Written on Monday, May 23rd, 2011 at 9:31 am
books, language acquisition, TV programmes
The other day I made the thrilling discovery that series 1 and 2 of Engrenages, the French thriller I was raving about in a previous post, are available on DVD. So naturally, purely for educational purposes, you understand, I felt compelled to purchase it at once. That 1-click/buy it now button on Amazon is just too tempting for words and probably explains why the bookshelves in Colombier are piled high with books of every variety. Once it arrived I proceeded to watch the whole of series 1 at one sitting! Now, you may think that self-indulgent, time-wasting, work-avoiding – in fact, any or all of a myriad of hyphenated epithets – but I prefer to see it as a prime example of the total immersion approach to foreign language acquisition, as well as research into cultural authenticity and differences.
Ok, I admit it – I did have the subtitles on – but it would have been a shame, wouldn’t it, to have missed any of the plot complications?
Roll on series 4.
Written on Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 at 7:46 am
books, provence, restaurants
This is not going to be another post in which I wax lyrical about a meal at our great local restaurant – I’ll save that for another time!
La Charrette Bleue is also the title of a novel by Rene Barjavel. This son of a local baker started off as a journalist turning later to essays and novels. He is considered it seems by many as a prime fore-runner of science fiction.This year Nyons celebrates the centenary of his birth and pays hommage to this celebrated author. Various events are taking place throughout the year locally – exhibitions, lectures, walks around sites connected to him etc. You can even borrow his novels free. Full details can be found on the local tourism website paysdenyons.
So this spring as you drive around Nyons and see 3 blue carts placed strategically on roundabouts this isn’t a publicity wheeze by Paul and Francoise from the restaurant (although I’m sure they won’t be complaining!). The ‘charrette bleue’ is a symbol of the novel in which Barjavel evokes his childhood in the Nyonsais.
Check out the shelves of the library here at Le Colombier for a compendium of Barjavel’s work – in French.
Written on Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 at 7:27 am
books, thrillers, TV programmes
No, not another useful recipe from Provence, just a TV recommendation!
My friend Sue and I are both addicted to crime thriller novels (slice and dice is our pet name for the American genre of fiction) and ever in the search for cultural enrichment, we continue to try out German and Scandinavian authors (translated, of course!).
We were thrilled to discover that BBC4 often show foreign crime series on a Saturday evening – in 2 x 1 hour chunks. Recently I was addicted to a Danish series entitled for English TV ‘The Killing’.
And now BBC4 are screening a French crime series called ‘Spiral – The Butcher of La Villette’. Apparently it is series 3 of what was originally shown in France under the title ‘Engrenages’ (gears) and BBC4 showed the first series in 2009 which unfortunately I missed.
It is not to be missed and, of course, because it is in French with English subtitles is totally educational, not at all self-indulgent.
One thing I find quite fascinating is that the Danish and French series both have a feisty female detective as their protagonist and part of both plots evolve from her encounters with sexism in the force and problems with reconciling the work/private life balance. And whereas the American cop show (CSI etc) usually have 3 murders all solved in the space of a single one hour show, The Killing took 20 episodes, set over 20 days, to draw to a conclusion. I’m sure as I type someone, somewhere is writing their PhD on such a trend in popular fiction!
Written on Monday, March 14th, 2011 at 10:20 am
books, reading
Mentioning the library at Chateau Colombier (which certainly caters for very varied tastes in French and English!) made me think about Book Clubs and the pleasures of sharing thoughts about books with like-minded people. We plan to offer reading breaks here – a chance for single ladies of a certain age (as the French so tactfully say!) to relax in a safe and comfortable environment, and to combine sunshine and good living with some gentle intellectual ‘workout’. Look out for details soon.
Any suggestions on books to discuss? I’ve just finished Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ ( an amazing book – should have read it years ago) and David Starkey’s ‘Elizabeth’ which held my attention for the first two thirds but then seemed to get bogged down in boring detail. About to start ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue.
Written on Thursday, March 10th, 2011 at 9:44 am
activities, books, cycling, visitors
It’s always great to get feedback from visitors (take a look at our Testimonial page on this site) We’re always looking for ways to improve the holiday experience for visitors to Chateau Colombier so we send out regular newsletters and this year we attached a quick survey for people to fill in. This blog is another way we try to keep in touch with people and let you all know what is going on in the region and any exciting changes we are making at the house.
A pleasing comment we received on the most recent survey was:
“We loved the library and thought it was a wonderful resource. We also enjoyed playing boules on your gravel drive, and giant jenga in the garden. It was excellent to be able to borrow bikes to get bread in the morning and the restaurant next door was high class quality dining.”