Our French Conversation Group got the year off to a good start on Tuesday 07 January 2025 with a selection of stories and commentaries presented by the members of the Group.

There were two songs from Georges Brassens (1921-1981), an extremely popular singer of songs who accompanied himself on guitar. One song told the story of Helen’s Clogs, and the second told the story of the Little White Horse. That was followed by a piece that discussed the practicality of the 4-day Working Week, and how it could be adopted over a period of time by those working in offices rather than in shops or factories.

We then heard the story of a little girl making mud-pies in the garden and discovering that a hedgehog had made its home at the bottom of the garden. From mud-pies, we quickly raised the tone to look at the early life of the French painter Eugène Delacroix.

The ‘charm’ continued with an excerpt from the French version of Harry Potter in which Professor Dumbledore explains the relationship between Harry Potter and he whose name must never be mentioned!

We rounded the session off with two philosophers. There was Alfred de Vigny examining the concept of an idea, and finally we had the moment in which memories flood back to the narrator in La Recherche du Temps Perdu as he dunks his madelaine cake into a cup of black tea.

Our group will resume its normal sessions on Thursdays on 06 February 2025.