French Edinburgh

French things to do in September 2011

2011-09-04T08:56:00.000Z

Cine | Le Hérisson + French Cancan
- As ever the Filmhouse is showing quite a few French films over the month, classics and new releases. :-)
Wine tasting | Enjoying wine series beginners wine cours
- A fun relaxed wine tasting course for beginners, presented by Rose Murray Brown, Master of Wine, every Wednesday in September. More info
Conversation | Edimbourg Français
- Various events organised throughout the month: French exchange every Tuesday, conversation every second Wednesday and cinéclub and other outings at various times.... Try it now!
Edimbourg Accueil | Nouveau à Edimbourg?
- Edimbourg Accueil is a structure who welcomes French-speaking people who have just arrived in Edinburgh... They're organising an apéritif on the 16th of September. Why don't you check out this friendly crowd? Interested?

And if you're looking for more events, remember to check out our sister site, FrenchEdinburgh.com which is regularly updated!

2010-01-08T16:34:00.001Z

Phew, it's Friday again! And Edinburgh is full of interesting French things to do this weekend and early next week :-)

08/01 | 13.35 Je veux voir
- Only a couple of days for the opportunity to watch this film!
08/01 | 20.00 2010 Mixer Party
- 398th event organised by Edimbourg Français... 40 people are coming... What are you waiting for?
09/01 | 15.45 Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno
10/01 | 18.15 Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno
- A film about a film... Mise en abyme extraordinaire! Not to be missed
11/01 | 20.15 Sea Wall
- An adaptation of Marguerite Duras' masterpiece.

Hope you have a great time in spite of the snow!
FrenchEdinburgh

Overcoming the gender bias in French!

2009-11-13T17:17:00.000Z

It's got to be said, one of the most difficult task for any student of French is to try and guess the gender of a noun... which seems to be without rhyme or reason!!

In French, a chair (chaise) is female, but an armchair (fauteuil) is male - which is fair enough, if you consider the virile attributes of the said "fauteuil"...
But what about this: a shirt (chemise) is female, while a blouse (chemisier) is male!

A tie (cravate) - surely this has got to be male! -- Nope! la cravate it is!

I could go on forever with the strange list of oddities, which also goes as far as including countries, believe it or not: you may or may not be pleased to know that Ecosse is female (as is France incidentally), whereas Denmark, Mexico or Wales are decidedly male!

Having said that, statistically, the odds are in your favour: you only have a 50% chance of getting it wrong... (or if you care more for the glass half empty routine, 50% of getting it right!)

Besides, the French just love the little gender mistakes - why ever else is Jane Birkin so popular in the Hexagone? You would think that after over 40 years of living in France, she would have got the gender of table right by now! But no, she seems to have cultivated the gender bias to perfection!!

In any case, should you be interested in discovering simple rules, easy to memorise, about French gender, you need to look no further than this web page: it will increase your chances of getting it right tenfold!

Enjoy!!

La France à Edimbourg: Octobre 2007

2007-10-12T14:49:00.000Z

VENDREDI 12 OCTOBRE 2007

CINE ------ 9:20pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10

SAMEDI 13 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–1:00pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> GRATOS
>>>>> Trois photographes se penchent sur la question de l’« EcoUrbanisme » et nous donnent leur point de vue sur l’influence de la nature dans l’espace urbain : Philip Martin (France), Simon Crofts (Scotland) et Sylwia Kowalczyk (Poland). Avec l'aimable soutien de la Scottish Polish Cultural Association . >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse
CINE ------ 1:05pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10
SPORT ------ 7:00 PM >>>>> Rugby: Demi-Finale France-Angleterre >>>>> GRATOS: FRENCH MEETUP!
>>>>> "Etant donnee notre performance contre la Nouvelle-Zelande samedi dernier, je me dis que ce sera pas mal d'aller voir ensemble le match France-Angleterre (quelle que soit l'equipe que vous souteniez!!):..."
CINE ------ 9:20pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10

DIMANCHE 14 OCTOBRE 2007

CINE ------ 1:05pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10
CINE ------ 9:20pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10

LUNDI 15 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–6:30pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS
CINE ------ 1:05pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10
CINE ------ 3:30pm >>>>> A Few Days in September >>>>> Filmhouse >>>>> Prix du Billet - £2.00-£6.00
CINE ------ 8:40pm >>>>> A Few Days in September >>>>> Filmhouse >>>>> Prix du Billet - £2.00-£6.00
CINE ------ 9:20pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10

MARDI 16 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–6:30pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS
CINE ------ 1:05pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10
CINE ------ 3:30pm >>>>> A Few Days in September >>>>> Filmhouse >>>>> Prix du Billet - £2.00-£6.00
CINE ------ 8:30pm >>>>> Days of Glory (Indigenes) >>>>> Odeon Fort Kinnaird >>>>> £4.50-£7.00
CINE ------ 8:40pm >>>>> A Few Days in September >>>>> Filmhouse >>>>> Prix du Billet - £2.00-£6.00
CINE ------ 9:20pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10

MERCREDI 17 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–6:30pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS
CINE ------ 1:05pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10
DISCU ------ 5:30pm–7:00pm >>>>> Café ciné >>>>> £6/£4 tarif réduit (verre de vin compris)
>>>>> L'histoire au cinéma entre document et fiction. Découvrez des aspects du cinéma français avec Rolland Man, critique de cinéma. En français, et avec un verre de vin. >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse
RENCONTRE ------ 8:00 PM >>>>> Exchange Wednesday - French/English spoken >>>>> GRATOS – FRENCH MEETUP!
>>>>> "A new type of activity to allow our French native speakers to practise their English in a friendly environment! And also a good opportunity for those of you guys who may not be so confident..."
CINE ------ 8:40pm >>>>> A Few Days in September >>>>> Filmhouse >>>>> Prix du Billet - £2.00-£6.00
CINE ------ 9:20pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10

JEUDI 18 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–6:30pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS
CINE ------ 1:05pm >>>>> Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10
CINE ------ 3:30pm >>>>> A Few Days in September >>>>> Filmhouse >>>>> Prix du Billet - £2.00-£6.00
CINE ------ 6:00pm >>>>> A Few Days in September >>>>> Filmhouse >>>>> Prix du Billet - £2.00-£6.00
CINE ------ 8:40pm >>>>> A Few Days in September >>>>> Filmhouse >>>>> Prix du Billet - £2.00-£6.00
CINE ------ 9:20pm
Two Days in Paris >>>>> Cameo >>>>> Prix du Billet - £3.60-£6.10

VENDREDI 19 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–6:30pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS
DISCU ------ 4:30pm–6:00pm >>>>> Café Philo >>>>> £6/£4 réductions (verre de vin compris)
>>>>> Venez discuter d’un sujet d’une manière philosophique. Aucune connaissance préalable de la philosophie n’est requise ! >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse
LECTURE ------ 6:00pm >>>>> Lire en Fete >>>>> GRATOS - Contact: culture@ifecosse.org.uk
>>>>> Venez célébrer la magie des livres avec cette soirée sur le poète René Char: A l'occasion du centenaire de sa naissance, l’IFE rend hommage à René Char, poète de la résistance. Gavin Bowd, Maître de conférence à l’université de Saint Andrews, donne une conférence sur la vie et l’œuvre de René Char, suivie du film de Jérôme Prieur « René Char, nom de guerre Alexandre ». >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse

SAMEDI 20 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–1:00pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS
LECTURE ------ 11:00am >>>>> Lire en Fete >>>>> GRATOS. Réservations: library@ifecosse.org.uk ou T. 0131 220 7758
>>>>> Célébration des livres et de la lecture avec un Café « Lire en Fête »… Venez lire publiquement vos passages préférés sur le thème « Une ville, une œuvre » et découvrir une exposition documentaire sur les poètes français contemporains. Café et croissants chauds pour tous ! >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse

LUNDI 22 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–6:30pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS

MARDI 23 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–6:30pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS

MERCREDI 24 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–6:30pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS

JEUDI 25 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–6:30pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS
TELE ------ 6:30pm–8:00pm >>>>> 24 Heures de la Television >>>>> GRATOS
>>>>> Dans le cadre de la journée mondiale du patrimoine audiovisuel créée par l’Unesco, venez profiter de 80 minutes de courts extraits du meilleur de la télévision française ! Version française sous-titrée en anglais. >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse

VENDREDI 26 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–6:30pm
EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS
DISCU ------ 4.30-6pm >>>>> Arts Café >>>>> £6/£4 tarif réduit (verre de vin compris). Réservations: courses@ifecosse.org.uk
>>>>> Animé par Agnes Ness. Venez découvrir les mouvements artistiques et les artistes français >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse

SAMEDI 27 OCTOBRE 2007

EXPO ------ 9:30am–1:00pm >>>>> EcoUrbanisme >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> GRATOS
CONTES ------ 11:00am–12:00pm >>>>> L'Heure du Conte >>>>> £3/£5 tarif famille. Réservation recommandée: 0131 225 5366 ou courses@ifecosse.org.uk
>>>>> Contes en français et en anglais – par Peter Snow. Enfants de 4 à 8 ans >>>>> Institut Français d'Ecosse >>>>> £3/£5 tarif famille. Réservation recommandée: 0131 225 5366 ou courses@ifecosse.org.uk
MUSIQUE ------ 7:30pm >>>>> Simon Bertram : Concert intitulé: 'Anniversaries III: Celebrating the French Romantics' >>>>> Reid Memorial Church
PARTY ------ 8:00 PM >>>>> Trick or Treat? (Soirée Halloween) >>>>> GRATOS (BYOB) – FRENCH MEETUP!
>>>>> "Come along to celebrate Halloween with the Edinburgh French Meetup! We are planning to party until dawn at my place ! J'espère que vous allez relever le défi!"

Learn something new this autumn!

2007-08-31T08:55:00.000Z

So....you're wondering about what to do in the autumn....

Maybe you should learn French:

- because you would like to be able to speak to people:
. when you go skiing in Val d'Isere, or for the apres-ski!
. when you support Scotland for the rugby world cup
. when you go to Nice, Biarritz or Montreal for your holidays

- to seduce that really nice French guy or girl at work,

- to impress your friends with witty comments about French grammar (yes, OK, that is stretching it a tad!!!),

- to take your revenge on your horrible French teacher at school, and swear at her/him in French next time you see her/him casually walking down the road,

- because you like couture, champagne and creme brulee,

- or maybe just for the hell of it, to meet cool people and learn something interesting in the process...

Whatever your reasons,
..... you've got to check out my classes: they are in the evening, mostly, but I also offer individual classes.

Anyway, don't hesitate to check out my website

Or get in touch by email (lise@edilang.com) or by phone (0131 557 2734)

Merci! And see you soon!

Lise

French workshop for children

2007-05-14T12:57:00.000Z

On Saturday 12 May, I was asked to take part in the Parents Like Us festival, in Leith.
I created a 45 minutes interactive workshop, in which parents and children could interact and learn some classic French songs and nursery rhymes.

It was a scary prospect, as this was the first time I had done anything like this (certainly within that context!), but it was all worth it!

I couldn't have achieved much without the help of Hubby, Bundle-of-Love, Foxy Roxy and of course Thom the lovely wolf! Merciiiii !!!

Here is a selection of photos taken on the day!

For more information on future French workshops for parents and children, check this page out!

Decouverte de Cali, un chanteur francais

2007-05-13T15:01:00.000Z

Bon, evidemment, je suis toujours un peu en retard, hein - c'est normal, avec la distance et l'age, bon c'est pas gagne d'avance...
Cela dit, mes nouveaux (jeunes) amis m'ont fait decouvrir des sites ou on peut ecouter de la musique en streaming, ce qui est pas mal pour tester...
Et voici donc ce que j'aime ecouter en ce moment...

Enjoy!

Talentueuse etudiante!

2007-05-10T10:25:00.000Z

Oui, je sais que ca n'a pas grand chose a voir avec le francais, mais... Ma talentueuse etudiante Maxine y participe et donc, voila, il me semble important de la soutenir!!!

French classes! Start 23 April 2007!

2007-04-16T15:50:00.001Z

20 Avril Soiree Albator, Goldorak et Capitaine Flam....

2007-04-12T23:18:00.000Z

CORNOFULGURE!

Plus d'infos? >>>>> Par ici!

French film festival....

2007-04-11T15:42:00.000Z

Yes, it's that time of the year again.... Soon, very soon, French films will invade the Filmhouse and also the Ocean terminal....

I will soon be onto it, but am a bit too busy just now!!!

Come back in a couple of days, and you will have it all!
:-)

Happy Days!

What a week!

2007-02-01T18:43:00.000Z

Tuesday 6 February FILM
The Double Life of Veronique (La Double vie de Véronique)
Film de Krzysztof Kieslowski, avec: Irène Jacob, Philippe Volter, Claude
Duneton, Wladyslaw Kowalski.

“With its tale of two physically identical 20-year-olds, this film was one of Kieslowski’s most opaque in terms of its precise meaning. Weronika and Véronique are two young women in Poland and France, both singers, the same age and physically the same in every respect, unaware of each other’s existence, yet unconsciously sensing a spectral companion. Weronika, who has a weak heart, dies onstage mid-song, and, hundreds of miles away, Véronique, without knowing why, senses that she too has a cardiological flaw and that there is danger in pursuing a demanding singing career. She abandons it - to the horror of her teacher - and her artistic and spiritual life is displaced into a difficult love affair. The trope of double-identity becomes a brilliant meditation on choices and alternative lives, on the presence of death which forces these choices on us, and on the terrible demands which art can make - if we choose to let it.”

WHERE? Filmhouse, Lothian Road, tel. 0131-228-2688
WHAT TIME? See website
WEB: http://www.filmhousecinema.com

Thursday 8 February TALK
Rolland Man: The Devil in the Machine: Modern Life in the films of Jaques Tati

“2007 is the centenary of the birth of Jacques Tati, a very good reason to reconsider the work of this great French film-maker whose style is at the same time off-centre, humanist and funny. Rolland Man, film critic, will analyse the description of modernity through Jacques Tati.”

WHERE? Institut Français d’Ecosse, Randolph Crescent. Tel. 0131 225 5366

HOW MUCH? £3.00-5.00 (Booking recommended)
WHAT TIME? 6.30pm
MORE INFO? http://www.tativille.com/

Friday 9 February MEETUP

CINECLUB/PARTY

“Pour ce soir, vous avez le choix - soit regarder le classique de Pagnol, Fanny montré sur grand écran dans le confort de mon salon... Ou bien de discuter tout simplement, autour d’un verre (ou trois) de vin, dans ma salle de classe (maintenant rénovée, et toute belle!)
C’est à vous de voir!
Pour en savoir plus sur Fanny: http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/fnf02n12.htm
Pour en savoir plus sur Pagnol: http://www.marcel-pagnol.com/
The film will have English subtitles, and so is accessible to all regardless of your level of French.”

WHERE? Private (got to the French meetup website for more info!)
HOW MUCH? Free
WEB: http://french.meetup.com/1

Friday 9 February MUSIC
Royal Scottish National Orchestra: Je t’aime Valentine’s.

A romantic Valentine’s evening, full of French passion and charm, lovingly crafted by Stéphane Denève - especially for you and your loved one. Includes French film music by Michel Legrand and Georges Delerue, as well as Bizet’s Carmen Suite, Massenet’s Mediation from Thaïs and, of course, Ravel ’s Boléro.
Stéphane Denève (CONDUCTOR)
Edwin Paling (VIOLIN)
BIZET Selections from Carmen
CHAUSSON Poème, Op. 25
MASSENET Meditation from Thaïs
VAN PARYS Générique from Les Misérables
DELERUE La nuit américaine
DELERUE Le Mépris
PETIT Cyrano de Bergerac
LEGRAND The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
RAVEL Bolero

WHERE? Usher Hall, tel. 0131 228 1155
HOW MUCH? £10-£28
WEB? http://www.rsno.org.uk/

Friday 9 to Tuesday 13 February FILM
Gabrielle
Film français de Patrice Chéreau

“The unfathomable mystery of marriage is the subject of Patrice Chéreau’s handsomely furnished movie, taken from a story by Joseph Conrad. In the Paris of the belle époque, Jean Hervey (Pascal Greggory) congratulates himself on his success, and on the beauty and intelligence of his wife Gabrielle (Isabelle Huppert), until an act of madness causes them to confront the evasions on which their existence is founded. A remarkable, wholly unsentimental attack on bourgeois suppression and self-deception, with extremely fine performances from Huppert and Greggory.”

WHERE? Filmhouse, Lothian Road, tel. 0131-228-2688
WHAT TIME? See website
WEB: http://www.filmhousecinema.com
MORE INFO? http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3476,36-693403,0.html

Pour acheter Gabrielle en DVD…

“Buñuel’s cool, elegant version of Joseph Kessel’s novel is an amoral comedy of manners. Beautiful, bored and bourgeoise Séverine, married to a surgeon, decides to while away her afternoons by working in a high-class whorehouse, where she encounters a variety of characters - a Chinese man with a strangely erotic box, a depraved Duke, and a gangster with gold teeth, with whom she falls in love. Or does she?
Allowing us no indication of what is real, what is not, Buñuel constructs both a clear portrait of the bourgeoisie as degenerate, dishonest and directionless, and an unhysterical depiction of Deneuve’s inner fantasy life, where she entertains dreams of humiliation galore.”

WHERE? Filmhouse, Lothian Road, tel. 0131-228-2688
WHAT TIME? See website
WEB: http://www.filmhousecinema.com

Sunday 11 February FILM
Freedom For Us (A Nous La Liberté)

“Deux prisonniers, Louis et Emile, tentent de s’évader. Seul Louis y parviendra. Quelques années plus tard, Emile se fait embaucher dans l’usine dont Louis est le patron. Après quelques péripéties, nos deux compères resteront amis et choisiront de fuir ensemble, tellement heureux de jouir de leur liberté.”

WHERE? Edinburgh Film Guild. Tel. 0131 623 8027, Filmhouse, Lothian Road
WHAT TIME? 6pm
WEB: http://www.filmhousecinema.com

A suivre… / To look forward to:
Thursday 15 February X Factor Dance Company
Fri 16 February to Thu 8 March The Science of Sleep, avec: Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Emma de Caunes, Miou-Miou, Alain Chabat.
Sun 18 February @ 1.00 Jour de fête
Mon 19 February @ 6.00 Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (Zidane, un portrait du XXIème siècle)
Wed 21 February @ 6.00 Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (Les Vacances de M. Hulot)
Thu 22 February @ 6.00 Mon Oncle (My Uncle)
Fri 23 February to Thu 15 March Orchestra Seats (Fauteuils d’orchestre)
28 February: Café Histoire
4 Mar Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Chamber Concert: A collection of 20th century French and English miniatures from composers including Debussy, Britten...
5 March Disco Bidochons
Tue 13 March @ 6.15 Beau Travail, de Claire Denis
22 March Scottish Chamber Orchestra: the SCO are joined by acclaimed French conductor Louis Langree
27 April Royal Scottish National Orchestra: Season finale. The season ends in style with Stéphane Denève conducting top French pianist Hélène Grimaud.

Quelque chose pour le week-end...

2007-02-01T15:32:00.000Z

FILM: Them (Ils)

Un jeune couple français qui habite à Bucarest va chercher du bois et…. Bon, non c’est pas exactement ça, mais c’est un bon petit film d’horreur à la Blair Witch Project. Apparemment assez terrifiant dans l’ensemble quand même… Moi et mes nerfs n’iront probablement pas le voir, mais n’hésitez pas à dire ce que vous en avez pensé en commentaires !

Synopsis en français : « Lucas et Clémentine, un couple trentenaire expatrié en Roumanie, habite depuis peu une maison isolée en banlieue de Bucarest. Elle, professeur de Français, lui, romancier, vivent un bonheur paisible... Pourtant, un soir, dans leur maison, tout va basculer... La pluie battante fait rage à l’extérieur... Le téléphone retentit, des voix lointaines au bout du fil... incompréhensibles. Le couple n’est pas seul... Le cauchemar commence... ILS sont là... »

And in English : « Lucas and Clementine, a thirtysomething couple are expats in Romania. They live in an isolated house in the suburbs of Bucharest. Clementine, a French teacher and Lucas, a novelist, live in peaceful happiness... Yet, one evening, in their house, everything is turned upside down... Rain is beating outside... The telephone keeps ringing, distant voices at the end of the line... incomprehensible. The couple are not alone... The nightmare begins... THEY are there... »

WHERE? @ Cineworld Edinburgh: 0871 200 2000

WHEN? 2 Feb: 11.40am 4.10 8.55; 3-4 Feb: 4.10 8.55; 5-7 Feb: 11.40am 4.10 8.55

WEBSITE: http://www.ils-lefilm.com/

BLOG: http://ils-lebogdesreals.blogs.allocine.fr/

Fallait pas aller chercher du bois dans les egouts de Bucarest!!!!!

Bonne Année (Oops, on est déjà en février!!)

2007-02-01T15:10:00.000Z

Voilà, je suis enfin de retour après un assez long hiatus, il faut bien le dire… On en aura profité pour redécorer ma salle de classe – maintenant superbe, avec de nouvelles étagères destinées à accueillir tous mes livres (dont j’ai pu apprécier la multitude à cette occasion… Le poids d’une portion d’entre eux a réussi à casser ma chère table, que je vais prochainement remplacer grâce à la généreuse contribution d’un membre de FreecycleEdinburgh!). Les murs sont désormais revêtus d’une belle couleur terre cuite, suffisamment chaude pour réchauffer et donner de l’énergie (ce qui est bien nécessaire lors de nos longues soirées d’hiver) mais cependant moins… orange qu’auparavant. Pour ce qui est du sol, nous avons installé un revêtement à la fois élégant, confortable et facile à entretenir… Bref, que du bien !

Mes cours du soir vont reprendre la semaine prochaine, et je me dis qu’il est donc temps de me remettre au blog de French Edinburgh !
:-)

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Good Resolution #54: Speak French

2006-12-13T17:19:00.000Z

So....you're beginning to think about what you will do in the New Year...
... and you have decided that you want to learn French:

- because you would like to be able to speak to people:
. when you go skiing in Val d'Isere, or for the apres-ski!
. when you support Scotland for the rugby world cup
. when you go to Nice, Biarritz or Calais for your summer holidays

- to seduce that really nice French guy or girl at work,

- to impress your friends with witty comments about French grammar (yes, OK, that is stretching it a tad!!!),

- to take your revenge on your horrible French teacher at school, and swear at her/him in French next time you see her/him casually walking down the road,

- because you like couture, champagne and creme brulee,

- or maybe just for the hell of it, to meet cool people and learn something interesting in the process...

Whatever your reasons,
..... you've got to check out my classes: they are in the evening, mostly, but I also offer individual classes.

Anyway, don't hesitate to check out my website

Or get in touch by email (lise@edilang.com) or by phone (0131 557 2734)

Merci! And see you soon! (and 'bon courage' for all the good resolutions for the year to come!!)

Lise

12-15 December 2006

2006-12-11T11:13:00.000Z

Tuesday 12 December

21:00 : SPEAK FRENCH: @THE WORLD

Meet French speakers at The World - excellent and very recommended! I went there the other day, and there was quite a large crowd!
All ages welcome. - and best of all, it's all free!!
9-10pm: English spoken
10-11pm: French spoken
(though not necessarily that strict!)

@ The World, on Thistle Street

Wednesday 13 December

20:00 : SPEAK FRENCH : Speak, Drink & Be Merry Meetup
@ Venue to be confirmed, Edinburgh - For more info see http://french.meetup.com/1/
Email: meetup@edilang.com

Thursday 14 December

19:30 : Music: Scottish Chamber Orchestra: The Old Rivalry
"A comparison of dance music and symphonies from France and England featuring the composers Rebel, Charpentier, Haydn, Handel and Purcell by director and harpsichordist Richard Egarr." Web: www.sco.org.uk
Queen's Hall - 0131 668 2019 -- £8-£24 (£6-£18)

To look forward to....>

Coming soon: Film: PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER (15) - 26 December
Thriller based on the bestselling novel by Patrick Süskind.

5 Jan 2007: 7.30 : MUSIC :Royal Scottish National Orchestra: New Year in Vienna
"New Year Viennese-style with a liberal dash of Strauss and little splash of French operetta all conducted by Dominique Trottein." --- Web: www.rsno.org.uk -- Usher Hall - 0131 228 1155 --- £10-£30 (concessions available)

7 Jan 2007: 18:00: Book-Club Meetup
@ Private Venue, Edinburgh - For more info see http://french.meetup.com/1/
Email: meetup@edilang.com
"The first real meeting for the book club. Details of the books etc can be found here: http://french.meetup .com/1/boards/view/v iewthread?thread=238 7668"

14 Feb 2007: 2.15 - France in America
Alison McCleery explores the little-known French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon. @ Royal Museum Lecture Theatre, 0131 247 4219 - £6; free for students and RSGS members

1-9 December 2006 (French in Edinburgh)

2006-11-30T13:08:00.000Z

Friday 1 December
12:40 : FILM : Paris Nous Appartient (12A)
@Cameo Picturehouse, Edinburgh
38 Home Street, Edinburgh EH3 9LZ
Email: cameo@picturehouses.co.uk

Director: Jacques Rivette Origin: France Year: 1960 Duration: 141m
Starring: Jean-Claude Brialy, Gianni Esposito, Betty Schneider,
Françoise Prévost , Daniel Crohem

"Set within Parisian Left-Bank society at its most self-obsessed, with
a good dose of Cold-War paranoia, an intriguing game for which no one
tells you the rules unfolds. Anne, a provincial student, is invited to
an arty party where she is inexorably sucked into a mystery involving
an American political refugee, a self-destructive femme fatale and a
Spanish activist who recently committed suicide. The film is just as
much about a long-vanished Paris of fleabag hotels and corduroy-clad
intellectuals as about its narrative. Charles Bitsch's cinematography
is extraordinary, managing to be both luminous and ominous at the same
time. The film is suffused with an irony that prefigures Rivette's
later fascination with the gaps between character and performance,
narrative and reality."

Note: this film is subtitled
To book tickets, call 08707 55 12 31 or book online

15:30 : FILM: Du Rififi chez les hommes
@ The Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Edinburgh - Tel.: 0131-228-2688 or website: www.filmhousecinema.com

"Jules Dassin | France 1955 | 1h58m | 35mm | French with English subtitles | 12
Cast: Jean Servais, Carl Möhner, Robert Manuel, Perlo Vita, Marie Sabouret.

A career criminal, just out of jail, gets his old crew together for one last job – a daring jewellery heist. The planning for this job is meticulous, down to experiments on a duplicate of the alarm system and the use of a stopwatch to time the movements of all local tradespeople. But all that is nothing compared to the care taken with the robbery itself. In a sequence that made Rififi's reputation and is still a model of tension and precision, Dassin spends a full 30 minutes on the actual robbery, a completely wordless half-hour (though it makes good use of sound effects) that racks the nerves and provides a masterclass in breaking and entering as well as filmmaking."

19:00 : SPEAK FRENCH : MEETUP CINECLUB
@Private venue - For more info see http://french.meetup.com/1/
Email: meetup@edilang.com

Another instance of this popular event, this time with a film chosen by members (looks as if Les Enfants du Paradis will make an appearance!). The principle is simple: you turn up with your tipple of choice (tea, coffee, wine, other...) and maybe some odds and ends to nibble on (olives, pop-corn...). We watch a film, and then we have a chat (not necessarily about the film!)
Great way to get to know people, practise your French (or your English) in a very social environment!
And it's all free!

Saturday 2 December
12:40: FILM
Paris Nous Appartient (12A): 12:40
@Cameo Picturehouse, Edinburgh

12:40 : FILM : Le Grand Voyage
@ The Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Edinburgh - Tel.: 0131-228-2688 or website: www.filmhousecinema.com

Ismaël Ferroukhi | France/Morocco 2004 | 1h48m | 35mm | French, Arabic, English, Italian and Turkish with English subtitles | PG
Cast: Nicolas Cazalé, Mohamed Majd, Jacky Nercessian, Ghina Ognianova.

"A tribute to the 97% of Muslims we never hear about in the Western world," is how French writer/director Ismaël Ferroukhi describes his pleasingly understated road movie. Le Grand Voyage's premise involves a devout elderly patriarch (Mohamed Majd) forcing his reluctant teenage son Reda (Nicolas Cazalé) to drive them from their home in France to Saudia Arabia on a once-in-a-lifetime religious pilgrimage. No surprises that these mismatched protagonists learn from one another, yet this remains an engaging, well-acted and compassionate film.

Wisely the director doesn't provide us with detailed information about the duo's past experiences, giving Le Grand voyage the feel of a contemporary fable, whilst the air of mystery is further heightened by the elliptical editing style. And not only does the film successfully challenge cultural preconceptions of Islamic belief, but in the climactic scenes amidst the collective fervour of Mecca, it achieves an unexpected emotional intensity.

18:30 : FILM: Du Rififi chez les hommes
@ The Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Edinburgh - Tel.: 0131-228-2688 or website: www.filmhousecinema.com

Sunday 3 December
12:40 : FILM : Paris Nous Appartient (12A)
@Cameo Picturehouse, Edinburgh

15:30 : FILM: Du Rififi chez les hommes
@ The Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Edinburgh - Tel.: 0131-228-2688 or website: www.filmhousecinema.com

Monday 4 December
12:40 : FILM : Paris Nous Appartient (12A)
@Cameo Picturehouse, Edinburgh

Tuesday 5 December
12:40 : FILM : Paris Nous Appartient (12A)
@Cameo Picturehouse, Edinburgh

21:00 : SPEAK FRENCH: @THE WORLD

Meet French speakers at The World - excellent and very recommended! I went there the other day, and there was quite a large crowd!
All ages welcome. - and best of all, it's all free!!
9-10pm: English spoken
10-11pm: French spoken
(though not necessarily that strict!)

@ The World, on Thistle Street

Wednesday 6 December

12:40 : FILM : Paris Nous Appartient (12A)
@Cameo Picturehouse, Edinburgh

19:30: MUSIC: Rudsambee
@Priestfield Parish Church, Edinburgh (£5)

"Unaccompanied voices in harmony, with songs from Scotland to Croatia, France to Iceland."

More info: www.rudsambee.org.uk

Thursday 7 December

12:40 : FILM : Paris Nous Appartient (12A)
@Cameo Picturehouse, Edinburgh

18:00 : LECTURE : "Marguerite Duras, a myth, an opera"
@Institut Francais d'Ecosse (French Institute), Randolph Crescent, Edinburgh - Tel.: 0131 225 5366
More info: www.ifecosse.org.uk

"Marguerite Duras, a major figure of the 20th century French literary scene remains, a decade after her death, a controversial character. Her minimal novels and to her activities in theatre, film, and journalism have given her both a national and an international notoriety. This lecture will offer an opportunity to rediscover an outstanding personality. The following evening, the Filmhouse will screen “Hiroshima, mon amour”, a film by Alain Renais on a scenario and the dialogues of Marguerite Duras, of course!"
A presentation by Joelle Pages-Pindon, an academic and author of the book 'Marguerite Duras'.

Friday 8 December

17:45 : FILM : Hiroshima mon amour
@ The Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Edinburgh - Tel.: 0131-228-2688 or website: www.filmhousecinema.com

Alain Resnais | France/Japan 1959 | 1h26m | 35mm | French, Japanese and English with English subtitles | PG
Cast: Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud, Bernard Fresson.

"While in Hiroshima making a 'peace film', a French actress (Riva) begins an affair with a Japanese architect (Okada). Her passion for her new lover forces her to confront painful memories of a youthful affair she had with a German soldier in Nevers, France during the occupation, that soldier's death, and her subsequent shaming as a Nazi collaborator. Past melds with present, her personal pain and trauma with Hiroshima's horror, and her Japanese lover with the German, as she struggles to make her shattered psyche whole.

Alain Resnais' first feature, with a script by Marguerite Duras, has a complex structure and innovative use of flashbacks and sound, and was one of the first and most influential films of the French New Wave movement.

Joelle Pages-Pindon, an academic and author of the book 'Marguerite Duras', will introduce the film with a twenty minute presentation. Her introduction will be in French with an English translation. "

20:00 : SPEAK FRENCH : French Friday Meetup
@ Venue to be confirmed, Edinburgh - For more info see http://french.meetup.com/1/
Email: meetup@edilang.com

Saturday 9 December

19:00 : MUSIC : Madeleine Peyroux (£18)
@The Queens Hall, Clerk Street, Edinburgh
Tickets: 0131 668 2019

"Often compared to the late great Billie Holiday, Peyroux’s smoke-and-whisky vocals perform classic songs by Holiday, Bessie Smith and Patsy Cline so convincingly that they become to sound like her own.

She is an exceptional artist who channels vintage jazz and blues with pinpoint accuracy.

‘But it's Peyroux's stunning alto that delivers the unique experience. "Honeyed tones" is such an overused cliche, but in Peyroux's case completely apt - after 90 minutes of relentlessly sensual unctuousness, you feel slightly like a pollen-drunk bee. But in a good way.’ - Edinburgh Evening News"

More info: www.madeleinepeyroux.com

19:45 : MUSIC: Rudsambee
@Rosslyn Chapel (£7-£5)

"Unaccompanied voices in harmony, with songs from Scotland to Croatia, France to Iceland."

More info: www.rudsambee.org.uk

To look forward to....>

Coming soon: Film: PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER (15) - 26 December
Thriller based on the bestselling novel by Patrick Süskind.

10 Dec: 13.45: MUSIC : Rudsambee (Free) @ Museum of Scotland
10 Dec: 18:00 : MUSIC : Rudsambee (Free) @ St Giles' Cathedral
"Unaccompanied voices in harmony, with songs from Scotland to Croatia, France to Iceland."
Web: www.rudsambee.org.uk

13 Dec 13: 20:00 : SPEAK FRENCH : Speak, Drink & Be Merry Meetup
@ Venue to be confirmed, Edinburgh - For more info see http://french.meetup.com/1/
Email: meetup@edilang.com

14 Dec: 7.30 : Music: Scottish Chamber Orchestra: The Old Rivalry
"A comparison of dance music and symphonies from France and England featuring the composers Rebel, Charpentier, Haydn, Handel and Purcell by director and harpsichordist Richard Egarr." Web: www.sco.org.uk
Queen's Hall - 0131 668 2019 -- £8-£24 (£6-£18)

Heaven this week!!

2006-11-20T14:27:00.000Z

A French market, a radio star, some French conversation and the cineclub... What else do you want?

Tuesday 22 November... French conversation (9-11pm) (free)

Meet French speakers at The World - excellent and very recommended! I went there last week, and there was quite a large crowd!
All ages welcome.
9-10pm: English spoken
10-11pm: French spoken
(though not necessarily that strict!)

@ The World, on Thistle Street

Tuesday 22 November... The Watson Gordon Lecture: Caroline Elam (6pm) (free)

Roger Fry was Britain’s leading art critic in the first half of the 20th century. Caroline Elam will explore his journey from scholarship in Italian quattrocento art, to Post-Impressionism and modern French painting.

@ National Gallery of Scotland: Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, 0131 624 6200 - Free

Tuesday 22 November...JAZZ: Gilad Atzmon Quartet (8.30pm) (£10)

"Music with a message, as impressive Israeli sax virtuoso Atzmon welds east-European folk with hard bop, funk and French accordian tunes to tell the story of Palestine."

@ Jazz Centre, 0131 467 5200

Thursday 23 November - Philippe Meyer Event (6.30pm) (FREE)

"Writer, journalist, satirist, actor, director, animator, researcher and teacher of social sciences, all barely adequate to describe Philippe Meyer, as he has many strings to his bow. Among his investigations, he has studied the mysteries of the city of Paris through, on the one hand, a show called “Paris la Grande” based on texts and songs illustrating life in the capital and, on the other hand, a book under the same title. Not to be missed by those in love, the curious and the sceptical of the “ville lumière” and a must for the fans of Philippe Meyer!"

@ the Institut Français d’Ecosse - Admission Free - Tel.: 0131 225 5366 - contact@ifecosse.org.uk

Thursday 23 - Saturday 25 November.... FRENCH MARKET

Allez faire vos reserves de saucissons et de rillettes a ce marche francais!

@Frederick Street..

Friday 24 November... MEETUP - cineclub (free)

Go on you know you want to join the Edinburgh French meetup...

It is free, it is fun and you can watch films whilst drinking your tipple of choice...
Superbe! :)
Just click here for more info!

Saturday 25 November... TALK: George Buchanan: Scotland's voice in France (2pm) (free)

"Five hundred years after Buchanan's birth, Dr Jamie Reid-Baxter explores the poet, dramatist, philosopher and classical tutor to Mary, Queen of Scots' impact on France, his 'second homeland'."

@ Royal Museum Lecture Theatre, 0131 247 4219

To look forward to....

Fri 1 to Sun 3 Dec - Du Rififi chez les hommes @ The Filmhouse

Thursday 7 December at 6pm- Lecture by Joëlle Pagès-Pindon: "Marguerite Duras, a myth, an opera" (also Friday 8 December at 5.45pm - Filmhouse: presentation and screening of “Hiroshima, mon amour”)
"Marguerite Duras, a major figure of the 20th century French literary scene remains, a decade after her death, a controversial character. Her minimal novels and to her activities in theatre, film, and journalism have given her both a national and an international notoriety. This lecture will offer an opportunity to rediscover an outstanding personality. The following evening, the Filmhouse will screen “Hiroshima, mon amour”, a film by Alain Renais on a scenario and the dialogues of Marguerite Duras, of course!"
14 Feb 2007: 2.15 - France in America
Alison McCleery explores the little-known French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon. @ Royal Museum Lecture Theatre, 0131 247 4219 - £6; free for students and RSGS members

So much to do, so little time! [2]

2006-11-12T11:17:00.000Z

Monday 13 November... FILM: The Page Turner

On from Monday 13 November 2006 through to Thursday 16 November 2006 (3:50 PM, 6:35 PM)

"Dercourt has crafted an expert behavioural thriller with an attention to detail that highlights both the strict social mores of the wealthy and their emotional aridity. A young girl, Mélanie Prouvost (François), nervously undergoes her piano audition, the outcome of which will determine her future. The examiner, famed recitalist Ariane Fouchécourt (Frot), allows a fan into the audition room in the middle of Mélanie’s performance, signing an autograph. Mélanie’s concentration falters and she stops playing altogether, causing her to fail. Many years later Mélanie gains employment with Ariane’s husband and works her way back into Ariane’s life. Vanity, deception, selfishness and false liberal charity play their part in this beautifully observed film that somehow works on the barest elements of both plot and character development."

@ The Cameo

Tuesday 14 November... FILM: Bob le flambeur

Bob le flambeur / Bob the Gambler: Melville’s famous film is showcased at the Filmhouse!

"The cable car leads us down from the 'heaven' of the Sacré Coeur in Montmartre to the 'hell' of Pigalle, and as the neon is extinguished for another dawn, a weary Bob the Gambler treads his way home from the tables. Melville's 'love letter to Paris' is shot, like all good city films, between the hours of dusk and dawn, and is a loving recreation of all that is wonderful about the dark American city thrillers of the '30s and '40s. What doubles the pleasure, however, is that in spite of the heist, the double-crosses and the sudden death, it is still remarkably light in tone: an underworld comedy of manners. The courtly Monsieur Bob may wear a trenchcoat and fedora, but he rescues young ladies adrift in the milieu, remains loyal to his friend l'inspecteur, and gives the impression of wanting to rob the casino, not to assuage his gambling fever, but simply so that he can perform a robbery in a dinner jacket. A wonderful movie with all the formal beauty, finesse and treacherous allure of green baize."

@The Filmhouse, various times

Tuesday 14 November... French conversation (9-11pm) (free)

Meet French speakers at The World - excellent and very recommended! I went there last week, and there was quite a large crowd!
All ages welcome.

9-10pm: English spoken
10-11pm: French spoken
(though not necessarily that strict!)

@ The World, on Thistle Street

Wednesday 15 November... Meeting other French speakers (free)

MEETUP -- Edinburgh French speakers meet in a pub. Very friendly atmosphere: people are always interested in meeting new folks!

Whether you are new in town, or you want to meet new people with an interest in French language and culture, this is the event for you!

More info.... here!

Wednesday 15 November: 7.15pm : Talk
M Denis Charles Courdent, Directeur, Alliance Française de Glasgow, Droite et gauche, de la biologie à l’histoire des idées (French)
A meeting organised by the Franco-Scottish Society: more info
All meetings are held at 7.15 p.m. in the French Institute,
13 Randolph Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 7TT.

Friday 17 - Sunday 19 November.... FILM: Le Cercle rouge

Le Cercle rouge / The Red Circle
Another Melville’s work, with Delon, Montand, Bourvil...

"Melville's special achievement was to relocate the American gangster film to France, and to incorporate his own steely poetic and philosophical obsessions. He described this, his penultimate film, as a digest of the nineteen definitive underworld set-ups that could be found in John Huston's picture of doomed gangsters, The Asphalt Jungle. Darker, more abstract and desolate than his earlier work, this shows, set piece by set piece, the breakdown of the criminal codes under which Melville's characters had previously operated. Masterful."

@ The Filmhouse, various times

Saturday 18 November... LITERATURE: Book Club (free)

First meeting of this new French book-club. You need to be a member of Meetup to come along (but it's all free!). More info on the French Edinburgh meetup website, here. You need to have a good level of French, or be a native speaker, as it will involve reading one French book a month.
@ Brandon Terrace

To look forward to....

Thursday 23 November at 6.30pm- Philippe Meyer Event

@ the Institut Français d’Ecosse - Admission Free - Tel.: 0131 225 5366 - contact@ifecosse.org.uk
"Writer, journalist, satirist, actor, director, animator, researcher and teacher of social sciences, all barely adequate to describe Philippe Meyer, as he has many strings to his bow. Among his investigations, he has studied the mysteries of the city of Paris through, on the one hand, a show called “Paris la Grande” based on texts and songs illustrating life in the capital and, on the other hand, a book under the same title. Not to be missed by those in love, the curious and the sceptical of the “ville lumière” and a must for the fans of Philippe Meyer!"
22 Nov: 6.00 - The Watson Gordon Lecture: Caroline Elam
Roger Fry was Britain’s leading art critic in the first half of the 20th century. Caroline Elam will explore his journey from scholarship in Italian quattrocento art, to Post-Impressionism and modern French painting. @ National Gallery of Scotland: Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, 0131 624 6200 - Free

22 Nov: 8.30: JAZZ: Gilad Atzmon Quartet
"Music with a message, as impressive Israeli sax virtuoso Atzmon welds east-European folk with hard bop, funk and French accordian tunes to tell the story of Palestine."@ Jazz Centre
0131 467 5200
£10

23-25 November: French Market

25 Nov: 2.00: TALK: George Buchanan: Scotland's Voice in France
"Five hundred years after Buchanan's birth, Dr Jamie Reid-Baxter explores the poet, dramatist, philosopher and classical tutor to Mary, Queen of Scots' impact on France, his 'second homeland'." @ Royal Museum Lecture Theatre
0131 247 4219

Fri 1 to Sun 3 Dec - Du Rififi chez les hommes @ The Filmhouse
Thursday 7 December at 6pm- Lecture by Joëlle Pagès-Pindon: "Marguerite Duras, a myth, an opera" (also Friday 8 December at 5.45pm - Filmhouse: presentation and screening of “Hiroshima, mon amour”)
"Marguerite Duras, a major figure of the 20th century French literary scene remains, a decade after her death, a controversial character. Her minimal novels and to her activities in theatre, film, and journalism have given her both a national and an international notoriety. This lecture will offer an opportunity to rediscover an outstanding personality. The following evening, the Filmhouse will screen “Hiroshima, mon amour”, a film by Alain Renais on a scenario and the dialogues of Marguerite Duras, of course!"
14 Feb 2007: 2.15 - France in America
Alison McCleery explores the little-known French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon. @ Royal Museum Lecture Theatre, 0131 247 4219 - £6; free for students and RSGS members

What I have done in the past few days....

2006-11-06T22:23:00.000Z

About the Edinburgh French Meetup

It serves to bring together francophiles, including francophones, to share their mutual interest in French and French culture. People get together and speak French very informally and are interested in meeting other francophiles.

If you are wondering about coming along - just go for it!
We are a very friendly bunch, and always enjoy meeting new people!

N'hesitez pas!

Double Trouble...
Check out the latest changes!
For more info, don't hesitate to contact me... (Lise), either by email: lise@edilang.com, or by phone on 0131 557 27 34 (gets diverted onto my mobile, so useful even when I am out and about!!).

Current activities scheduled

Other useful links
Selection of useful links - other places on the web to meet French people in Edinburgh, and where to learn French! - and soon a section about where to learn English....

Look forward to seeing you soon, here or there!

Lise

NB: The club is currently sponsored by Premiere Classe, my trading name. I organise French language courses throughout the year.

Page turning amongst other things....

2006-11-03T22:54:00.000Z

Booh, quite a poor week, so far: have been struggling to find events even remotely linked to France and French (have - vaguely succeeded with a film by Tourneur, starring Robert Mitchum, all in Anglais, I’m afraid, so ended up not including it. It’s at the filmhouse though, on the 9th, I think, for those who might be tempted!

Cheers

Lxox

Ce week-end... (until 09/11)... FILM

The Page Turner (La Tourneuse de Pages)

"A thriller set in the rarefied world of classical music. After Melanie’s (François) childhood audition is thwarted by famous pianist Ariane (Frot), she seeks payback in this cleverly understated revenge drama from French writer-director Dercourt. When the violence comes, it’s all the more memorable for the lack of bloodshed."

@ The Cameo

Tuesday 6 November... French conversation

Meet French speakers at The World - excellent and very recommended!

@ The World, on Thistle Street

Friday 10 November... MEETUP

Film- Les Bronzes 3: plus d’infos ici

Friday 10 November.... 7.30pm... MUSIQUE

Gatechien, Le Singe Blanc and Jacob Flynch

Double-bill of math-rock/post-punk from France, with energetic bass/drums duo Gatechien, and twin-bass attack from Le Singe Blanc.

@ Henry’s Cellar Bar
0131 228 9393
£5 (£4)

Friday 10 November.... 7.30pm... MUSIQUE

Royal Scottish National Orchestra: A French Collection

Stéphane Denève directs Dame Felicity Lott in a series of sensual French works: Dukas’ ’La Péri’, etc...

@ Usher Hall, 0131 228 1155 - £10-£28 (concessions available)

To look forward to....

Tue 14 Nov only >>> Bob le flambeur / Bob the Gambler
Melville’s famous film is showcased at the Filmhouse!
Fri 17 to Sun 19 Nov >>> Le Cercle rouge / The Red Circle
Another Melville’s work, with Delon, Montand, Bourvil... @ The Filmhouse
Thursday 23 November at 6.30pm >>> Philippe Meyer Event
@ the Institut Français d’Ecosse - Admission Free - Tel.: 0131 225 5366 - contact@ifecosse.org.uk
Writer, journalist, satirist, actor, director, animator, researcher and teacher of social sciences, all barely adequate to describe Philippe Meyer, as he has many strings to his bow. Among his investigations, he has studied the mysteries of the city of Paris through, on the one hand, a show called “Paris la Grande” based on texts and songs illustrating life in the capital and, on the other hand, a book under the same title. Not to be missed by those in love, the curious and the sceptical of the “ville lumière” and a must for the fans of Philippe Meyer!
22 Nov: 6.00 >>> The Watson Gordon Lecture: Caroline Elam
Roger Fry was Britain’s leading art critic in the first half of the 20th century. Caroline Elam will explore his journey from scholarship in Italian quattrocento art, to Post-Impressionism and modern French painting. @ National Gallery of Scotland: Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, 0131 624 6200 - Free
Fri 1 to Sun 3 Dec >>> Du Rififi chez les hommes @ The Filmhouse
Thursday 7 December at 6pm >>> Lecture by Joëlle Pagès-Pindon: "Marguerite Duras, a myth, an opera" (also Friday 8 December at 5.45pm - Filmhouse: presentation and screening of “Hiroshima, mon amour”)
Marguerite Duras, a major figure of the 20th century French literary scene remains, a decade after her death, a controversial character. Her minimal novels and to her activities in theatre, film, and journalism have given her both a national and an international notoriety. This lecture will offer an opportunity to rediscover an outstanding personality. The following evening, the Filmhouse will screen “Hiroshima, mon amour”, a film by Alain Renais on a scenario and the dialogues of Marguerite Duras, of course!
14 Feb 2007: 2.15 >>> France in America
Alison McCleery explores the little-known French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon. @ Royal Museum Lecture Theatre, 0131 247 4219 - £6; free for students and RSGS members

French Meet-Up in Edinburgh!

2006-11-03T09:44:00.000Z

I have taken over as organiser of the French Meet-Ups in Edinburgh: to find out more about that, click on the image below!

Otherwise, you may be interested in some of the activites that are in store: check out the discussion on the meetup board!

Check out our Meetup!

This week: so much to do, so little time...

2006-10-24T10:38:00.000Z

This week, francophonie is being showcased in a big way with a series of fabulous African films showcased at The Filmhouse! (some are partly in French, others are in various Agrican languages: wolof, arabe, etc.)

Make sure that you also check out the Disco Bidochons free event next Monday - good times are sure back with this fab club!

Lise xox

Tuesday 24 October ::: 9-11pm
MEET PEOPLE ::: French/English @The World on Thistle Street - come and practise your French or your English with friendly native speakers....
Where? The World on Thistle Street
How much? FREE!

Wednesday 25 October ::: 6.00
FILM ::: Marie Antoinette

(12A) Coppola Jr follows her much lauded ’Lost in Translation’ with a punky biography of the misunderstood Queen of France, adapted from Antonia Fraser’s book on the subject. A daring and bold attempt to rework formulaic staid costume dramas or a feature-length pop promo that reaches new depths of shallowness? You decide.

US (2006)
Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn
Sofia Coppola
Duration: 122 mins.

Web: www.sonypictures.com/movies/marieantoinette/

Where? Well, it’s a bit like the Scarlet Pimpernel: here, there, and everywhere...
When ? Same as above, for a time at least.....
How much? That would depend on where and when... Check out The List for details.....

Wednesday 25 October ::: 6.00
FILM ::: Touki Bouki

(15) With a title that translates as ’The Hyena’s Journey2, this Senegalese offering follows two children on an odyssey towards the promised land of Western riches in France. Director Mambety has explained that it’s ’about Africans sick with the idea of Europe, Africans who consider that Europe is the door of Africa and that it’s necessary to have been there in order to be able to come back and be highly thought of’.
Senegal (1973)
Magaye Niang, Mareme Niang, Aminata Fall, Ousseynou Diop
Djibril Diop-Mambety
Duration: 85 mins.

Where? The Filmhouse
When ? Wednesday 25 October ::: 6.00pm
How much? erm, Filmhouse prices I guess.....

Thursday 26 October ::: on opening times of the French Institute
EXHIBITION ::: Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop
Have a look at an interesting exhibition, currently on at the French Institute:

The Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop invites us to view a selection of works from
the European Biennal of Contemporary Art, which took place in Nîmes, on 1-14
July 2006, under the title “Taboo or not taboo”. After a European tour, the IFE
exhibition will give the public the opportunity to discover the work of artists
from France, Scotland, Lithuania and Poland in the fields of sculpture,
photography and contemporary video.

Where? The French Institute, Randolph Crescent
When ? Wednesday 25 October ::: 6.00pm
How much? Hey, it’s free!.

Friday 27 October ::: 3.30pm & 6.00pm
FILM ::: Waiting For Happiness / Heremakono

Abderrahmane Sissako | Mauritania/France 2002 | 1h35m | 35mm | French and Hassianya with English subtitles | PG
Cast: Khatra Ould Abdel Kader, Maata Ould Mohamed Abeid, Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed, Nana Kiakite, Fatimetou Mint Ahmeda.

A sleep-walking, introverted youth, an elderly electrician who can’t make lights come on, and a child worker who likes to sing are some of the inhabitants of Nouadhibou, a costal town on the edge of the Mauritian desert.

Abdullah arrives to visit his mother before leaving for Europe. He hardly knows the local language, can’t communicate with the place and the people he came from, and doesn’t want to try. Yet he becomes increasingly involved in the lives of the inhabitants of this strange and unfamiliar world. Sissako’s film is so visually beautiful it almost hurts your eyes; so poignant you can feel it pull at your heart. A vivid examination of the conflict between progress and tradition, Waiting For Happiness is more about those who leave than those who stay. They leave by train, by boat, on foot and by death.

This screening is sponsored by the Departments of Film & Media, English and Languages, at the University of Stirling.

Where? The Filmhouse
When ? Friday 27 Oct ::: 3.30pm & 6.00pm
How much? erm, Filmhouse prices I guess.....

Saturday 28 Oct :: 1.15pm
FILM :: Abouna / Our Father

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun | Chad/France/Netherlands 2002 | 1h24m | 35mm | French and Arabic with English subtitles | PG
Cast: Liamza Moctar Agud, Ahidjo Mahamat Moussa, Hamza Moctar Aguid.

Stunning, both visually and emotionally, Abouna is a story about family. Two young brothers look for their missing father only to find him where they least expect to. Their hunt takes them on a journey of love, loyalty and loss.

Taking place in director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s native country Chad, the landscape and the characters in Abouna form a breathtaking combination of picturesque aesthetics and unmitigated sincerity.

Where? The Filmhouse
When ? Saturday 28 Oct :: 1.15pm
How much? erm, Filmhouse prices I guess.....

Monday 30 October :: 1.15pm
MUSIC ::: Edinburgh Quartet - Edinburgh concerts 2006-2007
Thomas Erskine, Earl of Kelly String Quartet in A
Haydn String Quartet in G, Opus 54 No 1
Fauré Elegie Op 24
Fauré Piano Quartet in c minor Op15
(with Jill Morton, piano)

Where? All concerts will be held in Stockbridge Parish Church, Saxe-Coburg Street,
Edinburgh
When ? Monday 30 October :: 7.30pm
How much? Ticket prices: £10, £7 conc, £2 students and schoolchildren (including a free glass of wine or soft drink). To book: The Queen’s Hall Box Office, tel: 0131 668 2019.....

Monday 30 October :: from 10pm
CLUB ::: DISCO BIDOCHONS

"La Disco Bidochons est de retour le lundi 30 Ocotobre. Pour les novices, c’est une soirée francophone en boite, environ tous les 2 mois. Ca se passe au Red Vodka Club, 73 the Cowgate, de 22h à 3h, entrée gratuite, boissons pas chères, et on a meme du ricard et de la chartreuse. Pour plus d’infos ou pour toutes suggestions, contactez moi thierry.dullieux@netcourrier.com"

Where? Red Vodka Club, 73 the Cowgate
When ? Monday 30 October :: 10pm-3am
How much? Free, and also, cheap drinks!...

Things to look forward to.... Yeepee!!!

10 Nov: 7.30 >>> Royal Scottish National Orchestra: A French Collection
Stéphane Denève directs Dame Felicity Lott in a series of sensual French works: Dukas’ ’La Péri’, etc... @ Usher Hall, 0131 228 1155 - £10-£28 (concessions available)
Tue 14 Nov only >>> Bob le flambeur / Bob the Gambler
Melville’s famous film is showcased at the Filmhouse!
Fri 17 to Sun 19 Nov >>> Le Cercle rouge / The Red Circle
Another Melville’s work, with Delon, Montand, Bourvil... @ The Filmhouse
Thursday 23 November at 6.30pm >>> Philippe Meyer Event
@ the Institut Français d’Ecosse - Admission Free - Tel.: 0131 225 5366 - contact@ifecosse.org.uk
Writer, journalist, satirist, actor, director, animator, researcher and teacher of social sciences, all barely adequate to describe Philippe Meyer, as he has many strings to his bow. Among his investigations, he has studied the mysteries of the city of Paris through, on the one hand, a show called “Paris la Grande” based on texts and songs illustrating life in the capital and, on the other hand, a book under the same title. Not to be missed by those in love, the curious and the sceptical of the “ville lumière” and a must for the fans of Philippe Meyer!
22 Nov: 6.00 >>> The Watson Gordon Lecture: Caroline Elam
Roger Fry was Britain’s leading art critic in the first half of the 20th century. Caroline Elam will explore his journey from scholarship in Italian quattrocento art, to Post-Impressionism and modern French painting. @ National Gallery of Scotland: Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, 0131 624 6200 - Free
Fri 1 to Sun 3 Dec >>> Du Rififi chez les hommes @ The Filmhouse
Thursday 7 December at 6pm >>> Lecture by Joëlle Pagès-Pindon: "Marguerite Duras, a myth, an opera" (also Friday 8 December at 5.45pm - Filmhouse: presentation and screening of “Hiroshima, mon amour”)
Marguerite Duras, a major figure of the 20th century French literary scene remains, a decade after her death, a controversial character. Her minimal novels and to her activities in theatre, film, and journalism have given her both a national and an international notoriety. This lecture will offer an opportunity to rediscover an outstanding personality. The following evening, the Filmhouse will screen “Hiroshima, mon amour”, a film by Alain Renais on a scenario and the dialogues of Marguerite Duras, of course!
14 Feb 2007: 2.15 >>> France in America
Alison McCleery explores the little-known French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon. @ Royal Museum Lecture Theatre, 0131 247 4219 - £6; free for students and RSGS members

Marché Français

2006-10-24T09:43:00.000Z

Information fournie par le site d’Edimbourg Accueil: Marché Français - Edimbourg accueil

Frederick street - le 1er Novembre 2006

C’est le moment d’acheter du fromage et du saucisson !!! Marché français sur Castle street du jeudi 23 novembre au dimanche 26 novembre [10h à 20h] Vente de produits français, fromage, chocolats, vêtements, accesssoires...

A suivre.....

31 October - Samhuinn festival

2006-10-23T13:51:00.000Z

OK OK it's not French, but... it looks like good fun!
More info on the Festival and Beltane's activities

"Come all and witness the ancient Celtic Samhuinn festival! It was the
Celtic New Year, the Day of the Dead, and marked the beginning of
winter. It was the time of year when the veil between this world and
the next, between mortality and infinity, was at its thinnest and
spirits were said to roam the lands...

Come and celebrate, feast and carouse in our procession of fire,
drumming, music and performance art! See the fight between waning
Summer and the growing darkness of Winter!

The Samhuinn procession begins from the Castle at 9 pm and ends up on
the Mound (beside the National Galleries) for performances on the
stage. It is presented by the Beltane Fire Society, a not for profit
organisation run by volunteers, the event is free but to keep it free
they rely on donations from the public on the night, so if you see
someone shaking a bucket near you, give them some change please."

There are also after-parties but I am not sure where, as have got conflicting info: either The Bongo Club or Cabaret Voltaire. Or maybe both. Who knows? (add in comments if you do! ta!)

All proceeds go the Beltane Fire Society

Création d’un Chœur Mixte – French Choir

2006-10-23T10:33:00.000Z

All levels accepted – beginners welcome.
Concert de Noël le 6 décembre 2006. / Christmas concert: 6 December 2006
Répétitions tous les mardis au théâtre de l’Institut Français. Rehearsals – every Tuesdays in the Theatre of the French Institute

Renseignements et inscriptions: 225 5366 or courses@ifecosse.org.uk

ooooooooooooh- Check this out!

2006-10-13T01:23:00.000Z

Fabien: Live in Edinburgh (F)

Simon, Edimbourg et les cacahuetes au beurre (F)

Le Blog de Jen (F)

Ninon: Lumos News (F)

Edimbourg Accueil (F)

Etudiant a Edimbourg (F)

Edimbourg Accueil - Plus d'infos

2006-10-12T10:30:00.000Z

Je vous parlais d'Edimbourg Accueil la semaine derniere car cette nouvelle association organisait un cocktail d'accueil le 2 octobre.

De quoi s’agit-il en effet? J’ai reussi a contacter la Presidente de l’Association, qui m’a explique de quoi il s’agissait:

C'est un groupe qui s'adresse aux francophones (pas seulement aux Francais) mais qui est seulement ouvert aux personnes/familles bilingues.

Ils organisent:

'coffee mornings',

activites diverses et variees (sorties ballet, ateliers cuisine....)

cocktails

barbecues

Aspects positifs:

C’est une initiative interessante pour les nouveaux arrivants. Geree et organisee uniquement par des volontaires deja installes sur Edimbourg depuis au moins un an, cette assoce est liee officieusement au Consulat Francais.

Ils semblent dynamiques, et prets a organiser toutes sortes de choses.

Negatif:

Personnellement cela me semble un peu exclusif, dans la mesure ou l’assoce n’a pas vocation d’integrer des apprenants de francais ecossais (alors que cela pourrait etre utile pour une integration efficace des francophones au sein de la societe ecossaise).

Ca a aussi un petit cote ’morningside’ qui ne plaira sans doute pas a tout le monde...

En bref: c'est une association a suivre. Je posterai des que je l'aurai recue la brochure qu'ils ont confectionnee.

(j’ai pas le temps de traduire ca en anglais aujourd’hui... Desolee... et puis desolee aussi pour l’absence d’accents: j’utilise un nouveau protocole de publication et j’ai pas encore trouve ou etaient les accents...)

Lise x

edilang

frenchedinburgh2

Talented Students....

2006-10-11T15:57:00.000Z

My students are incredibly talented! And here is just another example of a lovely young actress who is taking part in a production of 'Kiss me Kate'.

Yes, I know it's not French, but... just you wait!!!

Go on, you know you want to run and watch this fantastic play !!!
It's on until Saturday!!!

Tomorrow the World will be my oyster

2006-10-02T11:12:00.000Z

... well, not literally as am sadly allergic to real life oysters!
:-)

Anyway, will go to the World pub on Tuesday 3 October, so please do come along if you want to meet me, and speak French in a relaxed environment.

It's all free and has been in existence for the past 13-14 years (the group was started by students from the French Institute who felt they wanted to get a bit more out of their weekly lesson).

One cannot help but admire the (free!) initiative, and the fact it's been going for so long (mainly thanks to one of the organisers, John, who is present almost every week!)

Anyway, the meeting starts at 9pm, and normally lasts until 11pm... I will try and be there myself for 9.30pm or 9.45pm as am teaching before.

Do drop me a line if you want!

THE WORLD:::: Thistle Street (between Hanover and Frederick Street)

Lise

Free: Aperitif, French conversation, Concert...

2006-10-01T11:17:00.000Z

Monday 2 October: Apéritif
A new association aimed at integrating French people in Edinburgh has been created in August. It is linked to FIAFE, and they are organising an Aperitif, in the French Institute. More info here!
Where? French Institute
How much? FREE!

Tuesday 3 October, 9-11pm
French/English @The World on Thistle Street - come and practise your French or your English with friendly native speakers....
Where? The World on Thistle Street
How much? FREE!

Wednesday 4 October: 7.30pm
The Gipsy Kings: "The legendary French band return to keep the flamenco tradition flying."
Where? Edinburgh Playhouse
How much? £36.50

Thursday 5 October: 6.30pm
MARIONAS (concert)
Gordon Ferries is musical director of the Baroque ensemble Symphonie des
Plaisirs and he teaches lute and guitar. This concert is an opportunity to
discover period instruments used in baroque compositions, as well as
French and Spanish, with dancing accents borrowed from mediterranean
music.
Where? French Institute
How much? Entry free

EXHIBITIONS::::::

Toulouse-Lautrec and the Art Nouveau Poster
"A display of French poster prints, spanning from the Romantic period to the start of the Art Nouveau movement, including 15 works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec."
When? Until 22 October
Where? City Art Centre
How much? £5 (£3.50-£14 family)

To look forward to in October and December:

Wednesday, October 18 at 8:30 PM

The Edinburgh French Conversation Meetup Group

Au Bar in Edinburgh (map)

20 Oct: 12.45
Travel and Study: George Reid in Holland and France
"Dr John Morrison examines George Reid's travels to Utrecht, The Hague and Paris between 1866 and 1871."
Weston Link
Free

24 Oct: 7.00
Phoenix: "Groovy French popsters who marry the best of 70s pop with a club sensibility."
The Arches (Glasgow)
£12

24 Oct: 12.45
Painting Idleness: Boudin in Normandy and the South of France
"A talk on Boudin's paintings of tourists on the Normandy Coast by Frances Fowle."
Weston Link
Free

30 October
Disco Bidochons
"La Disco Bidochons est de retour le lundi 30 Ocotobre. Pour les novices, c'est une soirée francophone en boite, environ tous les 2 mois. Ca se passe au Red Vodka Club, 73 the Cowgate, de 22h à 3h, entrée gratuite, boissons pas chères, et on a meme du ricard et de la chartreuse. Pour plus d'infos ou pour toutes suggestions, contactez moi thierry.dullieux@netcourrier.com"

14 Dec: 7.30
Scottish Chamber Orchestra: The Old Rivalry
"A comparison of dance music and symphonies from France and England featuring the composers Rebel, Charpentier, Haydn, Handel and Purcell by director and harpsichordist Richard Egarr."
More info: www.sco.org.uk
Queen's Hall
£8-£24 (£6-£18)

Lise

Association Edimbourg Accueil

2006-09-29T19:35:00.000Z

A new association aimed at integrating French people in Edinburgh has been created in August. It is linked to FIAFE.

They are organising an Aperitif on Monday the 2nd of October, in the French Institute.

More info here!

================

Une nouvelle association qui a pour but d'intégrer les Français nouvellement arrivés à Edimbourg vient d'ouvrir ses portes.

Ils organisent un apéritif le lundi 2 octobre, à l'Institut Français d'Ecosse.

Pls d'infos ici.

Les petits nouveaux...

2006-09-29T19:18:00.000Z

As every year, here are a few blogs from French students recently arrived in Scotland, and more particularly in Edinburgh... Mostly written in French!

Lxox

Why learn another language?

2006-09-29T15:42:00.000Z

I have met quite a lot of new students in the past few weeks, and inevitably the question of why they want to learn French crops up at our first meeting as [a] I am curious, and [b] well, there is no real [b] - I am just curious!

Most of the time, people get quite embarrassed, and mutter quickly that

in Britain, we are very lazy and we expect everyone to speak English when we go somewhere on holidays or for business...

I often have to disagree with this statement: I have been teaching French since 1991 in Scotland, and have seen a lot of very motivated individuals, who undertake the study of French either for a short holiday or because they love France or for business related reasons... There was never the sense, for me, that British people were particularly lazy, or that they were uninterested. All I have seen in the past, and even today, is a bunch of sensitive people, who want to improve on themselves.

Do I think that languages should be promoted better at school? Of course, I do. I am annoyed that languages are often not compulsory at school: a lot of my older pupils do find it very draining to try and cope with the basics of the language when they have not acquired them at school. I am angry as well at the lack of grammar these days in the curriculum: grammar may seem evil and overrated, but I can assure you that it really helps if you want to speak in another language in a way that is not full of clichés, like a little parrot.

Anyway, here are some of the comments made by my students on their registration forms:

I'd like to be able to get by in France on my own
Switzerland!
I enjoy travelling and would hopefully like to move to France in a few years
I have a property in Nice
Plan to live in Paris for 2 months next year
To be able to communicate in another language in the hope that I can one day move abroad
To be able to speak French in France
Why not?
To have fun
To keep the brain occupied with something else than computers
I love the language
Rugby world cup!
My interest and to assist with my work
For pleasure!
To try and maintain my level of French and also improve on it
I travel a lot and would like to live in a Francophone country.
Enjoyment: keep up skills and knowledge
Because one day I will be fluent
My girlfriend is French and I want to communicate with her family.
If I don't keep practising I'll forget it all

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons why people want to take up French, or brush up on their existing skills! Some people do it just for the hell of it - a bit like like climbing the Everest - because it's there - while others have a specific objective in mind: property, retirement, love, sporting events...

Learning another language is difficult and can be disenheartening at the best of times (hey, look at me - I have been struggling with English for the best part of 16 years... Although fairly fluent, I still find things I don't know, and I still mispronounce words for everyone's enjoyment!!)

I have just started last February to take up Russian though, and I have to say this has been a truly humbling experience, as the language is quite remote from the other languages I have been known to speak with more or less fluency. You do go through ups and downs: when you finally think you are beginning to 'get it', something else crops up, and you're back to square 1... The other thing that has really bugged me is, you practise things in class, bits of 'conversation' etc... and you arrive in the country: you are lost! Can't seem to do anything right! But in the end if you keep at it, you reap some rewards: you manage to buy your own train tickets, you have a kind of conversation with other people, you get a glimpse of the country from the inside, you compliment someone on the meal they have prepared in a language they understand (well, or kind of understand, given my half-baked Russian)... Just those little things make it all worthwhile...

More on why you should learn another language here, and more on the debate of how to improve Britain's language skills.

Lxox

On a personal note: Time for a new haircut?

2006-09-28T01:06:00.000Z

Being in a state of perpetual reinvention, at the image of this blog (is it personal? is it a business? is it an open gate for a French person lost in Scotland's frustrations?), of course, it could only end like that: I contacted my auld friend from uni the Irish poet (yes, I did google him. For hours. He was not easy to find!) and it reminded me of:

O saisons O châteaux, quelle âme est sans défaut ...

I refer you to this, here, for the full picture [in English] about Rimbaud...

Anyway - I was thinking about my jeunesse folle, and of course, as one does in such occasion, I thought,

hey, I am going to have a haircut!

I actually went as far as mentioning it to Hubby: he turned green , because of course, it is a 'damned if you do, and damned if you don't' kind of situation for him...

I saw actual despair in his eyes, as he asked me to have my hair not cut, but styled - of course, the last time I had my hair cut, he had to console me for 3 months that, yes, my hair would grow back, and no, it didn't make my butt look big.

See, now, that is true love. Or maybe plain exasperation and disbelief.

[In any case, yes, I agree this does not really have much to do with French events in Edinburgh... But sometimes we are allowed brief moments of levity, arent' we?]

Wine Tasting sessions on the cards

2006-09-26T09:54:00.000Z

Some of my French groups are going to have the opportunity to sample some wines from LA PROVENANCE, a new wine venture: lucky them!!

Valerie Blanc will come in and presents the selection of wines she has imported especially from the Bordeaux region, and it will be an opportunity for the students to learn how to appreciate wines in French.

The tastings will only take place for the Elementary 2 and above levels, so that the tastings can take place completely in French.

The students will then have the opportunity to purchase the wine they preferred, with a 5% discount.

More information on LA PROVENANCE (in English and in French):

La Provenance Débute

Un nouveau concept dans la vente du vin démarre. Sous la direction de Valerie Blanc, originaire de Bordeaux et Amanda Brown, La Provenance est désormais prête à recevoir vos commandes et votre réservation pour une dégustation.

La Provenance a passé un temps considérable à choisir ses vins, en rendant visite à chaque chateau en France. Les vins proposés dans un premier temps, sont de la région de Bordeaux et ont pour la plupart gagnés des concours de vins et spiritueux à Paris, Bruxelles, et les Etats Unis. La Provenance continuera à fournir des vins venus de France et aussi d’autres pays européens au fur et à mesure que Provenance s’agrandira. Aucun de ces vins ne sont disponibles ailleurs dans le Royaume Uni.

Afin d’aider ses clients dans leur choix de vins, La Provenance propose d’organiser une dégustation chez vous et de passer commande en fin de session. Si vous avez un groupe d’amis interressés, n’hésitez pas à les réunir pour une soirée agréable. (groupe entre 6 et 8 personnes)

La gamme des vins de La Provenance est disponible en bag in box de 5 litres (l’équivalent de 7 bouteilles mais plus facile à stocker et recycler) et en bouteilles 75cl. Le Bag in Box vous permet de conserver votre vin pendant 4 semaines après l’ouverture, ce qui est idéal pour ceux qui veulent savourer un verre de vin, sans avoir à ouvrir une bouteille au risque d’en perdre la qualité le lendemain!
Nous avons aussi un superbe vin pétillant, crémant de Bordeaux, qui est un substitut idéal au champagne pour une occasion spéciale, à un prix moindre.

Si vous êtes interessés et désirez passer une commande ou organiser une dégustation, n’hésitez pas et prenez contact avec Valerie ou Amanda
Laprovenance@msn.com ou 07784736537.

La Provenance IN ENGLISH

A new concept in wine retailing is now ready for business. Under the direction of Valerie Blanc, a native of Bordeaux and Amanda Brown, La Provenance is now ready to receive your orders and book your wine tastings.

A large amount of time and effort has gone into the sourcing of the wine and each wine is sourced from a Chateau in France personally by La Provenance. The initial wines originate from around the Bordeaux region and all are medal winners. La Provenance will continue to source new wines from throughout France and further a field as the business grows. None of these wines are available elsewhere in the UK.

To help our customers decide which their favourite is, La Provenance will carry out a wine tasting in people’s homes at no cost to the host. Ideally we would encourage the host to invite 6/8 other guests to make an event of the tasting.

The range of La Provenance wines are available as bag in box of 5 litres (which equates to just under 7 bottles, and easier to recycle) and 75cl bottles. Bag in Box allows you to keep the wine for up to 4 weeks once it has been opened, meaning that those drinkers who like a glass a night can now enjoy fantastic quality wine without the pressure of finishing a bottle.

We have also sourced a mouth watering sparkling white wine – Cremant – which is a great substitute for Cava or champagne for those special occasions.

If you are interested in hosting a tasting at your home or workplace, to taste some wine before you buy, please contact us either via email at Laprovenance@msn.com or on 07784736537.

New Saturday absolute beginner course

2006-09-25T09:43:00.000Z

Following issues linked to the change of timing of the original absolute beginners group, I have decided to start up a new group taking place on Saturdays between 11am and 12.30.
Please contact me immediately for more information on this course.

It is due to start on Saturday 7 October 2006.

Fees: £92.50
Duration: 10 weeks

Update on French evening classes availability

2006-09-24T21:00:00.000Z

There are still a few spaces left in my conversational evening classes, in various different levels:

Film Course: 12 weeks : £105

Improving Listening Comprehension through Film [Thursdays, 7.45-9.00pm]:

starting 21 September: FULL

10 weeks: October-December - £92.50

Absolute Beginners [Thursdays, 6.00-7.30pm]:

3 spaces left

Post-Beginners [Wednesdays, 6.00-7.30pm]:

FULL

Elementary 1 [Mondays, 6.00-7.30pm]:

2 spaces left

Elementary 2 [Tuesdays, 6.00-7.30pm]:

1 space left

Intermediate 1 [Tuesdays, 7.45-9.15pm]:

FULL

Intermediate 3 [Mondays, 7.45-9.15pm]:

FULL

Advanced Conversation [Wednesdays, 7.45-9.00pm]:

FULL

Please note there is a maximum of 8 people per group, and a minimum of 4. Tea, coffee, herbal teas and mineral water will be available free of charge, and the fees also include all documents used in class.

For more information, and a free assessment of your present level, please contact me (Lise Morel) either by phone 0131 557 2734, or by email lise@edilang.com

Easy French...

2006-09-21T10:16:00.000Z

It suddenly occurs to me that it could be useful for all the new students out there to post again the link to Radio France's Les informations en francais facile...

It is indeed quite invaluable when you reach a certain level (ie master the present and past tenses mostly), as it presents a radio news bulletin - in 'easy' French, in other words, substantially (but not stupidly!) slowed down! Besides, they also offer a transcription. Brilliant!!

So if you want to know more about this, click right here!

Audio - soon here?

2006-09-20T13:37:00.000Z

Quick note to say I am (just about) beginning to master the fine art of 'podcasting', ie including audio files to a web site, which can then potentially be downloaded (hurray!) onto an iPod or an mp3 player...
:-)

Please go and check out my Transsiberian page, and tell me if the audio format is OK (or not, as the case may be)... It will be an opportunity to listen to the lovely Sacha, who distracted us on the first leg of our transsiberian journey!

Lxox

French events in September

2006-09-18T09:50:00.000Z

Toulouse-Lautrec and the Art Nouveau Poster
"A display of French poster prints, spanning from the Romantic period to the start of the Art Nouveau movement, including 15 works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec."

When? Until 22 October
Where? City Art Centre
How much? £5 (£3.50-£14 family)

Roussillon: Now and Then
"A selection of work by Scottish painter Ian Scott created over the last 30 years in his French base." - Part of the Mackintosh Festival
When? Until 30 September, Mon-Wed 10.00am-4.00; Thu-Sun 10.00am-1.00
Where? House for an Art Lover (Glasgow)
How much? £3.50 (£2.50-£7 family)
More info: www.glasgowmackintosh2006.com

Every Tuesday, 9-11pm: French/English @The World on Thistle Street - come and practise your French or your English with friendly native speakers....

19 September: 1.10pm
Get Organised! - The French Connection: "John Kitchen presents an all-encompassing programme of French music, including ballet music by Lully and Rameau, works from the time of the Revolution such as Balbastre's 'Variations on the Marseillaise along with organ favourites by Franck and Widor."
Where? Usher Hall
How much? £3

20 September: 8.00pm
Tribute to Stéphane Grappelli: "Pioneer jazz violinist Grappelli who formed the first all-string jazz band, the Quintette du hot Club de France, is resurrected by Dutch jazz violinist Tim Kliphuis and the John Russell Trio."
Where? North Edinburgh Arts Centre
How much? £9 (£4-£6)

20 September: 8:30 PM
French Meetup. Monthly event - come and join other French speakers!
Where? Au Bar (101 Shandwick Place)
How much? FREE!

25 September : 6.00 pm
Les Journées Télécinéma
"The INA (French National Institute of television and radio archives) reveal the fruits of their annual foray into their archives, containing more than 60 years of French TV footage, which aims to allow the public to rediscover the best of screen through the free screening of two selected programmes."
Where? Institut Francais d'Ecosse
How much? Free!

Tuesday 26 September only
Le mépris: film by Jean-Luc Godard with Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, Jack Palance, Fritz Lang. "A young woman (Bardot) is gradually possessed by an overwhelming contempt for her husband (Piccoli), a writer beset by doubts when he is called in as script-doctor to a film of 'The Odyssey', being made by a director (Lang) who wants to capture the reality of Homer's world, and a crass producer (Palance) who just wants more mermaids..."
Where ? Filmhouse
How much? Cinema price, I suppose!

28 September: 6.00pm
The Edinburgh Quartet and The Auld Alliance: "The Edinburgh Quartet and friends introduce their 2006/2007 season at this exclusive event, performing and discussing a selection of excerpts from their forthcoming French and Scottish pieces."
Where? Institut Francais d'Ecosse
How much? Free

To look forward to in October and December:

4 Oct: 7.30
The Gipsy Kings: "The legendary French band return to keep the flamenco tradition flying."
Edinburgh Playhouse
£36.50

Thursday 5 October at 6.30pm
MARIONAS (concert)
Gordon Ferries is musical director of the Baroque ensemble Symphonie des
Plaisirs and he teaches lute and guitar. This concert is an opportunity to
discover period instruments used in baroque compositions, as well as
French and Spanish, with dancing accents borrowed from mediterranean
music.
Entry free

20 Oct: 12.45
Travel and Study: George Reid in Holland and France
"Dr John Morrison examines George Reid's travels to Utrecht, The Hague and Paris between 1866 and 1871."
Weston Link
Free

24 Oct: 7.00
Phoenix: "Groovy French popsters who marry the best of 70s pop with a club sensibility."
The Arches (Glasgow)
£12

24 Oct: 12.45
Painting Idleness: Boudin in Normandy and the South of France
"A talk on Boudin's paintings of tourists on the Normandy Coast by Frances Fowle."
Weston Link
Free

14 Dec: 7.30
Scottish Chamber Orchestra: The Old Rivalry
"A comparison of dance music and symphonies from France and England featuring the composers Rebel, Charpentier, Haydn, Handel and Purcell by director and harpsichordist Richard Egarr."
More info: www.sco.org.uk
Queen's Hall
£8-£24 (£6-£18)

Penrose as a collector, curator and apologist for Surrealism

2006-09-12T14:08:00.000Z

Thursday 14 September, 6pm
"Penrose as a collector, curator and apologist for Surrealism"
"Elizabeth Cowling is a specialist in 20th-century European art and particularly in artists' working processes, techniques and use of sources.
Her talk will embrace Roland Penrose's lifelong love affair with France which began in 1922 when he moved to Paris to study painting. In 1925 he married the poet Valentine Boué, through whom he met many of the leading Surrealists. Paul Eluard became a particularly close friend and it was through him that Penrose first met Picasso in 1936, shortly after the major Surrealist exhibition he helped to organise in London. Although he continued to practise as a painter, collagist and maker of 'objets surréalistes', after World War II Penrose became increasingly involved in arts administration, curating exhibitions and writing. In this talk Elizabeth Cowling, author of a recently published book about his forty-year relationship with Picasso, will talk mainly about Penrose as a collector, curator and apologist for Surrealism."

The talk will be in English, and it is free!
Where ? Institut Français d'Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent, Edinburgh EH3

No need to bored in Edinburgh!!

2006-09-08T12:04:00.000Z

Tonight, you can go and dance in French with Les Bof! - apparently "a night of 60s French pop with a live set"
When? 8 Sep: 11.00
Where? Henry's Cellar Bar
How much? £5 (£4)

Tomorrow, in Glasgow....
Border, a documentary about the French Sangatte Red Cross Camp with Afghan and Iraqi refugees.
When? 9 Sep: 7.30
Where? CCA (Glasgow)
How much? ?

Or else: pop to the Filmhouse to watch this:
8-13 Sep: various times
Regular Lovers (Les Amants Reguliers) (18) : "Much acclaimed but overlooked in the UK, Garrel directs his son, Louis, in experiencing the emotional upheavals of revolutionary France and falling in love. Shot in low definition monochrome, a series of exchanges, visual and occasionally verbal, capture the emotional freefall of the era in a demanding piece of work that is worth seeking out."
avec Louis Garrel, Clotilde Hesme, Julien Lucas, Eric Rulliat
When? 8-13 Sep: various times
Where? Filmhouse
How much? normal cinema fares I suppose...

This week-end....
Toulouse-Lautrec and the Art Nouveau Poster
"A display of French poster prints, spanning from the Romantic period to the start of the Art Nouveau movement, including 15 works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec."

When? Until 22 October
Where? City Art Centre
How much? £5 (£3.50-£14 family)

Roussillon: Now and Then
"A selection of work by Scottish painter Ian Scott created over the last 30 years in his French base." - Part of the Mackintosh Festival
When? Until 30 September, Mon-Wed 10.00am-4.00; Thu-Sun 10.00am-1.00
Where? House for an Art Lover (Glasgow)
How much? £3.50 (£2.50-£7 family)
More info: www.glasgowmackintosh2006.com

To look forward to...

Thursday 14 September, 6pm
"Penrose as a collector, curator and apologist for Surrealism"
"Elizabeth Cowling is a specialist in 20th-century European art and
particularly in artists' working processes, techniques and use of sources.
Her talk will embrace Roland Penrose's lifelong love affair with France
which began in 1922 when he moved to Paris to study painting. In 1925 he
married the poet Valentine Boué, through whom he met many of the leading
Surrealists. Paul Eluard became a particularly close friend and it was
through him that Penrose first met Picasso in 1936, shortly after the
major Surrealist exhibition he helped to organise in London. Although he
continued to practise as a painter, collagist and maker of 'objets
surréalistes', after World War II Penrose became increasingly involved in
arts administration, curating exhibitions and writing. In this talk
Elizabeth Cowling, author of a recently published book about his
forty-year relationship with Picasso, will talk mainly about Penrose as a
collector, curator and apologist for Surrealism."
The talk will be in English, and it is free!
Where ? Institut Français d'Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent, Edinburgh EH3

16 Sep: 10.30
Death Disco: "An Edbanger Records two-hander, with French electro pairing Justice (of 'vs Simian' remix fame) and deej Pedro Winter, ably supported by resident DJ Mingo-go."
The Arches (Glasgow)
£10

17 Oct: 6.30
Carol Drinkwater: "Drinkwater celebrates the launch of 'the Olive Route' not just with a talk, but with a tasting session too at which you can sample olives from her farm in southern France."
Ottakar's (Glasgow)
Free

19 Sep: 1.10
Get Organised! - The French Connection: "John Kitchen presents an all-encompassing programme of French music, including ballet music by Lully and Rameau, works from the time of the Revolution such as Balbastre's 'Variations on the Marseillaise along with organ favourites by Franck and Widor."
Usher Hall
Edinburgh
£3

20 Sep: 8.00
Tribute to Stéphane Grappelli: "Pioneer jazz violinist Grappelli who formed the first all-string jazz band, the Quintette du hot Club de France, is resurrected by Dutch jazz violinist Tim Kliphuis and the John Russell Trio."
North Edinburgh Arts Centre
£9 (£4-£6)
25 Sep: 6.00
Les Journées Télécinéma
"The INA (French National Institute of television and radio archives) reveal the fruits of their annual foray into their archives, containing more than 60 years of French TV footage, which aims to allow the public to rediscover the best of screen through the free screening of two selected programmes."
Institut Francais d'Ecosse

Tue 26 Sept only
Le mépris: film by Jean-Luc Godard with Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, Jack Palance, Fritz Lang. "A young woman (Bardot) is gradually possessed by an overwhelming contempt for her husband (Piccoli), a writer beset by doubts when he is called in as script-doctor to a film of 'The Odyssey', being made by a director (Lang) who wants to capture the reality of Homer's world, and a crass producer (Palance) who just wants more mermaids..."
Filmhouse

28 Sep: 6.00
The Edinburgh Quartet and The Auld Alliance: "The Edinburgh Quartet and friends introduce their 2006/2007 season at this exclusive event, performing and discussing a selection of excerpts from their forthcoming French and Scottish pieces."
Institut Francais d'Ecosse
Free

4 Oct: 7.30
The Gipsy Kings: "The legendary French band return to keep the flamenco tradition flying."
Edinburgh Playhouse
£36.50

24 Oct: 7.00
Phoenix: "Groovy French popsters who marry the best of 70s pop with a club sensibility."
The Arches (Glasgow)
£12

20 Oct: 12.45
Travel and Study: George Reid in Holland and France
"Dr John Morrison examines George Reid's travels to Utrecht, The Hague and Paris between 1866 and 1871."
Weston Link
Free

24 Oct: 12.45
Painting Idleness: Boudin in Normandy and the South of France
"A talk on Boudin's paintings of tourists on the Normandy Coast by Frances Fowle."
Weston Link
Free

14 Dec: 7.30
Scottish Chamber Orchestra: The Old Rivalry
"A comparison of dance music and symphonies from France and England featuring the composers Rebel, Charpentier, Haydn, Handel and Purcell by director and harpsichordist Richard Egarr."
More info: www.sco.org.uk
Queen's Hall
£8-£24 (£6-£18)

Shaken (and stirred)

2006-09-08T10:54:00.000Z

Here I am, reporting back after my first week back to teaching! Quite an enjoyable week, if a bit stressful, as incredibly I had completely forgotten what it was like to work!! And I was only away for 3 and a half weeks... One of my students has been away, travelling through Africa for 10 months, and I cannot start to imagine how difficult it must be for her to re-adjust to the british way of life...

Anyway, it's great to meet old and new friends, and to discover how I can help them (hopefully) improve their language skills. The False Beginners courses seem like quite a challenging set of classes to teach, given the various skills the students possess, and what they need really still remains to be determined at this stage. It's going to be a tailor-made affair, which i quite like, since I will have to decide on a week by week basis what we do next so they reach the levels we agreed on! I suspect this will keep me out of mischief for some time to come!

I have also had good news, as I was contacted by Valerie Blanc, a French woman who has just started a new wine venture (La Provenance). She has offered to organise wine tasting sessions in French for those classes whose understanding of the language was sufficient to cope!
Keep your eyes peeled - I suspect the second week of October will be an alcoholic one!
;-)

Otherwise, I have been contacted by Jubilee Scotland, who are looking for volunteer interpreters to help in November:

Jubilee Scotland, the debt campaign organisation in Scotland is looking for French interpreters willing to volunteer their skills in November. We have a Malian activist coming to Scotland between 1-18 November and we need French speakers who could help translate/interpret for him at events. If you would like more information please get in touch at mail@jubileescotland.org.uk

More information on their website here. It seems a very worthy cause, and hopefully I will be able to help, though, as I pointed out, I am not a simultaneous interpreter, and I could probably only deal with very general translation and/or social events.

Anyway... I had a good laugh this week when asked by Darryl how to translate the famous James-Bondish 'Shaken, not stirred'. To my utmost shame, I was at a complete loss, and so resorted to google to find the appropriate answer and I found this:

"une Vodka Martini, médium dry, au shaker, non à la cuillère"

Truthfully, it seems to me a tad literal, but - hey! - who am I to judge?: all I could say when asked was 'erm... erm... Dunno... will look it up, I promise...' Anyone coming up with a better answer though will win... my eternal gratitude!

New Bilingual Blog about Transsiberian Journey

2006-08-24T08:53:00.000Z

... you may find it here:
http://russia2mongolia.blogspot.com/

It includes a day to day account of our transsiberian journey from Moscow to Mongolia, in English and French! - I have started already with our arrival to Moscow at the end of July 2006!

Hopefully I will soon work out how to include sounds etc.... as I made quite interesting recordings along our journey, in terms of people we met and sounds from the places we visited... (plus the epic recording of my first train ticket purchase!!! Honestly, well worth it if only for entertainment value frankly!!!)

:-)

Lxox

From Russia (& Mongolia!) with love!

2006-08-22T00:33:00.001Z

Am just back today from Mongolia, after an epic journey via Beijing and a rather panicky Heathrow airport ("you, get rid of your mongolian whisky, and quicker than that!" - or else put it in a plastic bottle and place it in a completely unsuitable rucksack, hoping for the best...)

Too tired to say much after a 26 hours journey, which was a complete downer after the fantastic views I have enjoyed in the last few days in Mongolia!

Our transsiberian journey went extremely well (I even managed to "improve" on my very rubbish russian skills! - I was actually very pleased to have taken some classes, given the complete lack of cooperation of the various ladies we encountered at the tickets offices... except in Tobolsk where the clerk was extremely helpful and pleasant! She even smiled, and it was not just because she was happy to see us go - at least that's what I think!)

I will try and post some photos and comments in the next few days, once I have recovered from jetlag (c'est pas gagne d'avance!) and will attempt to write posts in English and French with sound extracts (but it may be a tad too technical for me!!!)

Thanks for everyone who has been in touch - this was certainly a trip worth doing! And for all the young parents out there - my 9 year old bundle-of-love was fantastic and enjoyed everything - in fact he would have prefered to stay in Mongolia!!!

Ta-ta for now, and will post soon
Lxox

New Autumn French Classes!!

2006-07-28T01:07:00.000Z

I am sorry that I am a bit in a rush with this - am leaving tomorrow for my transsiberian journey from Russia to Mongolia, and time just does not have an elastic quality unfortunately!

Anyway, I am sure that I will have plenty of stories to tell on my return (in particular about the sad state of my Russian language skills, though I will do my utmost to make my tutor Natasha proud, of course!!)

I am planning quite a number of new things, in particular a short course for 'false beginners' in French, ie people who have studied the language at school up to GSCE level, but think they have forgotten most of it. The idea of the short course is that the students will then be able to join the longer Post-Beginner French, running from October through to December - hence making their learning more efficient, instead of trapping them in an Absolute Beginners Course!

Also, I have decided to re-focus the Advanced group onto something more geared up towards French current affairs, as I think my previous conversational format was perhaps a bit too relaxed... It will be quite a challenging course, but I am certain students will progress steadily!

My 'learning through film' course is continuing valiantly... I am still very pleased with the obvious results it has in terms of improving the understanding of rapidly spoken French . Hopefully I will not run out of good French films!!!! If you are interested in this course, please do not hesitate to let me have your thoughts on the matter, bearing in mind we have already covered Amelie, Les Choristes and Les Enfants du Paradis, among others....

Finally, as far as news are concerned... I have decided following pressure (you know who you are!!) to start organising sessions to help parents who want their young children to experience French language and culture. It will hopefully equip them with the necessary tools to make the whole experience enjoyable to all parties. As a Mum myself, I have the experience of educating a bilingual child, and I can give you advice on how best to achieve this, if this is something you are interested in.

Anyway, I am off to my bed, awaiting an early start tomorrow! The airag awaits, as well as the large steppe of Mongolia. (OK, and the Gobi Desert, but maybe I am a tad too ambitious for my short stay!)

A bientot - More details below about the classes I am offering in the Autumn - Don't hesitate to contact me by email for more info: lise@edilang.com

::: New evening classes in September:::
4 weeks courses, for £40.00
STARTING : w/c 4 Sept ENDING w/e 29 Sept 2006

:::False Beginners: Mondays: 6-7.30pm:::
:::Post-Beginners: Mondays: 7.45-9.15pm:::
:::Elementary 1: Tuesdays: 7.45-9.15pm:::
:::Elementary 2 Pure Conversation: Tuesdays: 6-7.30pm:::
:::Intermediate 3: Thursdays: 6-7.30pm:::
:::Intermediate 1: Wednesdays: 6-7.30pm:::
:::Advanced Conversation / Current Affairs: Wednesdays: 7.45-9.15pm:::
:::Improving listening comprehension through Film: Thursdays: 7.45-9.15pm:::
Please contact me (Lise) now to register your interest: lise@edilang.com. I will be available at the end of August for a free assessment of your current level.

::: New evening classes in October:::
10 weeks courses for £92.50
STARTING : w/c 2 Oct ENDING w/e 15 Dec 2006 (with a break for mid-term the 3rd week of October)

:::Absolute Beginners: Mondays: 6-7.30pm:::
:::Post-Beginners: Mondays: 7.45-9.15pm:::
:::Elementary 1: Tuesdays: 7.45-9.15pm:::
:::Elementary 2: Tuesdays: 6-7.30pm:::
:::Refreshers: Thursdays: 6-7.30pm:::
:::Intermediate 1: Wednesdays: 6-7.30pm:::
:::Advanced Conversation / Current Affairs: Wednesdays: 7.45-9.15pm:::
:::Improving listening comprehension through Film: Thursdays: 7.45-9.15pm:::

As usual, please contact me (Lise) now to register your interest: lise@edilang.com. I will be available at the end of August for a free assessment of your current level.

New course: French for Parents
Keep your eyes peeled for my new monthly seminars for parents of children under 2.
The course will last for 3 hours, and will help you to introduce effectively French to your baby or toddler, through songs, nursery rhymes and other games that will engage your child.
The cost for the first 3 hours session will be £25, and will include a CD with typical French songs, as well as a booklet to guide you after the seminar – and of course refreshments such as tea, coffee, etc.
The first one will take place either on Saturday 23 or 30th of September 2006: please contact me now to register your interest, and indicate your preference in terms of dates: lise@edilang.com

Thank you!!!!

Lise Morel

:: 5-10 MAY 2006 ::

2006-05-04T14:35:00.000Z

:: Friday 5 May :: Exhibition ::
::The Auld Alliance 2006 ::
"Coinciding with the 'Fizzers' exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio present this collection of over 30 original cartoons comparing and contrasting Scottish and French art, cuisine, history and popular culture."

:: Where :: Institut Francais d'Ecosse
:: When :: 4 May-30 Jun, not 22 May
:: How Much? :: Free!

:: Saturday 6 May :: Film ::
::The Double Life of Veronique ::
"(15) Two girls - one Polish, the other French - are born at the same time on the same day and come to discover that their fates are bound up together. An eerily fascinating and disturbing erotic dance of love and death from the director of 'Dekalog2 ('The Ten Commandments'), with an extraordinary twin performance by Cannes award-winner Jacob."

:: Where :: Filmhouse
:: When :: 6-7 May: 8.45; 8 May: 2.00; 9-11 May: 4.15 8.45
:: How Much? :: Check on Filmhouse website.
:: More info::

:: Sunday 7 May :: Film ::
:: Hidden (Caché) ::
"Georges (Auteuil) the presenter of a literary review programme on French TV, and his publisher wife Anne (Binoche) receive packages containing videos shot outside their nice suburban house. As the tapes and the drawings they come wrapped in become more personal and alarming, Georges begins to lose his mind. Haneke has always diffused polemic through the most personal of scenarios. 'Hidden' is a devastating, giddying examination of middle class smugness, the burden of the past and the deeply objectional self obsessions of the intellectual. Beautifully acted, paced, edited and directed, it will leave you gasping and perplexed as all great cinema should. If you want to know why 30 French towns and cities burned in October and November of 2005, the answer is here."

:: Where :: Cameo
:: When :: 5-9 May: 12.55; 10-11 May: 12.55 6.45
:: More info ::

Attention: Special double bill on the 7th with Code Unknown . (13:30)
On a busy Parisian street, Anne (Juliette Binoche), an actress on the brink of success, bumps into Jean (Alexandre Hamidi), the younger brother of her non-committal war photographer partner Georges (Neuvic). After disclosing that he has run away from his father's farm, Jean casullay humiliates Maria (Luminita Gheorghiu), a Romanian illegal immigrant, by dropping his rubbish into her lap as she begs. The incident, which leads to Maria's deportation, is spotted by Amadou (Yenke), a teacher of deaf children who angrily remonstrates with Jean. It is an incident which briefly links the lives of these five very different people. This is a remarkably conceived film from Director Michael Haneke, about the nature of communication, disassociation through technology and the comfort to be found in an entirely non-committal lifestyle. His rigourous visual approach of long uninterrupted wide shots that create blocks of real time is, thankfully, neither self-regarding nor pretentious. Instead, a slow and almost invisible accretion of emotion and incident pulls the viewer in steadily as he veers from the banal to the poetic whilst never offering anything less than profound honesty.
Note: this film is subtitled

:: Tuesday 9 May :: Conversation ::
:: The world ::

::Where :: The World (pub), in Thistle Street
:: When :: 9 May 2006, 9-11pm
:: How much? :: Free

:: Wednesday 10 May :: Lecture ::
:: Visiting Picasso: Evening Lecture & Book Launch ::

::Where :: Weston Link (Hawthornden Lecture Theatre)
:: When :: 10 May 2006, 6-7.30pm
:: How much? :: Free
:: Further info :: No booking required, unticketed.

"Visiting Picasso (Thames & Hudson) brings together, for the first time, the notebooks and letters of Roland Penrose detailing his many encounters with Pablo Picasso. It is edited by Elizabeth Cowling, Reader in History of Art at the University of Edinburgh. In this special evening event and book launch, she will be in conversation with Antony Penrose (son of Roland Penrose) and Richard Calvocoressi, Director of the Gallery in Modern Art. A book signing follows the talk."

:: Back!! ::

2006-05-04T14:03:00.000Z

Hou la la!

It has been a very hectic couple of months workwise, and I am just beginning to see the end of the tunnel... Plenty of translations have been done, mainly in technical areas, such as engine oils, antifreeze and other delightful topics... It's reminded me that, whilst I enjoy discovering new things and learning how machines work, I still need to take care, and not overdo things too much...

New classes

The French evening classes are going very well (sorry to anyone I could not help on this occasion, and hope the information I provided about other language schools in Edinburgh, and other means of maintaining your existing language skills was of some use!)
I think I will have to temporarily close down the contents about specific language classes, as I sadly don't have the time to update them regularly - we'll just have to see!

I am quite keen to start a language club for children, running after school: I have also created a new blog, specifically aimed at what children can do French-wise in Edinburgh: to take a look at it, please have a look here....

Anyway...

The next few weeks are jam-packed of things to do in Edinburgh: I am determined to bring them to you on a regular basis - and hopefully to get to do some of these in the process!

Lxox

:: French Evening Classes ::

2006-03-20T15:08:00.000Z

SPRING FRENCH CLASSES

10 weeks : £92.50
Classes start on w/c 17th of April

LEVEL ---------- DAY TIME AVAILABILITY
Beginner---------Thursdays 7.30-9pm ** 4 spaces
Post-Beginner---Mondays 6-7.30pm ** 3 spaces
Elementary 1----Tuesdays 6-7.30pm ** 2 spaces
Elementary 2----Tuesdays 7.30-9pm ** 3 spaces
Intermediate----Mondays 7.30-9pm ** 4 spaces
Refresher-------Thursdays 6-7.30pm ** 2 spaces
Advanced-------Wednesdays 7.30-9pm * 4 spaces
Film-------------Thursdays 7.30-9pm ** FULL
Current Affairs---Wednesdays 6-7.30pm*8 spaces

Contact LISE today for more information: 557 27 34 or lise@edilang.com

French Edinburgh

French things to do in September 2011

Overcoming the gender bias in French!

La France à Edimbourg: Octobre 2007

Learn something new this autumn!

French workshop for children

Decouverte de Cali, un chanteur francais

Talentueuse etudiante!

French classes! Start 23 April 2007!

20 Avril Soiree Albator, Goldorak et Capitaine Flam....

French film festival....

What a week!

Quelque chose pour le week-end...

Bonne Année (Oops, on est déjà en février!!)

Good Resolution #54: Speak French

12-15 December 2006

1-9 December 2006 (French in Edinburgh)

Heaven this week!!

So much to do, so little time! [2]

What I have done in the past few days....

Page turning amongst other things....

French Meet-Up in Edinburgh!

This week: so much to do, so little time...

Marché Français

31 October - Samhuinn festival

Création d’un Chœur Mixte – French Choir

ooooooooooooh- Check this out!

They are FRENCH in Edinburgh!!!

Edimbourg Accueil - Plus d'infos

Talented Students....

Tomorrow the World will be my oyster

Free: Aperitif, French conversation, Concert...

Association Edimbourg Accueil

Les petits nouveaux...

Why learn another language?

On a personal note: Time for a new haircut?

Wine Tasting sessions on the cards

New Saturday absolute beginner course

Update on French evening classes availability

Easy French...

Audio - soon here?

French events in September

Penrose as a collector, curator and apologist for Surrealism

No need to bored in Edinburgh!!

Shaken (and stirred)

New Bilingual Blog about Transsiberian Journey

From Russia (& Mongolia!) with love!

New Autumn French Classes!!

:: 5-10 MAY 2006 ::

:: Back!! ::

:: French Evening Classes ::