Archives: Events

The Saturday Reading Group is for anyone who loves to read, socialize in English, and meet new people.

The October read for the group is The Children of Men by P. D. James. Told with P. D. James’s trademark suspense, insightful characterization, and riveting storytelling, The Children of Men is a story of a world with no children and no future. The human race has become infertile, and the last generation to be born is now adult. Civilization itself is crumbling as suicide and despair become commonplace. Oxford historian Theodore Faron, apathetic toward a future without a future, spends most of his time reminiscing. Then he is approached by Julian, a bright, attractive woman who wants him to help get her an audience with his cousin, the powerful Warden of England. She and her band of unlikely revolutionaries may just awaken his desire to live . . . and they may also hold the key to survival for the human race.

Meetings are once a month on Saturday afternoons starting at 3 pm. Open to all library members. To sign up please contact the group coordinator at bookgroup@ellia.org.

This is our big Coffee House kick-off date of the fall season of 2021! Join the library community for a special moment to talk about anything and everything (in English of course!) over a cup of coffee or tea. Coffee House is free and open to all library members. Just drop by, no need to reserve!

The garden club invites you to discover the beautiful gardens in the area!

The October visit will be in the lovely gardens of the Château de Gastines in Fougeré, a garden that has been classed as “jardin remarquable”. The visit will start at 3:00 pm. The entrance fee to this private garden is €6.

This activity is open to library members and offers visits once a month to a garden between April and October. For more information and/or to sign up for this visit, please send an email to Sylvie Leys  at elliagardenclub@gmail.com.

Hee haw! Come to the library and kick up some dust! Learn how to line dance and have a great evening of wild western fun! Remember to dress for the occasion! Simple steps and ambiance Texan in the company of “Madison Country Briollay”…free and open to the public. No reservation necessary, first come, first serve.

Austin too far to visit? True, not easy to travel these days. But we have a solution…how about a getting a tour of the beautiful new building of the Austin Public Library? The building, opened in 2017, was listed as one of Time magazine’s “world’s greatest places” in 2018. Librarian Melissa Wise will be giving us a LIVE Zoom tour of library…next best thing to being there!

Join us at the library for a writer’s workshop based on the theme of what it is like to live in Angers. Free and open to the public. 10 participants maxi. Masks and pass sanitaire required. Please sign up by sending an email to info@ellia.org

Join us at the library for this free and interesting talk!

The library is honored to offer a talk by Kyle Walker, a historian from the Texas Historical Commission, who will share with us the story of the French Legation :

The French Legation State Historic Site in Austin began in 1841 as a private home for France’s representative to the Republic of Texas, Alphonse Dubois, after the French monarch officially recognized the Republic of Texas as a sovereign nation. Dubois was promoted to “chargé d’affaires,” a diplomat who headed an embassy in the absence of the ambassador, and established an official legation in Texas. Construction began in September 1840 and was finished in the spring of 1841, but by the time of its completion, Dubois had left Austin after the incident known as the “Pig War.” The house went through a series of owners, including the Catholic Church, before it was purchased by Dr. Joseph Robertson in 1848. The Robertson family was the last and longest private owners of the property, which remained with their descendants until it was sold to the State of Texas in 1949. The state then placed the site under the custodianship of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas who operated the site as a house museum from 1956-2017.  In 2017 the Texas Legislature transferred custodianship of the site to the Texas Historical Commission who undertook an extensive restoration of the historic home in 2019. The historic structure and landscape provide a cultural destination where people from the surrounding neighborhoods continue to gather on common ground. 

and the fascinating shipwreck of La Belle:  

The 17th century French shipwreck La Belle is one of the most significant stories in early Texas history. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, set sail for the Mississippi River in 1684 to claim new territory for France but the ship instead sailed into Matagorda Bay, only to sink in 1686 where it was found 300 years later. The ship underwent an extraordinary excavation and preservation process beginning in 1995. Although La Salle’s expedition ended in failure, his foray into Texas had lasting impacts for centuries to follow.  His entry into the Gulf of Mexico sparked renewal of Spanish interest in the region.  The failed French colony gave France a claim to Texas and resulted in increased Spanish settlement of the territory resulting in the founding of Spanish missions like the Alamo and the city of San Antonio.  After a lengthy preservation process, La Belle is now on display in the Texas State History Museum for visitors to learn about the ship that changed Texas history.  

Start out your day with a big Texan Brunch: hash browns (delicious potatoes cooked in butter!), scrambled eggs, bacon, beans, toast and big-sized mugs of coffee and tea! Come dressed for the occasion…jeans, cowboy boots and your 10-gallon hat. Brunch is free and open to the public. No reservations necessary but space is limited…so first come, first serve!

This is our big Coffee House kick-off date of the fall season of 2021! Join the library community for a special moment to talk about anything and everything (in English of course!) over a cup of coffee or tea. Coffee House is free and open to all library members. Just drop by, no need to reserve!