Poems!!

When the French duo, Jac&Co, came to Alliance Française de Bristol, as well as their own compositions, they played and sang some songs from Edith Piaf's repertoire as well as Charles Aznavour's and Bernard Lavilliers'. We studied in class, beforehand, the beautiful and moving song by Bernard Lavilliers, Les mains d'or ( Hands of gold) which tells the story of a steel factory worker who becomes unemployed when the steel factory shuts down. It is a very poetic song with evocative images which triggered the creativity of several students in Martine's French classes.
Anne used some of the words in the song to create her own poem, here it is:

Le Vent
Le vent
traverse les montagnes,
fait grincer les dents.

Glacial et aigre,
le vent pénètre les os,
les rend engourdis.

Il hurle,
il fait rage et siffle
contre tout dans sa course.

Pas de brise ou vents alizé,
ni bourrasque ni souffle de vent
C'est une tempête.

La tempête terrifie les animaux
ils se serrent les uns contre les autres,
les fils électriques se cassent net.

Puis, le vent s'affaiblit,
devient moins un forcing,
presque doux et caressant.

La tranquillité
prend  possession,
Le calme descend.
Anne
 
If you would like to listen to the song, here it is on YouTube: les mains d'or
If you would like to listen to some of Jac&Co' s repertoire, follow this link.
Alliance Française de Bristol et Bath are stopping their French lessons over Christmas but you can still contact them to start French in the new year: for more info...

Do you have any ideas about how to save money?

Audrey's students in her Thursday evening French class have plenty! It can be  very useful ( utile) around Christmas time ( pendant la période de Noël) when we spend so much more money than during the rest of the year!! So, here are their suggestions:

This one suggests to live in your office ( votre bureau), no more rent ( plus de loyer), no more bills ( plus de notes de chauffage ou d'électricité)  as you have heating ( du chauffage) and hot water ( de l'eau chaude) on the spot, no need for much furniture ( beaucoup de meubles) so you can sell it and make money, it is a very good way to get rich quickly!

The next one tells you about having a water meter ( un compteur à eau) and how to save water and money by using rain water ( l'eau de pluie) for the garden ( pour le jardin) and for the loo ( et les toilettes) , by having showers ( des douches)  rather than baths ( plutôt que des bains)  and sharing your shower ( partager la douche) with your boyfriend ( avec votre copain).

And the last one encourages recycling ( le recyclage): you can use wrapping up paper ( du papier cadeau) again, coloured sweet paper wrappings ( des papiers de bonbons de couleur) as sunglasses ( comme lunettes de soleil) , plastic bags ( des sacs en plastique)  instead of rubber boots ( au lieu de bottes en caoutchouc) and washing up liquid ( du liquide pour la vaisselle) rather than shampoo ( plutôt que du shampoing).

You may have more ideas!! Why not share them in the Comments box or come and join our French lessons, for more info...

Do you know how to sell French perfume in Russia?

One student in Martine's French evening class knows exactly how to proceed! Martine asked her students to present an imaginary product made in France to sell to the Russians. Here is the result:

Vendre le parfum français aux Russes

A.  “Vivez vos rêves... avec les parfums de France!”
B.  
(i)  le prix
(ii) pas nécessaire de chercher ces produits à  l'étranger: on peut trouver tout ce qu'il nous faut en Russie.
(iii) la France a toujours exagéré: ses produits n'ont rien d'extraordinaire.

C.  Mes chères dames russes, quelle chance d'être russe en ce moment! Tant de millionaires, tant de gaz, tant de gangsters...  Et vous, vous avez tout, on n'en doute pas, y compris sans doute un homme fort, votre 'ours bien-aimé'.

Mais il vous manque quelque chose, n'est-ce pas? De quoi rêvez-vous pendant ces nuits si profondes,  à  côté  de votre ours qui ronfle? Oui, il y a quelque chose qui vous échappe, vous ne pouvez pas l'expliquer.

Ne vous inquiétez plus – la France connaît le secret de vos rêves: la France qui a toujours connu ces secrets: comment goûter tous les plaisirs des sens, de la vie enfin.

On pense à la France, et on pense au savoir faire, à l'élégance, à la subtilité, à la gastronomie, aux marques de luxe... et à l'art de l'amour.

Et vous trouverez toute cette passion, toute cette vision, toute cette créativité,  dans nos parfums français.

 D.   Revivez vos rêves grâce à nos parfums... et gardez votre ours chez vous!

 PS  (pour l'ours)  Monsieur, ne cherchez pas à comprendre ce galimatias. Tout ce qui compte, c'est d'offrir nos parfums à Madame. Elle sera ravie, elle vous regardera d'un nouvel œil, et elle restera avec vous!

 OFFRE SPECIALE : 2 pour 1 – et en bouteille d'un litre, c'est encore moins cher!

I am sure you're convinced even if you are not Russian!

What about enrolling with Alliance Française de Bristol or Bath to join in the fun? You can even try our new test on line to have an idea of your level before making an appointment to see us. For more info...

Did you know that France is playing in the final of the Davis Cup this weekend, in Lille, France?

The Davis cup ( la coupe Davis) was born in 1899. Dwight Filley Davis, student at Harvard, had the idea of creating an international tennis competition to promote the game of tennis. The first competition ( le premier tournoi) took place between the USA ( les Etats Unis) and England ( l'Angleterre) . There were five matches ( cinq matchs): four singles ( quatre simples) and a double ( un double) . The winning country was to house the competition the following year.
In 1904, three more countries joined in ( trois autres pays): France, Belgium ( la Belgique) and Australia ( l'Australie), little by little more countries joined in.
In 1927, France won for the first time thanks to the musketeers ( les mousquetaires) as the players were called: Jacques Brugnon, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and René Lacoste. They dominated international tennis for six years, winning the Davis cup trophy, le Saladier d'Argent ( the silver bowl) six times.

In 1981 the Davis cup got its first sponsor, from then on, the players ( les joueurs) received some money. It attracted more countries to join in, 129 now take part.

Good luck to the French team ( l'équipe de France) this weekend! 

Alliance Française de Bath still has places in some of its French tuition groups and Alliance Française de Bristol is opening a new class shortly so if you think that you are too late to join a French course, you are not! For more info...

Two poems written about L'Etranger by Albert Camus

Ross took some French private lessons with Elise a little while ago and asked to read and study L'Etranger with Elise.
Ross felt like writing a couple of poems, in French, the first one is related to the death of the mother of the main character, Meursault, death which occurs at the very beginning of the book. The second one refers to his relationship with Marie, who very quickly becomes his lover, and to a Sunday evening scene back in Algiers.
Here they are:

L’Etranger : deux poèmes

Chapitre I

Aujourd’hui sa maman a rencontré la mort.
Ou peut-être hier; Meursault il a tort.
Il ne sais pas quoi dire ou faire.
Il ne veut pas ouvrir la bière.

Le jour de l’enterrement il fait chaud,
Et le soleil est très brillant.
Les vieillards regardent tous Meursault.
Ce moment devient déprimant.

Sa mère a été tuée par un chancre,
Mais Meursault ne comprenait pas.
Le chaleur pèse comme une ancre.
Les gens ne lui semblent plus qu’un tas.

Chapitre II

Marie lui demande s’il est en deuil.
Meursault répond que oui.
Elle interprète la scène comme un trompe-l’oeil,
Mais ne voit pas que tout devient jauni.

Meursault fume sa cigarette
Et regarde les passants dans le quartier.
Peu à peu la rue se déserte.
Meursault croit que rien n’a changé.  

 If you, too, would like to study French books or start learning French right from the beginning, please contact Alliance Française de Bristol or Bath, for more info...

Did you know that the duet Jac & Co is performing in Bristol next Friday?

Who are Jac & Co? Details taken from their website...

For over 27 years, virtuoso accordionist Jacques Pellarin, Jac,  has brought the sounds of the French countryside to all corners of the globe. With 8 albums and multiple international tours, he has shared his musette-inspired accordion compositions with a world-wide audience.
Jacques’ s professional career began as part of the internationally acclaimed Baikal Duo and after 18 years of classical performances, Jacques formed a quartet and an acoustic trio in order to pursue a freer interpretation of jazz and world music. In 2011, the Jacques Pellarin Quartet released the critically-acclaimed album Sup Dude and today, Jacques continues to compose, perform, and tour with his wife, Corinne, Co,  who sings —focusing now on sharing his music with a larger global audience through strategic placements and song licensing deals.

Here is what Jacques explains:
"Through my compositions, I invite the audience to discover a chameleon accordion, different from the musette clichés, offering very eclectic styles like the tango nuevo, the rumba, the son and other Latin rhythms, the milonga, the swing waltz, the sertao and the Brazilian samba, a jazz ballade, inspirations from music of the Balkans or Yiddish getting close to jazz and other surprises more classical…"

 Here is what the reviewer, Bruce Lindsay, says about Jacques' s music:
“French accordionist and composer Jacques Pellarin has the welcome ability to craft music which is technically challenging, yet immediately accessible and engaging. Pellarin is a superbly lyrical player, Pellarin's writing emphasizes catchy hooks, danceable rhythms and light, upbeat, melodies.” -- Bruce Lindsay All About Jazz

So:
"When you need to create an atmosphere of love and romance,
When you need to evoke the mood of a smoky Parisian café,
When you need to capture the sound of mystery, journeys or lost loves,
Come and listen to the music of a French accordion virtuoso !" says Jacques.

What about listening to Tzigane Party on YouTube... to get an idea what you could come and enjoy with students of Alliance Française de Bristol next Friday, for more info...

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

 The film chosen by Cécile, French teacher at Alliance Française de Bath, is called Camille redouble, a comedy with drama, by and with Noémie Lvovsky.

Redoubler at school means that you do the same year again because you did not achieve good enough results, so what does it mean here?
Camille is only sixteen and still  at school ( au lycée) when she falls in love with Eric ( elle tombe amoureuse d'Eric)  also at school.They marry later ( ils se marient plus tard) and have a child and are happy for a while. But  twenty-five years later ( vingt-cinq ans plus tard) Eric leaves Camille for a younger woman. Bitter and desperate ( amère et désespérée) Camille drinks so much at a New Year Eve's party ( le soir du jour de l'An) that she falls into an ethylic coma and she finds herself... propelled into her own past ( propulsée dans son propre passé) ! Camille is sixteen again when she wakes up the next morning, she is going to live her life again: elle redouble. Is she going to have the same life again?All will be revealed in the film.
For more info...

Here is the link to the trailer ( la bande annonce)