Programme
All talks start at 6.30pm at the Brighthelm Centre
A warm welcome from 6pm. All talks and activities are held in French
Talks and events 2025 – 2026
Fuller programme details to follow
2025
24 September: Social evening to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the Cercle Français de Brighton et Hove
8 October: Béatrice Moreau-Grey and Hilary Lowe – French literary prizes in France
Béatrice and Hilary spent the main part of the careers at Oxford Brookes University and over the years, have collaborated on several projects. On October 8 they will survey the ways in whichthe most prestigious French literary prizes work and then they will examine some of the most recent prize winners. Béatrice and Hilary will then draw their own conclusions on the importance of these prizes in defining the current literary scene in France.
Image: https://fr.statista.com/infographie/3954/les-prix-litteraires-français-assurant-le-plus-de-ventes
22 October: Peter Prowse – Le Canal du Midi … on a bike
In September 2023, Peter, with a friend for company, explored the 161km of the Canal du Midi by bike, from Toulouse to Sète, the Mediterranean port where singer Georges Brassens was born and died. During his talk, Peter will be showing many photos as well as sharing fascinating facts about the history of the Canal itself, about neighbouring towns (Toulouse, Narbonne, Carcassonne, Agde and Sète) and song liked to the beautiful southern French countryside.
12 November: Anne French – Tales of the Brighton Royal Pavilion and its inhabitants
26 November: Sue Collard – Emmanuel Macron and his presidency
10 December : Find out more about Hanoukka and Christmas in various countries
2026
28 January: Christopher Doidge – Music in France France, 1885 to 1890
11 February: Lyn Thomas – Annie Ernaux, novelist
25 February: Agnès Baetens – Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, two Belgian filmmakers
Creators of intensely naturalistic films about working class life in Belgium, brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne have created a notable body of work since 1996. The Dardennes’ films show young people at the fringes of society – immigrants, the unemployed, the inhabitants of shelters. Both Rosetta and L’Enfant were awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the only two Belgian films ever to earn the honour.
11 March: Sheryl Green – Women worldwide who served in the Allied Secret Services.
25 March: Karen Serres – Seurat et la mer
8 April: Brigitte Thibaut – Olympe de Gouges
22 April: Dan Lippman – Science at Versailles
Between the 1660s and the French Revolution of 1789 the palace of Versailles was a place of scientific enquiry. So much was achieved there – on a large and small scale : the spectacular dissection of an elephant in front of Louis XIV. Queen Marie-Antoinette’s watch (6 cms in diameter, and 823 components).
The enthusiasm of 3 Kings Louis gave rise to all sorts of inventions and innovations, and major advances in physics, botany, mathematics, surgery, astronomy….Well worth discovering !
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mike_Peel
13 May: Nathalie Morgan – subject to be confirmed
27 May : AGM and social evening with sale of secondhand French books
10 June : Annie Kean – subject to be confirmed
June : Matinée en plein air – venue to be confirmed
* * *
Previous talks – Saison 2024
25 September: Social evening and light-hearted quiz
9 October: French politics: an update – Béatrice Moreau-Gray
23 October: Social evening and secondhand French Book Sale
13 November: The real story of the French Revolution – Mike Wells
27 November: Songs of Paris – Peter Prowse and his guitar
11 December: When London turned Impressionist : Claude Monet’s Vues de la Tamise,1899 to 1904 – Karen Serres, Senior Curator of Paintings, Courtauld Gallery, London
22 January: Art in France, 1885 – 1900 – Christopher Doidge
12 February: Gérardmer, Pearl of the Vosges – Sylviane Case
26 February: The Life and Death of Coucy-le-Château – Suzanne Hinton
12 March: Cookery demonstrations – Bob Winton, and members of the Cercle
26 March: Clermont-Ferrand – Bob Winton
9 April: A music hall artist at the Panthéon – Brigitte Thibaut
23 April: Balzac and the French Revolution – Peter Smith
14 May: Corsica – Nathalie Morgan
28 May: AGM and social evening
11 June: Germaine de Staël, la bête noire de Napoléon – Annie Kean
16 juin : Guided visit of the Reform Synagogue, Palmeira Avenue
16 juillet : Matinée amicale aux St Anns Well Gardens.
Previous talks – Saison 2023-2024
27 September: Les Vendanges / The Grape Harvest – Gill Forte and members of the Cercle
11 October: Le français, langue d’Angleterre / French, England’s language – Simon Coffey
25 October: Traduire G Simenon / Translating Simenon – Ros Schwartz (with Claire Peligny)
8 November: Bruxelles / Brussels – Elspeth Broady
22 November: Les abeilles & le miel / Bees and their honey – Alain Caron
13 December: Honfleur – Dan Lippman
10 January: Social evening in French
24 January: Un parcours international / An international career – Jessica van Thiel
14 February: Je t’aime moi non plus / Speak to me of Love – Agnès Baetens
28 February: Madame de Sévigné – Suzanne Hinton et les membres du Cercle
13 March: La Rochelle – Isabelle Martin
27 March: Return to Vietnam – Dany Marx
10 April: Le Lapin Agile – Brigitte Thibaut
24 April: Questions d’actualité / Current affairs – Béatrice Moreau
8 May: Carcassonne – Nathalie Morgan
22 May: AGM in English and social evening (French and English)
Mercredi 12 juin – Matinée en plein air (English and French) Guided visit of All Saints Church in The Drive, Hove, BN3 3QE.
Previous talks – 2022-2023 Season
28 September: Soirée d’accueil / Welcome evening
12 October: Russian immigration to France around 1917 – Annie Kean
26 October: The Auvergne – Adriano Capuano
9 November: Café-théâtre parisien – Béatrice Moreau-Gray
23 November: Les Misérables: The novel of the century – Peter Smith
14 December: The Breton Connection – Frances Stenlake
11 January: Brian Walsh and his guitar
25 January: Belgium, with help from Jacques Brel – Francesca Delescluse
8 February: Fifteen years which transformed France: 1885 to 1900 – Christopher Doidge
22 February: From prisoners to tourists – Isabelle Martin
8 March: The first refugees : the Huguenots in England – Sue Delafons
22 March: Limoges: a town that is not just porcelaine – Robert Winton
12 April: Haute Couture – Brigitte Thibaut
26 April: Learning French through the ages – Suzanne Hinton
10 May: The Gorges of the Tarn – Nathalie Landroit
24 May: AGM