This week is the final Sound Kitchen program, and it’s a doubleheader: you’ll hear the answers to TWO quiz questions, as well as TWO “Listeners Corner’s” with Paul Myers, plus a special musical choice from me to you. Just click the “Play” button above to join the feast!
Hello everyone!
As noted on the show, I am retiring on 1 October, and today’s show is our last meal together. Unfortunately, The Sound Kitchen is retiring too – I will not be replaced.
We’ve had a great time together all these years, haven’t we?
Click here to listen to past Sound Kitchen podcasts.
I know you will all stay loyal to RFI English – our service has so much to offer. We’re small, but my colleagues are firebrands!
For example, we have wonderful podcasts: Spotlight on France, with journalists Alison Hird and Sarah Elzas; Melissa Chemam’s insightful Spotlight on Africa, and our International Report, usually sent to us by one of our foreign correspondents. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) – to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis.
Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our team of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!
To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.
And don’t forget, in addition to our audio bilingual series, you can also learn French through our website “Le Français facile avec rfi”. In addition to online lessons, there are news broadcasts in slow, simple French, with exercises to practice what you’ve heard.
Go to their website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be advised on the best-suited activities for your level, according to your score.
Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of the “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour,” and now she heads this key international award-winning RFI department – so stick with it!
For the quiz on 7 February: I asked you a question about the 68th annual Grammy Awards that took place on 1 February. You were to re-read our article “French DJ wins Grammy for Lady Gaga remix” and send in the answer to this question: Which six artists were given “Lifetime Achievement” awards?
The answer is, to quote our article: “On Saturday evening, Nigeria's Fela Kuti was posthumously awarded a lifetime achievement award, becoming the first African artist to receive the distinction.
The king of Afrobeat was one of several artists to receive the award, including Cher, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon and Chaka Khan.”
In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI Listeners Club member Alan Holder from the English Isle of Wight. Alan’s question was: “What would be your ideal gift from your best friend or spouse? Why?”
The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Mohamed Elsayed Abd Elraheim from Elsharkya, Egypt. Mohamed Elsayed is also this week’s bonus question winner.
Also on the list of lucky winners are RFI Listeners Club members Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark; Helmut Matt from Herbolzheim, Germany; Kashif Khalil from Faisalabad, Pakistan, and last but not least, gentle Debashis Gope from West Bengal, India.
Congratulations winners!
For the quiz on 14 February: That week, I asked you a question about the Benin Bronzes, the trove of Nigerian sculptures and artifacts that were looted by colonial powers.
One of the most well-known organizations working for the return of these works is in Nigeria: it’s the National Commission for Museums and Monuments – the NCMM- which requested the return of bronzes from Britain that were looted from the Kingdom of Benin during the British Benin Expedition of 1897. Some of the sculptures date to the fourteenth century, but the bulk of the collection dates to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
And that week, the NCMM had a win, as my good colleague Melissa Chemam noted in her article: “Cambridge University museum set to return Benin bronzes to Nigeria”.
You were to re-read Melissa’s article and give the details of the artefacts to be returned. What did Melissa name in her article about the Benin Kingdom artworks that went home to Nigeria?
The answer is, to quote Melissa: “Among the returned bronzes that will travel in the coming months are wood and ivory sculptures, as well as commemorative heads of King Oba and Queen Mother Lyoba Idia.
The term ‘Benin bronzes’ refers to objects crafted from brass and ivory as well as bronze, which were seized during the colonial-era military expedition.”
The bonus question you answered that week was: “What do you know after all these years? What have you found are important life truths?
The winners are: Faithful RFI Listeners Club member Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Jayanta is also the bonus question winner.
Also on the list of lucky winners are RFI Listeners Club member Nasyr Muhammad from Katsina State in Nigeria, as well as RFI English listeners M. Ganesan from Goa, India, and three listeners from Bangladesh: Rafiq ul Islam from Naogaon, as well as Abdul Mannan and Mahfuza Akhter, both from Chapainawabganj.
Congratulations winners!
Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Minor Swing” by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli, performed by the composers with Le Quintette Hot Club de France; "Water No Get Enemy" by Fela Kuti, performed by Fela Kuti and Africa ’70; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “L'hymne à l'amour” by Edith Piaf and Marguerite Monnot, sung by Edith Piaf, and “I Wish You Love” by Charles Trenet and Léo Chauliac, performed by Laufey with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hugh Brant.
With much affection from The Sound Kitchen team – Erwan Rome, Paul Myers, and yours truly, Susan Owensby - fare thee well!
