Wednesday, July 12

14 July! BASTILLE DAY CELEBRATIONS!




Allons enfants de la patrie! Today is France's national day, known to the Brits as Bastille Day, although the French call it the 14th of July.


In case anyone is looking for me over the next few days, I shall be watching fireworks on the beach in Normandie and then dancing in the market square with the Henri Marchand Orchestra (whoever they happen to be!)

For the record: July 14 is celebrated as Bastille Day in France. The Bastille was a prison in Paris, which the people stormed and seized in 1789, starting the French Revolution that toppled King Louis XVI and the aristocracy.

Just to remind themselves that the aristocracy have now been replaced by the bureaucracy, we light up the skies with half the world's fireworks, which I think gets flown in by Ryanair and AirFrance and Easyjet and Atlas Blue -- from wherever people don't particularly like the French and thus do not want to celebrate their Liberte Fraternite Egalite with them. We also put coloured lights and flags up in every little village square, bring out the wonky tables and chairs from the cellar, dust down the grannies and help the grandpa's find their teeth where they had put it away safely after the last 14th July celebrations, and we sing the Marseillaise with fiery zeal.

For the record: "La Marseillaise" was composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792. It became the song of the revolution. The first stanza is:

Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé.
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé.

Which means

Arise, children of the nation!
Our day of glory is here.
For against us we see raised
Tyranny's bloody banner!


The French composer Hector Berlioz later arranged the song for a chorus and orchestra. Where the composer normally instructs "tenors and basses," Berlioz wrote "everyone with a voice, soul, and blood in his veins." After another revolt in 1830, there was new interest in La Marseillaise. De Lisle wrote Berlioz a letter of appreciation for his arrangement, and invited Berlioz to discuss a libretto that de Lisle had written, but de Lisle died before they could meet. Hearing the rousing arrangement by Berlioz makes one want to jump up and storm the Bastille all over again.

The bit I sing the loudest is the last bit though--

Aux armes, citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons!
Marchons, marchons, qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons!

To arms, citizens!
Form your batallions!
march, march
so that the impure blood
may drench our tilled soil!


(But then -- I do tend to get carried away when the flag is flying and the bands are playing......)


Why not join in spirit,(forgive the pun) even if you cannot be in France for the occasion?



Recipes with which to storm the Bastille:


French Revolution

1 oz. brandy
2 oz. framboise
3 oz. Champagne

Mix ingredients in a flute. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Marie Antoinette

1 splash strawberry liqueur
1 splash Cointreau
1 splash calvados
1 splash fresh lemon juice
4 oz. Champagne

Combine all ingredients, except Champagne, in a shaker filled with ice. Strain into a flute and slowly add the Champagne.

Cafe de Paris Cocktail

1 1/4 oz. gin
1 tsp. Pernod
1 tsp. Half-and-Half
1 egg white

Combine all with cracked ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Bastille Day

1 oz. Cognac
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1 tsp. bar sugar
3 oz. chilled Champagne

Shake Cognac, lemon juice, and sugar with crushed ice. Strain into fluted Champagne glass. Top with Champagne. Garnish with lemon twist, if desired.











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    Tuesday, July 11

    Photography and Photoshop Workshops at the Chateau in August



    Treat yourself this holiday! Learn to (really)use your digital camera! Take two days off from sightseeing and come learn how to immortalise your memories of your stay in France - with excellent photography and/or photoshop!





    LET YOUR PICTURES TELL THE STORY

    Join Suzanna Clarke for a day as we take some intriguing images of the picturesque region we live in. Learn how to create images that are both works of art and communicate the spirit of place. Our aim is to take a series of wonderful shots that may be exhibited in a group art show.

    Programme:

    This one day workshop will cover:

    -- Composition: ways of seeing beyond the obvious. Breaking down a scene into details and framing it in interesting ways.
    --- Light: creating atmosphere by using different types of light. How to both plan for effect and also make the best of existing lighting conditions.
    -- Portraiture: Candids and posed portraits that help to reveal the character of the subject.
    -- Movement: learn the tricky skill of panning to give an added sense of excitement and how to create unusual pictures using time exposure.
    You will need: --a digital camera that has manual settings;
    --beg or borrow (but don't steal) a small tripod if you don't have
    one;
    --to download pictures, a laptop would be handy if you have one.
    --comfortable clothing and walking shoes


    --The day will start at 07:30am at the Chateau Lalinde and include a coffee and croissant breakfast
    --a working lunch will be served on the Chateau terrace
    --and at the end of the day everyone will convene to study the day's work, get feedback and enjoy a glass of wine.
    --There will be theory as well as field work done during the day -- and the group will be doing some walking as well as going out (transport provided) on location shooting


    __________________________________

    Each participant will also have one enlarged and framed photograph, chosen from their work by Suzanna and yourself, displayed at a small exhibition in Lalinde (venue to be announced) -- whether you want this photograph made available to be sold, or keep it for yourself, will be up to you!

    __________________________________


    Suzanna Clarke:

    Suzanna Clarke is a professional photojournalist from Australia whose photographs have graced newspapers, magazines, books, postcards, advertising campaigns and exhibitions for over twenty years. Widely renowned for her travel photography, she is currently producing a book on Morocco for Penguin. Her regular job is as a photojournalist for News International. As well as covering news events in Australia, she has worked in trouble spots in Indonesia, East Timor and Asia and done travel stories on Greece , Vietnam, the Czech Republic, Eire, France, Italy, Austria, New Zealand and the UK. Clarke's photographic work has been the subject of major government touring exhibitions and has been used to promote Australia at World Expos. Previously as a freelancer she has worked for Travel and Life magazine (now Conde Nast Traveler), New Scientist, Illustrated Science (Scandinavia), The Bulletin/Newsweek, Time Magazine, WWF, numerous tourism commissions and interior design magazines. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Communication, a Masters degree in Creative Writing and has also worked part-time as a university lecturer. Clarke is skilled and enthusiastic teacher who thoroughly enjoys sharing her love of photography.
    See some of Suzanna's work here

    _________________________________________________


    Sunday 13 August:

    CREATE MAGIC WITH PHOTOSHOP




    Have you ever wondered how to turn a normal photograph into something that looks like this? Lesley Trett will show you on your laptop how you can change any photograph with the use of the Photoshop programme.

    Programme

    This one day workshop will cover:


    Introduction to Photoshop - its working area, tools and palettes.
    Resolution issues and cropping images to size - get your picture the right size without losing image quality.
    Image adjustment and colour balance - adjusting an image to get the colour and black and white levels correct.
    Making selections - the most important techniques to learn: an introduction to a variety of methods to use depending on what it is you want to select.
    What to do with selections once you have created them - changing colours; moving parts of an image onto another; layering.
    Using layers effectively - understanding the layers palette and how to be creative with layering images.
    Repairing and correcting - how to get rid of that annoying telephone wire across the sky along with other useful tips.
    Using colour channels - what are they exactly and what can you use them for???
    Having fun with blending modes! - Blending layers together can create unusual and compelling imagery - you'll be amazed at what you can achieve!

    --The day will start at 09:00am at the Chateau Lalinde and include
    --a working lunch with wine which will be served on the Chateau terrace
    --at the end of the day, at 4:00pm, everyone will convene to study the day's work, get feedback and enjoy another glass of local wine.
    --There will be theory but mostly pratical work done during the day -- Please note: You do not need to be an expert on a computer or with a camera : Lesley will take you through it step by step.
    It would be helpful if you could bring a laptop with you. We can provide a couple to those who do not have laptops, but only computers at home.
    em>


    __________________________________


    Lesley Trett

    Lesley Trett was for twelve years a lecturer in computer applications within Graphic Design, at degree level, at Somerset College of Arts and Technology where she taught Photoshop, QuarkXpress, Freehand and Illustrator. In addition to her faculty duties, Lesley also ran her own successful Graphics Design business in the UK. She now operates that business here in France, where she is also under contract to a national newspaper.

    With an impressive client list, which includes a well-known health insurance company, fashion houses, galleries, record companies and a London Magazine, Lesley has established a well deserved reputation in this fast evolving art form.
    Lesley is a specialist in Photoshop techniques (although these techniques are pretty much common to all similar imaging programs, e.g. Paint Shop Pro) and of course, with major camera manufacturers now ceasing production of film cameras, knowledge of digital techniques is becoming increasingly necessary to any keen photographer.
    As a qualified teacher (Certificate of Education) Lesley is able to demonstrate and facilitate beginners and advanced learners in complicated technical aspects of Photoshop in a clear and understandable way without using lots of technical jargon!




    • Full Day Workshop :
    Let your pictures tell the Story : Suzanna Clarke
    Saturday 12 August, 07h30 to 17h00
    Au Château Lalinde, 1 rue de Verdun, Lalinde.
    Participation 180€ (inclusive of breakfast, lunch with a glass of wine, transport to locations, files with printed notes, one framed photograph exhibited)
    Tél. : 05 53 22 80 94
    e-mail: twoxscotch@gmail.com
    (limited to a small group, early booking essential)

    • Full Day Workshop :
    "Create Magic with Photoshopping!" : Lesley Trett
    Sunday 13 August, 09h00 to 16h30
    Au Château Lalinde, 1 rue de Verdun, Lalinde.
    Participation 150€ (inclusive of lunch with a glass of wine, files with printed notes, one framed print of your work exhibited)
    Tél. : 05 53 22 80 94
    e-mail: twoxscotch@gmail.com
    (limited to a small group, early booking essential)

    Please note:
    There is a special price if both workshops are attended. For the TWO workshops, the cost of participation is only 300€. Payment of fees upon booking




    ________________________________________________________________






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    Homestay in a French Chateau on the Dordogne River!





    In the article on News from the Dordogne we published the results of a recent survey on typical tourists and visitors to the Dordogne, which said:




    A survey has recently highlighted marked differences in approach between members of different nationalities visiting the Dordogne. The British are apparently noted for their fondness for guided tours, whatever the weather, as well as for their fondness for golf. The Germans head for churches and abbeys. Italians, who come principally in August, enjoy château life and the local cuisine. Spaniards, on the other hand, are visitors throughout the year, and immediately seek out the Vesunna museum in Périgueux, whose architect, Jean Nouvel, is a well-known French figure in Spain. Dutch and Belgians resume their native cycling habits and get on their bicycles to explore the countryside.




    When one looks at the location of Lalinde, you would have a hard time to find a spot more suitable as a base from where to do all these activities!




    When it comes to golf, the courses in this area abound.

    For golf courses in the Aquitaine, click here.





    Churches and Abbeys are the best -- remember, we are right in the heart of the Pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela Country!



    Cyclists and hikers alike love this area as it not only offers interesting and varied routes through some of the most beautiful scenery, but a wide choice of villages and hamlets where they are welcomed and treated warmly and generously. This is also the most beautiful and interesting centre from where to take guided horse riding tours, and as for architecural and historic sites, I can safely say that nowhere in the world is there such a variety of historic, prehistoric and archeological sites.





    And then, to stay in and use as your base - or as a home-from-home a little jewel of a chateau, right on the edge of the Dordogne river, you will surely exclaim, as a guest recently did: "I think I have died and gone to heaven!"





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    Monday, July 10

    Next literary evening at the Chateau almost sold out!

    A last reminder!

    There are only a few tickets left for our next literary event -- so do not delay -- book your seats now!




    Saturday 22 July at 18h00 the best selling Australian author, Sandy McCutcheon, is our next Visiting Author.
    This is an example of what is said about him :
    McCutcheon is almost without peer as master of the circuitous conspiracy genre of spy thriller, on the top shelf with Britain's Henry Porter. He writes political thrillers that underline the notion of corrosive international villainy and the fragility of civilisation in the hands of a shabby, miasmic intelligence culture. His trick is to weave the headlines of real life into fictional action, in prose dressed down to contemporary-bleak, with terrific dialogue and a travel writer's sense of place.’ (--The Weekend Australian)
    But, the topic of his talk to us will be mainly covering his latest masterpiece (already, six weeks after its launch, in its record breaking third print!),
    Black Widow
    . He will be speaking on:


    FROM FACT TO FICTION

    - Using fact as a spring board for fiction – reading the fault-lines of history to establish plausible future scenarios.
    - Counter-spin – untangling the webs of disinformation.
    - Creating a sense of place – creative geography and its role in establishing credibility.
    - The ethics of 'faction' – whose truth is it anyway?
    - A question of voice – selecting a point of view.
    - Texture, threads and motifs – developing the character's internal landscapes.
    - The role of research and when to let it go.


    For everyone who loves good literature, who is interested in current affairs, who feels strongly about political spin and counter-spin, who would love to know how to write that book that is lurking inside all of us, or who simply wishes to spend an enjoyable hour with a brilliant raconteur or best selling author, this is definitely an evening you do not want to miss!


    A limited number of copies of Black Widow have been flown in especially and are available from myself (books at the cost price of 16€), as well as tickets for the talk, (tickets at no cost with the purchase of a book, or 10€ without the book).
    Contact: 05 53 23 80 94




    ________________________________________________________________



    • Conférence : "From Fact to Fiction" with Sandy McCutcheon
    Saturday 22 July 18h00
    Au Château Lalinde, 1 rue de Verdun, Lalinde.
    Participation 10€ (without the book) or 16€ (with the book)
    Tél. : 0553 22 80 94




    ________________________________________________________________



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    Zizou - Zidane has scored another goal!




    .....This time for the Chateau Lalinde Blog! Amazing!
    When I checked my site meter this morning to see who - and where my readers are, I noticed a marked and drastic increase in the number of readers of this blog, the variety of countries around the world where the blog was being read -- as well as the time readers were spending here.

    My first reaction was that the new advertisement that I have taken out on the French Entree website must already be paying off -- Big Time! But then I went further and looked up what the referring urls were for all the hits on the site, and although there was quite a big number of visits through the French Entree site, the majority came through search engines with the search words "Zinedine" "Zidane" "Arab" "Muslim" "Veronique".


    In a film clip from the BBC Sports, Zinedine Zidane is given a tumultuous and joyous welcome home in Paris with the French team, despite his sending off in the World Cup final. (01:40 mins) President Chirac recognises the brilliance and contribution of this young man, rather than the unfortunate act that caused him to be sent off under a red card in his very final game. "You have the admiration and the affection of the entire French nation," he said in a touching message to the fallen hero. "You are a genius of the world of football!" And the President of France spoke for the nation, it seems, as more than 65% of the 1000 people over the age of 15 years polled yesterday do not condemn their hero for losing his temper for that brief fatal moment in the closing stages of extra time on Sunday night. 55% even stated that they could understand completely his reaction to the unnoted provocation of the Italian defender Marco Materazzi.

    In a world where true heroes are far and few between, where children are raised on a menu of random violence in the news, on television, in electronic games, in the playground at school, where the most powerful nations can go unchecked into another country and rape, mutilate and kill innocent people, when a young man like Zidane who comes from a often-maligned ethnic minority and a background where violence was part of his everyday life, it is hard to take sides or to see this issue only in black and white.

    Sportsmen have been giving in to anger more and more over the last few years -- and even tennis players, (probably starting with McEnroe), are seen to lose their tempers often on the courts --- but their tantrums are tut-tutted and swept away in a wink with no more than a fine and a rap on the knuckles. In many team sports players with a burning passion and latent anger are sought after even, as this energy enhances and strengthens the performance of the team and the excitement for the spectator is guaranteed to be as intense as it would have been for the Romans watching slaves fighting the beasts in the Collosseum.

    What made Zidane's action different was of course that he was not only the captain of the national team, but also the role model for thousands, if not millions of young disadvantaged children and youths not only in France, but around the world. We do not need a World Cup to realise the importance of the game, and the huge influence it plays all over the planet -- not only in the developing nations, but in advanced and rich nations alike.

    Much will be written about Zizou and his moment of anger on the field in the days and weeks and years ahead, no doubt, but, when he is judged, may no one forget the effect of this young man's courage and determination as a role model to all youth, the inspiration he has provided to the downtrodden in the slums of the big cities around the world, the respect he has earned with his athletic genius as a sportsman and as a brilliant captain to his nation's team.








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    Zidane -- the flawed genius

    Last night I arrived back in Lalinde to find what seemed like the entire village in the square, drinking and eating and preparing to watch the Big Game between France and Italy on the big screens put outside the little bistro.

    An atmosphere of festivity and excitement prevailed -- and if I had not been travelling for the past 40 hours - buses, trains, planes - and hours and hours in airports and train stations, waiting for connections, I would have joined my fellow Lalindois and watched the game with them -- but although the spirit was willing, the flesh was done for, and I had to admit defeat and come watch the game from the comfort zone of my bed.

    And what a pity that turned out to be --- when the saddest of sad moments arrived -- not the penalty kick shoot out and the ultimate defeat of Les Bleus, but the moment when Zidane meted out that fatal headbutt, instead of having a crowd around me to join in shouting out our surprise and rage and disappointment, I had to quietly blink away the tears and mourn my hero......

    There was no fairytale ending to Zinedine Zidane's storybook career yesterday.

    The 34-year-old Frenchman steps down from his position as the greatest player of his generation, having tasted success at World Cup, European Championship and Champions League level, but alongside his three World Player of the Year awards and his La Liga and Serie A titles, Zidane's career will be forever remembered for a moment of madness on the world's biggest stage.

    It was a night when his reputation was tainted forever - when he showed he could not control his temper like he can a football -- an ugly departure for someone whose artistry so often lit up the beautiful game.

    As mentioned in an my earlier entry, as disappointing and shocking as this incident was, it was not the first time the dark side of France's flawed footballing genius has emerged. Zidane grew up in a tower block in a poor estate in Marseille, known mainly for its high unemployment and suicide rate and he once admitted his "desire never to stop fighting is something else I learnt in the place where I grew up".

    Zidane overcame early rejection - he was born to Algerian parents but the Algerian national coach said he was too slow. His boyhood idols Marseille judged him not good enough. Instead he got his chances with Cannes, and then Bordeaux, before Juventus came calling, and there he won two straight Serie A titles and reached successive European Cup finals. The midfield maestro finished on the losing side on both occasions, but any disappointment at the defeat by Real Madrid in the 1998 final was soon erased with France's World Cup victory on home soil that summer. And then Zidane emerged as France's inspiration after a two-match ban for stamping on Saudi Arabia skipper Fuad Amin in the group stages. Skipper Didier Deschamps put his indiscretion down "to his Mediterranean character, which he cannot always control".

    At the time, regretful Zidane explained: "'My nervousness and my conduct were due principally to the pressure I have been under. I will learn." -- He may not have learned his lesson but he was quickly forgiven and his two goals in the final sealed the trophy.

    Zidane's image was projected onto the Arc de Triomphe and the French public called for him to be made president.

    This morning the press expressed its disappointment without condemnation:
    "A final and odious headbutt. We were left speechless by such stupidity" - Figaro
    "This exit from football is unworthy of him" - Le Parisien
    "How could this happen to a man like you?" - L'Equipe
    "He is prone like all of us to weakness and anger" - La Montagne
    "Too much pressure, too much worshipping of a player who was made for a quiet, simple life" - La Republique du Centre

    Although everyone desperately tried to find the reason -- A reason for his action, no-one seems to be able to explain his idiotic act, but at the same time fans insisted France would not turn against him. Even France's president Jacques Chirac preferred to remember Zidane for what he had done for the country and displaying "the greatest human qualities", and French fans also turned up in their thousands to cheer Zidane and the team on their return to Paris this morning.

    But Sunday was still a final reminder of the human frailty of a player who so often looked like he was from another planet.








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    Back from the Land of the Rising Sun, delicious food, beautiful people, superb art galleries, sweet smelling tatamis, breath-taking scenery, serene shrines and temples -- and the ultimate pleasure of the Japanese bath house...

    .....and I took up the challenge and made my first Japanese speech! Who ever said anything is not possible?




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