Happy first anniversary to the newlyweds !

At exactly this time last year, millions of people were in front of their TV screens following Kate and William’s wedding. In fact some of them cared about Kate’s gown or the Queen’s outfit so much that they were willing to gamble a lot of money on them. Now let’s sum up their first year as a royal couple : we are still waiting for a toddler especially after all the rumours just because Kate did not want to eat something containing peanuts. Did you know that pregnant women in Britain cannot eat peanuts ? It was just a tiny detail but all  the cameras in the world focused on her stomach in order to discover if there was a baby coming soon. Unfortunatley, the rumour proved to be wrong, what a shame  for  the Royal Family! They also had the chance to meet the Obamas in Buckingham Palace and some Hollywood stars in Los Angeles. Now let’s talk about the place where they live, they are practically homeless, they have to live on the island of Anglesey because Kensington palace is being renovated. So let’s wish them a happy second year as newlyweds and hope for a lovely baby in 2012.

by Sophie Almeida

Tags: Anniversary, The Royals, William and Kate

The English Summer Ball

Ashley and Jake practise their Waltz

On Saturday, 21 April, the end of the year ball took place. The lecteurs had told us that it would be something we would long remember, and they were not wrong.
First, when we arrived, the room had been decorated with flags everywhere, and sweets were waiting for us on the tables. We were divided up into different tables : the professors were holding court at the Queen’s table, of course, whereas students were at Prince Harry’s table, Prince Charles’s or Kate Middleton’s ( the best! ) and others! We were served a nice welcome cocktail but what a shame that the weather was bad, maybe it was to honour the Queen with typically English weather ( I know, it’s not fair to make fun of English weather, the Limousin is quite the same ). James announced the dinner with a ‘ Bon Appétit’, saying that it did not really exist in English (I remember wondering for a long time how it could be said, what a disappointment haha), and the dinner started with a surprise course, marmite, which put Ashley up against all the people who did not like it.

Mr. Rouby is a Marmite lover.

Then, Jake had directed a video on their year spent in Limoges, it was a nostalgic moment. But the dinner cheered us up, as we enjoyed other surprise courses and two great performances. Those who won the photograph or drawing competitions were rewarded with champagne! After that, Jake gave us a dancing lesson, and it was not as easy as it could have appeared. And just after that the disco began, when everybody was motivated to dance all night long, even Mr Rouby!

It was a great night, we all had a lot of fun! Not only for this ball, but also for all you did during the year, a huge, an immense THANK YOU, you are the best lecteurs ever!

by Céline Montanard

Disco

Tags: Pole de Lanaud, Summer ball, Swinging Cat Club

La Culture Au Grand Jour

Fair-weather friends, it is time for spring and to discover a new festival for 2012: La Culture Au Grand Jour.

From 6-21 April 2012, the whole of the Haut-Vienne will be putting on 40 shows in its 40 towns. The ambition of the local council is not only to bring rural towns to life, but also to make people aware of the diversity of the département‘s cultural creation. So over the next two weeks take your pick from the huge variety of events: enjoy music at one of the many concerts, have a dance at a ball, wander through numerous exhibitions and discover the atmosphere of a local circus.

This year’s program is really varied, and for those who like rock music, you can be sure to find something you’ll like. Playing live this year are Dumont d’Urville, Les Ejectés, Union Spirit, Redshift and last but not least, Johnny Gin Converse ( they are really great!).
As for orchestras, let me recommend the Ensemble Orchestral du Palais-sur-Vienne, which not only plays classical music, but a lot of film music  too. For followers of theater, there will also be various plays.

If you want to discover the program, check out the festival’s site.

I hope you will find what you want if you are interested in this festival!

by Céline Montanard

Tags: festival, Haut-Vienne, limoges, music

Revolver

Even if the band took the name Revolver mostly to pay tribute to the seventh album of the Beatles, their influences are not only composed of this mythical band.

Revolver is made up of Christophe Musset (guitar), Ambroise Willaume (vocals), and  Jeremie Arcache (cello). They have played together since 2006.

They are really an atypical band, as they have completely different musical influences. This explosive mixture gives a very interesting result, as their songs reflect not only their taste for the pop of their principal influence, Elliot Sith, but also for classical Rennaissance music, such as Purcell or Bach. ‘Chamber pop’ is thus the term they use to describe what they want to do. Their rich vocal harmonies and their stark compositions are their trademark.

After an EP in 2008, their first album ‘Music for a While’ was a success, notably with ‘Leave me alone’ or ‘Get around Town’. They then went to America to go on tour, and came back to France to work on the follow up to ‘Music for a While’.
And this new album, ‘Let Go’, has been available only since March 12! I encourage you to listen to it because it is, once again, really great !

by Céline Montanard

Tags: album, chamber pop, music, Revolver

Victoires de la Musique

If you missed the ceremony last week, on March 3rd, don’t worry, since I’m here to give you a review of what happened!

Every year since 1985, the ‘Victoires de la Musique’ have rewarded the best of French music of the last twelve months. The jury is made up of 40 % artists, 40 % professionals of the music production and the last 20 % are record shop owners, music critics or radio schedulers. This professional jury is responsible for the choice of the best French artists.

Thus, this year, the following artists were nominated in different categories:

Male artist of the year
Benjamin Biolay
Julien Clerc
Thomas Dutronc
Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine (winner)

Female artist of the year
Catherine Ringer (winner)
Camille
Nolwenn Leroy
Zaz

Band or artist revelation of the public
Brigitte
L
Inna Modja
Orelsan (winner)

Band or artist revelation on the stage
Alexis HK
Brigitte (winner)
Imany
Skip The Use

Album of the year
Camille – « Ilo Veyou »
Coeur de Pirate – « Blonde »
Catherine Ringer – « Ring’n’roll »
Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine – « Suppléments de mensonge » (winner)

Original song of the year (the audience could vote during the program)
Jean-Louis Aubert – « Puisses-tu »
Camille – « L’étourderie »
Mika – « Elle me dit »
Laurent Voulzy – « Jeanne » (winner)

Show/tour of the year
Jean-Louis Aubert (winner)
Catherine Ringer
Stromae
Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine

Rock album of the year
Archimède – « Trafalgar »
Izia – « So Much Trouble » (winner)
Keren Ann – « 101″
Shaka Ponk – « The Geeks & The Jerkin Socks »

Urban music of the year
Booba – « Autopsie, Vol. 4″
Joeystarr – « Egomaniac »
La Fouine – « La Fouine vs. Laouni »
Orelsan – « Le chant des sirènes » (winner)

Music of the world album of the year
Jehro – « Cantina Paradise » (winner)
Magic System – « Touté Kalé »
Titi Robin – « Les Rives »
Tinariwen – « Tassili »

Electro album of the year
General Elektriks – « Parker Street »
David Guetta – « Nothing But the Beat »
Justice – « Audio, Video, Disco » (winner)
Yuksek – « Living on the Edge of Time »

Videoclip of the year
Julien Doré – « Kiss Me Forever »
Inna Modja – « French Cancan »
Orelsan – « Raelsan »
Vanessa Paradis et M – « la Seine » (winner)

Music DVD of the year
Indochine – « Putain de stade »
M – « les Saisons de passage » (winner)
Christophe Maé – « On trace la route, live »
Raphael – « Live, filmé par Jacques Audiard »

This year, once again, there were new revelations, such as Orelsan who won his two first Victoires. And David Guetta, who was set to win the electro album of 2012 was defeated by Justice.

See you next year for the next Victoires which, for sure, will have a lot of surprises too!

by Céline Montanard

Tags: Victoires de la Musique

Limoges Honey Week

The second week of March is a very sweet week, because it is Honey Week ! From the 13th of March until the 17th (8.30am-6.30pm), everybody is welcome to go to the Leo Lagrange room in the town centre of Limoges (Place Blanqui, behind the townhall). Beekeepers will be here with their equipment (including real beehives) to explain how beekeeping works. Movies about bees’ behaviour will be shown. The best thing about this week is that the professionals are also here to sell their products. It means that a lot of honey-derived food will be available : honey (of course), royal jelly, cakes, candy, and much more.

by Mélanie Darles & Antoine Poirier

Tags: honey week, limoges

Lire à Limoges

From the 30th March to the 1st April the city will be hosting the annual book festival “Lire à Limoges”. It’s one of the ten biggest in France. Many people go to this event : there will be around 60 000 visitors. At “Lire à Limoges”, 250 authors of general and regional literature, plus comic books will come together. It will take place at the Champ de Juillet, under a huge marquee. A lot of activities will be proposed to visitors such as meetings with the authors. If you’re lucky you can have your books signed by them. Moreover, there will be conferences and readings on topical subjects. So, if you’re interested in books, this event will be well worth a visit.

Every year, there is a guest of honour. This year, it will be Didier Decoin, a journalist, novelist, scriptwriter and secretary-general of the Goncourt academy, who won the Goncourt Prize in 1977, thanks to the novel entitled John L’enfer. Moreover, this year, the book fair will give a specific stand to detective novels. All weekend long, prizes will be award for the best books. Every year, the event has been considered a great success for the city of Limoges.

by Adeline Mondoux, Clara Daudet & Alice Mazal

Tags: book festival, Didier Decoin, limoges