This week on The Sound Kitchen you’ll hear the answer to the question about the opposition political party that joined Macron’s party to pass spending legislation. There’s the Bonus Question, the “Listeners Corner” with Michael Fitzpatrick, and “Music from Erwan”. All that, and the new quiz question, too. Just click on the “Audio” arrow above and enjoy!
Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.
Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!
Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!
In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts which will leave you hungry for more.
There’s Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.
As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!
To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website and click on the three horizontal bars on the top right, choose “Listen to RFI / Podcasts”, and you’ve got ‘em ! You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.
To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.
Teachers, take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.
Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that’s how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.
Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!
And don’t forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven’t yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above, and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”).
There’s a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club too. Just click on the link and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don’t like to do!
This week’s quiz: On 6 August, I asked you a question about an article written by RFI English journalist Michael Fitzpatrick, about Macron’s loss of an overall majority in France’s National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament. This means his party’s proposed laws will have a much harder time passing than in his last presidential term when he had the absolute majority. Compromise, coalitions – all that’s now necessary, and we’ve been watching closely how this new political landscape will play out.
As Michael wrote in his article “After angry debate, French parliament agrees spending power budget changes”, you’ll read exactly how that is going … as Michael put it: “After four days of frequently violent verbal clashes, the French National Assembly on Wednesday morning finally passed the budgetary adjustments needed to finance measures aimed at boosting spending power.”
I asked you to send me the answer to this question: How many deputies from the right-leaning French political party “Les Républicans” joined with members from Macron’s party “Renaissance” to pass the adjustments to the 2022 budget?
The answer is, as Michael wrote: “The presidential faction and its allies profited from the support of the 54 deputies of the Republican right, which is anxious to position itself as a ‘constructive opposition.”
In addition to the quiz question, there was the Bonus Question: “When are you at your best?”
The winners are: Khondaker Rafiqul Islam, who’s the president of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh, and is also the winner of this week’s Bonus Question.
The other winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Mogire Machuki from Kissi, Kenya; Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark; Ding Lu from Jiangsu Province in China, and RFI English listener Sultana Begum from Sirajganj, Bangladesh.
Congratulations winners!
Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “April in Paris” by Vernon Duke and Yip Harburg, performed by Count Basie and the Mills Brothers; “September” by Al McKay, Maurice White, and Allee Willis, performed by Earth, Wind & Fire; “L’Indifference” by Tony Murena, performed by Murena and the Café Accordion Orchestra; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Dancing on the Tables” written by Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, and performed by the Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Quartet.
Do you have a musical request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr
This week’s question ... you have to listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, refer to our article “French director receives two awards for debut film at Venice festival” to help you with the answer.
You have until 10 October to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 15 October podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.
Send your answers to:
english.service@rfi.fr
or
Susan Owensby
RFI – The Sound Kitchen
80, rue Camille Desmoulins
92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
France
or
By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then 33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.
To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.
To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or to form your own official RFI Club, click here.
