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Wine Tasting (2nd October 2025)
It’s Les Vendanges season in France but for our members it was time for a dégustation of French organic wines. The tasting was held at the Ealing Wine Co in Northfield Avenue and the seven wines (one fortified) were chosen by Chris of Vintage Roots and Nick the proprietor of Ealing Wine. It was an eclectic range varying from a Crémant from Alsace to a Pineau des Charentes. Chris emphasised the pairing of wines and food. His most interesting connection was his recommendation of drinking orange wines (the one we tasted was “Arrogant Frog Orange”) with curries.
The wines were accompanied by a delicious cheeseboard provided by Frank’s Deli. On a show of hands our favourite tipple was the Pineau de Charente. The white pineau is normally served neat but can also be served up as a delicious aperitif “pineau tonic” which as the name suggests is a mixture of pineau and tonic water. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and as la cerise sur le gâteau we are optimistic that we have recruited some new members.
Boules (13th July 2025)
It was a pleasant day for boules on Sunday July 13th – the weather was not too hot, sunshine and cloud with a bit of a breeze.
We all picknicked and chatted in the shade under the trees and just about everybody played. There were only about 24 of us, a smaller group than in previous years, which was a pity. A number of the usuals were on holiday and perhaps some were deterred by the possibility of hot weather. Our amazing trophy was won by Penny and Moira.
Thanks go to Gill, Jean, Colin, Penny and Robin for their sterling work in ensuring the pitch was fit to play on!
Pique-nique (May 2025)
This year we were the guests of “nos amis” for our annual picnic. Twenty-three of us set off by coach on Saturday morning to take the ferry to Calais and then on to Dunkirk where we were to spend the night.
On arrival there was time to go for a stroll around the harbour, enjoy some refreshments in a harbour café as well as possibly visiting the local supermarché to purchase provisions for the following day. This turned out to be a holiday weekend in France (Ascension Day) so Kathryn had wisely booked tables for us at a nearby restaurant overlooking the harbour.
On Sunday morning we were off to Bergues, our picnic destination a short distance away. This is an attractive town surrounded by ramparts and canals and known to French cinema buffs as the setting for the 2008 film Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis. We made our way through the narrow streets to a spacious community hall where we were greeted by our hosts who had already laid out tables heaving with an assortment of dishes. People mixed well and as well as plentiful and varied food and no shortage of wine there was the buzz of conversation (mainly in French) as we all caught up on news and met some of the new members present.
After lunch most of us walked the short distance into the town centre
(accompanied by column of the town’s population of Toulouse geese for which it is known and which are also depicted on murals) where some of our more energetic members climbed the UNESCO listed belfry which boasts beautiful views over the surrounding countryside.
Sadly, it was then time to retrace our steps to meet our coach and after our goodbyes we set off back to Calais. This was a most convivial and enjoyable break and everything ran smoothly thanks to the hard work and efficiency of our valiant organisers Kathryn and Joanne.
Intensive English Weekend (27th – 30th March 2025)
We welcomed twenty French guests to Ealing for the annual Intensive English Weekend. As usual they attended classes on Thursday after their lunchtime arrival with lessons continuing all day on Friday and on Saturday morning.
There was positive feedback from the participants who reported that all the lessons were interesting and stimulating. Many said they enjoyed the variety of subjects and the fact that they had different teachers with different
approaches and styles. This year our soirée took place on the Friday evening (Saturday being reserved for a performance of My Fair Lady at the Questors). This was open as usual to all members as well as guests and hosts and was an excellent cold buffet held at the Brentham Club. It was a very convivial evening and gave those of us who were not hosting the opportunity to catch up with old friends as well as meet newcomers among our “amis”.
Intensive French Weekend (13th – 16th March 2025)
Six of us made the 9am Eurostar trip to Lille where we were cordially greeted by two of the Amis d’Ealing. One of them kindly took our suitcases in his car so that we could enjoy the afternoon unencumbered while the other joined us for lunch at Les Trois Brasseurs, so we had an earlier than usual injection of French with interesting discussions touching on French wartime history. We spent so long chatting over lunch that we didn’t have time for the usual visit to the Grand’place as we had to hurry to get the bus to the Château Vanderhaeghen.
Our French lessons started at 3pm and we learned some interesting expressions involving parts of the human body. If you have “un coeur d’artichaut” it means you fall in love easily! During our 10 hours of lessons we learned that the French have similar issues to us regarding (particularly) young people developing a whole new language due to texting. “Je ne sais pas” is abbreviated to “JSP” and this is even used in the spoken language. We heard about the infiltration of anglicisms into the language – who would have thought the once proud French would stoop to saying “j’ai overbooké” (I’ve overbooked) and many more such clangers.
I think all of us were fêted by our particular hosts (I know I was) and we all enjoyed the Friday lunch at the crêperie and a delicious and varied “auberge espagnole” (American supper) on Saturday evening with wonderful friendly exchanges. I, for one, left Britain rather depressed by global events but French hospitality, generosity and conviviality soon dispelled that. I can’t recommend the French Weekend Intensif highly enough and hope that more people will take part in the next one!
Musical Evening (28th February 2025)
On 28th February about 50 FOM members and friends enjoyed an evening of French songs, along with a few poems, at Open Ealing. The programme was varied and included contributions from some our own talented members. David, Mary and Bernadette (aka The Elderberries) performed a selection of traditional songs while Eileen, Colin and Dennis brought back memories with Auprès de ma blonde, J’attendrai and Les feuilles mortes.
Some members chose favourite songs which we listened to on Youtube. Popular choices included Prendre un enfant par la main from Moira and Michelle and Charles Aznavour’s Emmenez-moi chosen by Nicole and Françoise. The second half of the programme was devoted to a performance by Stewart Hyde, a singer and guitarist who for many years has had a special interest in learning about and performing French songs. He was a delight to listen to, treating us to, among others, Ne me quitte pas (Jacques Brel), Nuages (Django Reinhart) and Hymne à l’amour (Edith Piaf).
Thanks go to Jean Fitzpatrick who ably organised this very enjoyable and nostalgic evening.
Hastings Walking Weekend (October 2024)
Boules (21st July 2024)
Intensive French (May 2024)
Intensive English (March 2024)
Pique-nique – Eastry (Sunday 11th June 2023)
