This is the second part of my conversation with Jean Auquier, the manager of the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée in Brussels, Belgium – home to many famous cartoonists and characters. This episode focuses on the cutest and tiniest characters of Belgian comic art, the Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs). How were they born? Why are the Smurfs blue? What makes the Smurfs so popular? Why is the Smurf language so interesting, linguistically and socially? Here are only a handful of the many aspects we’ll discuss in this interview! Episode Timeline Part 1 How the Smurfs were born Why are the Smurfs … Read More →

Jean Auquier is the manager of the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée in Brussels, Belgium. Belgium is home of many famous cartoonist and characters such as Tintin, the Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs), etc. Why is it that comic strip became a specialty, a symbol of this small country? Learn about the history and the evolution of this popular form of art and culture and about the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée itself in the first part of this fascinating conversation with Jean Auquier! Episode Timeline Part 1 How is Belgium associated to comic books? How the first comic strips were … Read More →

Claude Tranchant is a French lady now living in Brisbane, Australia. On her 64th birthday, she set off to walk the way of Saint James (le pélerinage de St Jacques de Compostelle), covering over 2,500 km through France and Spain, crossing the Pyrenees to reach Santiago de Compostela. All alone. Oh, and she had never hiked before! Her physical journey soon became a spiritual and a humane one too. Find out more about the St James’s Way pilgrimage, the fears Claude had to overcome and how she changed forever along the way. Part 1 of this interview located in episode 78. Episode Timeline Part … Read More →

Claude Tranchant is a French lady now living in Brisbane, Australia. On her 64th birthday, she set off to walk the way of Saint James (le pélerinage de St Jacques de Compostelle), covering over 2,500 km through France and Spain, crossing the Pyrenees to reach Santiago de Compostela. All alone. Oh, and she had never hiked before! Her physical journey soon became a spiritual and a humane one too. Find out more about the St James’s Way pilgrimage, the fears Claude had to overcome and how she changed forever along the way. Vocab List pélerin,e = pilgrim pélerinage (nm) = pilgrimage bâton de … Read More →

This is the second part of my conversation with Marie-Louise Gay, award-winning Canadian author and illustrator of children’s books. Find out how Marie-Louise came to write for a young audience. We’ll also discuss how to encourage creativity in children, the benefits of reading with your child and how you can use a book to go deeper than its mere reading. This is a very important and inspiring episode for all parents and carers! Episode Timeline Part 1 Marie-Louise Gay’s early career How Marie-Louise came to write children’s books Part 2 How to encourage creativity in children A … Read More →

Meet Marie-Louise Gay, an award-winning Canadian author and illustrator of children’s book. This is the first part of a fascinating conversation between two book and language lovers: Marie-Louise and myself! In this part, Marie-Louise will tell you a bit about her childhood and to what extent it influences the adventures of the heroes she’s been creating. Do you know Stella and Sam, two very cute siblings? They were born from Marie-Louise Gay’s imagination! Marie-Louise is perfectly fluent in both French and English, so which language comes first when she starts writing? Are there any … Read More →

Nathalie Ressiguier is a young French woman with a very special gift: she’s a magnetizer. When I was put in touch with her to do the interview I was, as always, very interested because I was going to learn a lot; but this time I had had a lot of trouble trying to think of some questions in advance! Why? Because I wasn’t sure what she was doing exactly! Luckily, Nathalie’s so passionate that the conversation just flew very easily. So, what’s a magnetizer? How did Nathalie found about and then develop this unique gift? In this episode, you’ll hear her story and you may find her experience … Read More →

Meet Laurent Cicurel, a Frenchman passionnate about beer and craft beer. Laurent is the co-owner of La Fine Mousse, a bar and a restaurant in Paris which specialises in the tasting of unique beers. The restaurant offers to match dishes with beers, just like you would do with a wine. By the way, in a country where wine and champagne are so renowned, how big is beer culture in France? Find out in this episode and learn many more, interesting facts such as what the main ingredients in a beer are, or why the number of breweries underwent such a dramatic change in number in the last … Read More →

Florence Metgé is a French artist based in the South of France. Florence’s art is colourful and vibrant. She finds her inspiration in the complexity of human relationships and will share some examples in the episode. Living in Western Africa for many years has also influenced her style. Listen in to learn more about it, as well as the condition and challenges faces by contemporary African artists! Episode Timeline Part 1 An overview of Florence’s background Westerners vs African people: hoe they react to art Definition of Arts Plastiques Part 2 Florence’s favourite theme Favourite … Read More →