Discussion group & the cat letter

It was my last day at the Franco-Britannique discussion group in Lanvollon this morning. Last week, I had already said goodbye to 2 of the people I would like to stay in touch with, and I was sorry that the other person hasn't been for a few weeks. We had a quiz today, with one anglophone to each table, and 4-5 French. The questions were half in English and half in French. In spite of a few guesses and one very silly answer (the real name of Cary Grant - we said was the name of the Frenchman who leads the group!), our group were crowned winners. Well, not quite crowned, but we got 3 packets of sweets instead of the one packet that other tables received. This was followed by drinks and nibbles in a nicely converted barn - shown in the photo. It was a nice ending.

They are sorry to lose any of the anglophones as there are far more French than English speakers. When I suggested other new ones would join, I was told that there are far fewer new arrivals, and more and more of the British are returning home.

I left a little earlier than usual so got home before M and Alice at lunchtime. I checked the letter box, then locked it up again when I saw what was in it, and waited for Alice. As usual, she arrived home keen to look inside the "boîte aux lettres". There was a 7 inch square box, covered in pictures of cats which had been stuck on. She ran inside with it, and we eventually got it open. Inside was a letter in an envelope from King Catworth Smelly-Paws, at Pussycat Palace, Purrnsey, United Kittendom, Purrope, Super Catworld, C4T K4T. The letter said thank you to Alice for loving all cats, and said lots of other things cat-like too. A very well-put together letter! I really think the author could write a book.

The box also contained a small tin with lid, decorated with cats, and a cat soft toy inside. A cat-stick treat was also in the envelope with the letter. It wasn't hard for me to identify the sender, and Alice soon guessed too (J), but I played along and insisted it really was from King Catworth Smelly-Paws and his wife Queen Kitty Whisker-Bottoms. She was very chuffed with the letter, and put everything back into the box and took it all back to school with her to show la maîtresse.

When she came home from school, she was holding the little cat toy, and excitedly told me all about having to show everyone in her class what was in her box. La maîtresse photocopied the letter and translated a little bit of it to read to the class.

Well done J !

I've added photos to my blog.

Once again when I was waiting for Alice's school bus to arrive, Candice came over to me (I always say Bonjour or ça va?), stood in front and presented her cheek. I duly kissed both cheeks. She then left without saying a word.

M and I spent all afternoon sorting out the music exam finances, including many calls and "online chats" with the bank. Eventually, we got it sorted :-)

Nicolas came around this evening, to play with Alice, but also to ask me about the cat letter! He was asking who sent it, so I then had to try to translate "King Catworth Smelly-Paws" but I found it necessary to include a gesture of fingers pinching the nose! They spent a couple of hours together, including making caps and back-packs so they could pretend to be the Super Mario Brothers. I've put that photo on my blog.