Our series of lectures started in September 2023 at the Guildford and Godalming Rugby Club at Broadwater Pavilion. We continued using a hybrid system offering our members a choice of attending the lecture at the Pavilion or linking up on-line via Zoom. Our programme consisted of ten monthly lectures from September to June. As usual, our lecturers offered a wide range of topics. All lectures were well-attended and appreciated by our members.
Isabelle Schloesing started off our programme in September with a talk on the subject of “Quand la Louisiane était française”. She gave us an insight into the development of the region and its special connections to the French way of life.
Once again, we were lucky to have Dr Karen Serres as our second lecturer, who gave a talk on “Quand Londres devient impressionniste: la série des Vues de la Tamise de Claude Monet 1899-1904”. From his hotel room along the river Thames, Claude Monet painted the views according to the winter landscapes he saw, interpreting the vivid colours of the skies over the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge.
Annie Kean was our lecturer in November and her topic this year was “Le curieux destin du chevalier d’Eon”, an amazing story of disguise and intrigue.
Peter Prowse provided a musical evening “Chansons de Paris” in the run up to Christmas. This session was very much appreciated by members especially the audience participation.
Brigitte Thibaut is one of our lecturers living in France and she gave her talk via Zoom on “Histoire du vignoble bordelais”. Brigitte outlined the history of this world-renowned wine growing region and talked about the English connections to the area in the Middle Ages.
Dawn Marley gave a talk on “Le français au Maroc”. Dawn is Associate Professor in French at the University of Surrey and our members were very interested in her talk. At the end, Dawn questioned whether French could remain dominant with the encroaching use of the English language in this area.
Vincent Raymond-Barker gave a talk on “La Grande Boucle: Le tour de France”. Vincent is an energetic cyclist himself, having cycled around many areas of France especially la Dordogne. Vincent explained the history of the race and quoted the often amusing anecdotes of the first years.
Odile Hughson was unable to come to Godalming for her talk so she spoke via Zoom. Her subject was “Emile Zola en exil en Angleterre” and we discovered Zola’s love of his adopted region not far away in Weybridge and the continuation of his work there.
Christine Nivet was unable to give her usual lecture this year and Annie Kean stepped in at short notice to fill the gap. Her talk was on a region of France which Annie visits frequently “ Le Lot”. Annie’s knowledge of the region took us back into the history and customs of the region through a series of beautiful photos and informative slides.
Thierry Viennois concluded our programme by presenting his talk on “A la conquête du Mont Blanc”. Illustrated by wonderful photos and videos, Thierry charmed us with his knowledge of the changing attitudes towards the mountain, and its history, sometimes tragic and sometimes triumphant.
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