LLC book club July 2014

Just a reminder to the bookclub members that we are meeting on Thursday 10^th July 14.30h at the usual venue.

The July book is the 

Robert Harris, An Officer and A Spy

The book is Robert Harris’ new book, An Officer and a Spy which is his take on the Dreyfus affair.

The Dreyfus Affair constitutes one of those moments of history that a lot people know of rather than much about. Even among well educated people there's often little more than a headline understanding of antisemitism, a French miscarriage of justice, Devil's Island and Emile Zola's famous attack on the French establishment's conspiracy against the Jewish army officer, Alfred Dreyfus: J'accuse. 
But the real story is like something from the imagination of Alexandre Dumas, full of intrigue, wrongful imprisonment and heroic effort to establish the truth. 
Robert Harris’s novel “An Officer and a Spy” has a point of high drama when the main character, Col. Georges Picquart, is ushered into a room full of atypical characters: people who will actually listen to him. 
See review NY Times 
and review The Guardian

The other books suggested were:  Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge and The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life by William Nicholson.

Please bring other books of your choice to the July meeting you are happy to lend to others for summer reading. 

  

We thought it would then be good to discuss what we’ve each been reading at the August meeting.  
This will take the form of a picnic a members garden on August 21st. 
The idea is to chat about what we have been reading at the August meeting for a summer’s afternoon picnic!  Directions etc to follow.
After the rain, I’ll look forward to sitting outside and reading a book!

Thank you to Cathie and Simon for hosting our May meeting. It was a perfect setting in their pretty courtyard and we all enjoyed listening to Amanda speak about 22 Britannia Road.  Also it was fascinating to learn about her journey as a writer and her future plans.  Sure we’ll all be watching her progress with great interest.
The June book was The Angel Maker by Stefan Brijs
and the meeting was on Thursday June 19th. 

For any more information about the Ladies Lunch Club book club please see our bookclub page in this blog

Garden visit on Thursday 3 July 2014 for LLC Members

Dear Members of the LLC Gardengroup,

Our next garden visit on Thursday 3 July 2014  will be to

LE JARDIN FLORAL ET L'ESPACE OASIS

Ferme de Lagrance, 

Chez Pierrette et Hubert Labenelle

32460 Le Houga 

(on the CD125 towards Monguilhem and Toujouse)

As we all enjoyed the picnic so much at our June visit at Chateau de Momas, we have decided to picnic again at Le Houga. 

The garden doesn't open until 3.30pm when the owner will give us a tour, so we suggest meeting at the lac at Le Houga for our picnic from 1pm.

Apparently the gate is often closed which means you have to drive round the lake to reach the picnic area.

Please bring a picnic, your own plate, cutlery, glass etc and perhaps a picnic chair/table/rug.

Exceptionally garden visit is later than usual. 
Picnic from 1pm and the nearby garden visit at 3.30pm. 
There is a charge of 3 Euro and the correct change would help, if possible!


Please let me know if you can come and whether you'€™ll be bringing a sweet or savoury dish.

Thanks and look forwarding to seeing everyone next week and keep fingers crossed for good weather again.
For any further information please see our LLC garden group page on this blog. 

Les Gersabelles on concert in Eauze 29 June 2014

The Ladies Lunch Club Singing group collectively known as 

Les Gersabelles

News: 

Welcome to the concert with the 

Gersabelles singing group 

of the Ladies Lunch Club in the 

cathedral of Eauze on 

Sunday 29 June 2014 

at 17h 

Admission free, everyone welcome. 
We are an international group of ladies who enjoy singing, led by Sue Treeby (formerly Sue Kibbey, an experienced jazz singer). 
Our repertoire is varied (traditional, jazz) and includes The Rose, The Rhythm of Life, Hallelujah. 

Hope to see some of you there.

For more information about any of the above activities, concerts or events or our next meeting and venue, please contact:

Sue Treeby : Tel. 05 62 09 19 67 or
Ladieslunchclub secretary at
lunchclubgascogne(at)gmail.com

You can join the blog to always be up to date here:
follow by email (click on this link if you want regular info)

June 2014 Ladies Luncheon in Marciac - invitation to our members

The June 2014 Ladies Luncheon will be held on 

Tuesday 10th June at 

LE CAFÉ ZIK, MARCIAC

Lac de Marciac - 32230 MARCIAC

at 12.30 for 1.00 pm

To conclude the first half of the year, before our summer break, we have arranged our June lunch at 
Le Café Zik on the edge of the beautiful lake in Marciac. 

Many of you will remember it from our past two Christmas lunches, but we thought it would be nice to try it in the summer, to give everyone the chance to spend some time, either walking around the lake, or partaking of one of the activities on the water! 
Or indeed visiting the town.

We are very pleased to announce that our new (Member)Name Badges are ready, and will be handed out at the lunch. We hope you will like this new, simple European design.

We look forward to welcoming you at Café Zik, but should you be unable to attend, please remember there will be no lunch in July and August. 
We therefore wish you an enjoyable summer wherever you will be, and hope you will find the list of activities (issued separately)useful. 

We recommence on the second Tuesday of September 2014.

MENU

Croustillant de chevre au miel et basilic

*

Filet de daurade, 

risotto et beurre de crustaces

*

Pana cotta de fruit exotiques, 

sorbet ananas gingembre

*

17€ (wine included)

Please make your reservation on the booking form which members received per email. 

If you are bringing a guest please use the same booking form but make a separate entry for your guest inserting her name after your submitted entry.

Please bring the correct money in a named envelope or make a cheque out to Cafe Zik and hand to the committee member who is taking the registrations.

Should you have any difficulty with the booking form or any other queries please contact our sectretary
Jane Cooper at lunchclubgascogne@gmail.com again

 before noon on 8th June.

We are looking forward to meeting and greeting our members and their guests.

some Dates for your Diary JUNE/JULY/AUGUST 2014

some Dates for your Diary JUNE/JULY/AUGUST 2014

Sunday 1st June:	Rare plant fair at Lamontjoie (between Condom and
30th, 31st May & 1st June:	Rendez-vous aux Jardins, for more details look at link     www.gascognefm.com/rendez-vous-aux-jardins-gers
3rd June:	VO film at Nogaro cinema, 9pm ‘The Horseman’ starring Tommy Lee Jones & Hilary Swank
7th , 8th & 9th June:	Feriade Pentecote  at Vic-Fezensac
10th June:	VO film at Nogaro cinema,, 9pm  ‘Joe’ starring Nicholas Cage
29th June:	TheLLC Choir  The Gersabelles will be giving a concert in the Cathedral in Eauze at 5.00 pm
18th, 19th, 20th July:	The Galop Romain Festival at Eauze.  A multitude of activities including a chariot race take place over three days. www.festivalgalopromain.com
25th July:	Tour de France, Stage 19 Leaves Maubourguet around midday-Marciac- Peyrusse Grande-Belmont-Vic Fezensac (during Tempo Latino!) - Condom-Lavardac-Bergerac (5pm)
24th – 27th July:	Tempo Latino at Vic-Fezensac.Wonderful salsa Festival. Concerts in the Arenes. Night market and Dancing in the streets! Great for people-watching!
28th July – 17th August:	Jazz in Marciac
9th & 23rd July: 6th & 20th August:	NightMarkets at Vic-Fezensac
General Good Fun Days Out:	La Maison desChameaux,  65700 Castelnau-Riviere-Basse.Tel 05 62 33 36 24. Open every day except Tuesday from 12.00 to 18.00 Animal park with lots to do for children of all ages!
General Good Fun Days Out:	ParcAcrobatique Forestier du Lac, Aignan. Tel: 06 78 54 03 60. Lake for swimming with beach, walks, Swinging in the trees for adults and children. Open every day from 11.00 to 19.00
General Good Fun Days Out:	Canoeing/Kayaking in the Gers, 05 62 29 19 44 Beaucaire-sur-Baise
General Good Fun Days Out:	Indoor go-karting at ChronoKart32 at Pavie, Auch Tel. 05 62 66 48 09
General Good Fun Days Out:	Outdoor go-karting near Agen, KartAgen at Layrac Tel. 05 53 87 84 52

                                         

The LLC Gersabelles concert in Eauze on 29 June 2014

The Ladies Lunch Club Singing group collectively known as 

Les Gersabelles

News: 

Welcome to the concert with the 

Gersabelles singing group 

of the Ladies Lunch Club in the 

cathedral of Eauze on 

Sunday 29 June 2014 

at 17h 

For more information about any of the above activities, concerts or events or our next meeting and venue, please contact:

Sue Treeby : Tel. 05 62 09 19 67 or
Ladieslunchclub secretary at
lunchclubgascogne(at)gmail.comAll are welcome to this group even if you don't think you can sing. 


You can join the blog to always be up to date here:
follow by email (click on this link if you want regular info)

LLC Bookclub May 2014

LLC Bookclub - What's next?

For May 15th, 2014 we have chosen a book by an English author who is living near Auch in the Gers.
Venue as usual.

Her name is Amanda Hodgkinson and she will come and meet us to talk about her novel and her writing etc. Amanda writes in La Depeche every Sunday; short, sometimes amusing observations of life of an expat in France.
It will be interesting to talk with her about her 1st book is 22 Britannia Road.


In her powerful debut, Hodgkinson takes on the tale of a family desperately trying to put itself back together after WWII. Silvana and Janusz have only been married a few months when the war forces them apart. Silvana and their infant son, Aurek, leave Poland and disappear into the forests of Eastern Europe, where they bear witness to German atrocities. Meanwhile Janusz, the sole survivor of his slaughtered military unit, flees to France. There, he takes up with a local girl and, though he loves her, awaits the war's end so that he can go in search of his wife and son. He eventually finds them in a refugee camp and they travel to England together, where they attempt to put the past behind them. But the secrets they carry pull at the threads of their fragile peace. Hodgkinson alternates viewpoints to relay the story of three desperate characters, skillfully toggling between the war and its aftermath with wonderfully descriptive prose that pulls the reader into a sweeping tale of survival and redemption.

Amanda Hodgkinson has just released Spilt Milk 

1913. Unmarried sisters Nellie and Vivian Marsh live an impoverished existence in a tiny cottage on the banks of the Little River in Suffolk. Their life is quiet and predictable, until a sudden flood throws up a strange fish on their doorstep and a travelling man who will change them forever.
1939. Eighteen year old Birdie Farr is working as a barmaid in the family pub in London. When she realises she is pregnant she turns to her mother Nellie, who asks her sister to arrange an adoption for Birdie's new born daughter. 
But as the years pass Birdie discovers she cannot escape the Marsh sisters' shadowy past - and her own troubling obsession with finding her lost daughter will have deep consequences for all of them...
A nice addition to our monthly book ? If you have the time. We are very much looking forward to have this meeting with the author herself. 


For more information about any of the above or our next meeting and venue, please contact:
Ladieslunchclub secretary:
lunchclubgascogne(at)gmail.com

For all other publications regarding the LLC bookclub please see our bookclub page here

or you join the blog here:
follow by email
(click on this link if you want regular info)

May 2014 Ladies Luncheon in Termes d'Armagnac - invitation to our members

The May 2014 Ladies Luncheon will be held on 

Tuesday 13th May at the Foyer 
 Termes d'Armagnac

at 12.30 for 1.00 pm

Directions click here

Dear Members,

In the hope that the sun just might reappear, this month we have decided on a "Hog Roast". (The caterer is : bulldog bacon & bangers)

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, it is a whole Roast Pork "au Lait", which will be served with a variety of salads. 

There will of course be a fish option for vegetarians.

Also this month, to give everyone the opportunity to meet and talk to new people, we would like to try a new seating plan:  

On arrival, when paying your lunch money, you will be given a table number.  If however you are bringing a guest you will, of course, be able to sit together..

MENU

17€ (wine and coffee included)

Red Onion Tart

Whole Roast Pork au lait with apple sauce, stuffing and crackling

Selection of salads and dressings

Chocolate Gateau

Please make your reservation on the booking form (attached to the email for members) and submit by noon on Friday 9th May.

If you are bringing a guest please use the same form to book them in. 

Again to speed up the collection of lunch money, would you please have this ready in an envelope with your name on, or alternatively you can pay by cheque on the name of the caterer (our treasurer at the desk will give you the proper name of the caterer).

Should you have any difficulty in booking for the lunch, please contact Jane Cooper, Secretary on lunchclubgascogne(at)gmail.com 

before NOON on 4th April.

We look forward to seeing you all for a good summer lunch.

If you have any used postage stamps, please bring them along, for charity.  

Foreign stamps have a greater value, but any are accepted.

Please see our diary/calendar update for May 2014 here 

Charity Event for Cancer Support France

The Charity's are for Cancer Support France (and other NGO's) 
will be on 

17th May from 11.00 am onwards. 

The Venue is at A Montagne- Chemin De Montage - Couloumé Mondebat. 32160.

The entry is free!!

There will be live music through out the day, a variety of stalls/stands. 
Psychic Counselor for Reiki Healing & Tarot. Jewelry, Women's Clothing, Books, Cakes, Jam's, Wine, Greetings Cards, Oils, Plants & hopefully much more. We will have fun stalls for adults & children. Face Painting, Table Tennis, Petanque, Tug Of War, & much more.

There will be a raffle and an Auction. So far for Auction: 
Fabulous painting from local Artist, Jim & Rob for a day's work 
2 x meals for 2 in local restaurants 
A stair of Fire Wood , Cases of Wine & 'hopefully' more to follow.

For food:  Paella, Salad, Chips, Burgers & Hot Dogs. Soft Drinks, Wine & possibly Beer.

The organizers would be grateful to anyone who would like to be part of this event, in helping & or setting up their own stalls (free of charge) to sell & promote their own products, be it vegetables, Jams, Arts & Crafts etc. 

So long as they are prepared to donate a 'generous' percentage of their profit to the Charities. 
The organizers would also be grateful for donations of Raffle & Auction prizes.
This event is organized by members of the LLC.

For any more informations please  
contact ONLY:  06 877 898 70

Le Salon des métiers d'art 2014 in Plaisance 16 - 18 May 2014

We would like to inform you of the art and craft exhibition in Plaisance on 16-18th May 2014:

Le Salon des métiers d'art 2014 aura lieu du 16 au 18 mai à la salle polyvalente de Plaisance

For more information please contact:

Le recrutement des artisans d'art créateurs pour le salon 2014 est en cours contactez nous au

06 70 60 06 20 ou par mail:mjo.chauvin@orange.fr