Archives: Events

The December read for the bookclub is “Under the Greenwood Tree” by Thomas Hardy. The arrival of two newcomers in the quiet village of Mellstock arouses a bitter feud and leaves a convoluted love affair in its wake. While the Reverend Maybold creates a furore among the village’s musicians with his decision to abolish the church’s traditional ‘string choir’ and replace it with a modern mechanical organ, the new schoolteacher, Fancy Day, causes an upheaval of a more romantic nature, winning the hearts of three very different men – a local farmer, a church musician and Maybold himself. “Under the Greenwood Tree” follows the ensuing maze of intrigue and passion with gentle humour and sympathy, deftly evoking the richness of village life, yet tinged with melancholy for a rural world that Hardy saw fast disappearing.

For any enquiries about joining the bookclub please send an email by clicking here.

“Books and Tea” is a monthly meeting for bookworms and tea drinkers. Bring a book you’ve really enjoyed, talk about it and pass it on! The group meets from 2 to 3:30 at “Les Casse-Croûte de Suzy” 3 rue de l’Espine. No need to sign up, just come and enjoy!

The pizza and board games evening is scheduled one Tuesday a month from 6-8 pm. Cost is 7 euros (covers pizza and non-alcoholic drinks, 5 euros for children 12 and under and native English speakers). No reservations necessary, just come and enjoy! Dates for 2016-2017 are Dec 13th, January 17th, February 7th, March 14th, April 4th, May 16th and June 20th.

Love those French restaurants? Feel like you need to speak English more but in a relaxed atmosphere? Join this club which schedules a lunch in a great local restaurant. Click here to send an email to the coordinator for more information and the full schedule.

Looking for that good old Christmas spirit…? Join the members of the English-language Library in Angers for Christmas caroling on Sunday, December 11th. All you need to do is to wear red and green AND WARM clothes (and a red santa hat if you have one!), meet at the library at 2:30 before going out to carol in the streets of Angers. If you would like, bring some baked Christmas treat to share with everybody for when we come back to the library. No need to sign up, just come and sing to your heart’s content! Free and open to the public!

14:30 – meet at the library to warm up the vocal cords

15:00 – 17:00 Christmas carols in town, the library will be locked up at this time

17:00 – Christmas goodies to eat and drink (feel free to bring something)

The next film club event is partnered with the Saturday Reading Group and will be a showing and then discussion of “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd.

Set in South Carolina during 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of a fourteen year old white girl, Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily’s fierce-hearted “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, insults three racists in town, they escape to Tiburon, South Carolina—a town that holds the secret to her mother’s past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily finds refuge in their mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna. Lily starts a journey as much about her understanding of the world, as about the mystery surrounding her mother. The Secret Life of Bees is a major literary triumph about the search for love and belonging, a novel that possesses a rare wisdom about life and the power and divinity of the female spirit.

Screening begins at 15:00 sharp. This activity is free of charge for all library members. Please reserve by signing up at the front desk in advance. A discussion in English will follow the film. 

Come and meet the photographer of the exhibit “Dans mes yeux l’Amérique” Michel Durigneux during this special evening open to the public. Free and open to the public.

Treat yourself to an afternoon of a collective reading of Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry the Fourth. The activity consists of watching a BBC production on DVD and then reading relative scenes. This is a great activity for lovers of language and fans of the great wit. The activity is free for library members. Please sign up at the front desk.

Come to this Coffee House presentation of the portraits – photos and text – of 48 winemakers of Anjou. Beautifully produced, this is a perfect Christmas gift! Both the photographer, Jean-Yves Bardin and the translator, Bernard Reeves, will be in the library to talk about the project and sign books. Free and open to the public. No need to sign up.

This is a special moment when the community gathers together to talk about everything and anything (…in English of course!) and sips coffee and tea. Coffee House is free and open to all library members. Just drop in, no need to reserve! Coffee house is every Friday except during school holidays.