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Yearly Archives: 2015

18 Nov

A day at the office

Many of you, dear friends and readers, will be aware of my predilection for procrastination. Although not claiming the crown, I can safely say that I am at least one of the princes of that particular kingdom. With students, both in the kitchen and on Skype, come preparation work and marking, as it is all part of the full tutor support I offer to my clients. There is also preparation to be done for the France Show 2016, new resources for the Skype courses, and volumes 2 and 3 of the ALK course book are not going to write themselves…

All this to say I have plenty to do. Sadly, most of this does not get done if I stay at ALK HQ, also known as home, as I always manage to find something to do: cleaning, hoovering, what about a cake?, window cleaning, dishwasher emptying, you name it, I’ll prioritise it over ALK work.

So to remedy this situation, I have found the perfect solution: do not work from home. But where to go? Your local branch of any ‘friendly’ coffee shop chain? The park? The library?

Well, I consider myself lucky, because I have managed to find THE perfect place to work. Not far from ALK HQ is Sawyer & Gray, an independent coffee shop and eatery where I can do my 9 to 5, thanks to Darren and Marco, the owners. You see, they let me colonise one of the two ‘caves’ available, and without television or washing machine, the distractions are down to a minimum. So I work. Lots. Most of the Rusty volume was written there.

Steph keeps the hot drinks coming (I recommend the London Fog, but all the coffees are excellent), and the food, whether it be for breakfast, brunch or lunch, never fails to satisfy, so don’t hesitate and go for it, it’s all good! Today, I am having the special vegetable lasagna with walnut pesto.

Equally importantly, it is the friendly and efficient staff, the quirkiness of the décor, and the warm welcome that keep me coming back. How could I not, when I have found more than an office: a home from home. I consider working at Sawyer & Gray a privilege, and this for the price of a few coffees and excellent plates of home cooked food. So if you’re ever in the area, make sure you drop by to say hi to the team, take the weight off your feet and have a coffee and a piece of cake. Oh, and if you come downstairs and see Monsieur tALK in cave one, do say hello too!

http://www.sawyerandgray.co.uk 

UNE JOURNEE AU BUREAU

Certains d’entre vous, chers amis et lecteurs, sauront ma prédilection pour la procrastination. Bien que je ne revendique pas la couronne, je peux dire sans prendre de risque que je suis au moins un des princes de ce particulier royaume. Avec les étudiants, dans ma cuisine et via Skype, viennent préparation et corrections, qui font partie du service auquel mes clients ont droit. Je dois aussi me préparer pour le France Show 2016, créer de nouveaux exercices pour les leçons sur Skype, et les volumes 2 et 3 du cahier de cours ALK ne vont pas s’écrire tout seuls…

Tout ça pour dire que j’ai beaucoup à faire. Malheureusement, presque rien ne se fait si je reste au QG d’ALK, vu que je trouve toujours d’autres choses à faire: ménage, aspirateur, et si on faisait un gâteau?, carreaux, lave-vaisselle à vider, vous y pensez, je le ferai en priorité, avant de faire mon boulot pour ALK.

Alors pour remédier à cette situation, j’ai trouvé la solution idéale: ne pas travailler chez moi. Mais où aller? Votre branche locale d’une quelconque chaîne de cafés? Le parc? La bibliothèque? Je crois que j’ai de la chance, parce que j’ai réussi à trouver l’endroit IDEAL pour travailler. Pas très loin de QG d’ALK se trouve Sawyer & Gray, un café et restaurant indépendant où je peux passer ma journée de travail, grâce à Darren et Marco, les propriétaires. Parce que voyez-vous, ils me laissent coloniser une de leurs deux ‘cavernes’, et sans télé ou machine à laver, je n’ai presque plus aucune excuse. Alors je travaille. Beaucoup. Le plus gros du volume Rusty a vu le jour ici.

Steph me sert des boissons chaudes (je vous conseille le Brouillard Londonien, mais tous les cafés sont délicieux) et la nourriture, qu’elle soit pour le petit-déjeuner, brunch ou déjeuner, ne manque jamais de me satisfaire, alors n’hésitez pas à commander, tout est bon! Aujourd’hui, c’est lasagne de légumes avec pesto de noix.

Tout aussi important, c’est l’équipe amicale et attentive, le décor marrant et la chaleur de l’accueil qui me font revenir. Comment ne pourrais-je pas le faire, maintenant que j’ai trouvé plus qu’un bureau: un autre chez-moi. Je considère travailler à Sawyer & Gray comme un privilège, et tout ça pour le prix de quelques cafés et d’excellentes assiettes de cuisine maison. Alors si jamais vous vous trouvez dans le coin, ne manquez pas de passer dire bonjour à l’équipe, et à vous asseoir pour un café et une part de gâteau. Oh, et vous descendez les escaliers et remarquez Monsieur tALK dans la caverne numéro 1, venez aussi dire bonjour!

http://www.sawyerandgray.co.uk

16 Nov

A truffle weekend

What can you do? How do you say no? The allure of a weekend spent in Provence, hunting for truffles at the foot of Mont Ventoux and sampling the produce of Châteauneuf-du-Pape was too much to resist. So I didn’t. Hotel de Crillon-le-Brave, at the heart the eponymous village to which I return time and again in search of sunny experiences, offered me just that, and I greedily grabbed the opportunity.
Let’s skip the less interesting bits (early flight, car rental place and short drive from Marseille to the hotel) to concentrate on the essential, the magical, the superb: clear blue skies, sun merrily shining and temperatures impossible in the UK in early November. You don’t believe me? Look at the pictures…
As always, checking in at the hotel, received like friends by a team alert to your every needs, is a pleasure in itself, and this first evening unfolds like a dream, thanks in part to a superb meal from Chef Jérôme Blanchet, accompanied by delicious wines (yes, plural…) suggested by Benoît, the sommelier.
After a good night’s sleep (I can recommend room 31, view views over Ventoux and the dentelles de Montmirail), it’s time for breakfast on the sunny terrace and a short drive to Monteux, in order to meet Eric Jaumart, his family and Rambo, his truffle dog. Although a bit early in the season (which really only start in December at the earliest), Rambo did well to find a few Tuber Melanosporum, those delicious black diamonds. Luckily, the chef already had some specimen and served us a delicious lunch incorporating those treasures.
The following day (more glorious sunshine), we drove to Le Clos du Caillou, a lovely domaine, at the heart of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Being the designated driver, I couldn’t sample too many of the wines on offer, but I know they were all delicious, judging by my companions’ reactions. That evening, dinner was a set menu in honour of the truffle, and all I will say is that Chef Jérôme had done them proud.
Oh, and in the midst of this lovely weekend, I got to spend some time with my mummy, too, going as we did to the flea market at L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue… A great, long weekend, I tell you!

To pay a visit to Monsieur tALK’s friends, follow these links:
www.crillonlebrave.com
www.truffes-ventoux.com
www.closducaillou.com

UN WEEKEND TOUT A LA TRUFFE
Que faire? Comment dire non? L’attraction d’un weekend passé en Provence, à chasser les truffes au pied du Mont Ventoux et à goûter aux produits de Châteauneuf-du-Pape était trop forte pour y résister. Alors je n’ai pas résisté. L’Hôtel de Crillon-le-Brave, au coeur du village éponyme où je retourne fréquemment à la recherche de moments ensoleillés, m’a offert exactement ça, alors j’ai goulûment saisi l’occasion à deux mains.
Passons sous silence les passages moins intéressants (vol au petit matin, location de voiture et route de Marseille à l’hôtel) pour ne penser qu’à l’essentiel, au magique, au superbe: un grand ciel bleu, un soleil joliment brillant et des températures impossibles en Grande-Bretagne en début novembre. Vous ne me croyez pas? Regardez-donc les photos…
Comme à l’habitude, arriver à l’hôtel, pour être reçu comme des amis par une équipe attentive, est un plaisir en soi, et cette première soirée se passe superbement, grâce en partie à un superbe repas préparé par Chef Jérôme Blanchet, accompagné de vins (oui, au pluriel) conseillés par Benoît, le sommelier.
Après une bonne nuit (je vous conseille la chambre 31, avec vue sur le Ventoux et sur les dentelles de Montmirail), il est l’heure d’un petit-déjeuner ensoleillé en terrasse et un petit tour en voiture jusqu’à Monteux pour rencontrer Eric Jaumart, sa famille, et Rambo, son chien truffier. Bien qu’un peu tôt dans la saison (qui ne commence vraiment qu’en décembre), Rambo a réussi à trouver quelques Tuber Melanosporum, ces délicieux diamants noirs. Heureusement, le chef en avait déjà quelques specimens, et nous les a servis incorporés dans un superbe déjeuner.
Le lendemain (encore plus de soleil), nous nous sommes rendus au Clos du Caillou, un joli domaine au coeur de Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Etant le chauffeur du groupe, je n’ai pas pu déguster tous les vins offerts, mais je sais qu’ils étaient délicieux, à en juger les réactions de mes compagnons. Ce soir-là, le dîner était un menu autour de la truffe, et je me contenterai de dire que Chef Jérôme leur avait fait honneur.
Oh, et au milieu de ces festivités, j’ai aussi trouvé le temps de passer un peu de temps avec ma maman en allant au marché aux puces de L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue… Un super, long weekend, je vous le dis.

Pour rendre visite aux amis de Monsieur tALK, suivez ces liens:
www.crillonlebrave.com
www.truffes-ventoux.com
www.closducaillou.com

11 Nov

The FlashSticks wonder

You, assiduous readers, will remember that the Lime on a Bike had the pleasure to meet the enthusiastic (and oh so young!) FlashSticks people during the Language Show Live in London not too long ago. Aside from meeting the team, it was also the perfect occasion to talk about the launch of their new app, which I had the pleasure to test for them. So the least I can do now is to let you have my thoughts on this clever fusion of low and high technology.
Let’s start with the ‘low-tech’ end of the FlashSticks experience. The urge to place those sticky notes all over the place as you open the pack is too hard to resist, as you can see. Colour coded blue for masculine and pink for feminine nouns, they help you juggle the trickiest aspect of French by helping you remember the gender of things, and the green-coded verbs and adjectives are terrifically helpful too!
But onwards to the marvels of technology. Download the app and MAGIC! Those notes come to life: hover your phone over them and a member of the FlashSticks team will show you how to pronounce them. Your own genie in a bottle if you will! And that’s not all. With the premium version of the app, you can also undertake a fabulous journey through those exact same flashcards, learning tons of vocabulary, all very handily classed in categories that will help your brain compartmentalise and cross-reference them. Granted, the use of pretty colours and fun games might not be to everyone’s taste, but I have yet to meet a student who cannot learn when fun is injected into the teaching process.
So learning journey and colourful sticky notes aside, there is a final aspect of the app that never ceases to amaze me, and I have been playing with that function for weeks without tiring of it. The ‘Scan an Object’ function is simply A-MA-ZING. Honestly, it’s like having a little elf or a gremlin in your phone: take a picture of an object, and after a few seconds, there pops a description of said object in French (or any of the many languages other than French you can learn with FlashSticks). It is amazingly detailed, and as such can create some grammatical problems, but hit the ‘simplify’ button, and you have a reliable translation, which you can even hear from a native speaker. Magic, I tell you.
So if you’re looking for a fun way to improve your French (other languages available, as they say!), then I can heartily recommend FlashSticks.
Right, I’m off to find other things to scan… Au revoir!

LA MERVEILLE QU’EST FLASHSTICKS
Assidus lecteurs, vous vous souviendrez sûrement que le Citron Vert à Vélo a récemment eu le plaisir de rencontrer l’équipe FlashSticks, si enthousiaste (et tous si jeunes!), au Language Show Live à Londres. En plus de rencontrer ces jeunes gens, ce fut aussi l’occasion parfaite de causer du lancement de leur nouvelle app, que j’ai eu le plaisir de tester pour eux. Alors la moindre des choses est de vous raconter ce que je pense de cette fusion entre basse et haute technologie.
Commençons avec le coin ‘basse’ technologie de l’expérience FlashSticks. L’envie de placer ces notes collantes tout partout est simplement trop forte pour y résister, comme vous pouvez le constater. Qu’elles soient bleues pour les noms masculins ou roses pour les noms féminins, ces notes vous aident à jongler avec cet aspect le plus bizarre de la langue française en vous aidant à vous souvenir du genre des choses, et les notes vertes pour les verbes et adjectifs sont bien utiles aussi!
Mais passons aux merveilles de la technologie. Téléchargez FlashSticks sur votre téléphone et MAGIQUE! Ces notes prennent vie: faites flotter votre portable au-dessus de l’une d’elles et un membre de l’équipe vous montrera comment la prononcer. Votre propre génie dans la bouteille, en quelque sorte! Et ça n’est pas tout. Avec la version premium de cette app, vous pouvez aussi partir en voyage à travers ces mêmes notes, en apprenant des tonnes de vocabulaire, classé de façon très pratique en catégories pour aider votre cerveau avec le compartimentage et les références croisées. Je vous l’accorde, les jolies couleurs et les jeux amusants ne sont pas au goût de tout le monde, mais je n’ai jamais rencontré un étudiant qui n’apprend rien quand on injecte un peu de facétie dans l’art d’enseigner.
Alors jeux et notes collantes à part, il y a un dernier aspect de cette app qui ne cesse de m’épater, et voilà des semaines que je l’utilise sans m’en lasser. La fonction ‘Scanner un Objet’ est simplement IN-CROY-ABLE. Honnêtement, c’est comme si vous aviez un elfe ou un gremlin dans votre téléphone: prenez un objet en photo et après quelques secondes, voilà la description du dit-objet en français (ou tout autre des langues que vous pouvez apprendre avec FlashSticks). C’est tellement détailé que cela pose parfois quelques problèmes grammaticaux, mais choisissez de ‘Simplifier’, et vous obtiendrez une traduction à laquelle vous pouvez vous fier, et vous pouvez même l’entendre de la bouche d’un Français ou d’une Française pur beurre. Magique, je vous le dis.
Alors si vous cherchez un bon moyen d’améliorer votre français (autres langues disponibles, comme on dit souvent!), je vous conseille vivement FlashSticks.
Bon allez, je retourne chercher d’autres trucs à scanner… Bye bye!

18 Oct

Monsieur tALK goes to the Show

It’s big, it’s fun, it happens once a year: the Language Show Live came to London this weekend, and Monsieur tALK would not have missed it for the whole world! This year, the lime on a bike has made so many new Twitter friends who are into languages (sometimes known as #mfltwitterati) that he decided to go and see some of them at the show.

Sadly, he didn’t get to meet them all, and can only apologise for it, but he met two of them in particular, which he was very pleased about. And he also met some other people who came to chat to him, intrigued to see a lime in an emerald beret and carrying baguettes walking the aisles of the show!

The first peeps Monsieur tALK got to meet were the good FlashSticks® people. If you have not come across them yet, you’ll be able to read my review of the cool concept and app VERY soon! Monsieur tALK met the young and enthusiastic team, and especially Francesco and Lauren. It is so good to finally put faces to names after communicating for so long on social media. It is equally fabulous to see so much energy in this young team, all wanting to share their love for languages with as vast an audience as possible.

Having barely walked away from the FlashSticks stand, Monsieur tALK heard his name being called out by someone he recognised immediately: the delightfully animated Nathalie Paris, who drives a massive mobile library around the north of England, bringing the joys of French to hundreds of school children through reading, story telling and a lot of fun…

There were so many other people to meet and talk to that I cannot do them all justice through this short blog, so suffice is to say that Monsieur tALK was very happy to see them all. You can follow the links within this blog to the various platforms where you can find the lime’s friends, so please drop in to say hello!

 

MONSIEUR tALK VA AU SALON

C’est énorme, fun, et se passe une fois par an: le Language Show Live était à Londres ce weekend, et Monsieur tALK ne l’aurait manqué pour rien au monde! Cette année, le citron vert à vélo s’est fait tellement de nouveaux amis sur Twitter qui s’intéressent aux langues (plus connus sous le nom de #mfltwitterati) qu’il avait décidé d’aller faire un tour au salon pour en rencontrer quelques uns.

Malheureusement, il n’a pas pu tous les voir, et s’en excuse, mais il en a rencontré deux en particulier, ce qui lui a fait très plaisir. Et il a aussi fait la connaissance d’autres personnes, qui sont venues lui causer, vu qu’elles étaient intriguées de voir un citron vert en béret avec des baguettes sous le bras se déplacer dans les allées du salon!

Les premiers à passer sur le radar de Monsieur tALK furent les bonnes gens de FlashSticks®. Si vous n’en avez jamais entendu parler, vous pourrez lire ma revue de leur concept et de leur app super cool TRÈS bientôt! Monsieur tALK a dit bonjour à la jeune et enthousiaste équipe, et surtout à Francesco et Lauren. C’est vraiment sympa de finalement associer des visages à leur nom, après tant de communication sur les médias sociaux. C’est tout aussi fabuleux d’être témoin de tant d’énergie parmi cette jeune équipe, tous ne voulant que partager leur amour pour les langues avec une audience aussi vaste que possible.

Ayant à peine quitté ce stand, Monsieur tALK a entendu son nom crié par quelqu’un qu’il a immédiatement reconnu: la superbement animée Nathalie Paris, qui est normalement au volant d’une immense bibliothèque ambulante dans le nord de l’Angleterre, apportant les joies de la langue française à des centaines d’élèves à travers la lecture, les histoires et beaucoup de jeux…

Il y avait tant de personnes à rencontrer et à qui parler que je ne peux pas tous leur rendre justice dans ce blog trop court, mais il est suffisant de dire que Monsieur tALK était très content de tous les voir. Vous pouvez suivre les liens dans ce blog, qui vous mèneront aux diverses plateformes des amis du citron vert, alors s’il vous plait, passez leur dire bonjour!

07 Oct

Another guest!

Dear friends and readers, we have another guest on the blog. I asked the very clever, über tech-savvy and all-round fab man that is Rob to tell us about his experiences as a language learner, and after you read his wonderful piece, you will want to watch his vlog or contact him on Twitter… Here he is :

 

Being asked to write a blog as a non-blogger is a little difficult. Yes I create video content but it’s mainly an escape from my bad spelling and punctuation, plus it also enables me to ramble. The written word is something I have always loved but never been too eloquent with.

So enough of the excuses, I suppose I should get down to my story. Who am I? Well my name is Rob, and I am a self confessed language learner. I have been learning French now for over 2 years and although I am not yet to a level that I could call fluent, I am quietly confident that if dropped into the middle of a French speaking nation I could make myself understood.

My love of language started as a small child, one of my first memories of being fascinated with language was sitting in the Happy Eater (a very cheap 80s restaurant in the UK) and pretending to speak in a foreign tongue. This is something that carried through my childhood and I remember loving to listen to languages I couldn’t understand although I didn’t really know why.

Then I started high school at 12, and started having German lessons. Unfortunately this is where my story takes a dive, as because of low self image and lack of self belief, I thought, and had been told, that I was pretty bad at English, and so when difficulty hit I was never one to push through. I just gave up.

Now my English was always on the low side, the education system at that time in the UK taught nothing of basic grammar and then when grammar was discussed in English it was something I always thought was well over my head.

This all worked against me when it came to learning German! When you are taught a language, things have to be explained and those things are normally explained via grammar terms. So I fell right back into the black hole of “I don’t understand because I am stupid”. Truly believing I would never understand I started to flounder and unfortunately I missed out on a great opportunity to learn German.

So what happened? What changed? Well I grew up. I realised the things I believed about myself were not true and, because I am actually quite a logical person I reasoned that I could actually do it and would like to… So after a few dips into other things like BSL, Greek and Hebrew I finally took up the challenge of French.

Other than being able to count to 10, I had no knowledge really of French, but I started out on the intrepid adventure! 2 years later I have learned more than French, not only did I get a stronger base in the dreaded grammar, I actually found that it was one of the most fascinating things about the language learning process.

So what are my reasons for learning? If you follow anyone with an interest in language learning or someone who has learnt one or more languages, they will tell you that motivation and persistence is what makes your language learning successful, and I would have to agree. My motivation started as the dislike of the apathy for language that most English speakers have. There is a very big case of “well, the world speaks English, so why should I learn x”. This ignorance really saddens me and so what’s the best way to do something about that? Well it’s to do something about it yourself.

After that initial feeling, I love learning about cultures, I love the fun of idioms and grammar. I love food, I also love realising why people who have learnt English sometimes say things in what seems to be a strange way. Using one’s own grammar structures in a new language always brings a smile to my face and really shows how the brain is hardwired in its native tongue.

Language learning is part of my soul now, I have big plans to learn as many as I can for as long as I can – I’m not looking to become the best polyglot on the planet, but I am looking to grow in knowledge and understanding of people and cultures and to hopefully inspire people into learning new languages by showing them that if I can do it, anyone can.

We live in a vastly colourful world of expression, through our advanced tool of language. And what an amazing place to explore!

03 Oct

A very special guest!

Dear friends and readers, this week, I have a treat for you. I have convinced a dear friend of mine to write a little something for you from the point of you of a lover of languages and student of French. So without further ado, I give you A Polyglot Mum:

So here I am, sitting on the sofa at the A Polyglot Mum headquarters, writing a guest piece for the formidable Arnaud, whom I met over Twitter and has, over the last few months, become a firm friend and mentor, not to mention my Skype French conversation teacher.  It is a privilege for me to write for Arnaud in my capacity of languages student but I have to admit I am wracking my brains nervously to be remotely interesting so not to send you all to sleep, but perhaps it’s too late for that anyway!

So I’m Leila, and as my blog by-line says, I’m a mother, language learner and coffee drinker… I might have to put geek on the end of that, as am also currently going through a Star Wars-athon with the kids!

Languages have always been a passion for me, ever since I started learning French in secondary school way back when. Although I grew up bilingual speaking Farsi and English at home, I never really had too much exposure to European languages (although I knew who Alain Delon was!) and most of my time was taken up studying pianoforte from a very young age. There was no time for anything else. French was the first language I was introduced to in school and although I knew the usual words such as bonjour and au revoir, I promptly fell in love with it after hearing the musical nuances and beauty more and more in each word.

A year later, we also began learning German and that was it. Languages had burrowed their way into my heart and I went on to do the usual standard G.C.S.E. exams and at that point I would have gone on to A level but my parents made a big life decision and we moved… to America.

After a senior year studying Spanish over there, things took a different turn. I loved languages, yes, but there wasn’t really a huge push for anyone to learn them over there and so because I didn’t carry on, when I returned to the U.K. a few years later, I made a few decisions that changed my path (and my major to biochemistry) but not ones I regret at all, because I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t gone that way.

Fast forward a few decades and the usual life situations, I found myself at a point where I could finally devote some time to doing something I wanted to do. I tried my hand at a few different things. Food is also a passion of mine but having had my whole life embroiled in the restaurant family business; it wasn’t something I was going to commit to. The children were now old enough to entertain themselves and after much soul searching, I decided to get back into learning languages. Of course French would be on the list, I had managed to speak a little each time I visited France over the years so there was no question there and after a few conversations with the Open University, it was decided I would take Spanish as well.

I began reading for my degree in 2012 and chose The Open University for premium distance learning, and am now studying my final French module alongside Upper Intermediate Spanish. Because I am a little insane, I also sometimes study a bit of Dutch, but only sometimes, as spare TIME has become a very valuable commodity.

So there you have it, in a couple of years, I will have made the achievement of a lifetime, for me anyway, but there are so many more languages to learn too…Who knows? Maybe German and Italian will be next!

09 Sep

The story of Arnaud

Dear friends and readers,

What a treat!! I have the privilege of featuring as a guest in our friend Leila’s blog. Known on the Web as A Polyglot Mum, she is a language lover extraordinaire and a student of French and Spanish, on top of being a mum of 2!

You can read it all here.

Please, visit A Polyglot Mum’s Twitter and Facebook page and give them a follow and a like.

Happy reading!

 

Chers amis et lecteurs,

Quelle chance!! J’ai le privilège d’être l’invité d’honneur sur le blog de notre amie Leila. Connue sous le nom de A Polyglot Mum, elle adore les langues et apprend le français et l’espagnol, en plus d’être la maman de 2 bambins!

Vous pouvez lire le blog ici.

Et s’il vous plait, rendez visite à la page de A Polyglot mum sur Twitter et Facebook, et suivez-la donnez-lui un ‘Like’.

Bonne lecture!

07 Sep

Family secrets

Relax, I’m talking about family recipes here… This is a respectable blog, I’ll have you know! We all have favourite recipes, and some of them might even be treasured heirlooms, coming from fifteen generations back. Ok, maybe not that old, but it doesn’t mean they are not cherished.

My late maternal grandmother was a good French cook. Nothing too fancy, no high cuisine there, but robust, tasty dishes and desserts from her home region, Brittany, and her adopted home, Burgundy. That said, she could turn her hands to most things, and her cakes and tarts were things of beauty. What I am trying to say is that my grandma was more than good, she was a great cook.

She used to rear her own poultry and rabbits, and I was used to the ‘from pen to plate’ ethos of her cooking. Her roast chicken and ‘lapin en sauce’ were legendary. Coupled to the fresh produce from my grandpa’s garden, those made for fantastic family meals. One of our favourite starters was a fantastic rice salad with bits and bobs in it (that one is not quite a guarded secret, but we might come back to it later!), followed by a roast chicken with a potato gratin and maybe some green beans . Dessert was always a big deal, as my grandma loved to bake. Her cinnamon tart was amazing (I still can’t do pastry lattice like hers to put on top), and her chocolate cake… Well, that one is a family secret. And there was also an elaborate (in its preparation) gâteau basque, best kept for afternoon tea, as it wasn’t the most delicate of her confections and would not be enjoyed after a good meal!

My two favourite desserts are Grandma Dabet’s far breton, which regular readers will already know, and her marquise au chocolat, a fridge cake served with home-made crème anglaise. This one is quite rich and a total treat, but I can already let it slip that this will be the alternative dessert for the Christmas celebrations at ALK HQ…

 

DES SECRETS DE FAMILLE

Relax, je vous parle de recettes de famille… N’oublions pas que mon blog est bien sous tout rapport! Nous avons tous nos recettes préférées, et certaines d’entre elles font parfois partie d’un long héritage, qui nous suit depuis quinze générations. Ok, peut-être pas depuis aussi longtemps, mais ça ne veut pas dire qu’on n’y tient pas tout autant.

Ma grand-mère maternelle, qui vient de nous quitter, était bonne cuisinière. Rien de très compliqué, pas de haute cuisine, mais des plats robustes et goûtus et des desserts de sa région natale, la Bretagne, ou de sa région d’adoption, la Bourgogne. Cela dit, elle pouvait presque tout faire, et ses gâteaux et autres tartes étaient sublimes. Ce que j’essaye de vous dire, c’est que ma mémé était mieux que bonne cuisinière, c’était une super cuisinière.

Elle élevait ses volailles et ses lapins, et j’avais l’habitude de les voir passer de la basse-cour à la casserole. Son poulet rôti et son lapin en sauce étaient tous les deux légendaires. En y ajoutant les produits frais du jardin de mon grand-père, nous dégustions de délicieux repas de famille. Une de nos entrées préférées était une salade de riz fantastique avec des trucs et des machins dedans (la recette n’est pas secrète, mais on y reviendra sûrement!), suivie d’un poulet rôti avec un gratin de pommes de terre et peut-être quelques haricots verts . Le dessert était toujours un évènement, vu que ma mémé était également bonne pâtissière. Sa tarte à la cannelle était surprenante (je ne sais toujours pas faire les croisillons de pâte comme elle sur le dessus), et son gâteau au chocolat… Là, celui-là je le garde secret, pour le coup. On gardait un gâteau basque élaboré (dans sa préparation) pour le thé de cinq heures, vu qu’il n’était pas le plus léger de ses confections et n’était pas toujours apprécié à sa juste valeur à la fin d’un repas!

Mes deux desserts préférés qui me viennent de ma Mémé Dabet sont le far breton, que mes lecteurs assidus connaissent déjà, et sa marquise au chocolat, un dessert sans cuisson servi avec une tonne de crème anglaise maison. C’est un dessert riche et à manger avec modération, mais je peux vous confier qu’il sera le dessert un peu alternatif des célébrations de Noël au QG d’ALK…

20 Jul

Of very French idioms

I have just received Other cats to Whip, the Book of French Idioms, a very sweet little book by Zubair Arshad and Graham Clark. It contains many funny French phrases that you don’t meet everyday. That said, the book’s small dimensions belie its importance, as I truly believe that the use of idioms is a real evidence of that most elusive of language-learning goals: fluency.

In other words, if you can use the wonderfully quirky phrases contained in this little book (even the more risqué ones!), people will immediately think that you know your onions, as they say. Incidentally, this American phrase would be the origin of “s’occuper de ses oignons”, literally “taking care of one’s onions”, meaning “minding one’s business”, which is one of those weird and wonderful French phrases featured in Other Cats to Whip.

Each of the phrases in this delightful book comes with a very useful French sentence, giving the phrase in question context, and its English translation, plus two of the most important words in the phrase. I think this is very good, as it is helping you to understand the phrase and to extend your vocabulary. I also really like the layout of Other Cats to Whip, as its ‘one-phrase-per-page’ approach doesn’t leave you confused and gives each hilarious or more serious phrase equal importance.

The illustrations by Ruxandra are funny, witty and often inventive, and they truly help you remember the phrases, especially if like me you are a visual learner. I particularly love the picture of the grandma on her bike (you are going to have to get the book if you don’t know the French phrase it refers to!)

What I really like about Other Cats to Whip is that it isn’t a jokey little book; it is serious but has a great sense of humour, and shows a great grasp of its subject matter: I’m French and I roared with laughter at some of those phrases. Maybe I don’t have lights on every floor? I don’t think so, it’s just a great book!

You can purchase the book here:

http://thebookoffrenchidioms.com

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DES EXPRESSIONS BIEN FRANÇAISES

Je viens de recevoir Other cats to Whip, the Book of French Idioms, un super petit livre de Zubair Arshad et Graham Clark. Il contient plein d’expressions françaises qu’on utilise pas tous les jours. Cela dit, les petites dimensions du livre cache son importance, car je suis convaincu que l’utilisation d’expressions imagées est la preuve du Saint Graal de l’apprentissage de la langue: l’aisance à s’exprimer.

En d’autres termes, si vous savez utiliser les expressions biscornues contenues dans ce petit livre (et même celles les plus risquées!), vos interlocuteurs penseront immédiatement que vous ‘connaissez vos oignons’, comme on dit aux Amériques. A propos, cette expression américaine serait à l’origine de “s’occuper de ses oignons”, au sens de “s’occuper de ses propres affaires”, qui est d’ailleurs une de ces belles et bizarres expressions que recèle Other cats to Whip.

Chacune des expressions de ce charmant livre vous est livrée avec une phrase en français très utile, vu qu’elle met l’expression en question en contexte, et sa traduction anglaise, en plus de deux des mots les plus importants. Je crois que c’est une bonne idée, puisque cela vous aide à comprendre l’expression tout en améliorant votre vocabulaire. J’aime aussi beaucoup la mise en page de Other cats to Whip, qui, avec son style ’une-expression-par-page’, n’est pas déroutante et donne à chaque expression, qu’elle soit hilarante ou plus sérieuse, sa juste place.

Les illustrations de Ruxandra sont amusantes, futées et souvent inventives, et elles vous aident vraiment à mémoriser les expressions, surtout si comme moi vous apprenez beaucoup mieux à travers le visuel. J’aime surtout le dessin de la grand-mère sur son vélo (vous allez devoir acheter le livre si vous ne voyez pas de quelle expression je veux parler!)

Mais ce que je préfère surtout à propos de Other cats to Whip, c’est que ça n’est pas un livre de blagues, c’est sérieux mais plein d’humour, et maîtrise bien son sujet: je suis français et j’ai éclaté de rire en tombant sur certaines expressions. Mais c’est peut-être que je n’ai pas la lumière à tous les étages? Non, c’est simplement que que c’est un super petit livre!

Vous pouvez acheter le livre ici:

http://thebookoffrenchidioms.com

Vous pouvez montrer votre soutien sur Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/thebookoffrenchidioms