NEW YEAR GREETINGS

I hope you all had  a very good festive season & the Board members join me in wishing you an excellent 2017

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Quiz

Our famous quiz takes place on 27th January at Espace Martin Luther King 27 Bd Louis Blanc. Doors open at 5.45 so that you can fortify yourselves with a drink before putting your brains & your memories to work. Please come along with 5 euros per person in a discrete envelope to cover expenses (anything extra goes into book purchasing fund)

Saint Valentine’s at the Domaine d’O

This should be a really fun evening, the Domaine d’O goes to great lengths to create a completely different venue at the theatre (rather like a cabaret, they push back the seating & set up a most convivial space). Music with the Big Ukelele Syndicate (10 ukeleles), dancing & fun (drinks on offer) Foal has a special price for associations  (16 euros). Please let me know if you are coming before 15 January at the latest foal@dbmail.com

 Voces 8

This is a bit later in the year but reminders are always helpful : a group of  English  singers called VOCES 8 (singing a capella a wide range of music from classical to jazz to American crooners) will be coming to the Domaine d’O on 28th March. I have taken an option for Foal  Special price 12 euros   foal@dbmail.com  before 15th February

 

BOOK SALE

We have a permanent book sale in the library. This is a means for us to raise funds and will usefully replace the grant from City Hall which may not be forthcoming again since the difference of the real value of the rent on the premises & the peppercorn rent we are paying represents a benefit in kind of over 9000 euros. If you have any recent books in good condition, do send us a list so that they can be either added to the collection or put in the book sale. We would also like to add CDs & DVDs, don’t hesitate to bring them along. We have sold quite a lot of CDs & need to renew the stock.

 

MEMBERSHIP DUES

As you know, we harmonised membership fees so that everyone pays at the beginning of January. Please send a cheque for 30 euros (40 for a family & 50 if you wish to be a benefactor), made out to Foal to Mike Davison 13 rue de la Paix 34130 St Aunès

 

CHRISTMAS PARTY

We had a great party as usual. Unfortunately, this year we had to have a cut off number of guests, but next Christmas we shall probably hold the party at the Library & we won't have to restrict numbers. The raffle was a great success, below a photo of all the goodies on offer. Members of the board worked very hard to get the prizes, there were lots of them so people had a very good chance of winning

 

 

The cosy area Rue Lakanal

We are feathering our nest in the the new premises Rue Lakanal. The room where we have the children's books & where you can have a cup of tea or coffee is looking really cosy. See below

 

 

 

We shall be open on the 14th & 17th December & then closed for the holidays until Wednesday 4th January

The new catalogue (Author Alphabetical Order) is now online. To download it, just click Here.
Also available : Title Alphabetical Order Here.

Click on “télécharger avec votre navigateur” (download to browser) and then on “ouvrir” (open) or "Enregistrer le fichier" (to save it on your computer).

FIRST BOOKCHAT MEETING AT THE LIBRARY

 

 

 

The first Bookchat meeting at the Library. We have a good-sized meeting room in which Book Chat meetings will be held from now on. We usually have the permanent book sale on the tables but book chat members made short shrift of getting the boxes off & back in place at the end of the meeting. Members were able to have a cup of coffee or tea which is always on offer when you come to the Library  

. Book Chat meets once a month to talk about books people have read. If you would like to sit in on a meeting before joining (Foal members) you can send an email to mishex@wanadoo.fr

We have some pictures to put on the walls which are still rather bare..

NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2016

No, the newsletter is not becoming a monthly publication but there is a lot of news so I thought I’d write again this month

 Grand Opening

Was a great success, you will have seen the articles in the press & the photos on the blog & Facebook. Unfortunately, the Midi Libre journalist has a rather scant knowledge of English & wrote that we were a book shop (librarie) rather than a library. I contacted ML as soon as I saw the article & they corrected the error in an issue later in the week. On the strength of the ML article, I was contacted by a journalist from Divergences FM who came to interview me about the library. The interview was aired two days later at 8am, I doubt any of you heard it but it was another publicity plug for Foal.

We had lots of visitors including Mr Castre from City Hall who was delighted with the way we had set up the library. By chance  there was a young child sitting on the floor in the cosy, children’s room which is just the kind of thing CH is looking for when they allocate premises, they like to know that their premises are being used  to good effect. We had 13 new sign ups which brings us up to nearly 60 members now. I would like to thank all of the long-term members who have supported us through thick & thin over the years & of course, the Claringbulls & Glynis without whom we would have had to close.

Christmas Raffle

Lots of super prizes again this year.  The Board goes to great lengths to get the prizes & I hope you will all buy tickets for yourselves & friends in support of the library.  (ticket 1 euro  10 tickets for 8 euros)

LIST OF PRIZES TO DATE   

·        Radio designed by Philippe Stark for Alessi, almost a museum piece, exhibited at MOMA

·        Voucher for an evening meal for two at the Casino Brasserie at the Grande Motte 

·        A manucure in a swish beauty parlour

·        Voucher for 50 euros at the restaurant Le Grillardin

·        Simili jet glass bead necklace from the Musée d’Orsay

·        A professional vegetable slicer

·        An ice cream door jam

·        A hand-decorated plate

·        Voucher for a « gouter » at Deli’s café

·        Bamboo pen & propelling pencil set

·        3 bottles of wine Domaine de Causse

·        Voucher from B’Cosse for « something nice »

·        Modern serving plate

·        Market list notepad                 MORE TO COME

 

Opening days over the Christmas holiday

In December we shall be open on Saturday 3rd & Saturday 17th & Wednesdays 7th & 14th. Back to normal schedule from the Wednesday 4th January opening  onwards (1st & 3rd Saturday & every Wednesday)

QUIZ

Foal’s famous literary quiz will be held at Martin Luther Quiz on 27th January. I don’t have an exact time yet for the opening of the doors. Quite early so that you have time for a drink to build you up before we start.

Conversation sessions

We would like to offer twice-monthly conversation sessions to anyone who might be interested. We already have 4 sign ups but we need a few more before we can set this up. Send an email to foal34@gmail.com

St Valentine’s Day  10 ukuleles

I have taken an option for the St Valentin’s Day evening at the Domain d’O. We had a great evening two years ago & this time there will be 10 musiciens with 10 ukuleles in a cabaret atmosphere as in 2015. We were astounded last time when we saw what they had done with the space  & I reckon this is not to be missed. The evening starts at 8pm & goes on for an hour & a half & should  be terrific fun. Sign ups before end of December to foal34@gmail.com  Special price 12 euros

Voces 8

I haven’t had many sign ups yet for this. It is still a long way off but I have an end of January deadline. An English group of singers called VOCES 8 some of whom are former pupils of Westminster Abbey will be singing all sorts of music  from classical to jazz to American crooners, a capella at the Domaine d’O on 28th March.  This will be a brilliant concert

Email to  foal@dbmail.com  Special price 12 euros

 Book Sale

The book sale is a permanent fixture. If you have any recent books in good condition, send a list to foal34@gmail.com , some can be added to the collection & some can go into the book sale. We made quite a lot of money with the Book Sale on Grand Opening day, it is a good way to raise funds for new purchases. We also sell CDs, I have mentioned this before, try & go through your CD collection & see if there          are any titles you don’t  listen to any more & bring them along to the library. Every little counts !

 Teddy Bears

It would be a nice idea to have a few cuddly toys on the shelves above the children’s book, there are already a couple. If you have one to donate (not too chewed up!) do bring it along. If you are fond of teddy bears, the Heathrow Christmas ad (you can see it on You Tube) is absolutely sweet & considered the best of the Christmas ads for the moment

 

Loads of new titles added to the collection in November 2016

LOADS OF BOOKS HAVE JUST COME IN
We have added a load of new books to the collection from various donations which will cater to all tastes! Travel & other excellent non-fiction, lots of novels & crime. If you are thinking of donating books, we have to be a bit strict. We ask for a list with author, title, publication date & condition. The Book Acquisitions Committee then decides which books to keep. From past experience & in the days when we were a fledgling library, we accepted donations sight unseen only ot discover that we had been had because people were offloading their chestnuts (ancient, well-thumbed, read in the bath kind of thing!) so we are more wary now.
You can also donate CDs which have been selling at a good pace in the permanent sale.
If you would like the list of the new titles send an e-mail to foal34@gmail.com