This week on The Sound Kitchen you’ll hear the answer to the question about French Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne’s expectations for French businesses before the winter. There’s the Bonus Question and the “Listeners Corner” with Michael Fitzpatrick, Ollia’s “Happy Moment”, and “Music from Erwan”. All that, and the new quiz question, too, so 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 winners' 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 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!
We have new RFI Listeners Club members to welcome: Javier Caleb Hernandez Trujillo from Mexico; Pranab Kumar Ray, Madhab Chandra Sagour, and Tapan Basak, all from India; Mahamudul Hasan, Hossen Abed Ali, and Abu Saleh, all from Bangladesh; Yeami Sanday John Turay from Sierre Leone; Orlando Teamah from Liberia; Vladimir Gudzenko from Russia, and from China, Ding Lu.
Welcome one and all! So glad you have joined us!
You too can be a member of the RFI Listeners Club – just write to me at english.service@rfi.fr and tell me you want to join, and I’ll send you a membership number. It’s that easy. When you win a Sound Kitchen quiz as an RFI Listeners Club member, you receive a premium prize, AND, you can join our Facebook page, the RFI Listeners Club page. You must ask to join the group, you must furnish your RFI Listeners Club membership number, I’ll approve you, and then off you go!
This week’s quiz: On 3 September, I asked you a question about an article written by RFI English journalist Amanda Morrow: “French businesses put on notice as threat of power rationing looms”. Earlier that week, there had been a very important meeting held by MEDEF, France’s largest employer federation. France’s Prime Minister, Elizabeth Borne, spoke at the event, and warned the group, as Amanda wrote: “that businesses – not households – would be the first affected by potential electricity rationing ahead of the winter.”
Prime Minister Borne told MEDEF members what she expected of them … and you were to write in with what she told French businesses to do.
The answer is: As Amanda wrote: “Each company has been asked to appoint an 'ambassador of energy sobriety' with a view to laying out internal plans for cutting down on electricity.
Due in October, a first assessment of those plans would inform expert forecasts that would give authorities ‘a clearer vision of the risks of rationing’”.
In addition to the quiz question, there was the Bonus Question: What would you do if you were a man for a week? And what would your name be?
The winners are: Shahanaj Parvin from Rangpur, Bangladesh, who is also the winner of this week’s bonus question.
There’s Jobayada Aktar Jai and Rabeya Begam, both from the Nilshagor RFI Fan Club in Nilphamari, Bangladesh; Tasneem and Tahtiha Saleh, also from Nilphamari and both members of the RFI Listeners Club, and RFI English listener Rajia Khatun from Joypurhat, also in Bangladesh.
Congratulations winners!
Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Adigboloja” by Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson, performed by Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson and The Rivers Men; “Restaurant in the Bois de Boulogne” from the Suite Symphonique Paris by Jacques Ibert, performed by the Harmonie Ensemble directed by Steven Richman; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Rew Be Me” by André Balaguemon, performed by the Star Feminine Band.
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 Michael Fitzpatrick's article “Meloni's far-right coalition sweeps to victory in Italian general election” to help you with the answer.
You have until 24 October to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 29 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.
