting the area and plenty more.
We will finish the evening with a glass of wine and with some French cakes ( des petits gâteaux) made by Isabelle, our French teacher and chef.
These evenings are very popular and this one is full up but look out for some more on our website. For more info...

Did you know that we use a lot of idioms in French?

Tracy, who is a student of French teacher, Martine, discovered quite a few idioms and decided to make up some dialogues to illustrate them. Here they are:

Arrête de raconter des salades:
(Dialogue entre un père avec son fils adolescent)

Père - Philippe les policiers ont été ici hier pour pour parler avec toi...Pourquoi?

Philippe - Ah! J'ai fait quelque chose tres héroïque comme Batman , contre un terroriste international.

Père - Ca suffit, arrête de raconter des salades, et dis-moi la vérité.


A la St Glinglin:

Un été en Angleterre quand il fait beau, c'est ravissant, mais quand on en verra un encore c'est à la St Glinglin.


Quand les poules auront des dents:
(Dialogue entre deux étudiants de, l’Alliance Francaise après une conférence)

 - Quand est-ce que tu penses que nous pourrons parler couramment en français?

 - Quand les poules auront des dents!

Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard: 
(Diologue entre deux filles apres une visite a une exposition de mode)

 - J'adore les costumes créés par Chanel, qu'en penses tu?

-  Oui oui comme toi je crois qu'elle est exceptionnelle, les autres cependant , ils ne cassent pas trois pattes à un canard.


Je me mélange les pinceaux: 
(Dialogue entre deux femmes apres leur cours de danse)

- Il me semble qu’après beaucoup de pratique je pourrai danser le Tango.

- Très bien, pour moi, je pense que ce sera impossible. Je me mélange les pinceaux et je ne sais plus où j'en suis.


Avoir d'autres chats à fouetter: 
(Dialogue entre deux secrétaires au travail)

- Est ce que tu sais que le directeur et son secrétaire particulier étaient devenus amants?

- Bah! Je n'ai pas le temps pour le bavardage, j'ai d'autres chats à fouetter car il me faut finir ce rapport qui est devant moi.


Le client est roi:
 (Dialogue entre deux fleuristes)

- C'est incroyable , cette commande pour mélanger des dahlias avec nos roses incarnates....

- Oui, je suis d'accord avec toi, mais rappelle-toi toujours que le client est roi!

Alliance Française de Bristol has just had some popular French cookery workshops with French teacher, Isabelle; a very successful French wine tasting evening with ex French teacher and now specialist on French wines, Lionel.
More events coming up soon, watch this space or join our French classes! For more info...

Did you know Alliance Française de Bristol is running a wine tasting workshop?

The workshop, this time, is on les vins du Languedoc Roussillon and will be presented by Lionel, specialist on French wines and ex- French teacher. Here are the wines which will be tasted next Thursday:

  
-    Vin de Table « Bu N’Daw » 2010 Domaine la Grange de Quatre Sous                       
-    Coteaux-du-Languedoc « Ares blanc » 2010 Domaine Le Conte des Floris             
-    IGP Pays d’Oc « Ex-Arena » 2010 Domaine de Cébène                                                  
-    Vin de Pays des Cotes Catalanes rouge 2007 Clos du Rouge Gorge  
                       
These workshops are very popular and this one got booked up very quickly so Alliance Française de Bristol is offering the same workshop on April 18th. For more info...

As drink and food go together, I can't resist  a few words on horse meat ( la viande de cheval), I must say quite a few of our students have eaten some when in France. It was eaten quite a lot when I was a child and young adult, we used to buy it from the horse meat butcher ( la boucherie chevaline) on a Monday ( le lundi) as the other butchers were shut. It is very lean ( tendre) and tasty ( goûteux). I heard on France Inter that there are only ten boucheries chevalines left in Paris and one is in le treizième arrondissement, Place Jeanne d'Arc. If you are in Paris, go and have a look!
This morning Europe 1 mentioned a song on beef meat  which is very funny: it is a parody of La valse à mille temps by Jacques Brel. Jean Poiret ( famous actor in La cage aux folles, one of his numerous films) wrote La vache à mille francs. It takes you on a long itinerary through France before you can buy the meat. Now the meat goes all over Europe, Jean Poiret must have been a bit of a visionary!
Here is the link on Youtube, have fun...

You can find out much more about France by joining us on one of our French courses. For more info...

Did you know you could have fun learning the imperative in French?

Students in Audrey's French tuition group have done just that!

Que disent les légendes sur la photo? What is the text saying on the photo?
Faites les courses le samedi! Restez au lit le dimanche! Go shopping on Saturdays! Stay in bed on Sundays!
Cherchez la nouvelle religion à l'église de Primark!!! Si vous voulez une nouvelle expérience quand vous allez faire les courses. Look for the new religion at the church of Primark!!! If you want a new experience when going shopping.

Do you know your imperative forms?
Mange tout ce qui est dans ton assiette! ( Eat all that's on your plate!)
Finis tes devoirs avant d'aller sur Facebook! ( Finish your homework before going on Facebook!)
Mets ton manteau, il fait froid! ( Put on your coat, it's cold!)
Sois sage avec le babysitter! ( Be good with the babysitter!)
N'aie pas peur du chien, il n'est pas méchant! ( Don't be afraid of the dog, he is not nasty!)
Sache qu'apprendre le français est très utile! ( Take it from me, learning French is very useful!)

There is always something to learn at Alliance Française de Bristol et Bath. For more info...

Did you know that the next cineclub in Bath is next Friday?

Alliance Française de Bath is showing: Bled Number One by Rabah Amar-Zaïmeche who also plays, Kamel the main character ( le personnage principal).
As soon as Kamel comes out of prison, he is sent back to his country of origin, Algeria.Through the eyes of Kamel, the spectators discover the Algeria of today with its hopes, its worries, its nationalism and intolerance, all its contradictions.
Kamel is happy to be back in the land of his parents and grand parents but also unhappy. Towards the end of the film, he says: " Je ne peux pas rester là, je vais craquer, péter les plombs."
Craquer: to break down
Péter les plombs: to freak out.
Anyone interested in the French language and curious about Algeria is welcome to come and see the film next Friday at 7.30pm. For more info...

There is another event not to miss: The show of sketches and games put on by Alliance Française de Bristol next Tuesday at 8.30pm at the Hen & Chicken, Bedminster in Bristol. 

You will have the pleasure of witnessing the trial ( le procès) of Gérard Depardieu and vote: will you allow him to keep his French passport or no? Peut-il garder son passeport français ou non?
Come and join the fun! For more info...