Lune Croissanterie

If you’re susceptible to une crise de FOMO*, hearing stories of friends going to Lune Croissanterie when in Melbourne could really rankle.

Fear no more, though, for Lune has opened up very recently here in South Brisbane and one of our intrepid Chouchous*, Sue, was straight onto it.

Source : www.lunecroissanterie.com

LF: Sue, I believe you had an interesting outing a couple of weeks ago? Where did you go?

SC: I went to Lune Croissanterie, which has just opened a new location in Brisbane, at the end of Fish Lane in Southbank (13-17 Manning St South Brisbane). It is the mecca of all things croissant, sweet and savoury.

LF: What made you so keen to go?

SC: I had heard of Lune in Melbourne, where it is famous for its over-the-top delicious croissants and pastries, but unfortunately didn’t manage to go there last time I was in Melbourne, and alas, such interstate travel is not feasible at the moment. Their croissants are supposed to be divine, and I’d heard from friends who went that it was amazing. So I knew I had to go when they came to Brisbane.

One of the founders is an ex-Formula 1 scientist, so in a way, this is the Formula 1 of croissants.

LF: Was there a queue?

SC: If you do go check it out, yes there WILL be a line out the door and down the street, because there’s not much space inside the store for socially distanced lines. But don’t let it deter you. They are take away only at the moment, and the line does move fairly quickly, so you won’t be waiting too long. Make sure to go earlier in the day to avoid disappointment, as they tend to sell out of some of the more popular flavours around noon-ish.

LF: Does it live up to the hype?

SC: For me, oui! It is freshly baked on site (you can see them baking in front of you as you wait). The skin is super crispy, and the inside is nice and fluffy, and some of the flavours have gooey cheese-filled layers. It is incredibly rich, but not overly heavy, and does not have that sometimes unpleasant over-the-top old butter flavour that some croissants have. I’m not a huge fan of the pure butter taste, but this is so light and well combined in the dough it is just perfect. It tastes just as good the day after (if you manage to have any leftovers!).

Definitely worth the trip for an occasional indulgence.

LF: What did you buy?

SC: I had the pain au chocolat, almond croissant, kouign amann, morning bun, ham & gruyere. My favourite was the kouign amann, light, crispy and delicate with a sweet glaze. The almond croissant is a beast, delicious, but on the heavy side with the almond paste. The ham and gruyere was amazing if you are after something savoury.

Their menu changes frequently, so check out their Instagram page for seasonal specials. Their Brisbane store has a more limited menu than what you’ll find online, which is for the Melbourne store.

LF: Three words in French to describe how it tasted?

SC: Riche, délicieux, merveilleux.

PS. Is “melt-in-your-mouth” a word? 😃

LF: Merci, Sue!

La Petite Histoire | Beginner Revision | Épisode 2

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 2 (of 6) of the Beginner Revision level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Jean-Louis ne travaille pas le lundi alors nous avons décidé de faire un pique-nique aujourd’hui avec mon frère, sa femme et nos enfants. Hervé et Yasmine ont un nouveau bébé - un petit garçon qui s’appelle Nasir. Il est petit, avec les cheveux noirs et les yeux marrons. Il est adorable mais il ne dort pas beaucoup. Il est très actif et je vois que Yasmine est très contente mais fatiguée aussi.

Nous sommes allés au Jardin du Luxembourg, qui est un grand parc près de chez nous. Yasmine et moi avons préparé le pique-nique. Je n’ai pas beaucoup de temps, donc j’ai préparé quelque chose de très simple: du poulet rôti avec une salade verte avec des tomates et du fromage de chèvre. Yasmine a passé beaucoup de temps dans la cuisine, je pense. Elle a préparé une assiette avec plusieurs petites salades (du houmous, des carottes épicées, des olives et des poivrons au cumin) et un tagine à l’agneau aussi. Elle cuisine très bien.

Nous nous sommes installés sous un arbre et nous avons parlé et mangé tranquillement.

Hervé, mon frère, a posé des question à propos de mes études. J’ai répondu avec plaisir.

“Ça va très bien, merci,” j’ai dit. “J’adore étudier à la fac. C’est très intéressant et j’aime bien les autres élèves. Le seul petit problème est que mon anglais n’est pas super, mais j’ai trouvé un tuteur et on fait des leçons deux fois par semaine.”

“Fantastique,” a répondu Hervé. “Je suis sûre que tu vas réussir. Tu es très intelligente.’

J’ai rougi et j’ai dit “Merci Hervé, mon frère préféré,” et il a rigolé.

“Je ne suis pas sûr,” Jean-Louis a dit. “Son tuteur n’est pas anglais. Il est français. Ce n’est pas normal”.

Soudain, l’ambiance est devenu un peu sombre et nous avons continué à manger en silence.

Jean-Louis doesn't work on Mondays so we decided to have a picnic today with my brother, his wife and our children. Hervé and Yasmine have a new baby - a little boy called Nasir. He is small, with black hair and brown eyes. He is adorable but he doesn't sleep much. He is very active and I see that Yasmine is very happy but tired as well.

We went to the Jardin du Luxembourg, which is a big park close to our place. Yasmine and I prepared the picnic. I don't have a lot of time, so I prepared something very simple: roasted chicken and a green salad with tomatoes and goat's cheese. Yasmine spent lots of time in the kitchen, I think. She prepared a plate with several little salads (hummous, spiced carrots, olives and capsicum with cumin) and a lamb tagine as well. She cooks very well.

We settled in under a tree and we spoke and ate peacefully.

Hervé, my brother, asked questions about my studies. I responded with pleasure.
"It's going very well, thank you," I said. "I love studying at the uni. It's very interesting and I really like the other students. The only little problem is that my English is not super, but I found a tutor and we do lessons twice a week."

"Fantastic," replied Hervé. "I am sure that you're going to succeed. You are very intelligent."
I blushed and I said "Thanks, Hervé, my favourite brother," and he laughed.

"I'm not sure," Jean-Louis said. "Her tutor isn't English. He's French. It's not normal."

Suddenly, the atmosphere became a bit somber and we continued to eat in silence.

---

French animal noises

Savez-vous que*….

Animal noises around the world are not the same? This is just the cutest little video which will have you rethinking the validity of our ‘oink oinks’ and ‘cock-a-doodle-dos’.

See if you’re able to match up the French noises for the various animals below. The first person to contact us with a perfect score will win a Petit Guide de Pronunciation*. Bon courage*!

Cock-a-doodle-do • quack quack • oink oink • coo coo • ribbit ribbit • cheep cheep

PS If you’re having difficulty even working out the English, the video is where it’s at!

Lingua Franca Petit Guide de Prononciation

*Did you know that | *Little Pronunciation Guide | *Good luck!

Le Bal des Pompiers

In July’s issue of Le Chouchou News we promised you a story about the famous Bal des Pompiers* which takes place on the evening of La Fête Nationale* which, as you know, is le 14 juillet*.

So how did it all start?

In 1937, bystanders from main parade on the Champs Élysées followed some of the firemen back to their caserne* in Montmartre. The fire chief made the fateful decision to open the doors to that tenacious group and a party ensued.
More than 80 years later, the Bal des Pompiers is still going strong and is a much-anticipated annual event, perhaps even more so than the parade itself for les fêtards*, at least.

D’où vient le Bal des Pompiers? | Where does the Firemen’s Ball come from?

*The Firemen’s Ball | *Bastille Day | *on the 14th July | *fire station | *party animals

La Petite Histoire | Beginner Revision | Épisode 1

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 1 (of 6) of the Beginner Revision level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Quelle expérience! Aujourd'hui j'ai eu mon premier cours avec Roger, qui est mon tuteur d'anglais. Nous sommes allés au café à la fac, nous avons commandé des cafés et nous avons commencé à travailler. Je dois améliorer mon anglais et c'est Roger qui a répondu à la petite annonce que j'ai mis dans le Département d'Anglais il y a deux semaines.

J'ai besoin d'aide avec la grammaire anglaise, qui est très compliquée et pas très logique. Il y a beaucoup, beaucoup d'exceptions et la prononciation est difficile aussi. J'ai demandé à Roger de faire une révision des participes passés, mais il a insisté que nous commençons du début. Il a raison, je suppose. C’est important de réviser les bases.

Donc, nous nous sommes présentés en anglais. J’étais très nerveuse mais il a dit que je parle très bien et que mon accent était ‘mignon’. Il est français, mais il a passé beaucoup de temps en Angleterre, donc il parle très bien et il a beaucoup de confiance quand il parle anglais, ça c’est sûr. Puis, il a posé beaucoup de questions, comme ‘What is your name?’, “How old are you?’, “Are you married?’ et toutes les autres questions classiques. Après ça, il a décidé de faire une dictée, donc il a dit quelques phrases en anglais et j’ai dû les écrire dans mon cahier. Il a raconté une petite histoire à propos de moi et ma vie et il a même ajouté deux ou trois nouvelles phrases. Il est très créatif et un peu coquin. Une des phrases était “She has eyes the colour of crème caramel”. J’ai dit que la crème caramel est jaune et il a rougi et j’ai rigolé. Nous avons passé un bon moment ensemble. J’aime mes leçons d’anglais avec Roger.

What an experience! Today I had my first lesson with Roger, who is my English tutor. We went to the café at uni, we ordered coffees and we started to work. I have to improve my English and it’s Roger who responded to the notice I put up in the English Department two weeks ago.

I need help with English grammar, which is very complicated and not very logical. There are many, many exceptions and the pronunciation is difficult as well. I asked Roger to do a revision of the past participles, but he insisted that we start at the start. He’s right, I suppose. It’s important to revise the basics.

So, we introduced ourselves in English. I was very nervous but he said that I speak very well and that my accent was ‘cute’. He is French, but he has spent lots of time in England, so he speaks very well and he has a lots of confidence when he speaks English, that’s for sure. Then, he asked lots of questions like ‘What is your name?’, “How old are you?’, “Are you married?’ and all the other classic questions.

After that, he decided to do a dictation, so he said a few sentences and I had to write them in my workbook. He told a little story about me and my life and he even added two or three new sentences. He is very creative and a little bit naughty. One of the sentences was “She has eyes the colour of crème caramel”. I said that crème caramel is yellow and he blushed and I laughed. It was fun. I like my English lessons with Roger.

---

Bleu, blanc, rouge

Have you ever wondered why the French flag is bleu, blanc, rouge*?

Well, you may be wondering a little longer, as it seems even the French find it difficult to trouver un accord* on the matter.

Some say the white is the colour of the House of Bourbon, which ruled France from the late 16th century to the French Revolution. Red and blue are the traditional colours of Paris, with revolutionaries wearing red and blue cockades on their hats when they stormed the Bastille in 1789.

Other suggest the three colours represent la liberté*, l'égalité* and la fraternité*, the French motto.

For some, it's bleu for la bourgeoisie*, blanc for la monarchie* and rouge for la révolution*.

A more romantique* take has the colours drawing inspiration from flowers: blue for cornflowers, white for marguerites and red for poppies.

Plus compliqué* than we might have thought art first, non?*?

*blue, white, red | *to come to an agreement | *freedom | *equality | *brotherhood | *the bourgeoisie | *the monarchy | *the revolution | *romantic | *More complicated | *isn't it?

Presque amis*

You may have heard of faux amis* in French. These are words that look so similar to English words that they lull you into a false sense of security, having you believe you understand them without even opening your dictionary app. In the past, we’ve told you about blessé (not blessed but hurt), le bras (not a bra but the arm) and les préservatifs (not preservatives but condoms).

But there’s another group of words that may cause you even more trouble because they’re just a bit off. It’s difficult to explain and probably easier to just experience for yourself, so here is a little list for you right below.

*Almost friends

Tirer la Tronche

Je tire la tronche.

Recently, while (re)watching Episode 1 of The Parisian Agency, I was reminded of a great little phrase I’d heard the first time around. Tirer la tronche means to be unhappy, to pout or to brood. If you’ve seen the series, Valentin says it to his mère* just after he gets off the phone with Lisa, the lingerie designer, having just broken the news that someone else has put an offer in on the property she’d had her eye on.

“Elle tire la tronche*,” he says.

Even without understanding exactly what he says, you can tell from their short conversation and Valentin’s body language that his client is not happy. This is yet another benefit of watching series in French - you’ll pick up so much from the many visual and auditory clues on offer. Tirer la tronche is just one of the new expressions I learned from this series and there are dozens more to be had. Croisons les doigts* for a second series!

*mother | *She’s pouting | *Let’s cross our fingers

Une fille | Un style

If you have just over eight minutes to spare and are confident you can keep le monstre aux yeux verts* at bay, be ready to be absolutely transported by this video from Vogue Paris.

*the green-eyed monster

Dénouement

This word is the possibly the embodiment of my love of the French language.

We use the word ‘denouement’ (without the acute accent) in English to describe the final resolution of a plot in a film or novel. The very best books and films have denouements that leave us gasping, surprised by a turn of events we fail to see coming.

To get to the beating heart of this word, we need to first remove both the prefix (dé-) and the suffix (-ment), which leaves us with noue. Nouer is the French verb ‘to knot’ which comes from the Latin verb nōdāre (also ‘to knot’). Incidentally, a very closely-related Latin verb is nectere which means ‘to tie’ or ‘to bind’. For those of you who have done the passé composé, the past participle of this verb is nexus, which we use in English and which is also where we gets words like ‘connection’ and ‘annex’. But I digress…

Back to noeur (to knot) and the prefix and suffix I dispensed with earlier. Dé- is the equivalent of ‘un’ in English. That is, is gives us the opposite sense of the word. Think of ‘stable’ and ‘unstable’, for example. It works the same in French. A verb you very likely know, faire (to do or to make) has its opposite in the verb défaire which means ‘to undo’.

[ Side note: the French often talk about hair being défaits: think of that tousled, disheveled look typical of Brigitte Bardot in her heyday. ]

UN NŒUD PAPILLON

LES CONNECTIONS

LES CHEVEUX DÉFAITS

Many of you will have seen the suffix -ment in your travels. Words like lentement, vraiment and exactement come to mind. They’re all adverbs as you may know (‘slowly’, ‘truly’ and ‘exactly’) so the -ment ending represents the equivalent of the English suffix ‘-ly’.

When it’s used to form nouns from verbs, though, it indicates a resulting action or state. For example, the verb bâtir is to build, and a bâtiment is the resulting action or state of the act of building.

Now we know that dénouer is ‘to unknot’, if you think about the final sequence of a film or books, it is like the author is unknotting the conflict they’ve created. And that’s where we get dénouement from. C’est dingue, non*?

So there we are, a full breakdown of a word you’ve possibly never heard before. If you’ve got a passion for words and their origins, I hope it was enough to titiller la curiosité*.

By the way, here are another couple of things I stumbled across when looking into dénouement.

You may already know that a nœud papillon (or nœud pap’ for short) is a bow tie, since it is a knot that resembles a butterfly (papillon).

But did you know that un nœud is also a slang term for a penis? And that tête de nœud is what you call someone you think is a bit of a d***head? Vulgar, oui,* but drôle*, tout à fait*.

Lastly, neuneu (variously spelled neu-neu, nœud-nœud) refers to someone who is a bit simple, sappy or just a bit of an idiot and apparently comes from tête de nœud as discussed above.

LE DÉNOUEMENT

*It’s crazy, isn’t it? | *to pique your curiosity | *yes | *funny | *absolutely

Sézane

If someone gave you three bags of old clothes, what would do with them? Pull out anything you could wear and then donate the rest to your local friperie*? Not Morgane Sézalory, who did a few retouches* and then sold them on eBay. In short order, her eponymous label was born (Sézane combines her first and last names), and if you’re looking for un peu de distraction*, I could not recommend this site more highly. Un grand merci* to our Chouchou*, Kirstie, for wearing the beautiful pull bleu* a few weeks ago, which sparked the conversation.

Read Morgane’s story here.

Skip straight to the shopping.

Champagne shortage

The rumours started l’année dernière*, but if you’ve been in deep denial, it’s time to affronter la réalité*.

Oui, c’est vrai*, Australia is experiencing a champagne shortage and it looks like it’s going to get worse before it gets better. If you’re a champagne lover, this news may strike fear into your heart. To get the lowdown, we direct you towards Maud Piovesan’s article on the Emperor website for a detailed analysis.

Again, it was one of our Chouchous* who tipped us off as to this alarming development. Merci d’avoir partagé ces informations, Jillian, et bon courage*!

*last year | *face up to the reality | *Yes, it’s true | *Teacher’s Pets | *Thanks for having shared this information and good luck!

The Parisian Agency

I was recommended this Netflix series during a recent confinement* and it couldn’t have been more timely.

What more could you ask for while hunkering down? With exquisite French luxury properties, the extremely photogenic Kretz family, a dance-pop soundtrack and a good dose of humour, you’ll be hooked from the opening credits. And who wouldn’t want a grand-mère* like Majo with her urban trainers, cropped leather jacket and well-timed pep talks?

A note of caution, though. You’ll be tempted to faire un marathon*, but slowly does it - there are only five episodes so you need to savour them until a second season is announced.

Croisons les doigts*!

*lockdown | *grandmother | binge-watch | *Let’s cross our fingers!

La Petite Histoire | Beginner 3 | Épisode 6

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 6 (of 6) of the Beginner 3 level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Je suis entrée dans le café à la fac. J’étais un peux nerveuse, je dois admettre. Avant de quitter la maison, mon mari a dit, pour la dixième fois, que c’était stupide d’aller rencontrer Roger, l’homme qui a répondu à la petite annonce. Et pour la dixième fois, j’ai dit à Jean-Louis que j’étais sérieuse: j’ai besoin de l’aide avec mon anglais. Ce n’est pas une blague!

“Comment je vais trouver ce Roger?” je me suis demandée.

Deux secondes plus tard, j’ai entendu:

”Hello! Leïla. Over here!”

À une table pour deux, j’ai vu un homme: grand, brun et très beau, je dois dire.

“Hello, are you Roger?” j’ai demandé.

”Yes, I am”, il a répondu avec un grand sourire. J’ai remarqué ses yeux bleus et ses dents parfaites. Il était très bronzé et il avait l’air sportif.

J’ai commencé à parler en français parce que c’était trop difficile de trouver mes mots en anglais devant cet homme.

”Mais vous ne voulez pas de l’aide avec votre anglais?” Roger a demandé.

“Oui, bien sûr”, j’ai dit “mais je suis trop nerveuse de parler devant vous”. J’ai rougi.

Roger a souri de nouveau et il a dit “Mais, Nicole, ça va. Nous pouvons prendre notre temps. C’est normal d’être nerveux, mais ne vous inquiétez pas, nous allons pouvoir travailler ensemble. Je suis confiant. Voulez-vous un café?”

J’ai dit “avec plaisir”, il est parti pour prendre des cafés, et j’ai essayé de respirer normalement. “Oh là, là!” je me suis dit.

I entered the café at uni. I was a bit nervous, I must admit. Before leaving the house, my husband said, for the tenth time, that is was stupid to go and meet Roger, the man who responded to my ad. And for the tenth time, I said to Jean-Louis that I was serious: I need help with my English. It’s not a joke.

”How am I going to find this Roger?” I wondered.

Two seconds later, I heard:

”Hello! Leïla. Over here!”

At a table for two, I saw a man: tall, with brown hair and very handsome, I must say.

“Hello, are you Roger?” I asked.

”Yes, I am”, he responded with a big smile. I noticed his blue eyes and his perfect teeth. He was very brown and seemed sporty.

I started to speak in French because it was too difficult to find my words in English in front of this man.

”But don’t you want some help with your English?” Roger asked.

”Yes, of course” I said, “but I’m too nervous to speak in front of you.” I blushed.

Roger smiled again and he said “But Nicole, it’s okay. We can take our time. It’s normal to be nervous, but don’t worry, we are going to be able to work together. I am confident. Do you want a coffee?”

I said '“with pleasure”, he left to get the coffees, and I tried to breathe normally. “Oh, dear!”, I thought.

---

Our favourite desserts

We wish there was a French phrase quite as good as ‘sharing is caring’ but English wins on that one - there simply isn’t a cute translation.

Cela dit* it won’t stop us from sharing with you our team’s favourite French things. From movies to meals, books to places, singers to perfumes, we’ll partage* it all and would love to hear what yours are so don’t be timide*. Add to the list by commenting in our “Sneak Peek into Le Nid’ series.

Here, nos desserts préférés*…

*That being said | *share | *shy | *our favourite desserts

La Petite Histoire | Beginner 3 | Épisode 5

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 5 (of 6) of the Beginner 3 level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Quand je suis rentrée de la fac hier soir, mon mari n’était pas content. Il était dans la cuisine, fatigué après une longue journée à l’hôtel.

“Un homme a appelé pour toi, Leïla”, il a dit.

“Ah, bon?”, j’ai répondu. “Qu’est-ce qu’il a dit?”

“Il veut t’aider avec ton anglais”, a dit Jean-Louis.

“Ah, super! Tu as son numéro?”, j’ai demandé.

“Leïla, il est français. Il ne peut pas t’aider avec ton anglais.”

“Ah, bon? Mais peut-être qu’il a passé beaucoup de temps en Angleterre ou il a de la famille anglaise.”

“Je ne pense pas, Leïla.” Mon mari est difficile parfois.

“Je vais appeler pour voir”, j’ai dit. “J’ai besoin d’aide. J’ai un examen le mois prochain et j’ai peur.”

Jean-Louis est sorti de la cuisine. Deux minutes plus tard, il est retourné et il a dit, “J’ai faim, Leïla. Qu’est-ce que tu vas préparer pour le dîner? J’ai travaillé dur aujourd’hui. Je suis fatigué, j’ai faim et je veux me coucher.”

Moi aussi, j’ai pensé, mais je n’ai rien dit. J’ai ouvert le frigo, j’ai pris des œufs, du fromage, du lait et des lardons et j’ai commencé à préparer le dîner pour notre famille.

---

When I cam home from uni last night, my husband was not happy. He was in the kitchen, tired after a long day at the hotel.

“A man called for you, Leïla”, he said.

“Oh, really?”, I replied. “What did he say?”

“He wants to help you with your English”, said Jean-Louis.

“Oh, great! Do you have his number?”, I asked.

“Leïla, he is French. He cannot help you with your English.”

“Oh, really? But maybe he has spent lots of time in England or he has English family.”

“I don’t think so, Leïla.” My husband can be difficult sometimes.

“I am going to call to see”, I said. “I need help. I have an exam next month and I’m scared.”

Jean-Louis left the kitchen. Two minutes later, he returned and said, “I’m hungry, Leïla. What are you going to make for dinner? I worked a hard today. I’m tired, I’m hungry and I want to go to bed.”

Me too, I thought, but I didn’t say anything. I opened the fridge, I took some eggs, cheese, milk and bacon and I started to prepare the dinner for our family.

Rillettes recipe

Since it’s not commonplace for rillettes* to be included on the menu at Australian restaurants, I jumped at the chance to order them recently when on a p’tit week-end.*

So inspired was I by the ritual of spreading the confit pork onto toasted baguette on a cold winter’s day, I thought I might have a go at making some myself. I found a recipe, but fainéante* that I am, as soon as I saw an ingredient I didn’t recognise and a cooking time that totalled six hours, my desire mysteriously vanished.

I then remembered that one of the équipe*, Caroline, had brought in some homemade tuna rillettes a few months previously and they were absolutely délicieuses*, and even more importantly très simple* to make. So, if you have a can of tuna, some other fairly basic ingredients and 10 minutes up your sleeve, making this recipe will be time very well spent, indeed. Bon courage!*

PS c à s =cuillère à soupe (soup spoon), and
c à d = cuillère à dessert = dessert spoon

*Meat, fish or poultry that's been chopped or shredded, seasoned with salt and pepper and preserved slowly in its own fat | *weekend away | *lazybones | *team | *delicious | *very simple | *Good luck!

Duo Lingo Podcasts

If you’re looking to take your first step towards listening to French podcasts, we may just have la solution* for you!

Many of our students are keen users of the Duo Lingo app. It’s especially great for beginner students and really helps to build confidence.

Duo Lingo has been improving consistently over the years, but this latest addition is really quelque chose de spécial*. Not only are the subjects interesting and varied, but the structure is very clever and particularly good for upper-beginner and intermediate learners.

There is an introduction by the host in English, then the interviewee speaks for a short time in French, before the host chimes in to give a brief summary in English of what they’ve said. This is repeated throughout the interview, and better yet, a full transcript is included.

I would highly recommend you give at least one episode a go. Tu ne le regretteras pas*.

Simon Hérault
Simone Hérault had the gift of a unique voice, but as a child, she was too insecure to believe in it. Still, her talent and dedication would end up taking her places she never expected…until she became one of the most familiar and beloved voices in all of France.

Aliénor Le Gouvello
At 30, Aliénor Le Gouvello set off to ride solo across Australia’s toughest trails. She gave herself one year to train wild horses and complete the journey. Riding ten hours a day, every day, Aliénor was determined not to quit — not for crocodiles, fire ants…not even for the handsome helicopter pilot she met along the way.

Les Moines Brasseurs
At age 27, Matthieu Landri said goodbye to his family and shared one last beer with his friends…then began his new life as a Benedictine monk. He longed for a spiritual life of contemplation and prayer. But soon he found himself embarking on a new journey: reviving the lost French art of monastic beer-brewing.

*the solution | *something special | *You won’t regret it

Vive La Révolution!

In the May édition* of Le Chouchou News, I did a round-up of the French films showing on Brisbane cinemas screens. I was happy to report that although the Alliance Française French Film Festival was over for another year, there was still a small range of films on offer.

1959

2007

2011

2001

1961

1937

1967

1994

2011

1991

1967

1928

Imagine my delight, then, when this email floated into our account a couple of weeks ago. Voici un extrait*:

Sacré Bleu! From François Truffaut to Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Dendy presents a magnifique curation of essential classic French cinema. Celebrating Bastille Day, and running July 1-28, the same month as the 2021 Festival de Cannes,

Dendy has collated twelve iconic titles, each either hugely influential in their own right, modern classics exemplifying the titanic talents of France’s celebrated film industry, or just possessing a certain je ne sais quoi. Between romance and drama, comedy and adventure, experience these films as they were meant to be - on the big screen- and rediscover the artistic cinematography, creative directing, and the classic splendour of these truly essential masterpieces of French cinema.

If you love French cinéma, please support this fledgling festival to ensure we have access to another 12 films (or more) in years to come. Bon ciné*!

Dendy Coorparoo line-up

Dendy Portside line-up

*edition | *Here is an extract | *Happy film-going!

Mika: Elle me dit

Here at Lingua Franca, our students have a variety of learning styles. We try to cater to all styles as much as we possibly can, but there is no replacement for the ideas our students bring to us about their preferred ways of learning.

Recently, one of our students, Nora, was telling her class that she’d found a song that helped her learn the placement of direct and indirect object pronouns. This is an intermediate-level subject, so for you débutants* out there just know that these pronouns are a future pleasure (!) laying in wait for you.

Before I get to Nora’s song, though, which involves a double object pronoun nightmare…pardon* “challenge”, here’s a song that shows the placement of a single object pronoun, in this case, the indirect pronoun me, meaning ‘to me’.



The song is called Elle me dit and translates as ‘She says to me’. Literally, it’s ‘She to me says’, as object pronouns are placed between the subject (elle) and the verb (dit) as you’ll hear over and over in this song.

By the way, for les curieux*, here’s a link to the lyrics in both French and English.

Also, look out for a star turn by celebrated French actress Fanny Ardant, who appeared in a blog post last month and whom many of you will know from 2019’s Belle Époque*.

Now here’s Nora’s chanson préférée*, which contains not one, but two, object pronouns. Called Je te le donne, it translates as ‘I give it to you’, or literally ‘I to you it give’. Clair*?

Though the placement and order of double object pronouns can be very complicated, this song gives you an idea of a rule that works for the most part (if you’ve been learning French for even the briefest times, you’ll know it’s not afraid of an exception, like all languages). That rule is this:

Indirect before direct and placed between the subject pronoun and the verb.



PS For those of you who are très, très enthousiastes*, here is the exception:

If both of your object pronouns refer to third person objects, the order is reversed. That is, direct before indirect. For example: Je le lui dis. I say it to him/her. Or literally, I it to him/her say.

*beginners | *sorry | *curious people | *Beautiful Era | *favourite song | *Clear? | *very, very keen