Programme
All talks start at 6.30pm at the Brighthelm Centre
A warm welcome from 6pm. All talks and activies are held in French
Talks and events 2023 – 2024
2024
24 July : Meet for an informal chat in French. St Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove from 10.30am. Meet on the lawns in front of the café.
25 september Social evening and light-hearted quiz
9 october French politics: an update – Béatrice Moreau-Gray
23 october The English and the Savoie region – Brigitte Conseil
13 november Alsace-Lorraine – Jean-Luc Caspar
27 november Songs of Paris – Peter Prowse et sa guitare
11 décember When London turned Impressionist : Claude Monet’s Vues de la Tamise,1899 to 1904 – Karen Serres, Senior Curator of Paintings, Courtauld Gallery, London
2025
8 January Social evening and French Book Fair
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 Josephine Baker – Brigitte Thibaut
23 April Balzac and the French Revolution – Peter Smith
14 May Title to be confirmed – Nathalie Morgan
28 May AGM and social evening
* * *
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