SUMMER NEWSLETTER JUNE 2016

AGM & PARTY

We had a good turnout and very quickly moved on to the party and a glass (or two) of excellent « crémant d’Alsace » which people remarked upon. There was a wonderful spread of delicious food that our cordon bleu members brought along, the weather was perfect (not too hot, not too cold) and a great time was had by all. I shall be posting some photos on Foal’s Facebook page and the blog when I get them. (the blog foal34.free.fr is a good place if you wish to look at the catalogue)

OPENING DAYS JULY (before the move)

We will be open on Saturday 2^nd  & Wednesday 13th July so that you can take out your summer reading (you are allowed more books for the summer) The new books will be in the library from 22nd July so you will have plenty to choose from

PLANS FOR NEW PREMISES   23 Rue Lakanal

We have great plans for the new premises once we get up and running. There is a lot to be done getting the place to rights, City Hall will be doing most of the work but our bricoleurs will have plenty to do too. We will have a CHILDREN’S SECTION and you are invited to donate recent children’s books (in good condition) since we don’t plan to actually buy any books for youngsters. Patricia Robb has volunteered to set up story telling sessions for the kids.

We would like to increase the MAGAZINE SECTION thanks to donations of VERY recent issues of magazines (TIME, THE ECONOMIST, etc.)

We shall be increasing OPENING HOURS and we will need VOLUNTEERS for staffing (send an email to foal@dbmail.com with your possible slots). We plan to open every Wednesday(3pm-6pm) and the first and third Saturday of each month (10am-12.30am).

 Dates (subject to change) We hope to have a normal opening  on Saturday 3rd of September but you will be kept informed (it depends on how the renovation goes) and a GRAND OPENING AND BOOK SALE on Saturday 24th September from 10-12.30 & 2pm-6pm. I hope lots of you will come along on that day. It will be announced in the Press and we hope to enroll new members. All this to be confirmed. I met the technicien from City Hall ; work on schools over the holidays takes precedence, so, at the present time, it is impossible to set up an agenda. However, they do plan to do a thorough renovation with new flooring, ceiling and plumbing, so the premises will be spanking new when we move in.

We will need plenty of CHAIRS in the new premises where we plan to hold the Book Chat sessions and the Board meetings so if you have the odd chair to donate, send an email to the foal address (see above) and you can bring them along on an opening day. An armchair or two wouldn’t come amiss as we have a small room where we shall be able to sit and have a cup of tea or coffee and a chat.

ANTIGONE DES ASSOCIATIONS

We shall have a stand at the Antigone des Associations in the International section on Saturday 11th September. Now that we shall able to publicise the library with an address, it will be easier to promote so there will be special flyers, and info about the Grand Opening.

CHRISTMAS PARTY

This is probably getting ahead of ourselves but the good news is that the Claringbulls have very kindly offered to hold the party at theirs on 10th December. We will have a cut off for numbers so when we get nearer the time you will be asked to sign on very fast. Meanwhile, rummage in your attics for hidden treasures which could make good prizes for the raffle and let me know.

NEWSLETTER March 2016

NEWSLETTER MARCH 2016

 

I can'r seem to be able to copy the images that are in the Newsletter, the one that should be in this space is of a couple of champagne glasses. This explains the first sentence of the text below

 

I expect you are surprised to see this festive image but drinking some fizzy might soon be a reality. Indeed, I was informed this week that the Premises Commission had held its meeting and that Foal’s dossier had been given an « avis favorable » by the Mayor. The next step is for them to find suitable premises but it does look as if we are well on the way to getting something permanent. If and when this happens, which might be in the not so distant future, Foal members will be drinking fizzy and celebrating. My secret hope is that this might intervene before the AGM and the summer party which is due to take place on 11th June (I hope the date is already in your agendas) so that we can do our celebrating then.

The new books will be in the library tomorrow (23rd March), another excellent selection as you have already seen.

 

This is a very short newsletter, I just wanted to share the good news.

 

There was another image here of some party hats

  

Newsletter January 2016

NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2016

 

Let me wish you all a Happy New Year again, I hope you enjoyed the Christmas break and that you have made all kinds of good resolutions !

 

Christmas Party The party was a great success, many, many thanks to Caroline and Michel Grasset for enabling us to hold the party at their lovely house. The food and drink were plentiful, the raffle (with so many prizes) a success too. We made 300 euros which goes immediately to the book fund.

 

Book Quiz  Coming up soon, 5th of February at the usual venue ; Espace Martin Luther King 27 Bd Louis Blanc. The doors open at 5.30pm which will give you time to have a glass in hand before the start of the quiz at 6.15. Try and come on time so that we can start on time and have time left over for a bit of socialising after the quiz.

Please put 5 euros per person into a discrete envelope and hand it in on arrival  (the money goes towards expenses for the drinks and nibbles, anything left over goes into the book budget).

 

Party and AGM  11th June for FOAL members It’s a bit early to talk about this but you can pencil the date into your diaries (yes, we are having a party again thanks to our friend Françoise Sorro who is kindly letting us hold it in her lovely garden)

 

Dues: Are dribbling in, you still have 15 days before the end of January to send a cheque (25 euros or 40 if you wish to be a benefactor) made out to Foal to : Mike Davison 13 rue de la Paix 34130 St Aunès. We have harmonised dues so that they are now paid at the beginning of the calendar year

 

NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2015

NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2015

 

Summer party and AGM

FOAL celebrated five years of existence this summer so we decided to hold the AGM and have a party at the same time. Our friend, Françoise Sorro kindly offered us her lovely house and garden as a venue, members brought along delicious food and FOAL provided the drinks. We had a good turnout, this is obviously a good way to persuade members to come to the AGM and we hope Françoise will allow us to make this an annual event. Photos were posted on the Facebook page and the website. The AGM went off without a hitch; sadly, Philip Claringbull stepped down as treasurer, his place to be taken by Mike Davison. Vicki announced that we had received a grant again this year, 500 euros to add to our war chest. We have managed to harmonise dues so that everyone will be paying at the beginning of January from now on.

 

Five years already and we have managed to survive and thrive in spite of the numerous vicissitudes we have encountered. You all deserve a big thank you for your continuing support. As you know, our main problem is premises. We have had four moves and a fifth in the offing (details below). Our dossier has been at City Hall for three years, the mayor commissioned an audit of associative premises (due to be handed in last October), but this being an election year, he is not likely to be throwing anyone out even though he knows that abusive use is being made of many of them. Currently, we are at our friend Glynis Thomas’ house. She is moving at the end of September and has kindly offered to keep the library. We won’t be going far, just two houses up the square, the new address is 14 rue des Rouges Gorges  1st floor, up the outside stairs.  (The tram stop is Aiguelongue, you cross over Avenue de la Justice de Castelnau and go down Rue de l’Hirondelle. The second street on the right is Rue des Rouges Gorges which is actually a small square, easy parking too). The move is planned for the end of September and the Saturday 3rd October opening is cancelled but then, as from 14th October, we will be back to business as normal. Our hero, Philip Claringbull has volunteered to do the move itself and board members will do the boxing and reshelving. There is no way we can thank the Claringbulls enough for their help and support.

 

Antigone des Associations  Saturday 13 September 

We shall be sharing a stand with the BCA and American Women’s Group. Stand 00597. It would be good if you could come along for an hour or two to distribute flyers and information about Foal. The 9-11 am slot is filled, but any time after that would be a help.

Christmas Party

Katharine and Philip Claringbull have kindly offered to hold the party at their flat, Place de la Chapelle Neuve and the date is Friday 18^th December, so put this in your diaries. There will be a deadline for signing up (details nearer the time). Of course, we will hold our Famous RAFFLE and board members are hard at work finding prizes. This is an important way for FOAL to raise funds (unfortunately lack of space precludes us having our permanent book sale). The proceeds go straight into the book acquistion fund.

 

Book Quiz

We are getting a little ahead of ourselves but a team is working on the quiz which will probably be held in January as usual.

 

CDs and DVDs  

Just a reminder that we have boxes in the library for CDs and DVDs, so don’t forget to bring along any you might want to offload (another way for FOAL to raise funds as we can’t hold the permanent book sale due to lack of space).

Spring Newsletter 2015

SPRING NEWSLETTER 2015

Play reading

Another successful Foal evening with an excellent turnout. Many thanks to the people who made it possible, Katharine Claringbull for directing, Caroline Di Miceli and Adam Gauci for taking the two roles, Philippe Marchand, our organiser par excellence and Phil Claringbull.

Thank you

We forgot to thank you in the last newsletter for the generous contributions to the raffle at Christmas, the quiz and the play reading. (208€ for the former, 200€ for the latter)

The monies we raise at these events go towards the purchase of books and into the war chest for when we get permanent premises and will need to equip them.

 Party and AGM  20th June for FOAL members

 I hope this date is already in your diaries, it is a big event for FOAL ; 5 years already despite all the vicissitudes we have encountered, we are still going from strength to strength.

The party will take place at 256 rue des Grèzes in Montpellier. You are invited for 11.30 so that we can hold a brief Annual General Meeting before moving on to the festivities.

To get to the venue which is a large garden and swimming pool kindly provided by Françoise Sorro : Rue des Grèzes is a street just opposite Celleneuve. To get to the Rue des Grezes the best thing is to take l'avenue de la Liberté and follow the direction La Paillade / Millau. You go past le Géant Casino which is on the right (going towards Millau). Keep on going a little further but you cannot turn left when you see the Lidl. You need to turn right as if you were entering Celleneuve to be able to cross l'Avenue de la Liberté. There is a sort of  half circle that enables you to do this. The Lidl is just on the corner. You go up this road and Françoise Sorro’s house is 256 metres from the bottom on the right. It has a white gate. Bus n°7direction La Martelle, get off on the last stop but one and the stop is practically in front of the house.

Deadline for signing up : 20th May to foal@dbmail.com When you sign up, please indicate whether you will be bringing sweet or savory dishes; FOAL will be providing the drinks and there will be music and maybe dancing ? It goes without saying that spouses are welcome.

 CD and DVD sale

We don’t have enough space in our current premises to hold the permanent book sale but a recent clear-out of my CDs gave me an idea. I don’t really want to get up at 5am to go to a flea maket and sell them and I thought we could have two or three boxes of CDs which we would sell for 2.50€ apiece to raise money for the book fund. I have already taken mine to the library and maybe you could also do some spring cleaning and bring along CDs you don’t listen to any more. We can also do this with DVD’s

Treasurer

The association is looking for a new treasurer. This is a crucial role but certainly not as daunting as you might think. Apart from the day to day bookkeeping (which is reduced to a minimum in a small association like ours, especially as we will have harmonised dues at the beginning of January 2016), the only other task is the preparation of a profit and loss account and a balance sheet for the AGM and the grant application. Former treasurers and myself will gladly give advice about this. We would rather have someone who is prepared to do this on a longish term basis (a few years) because ; one, practice makes perfect and two, changing the treasurer within the association entails quite a lot of red tape which we would prefer to avoid.

If none of you feels up to the task, maybe you know someone who would be happy to do so and become, if only nominally, a member of the board.  Please send an email to foal@dbmail.com about this.

February 2015 Newsletter

FEBRUARY 2015 NEWSLETTER

• Our Famous Literary Quiz on 23rd January was a great success. We had an excellent turnout and a good time was had by all. Many thanks to the organisers and to the American Womens Group for their generous donation. You will find photos on our Facebook page and on our blog (for the latter you need to go to foal34.free.fr and click on « blog ». We have decided to try and get more traffic on these two media and hope to come up with some new ideas shortly.

• Upcoming event : a date to put in your diaries  Friday 10th April, usual venue Espace Martin Luther King. Doors open at 6.30 pm so that you have time to pick up a glass of something before the event which starts at 7 pm. Remember the success of our event « Love Letters » in 2013.This time Foal will present a special reading of the comedy-cum-romance play Two Across by the American playwright Jerry Mayer which is in the same vein. Katharine Claringbull directing and Caroline Di Miceli and Adam Gauci taking the two roles. The reading lasts an hour which will leave plenty of time for a drink and a chat afterwards.

• New Books are now in the library,  we placed a significant order to inaugurate our change of (temporary) premises. What is happening at City Hall ? As I believe you know, an audit of premises allocated to associations was commissioned. It was due to be handed in at the end of October 2014. The date has been moved back to end of March ! It will obviously take time to get some associations to vacate premises which they should not be using and then re-allocate them. However, Foal is in good position on the waiting list and the situation is being monitored closely.

• PARTY    This year Foal will be celebrating its fifth anniversary. We have had plenty of vicissitudes during that time  (and you have supported us through thick and thin, for which heartfelt thanks), but we are still going strong and this  anniversary deserves a party ! The midday event will  be held on June 20th. One of our board members has kindly suggested we hold the party in her large garden which contains a swimming pool if you need to cool off. Foal members only and their spouses will bring along food and Foal will provide the drinks and we hope, music. More details about this nearer the time but please put the date in your diaries. We have decided to hold a short Annual General Meeting beforehand to give you an overview of the past year.