What a difference a week makes, from a fairly boring February calm, to watching our trees and buildings get ravaged by wind and storms in our own country, to now watching Ukraine, a fellow country in our wonderful continent of Europe, get invaded by Russia. Perhaps we are relatively powerless in both these particular scenarios, but in the latter case, it does give weight to the need for developing intercultural understanding, global empathy and tolerance, amongst children and young people through to the oldest amongst us, all the more so in this already culturally- and linguistically-diminished 'Brexitland' - and there's no better way to do this than by studying foreign languages and also by immersing oneself in foreign culture!
Eh voilá! I offer you the third All Abroad! Bus newsletter, aiming to connect you to foreign-language/flavoured events, activities, people and places in the Lewes area and beyond! These newsletters are now coming to you from the All Abroad! Bus website, which is otherwise still under construction; they will also be landing on a Thursday, because the weekend often starts then, or at least the planning stage can do!
As ever, if you are enjoying these newsletters, please share them and if you have any feedback, ideas, questions, suggestions or contributions, send an email to allabroadbus@gmail.com. The more we can connect with abroad from within our lovely rural area, the more colourful, interesting, exotic our local life can be and the more globally connected and empathetic we will feel!
...WATCH...
Foreign-language/flavoured films showing this week:
Tonight and on 15th March at Lewes Depot, you can watch "Flee" (in Danish, Dari, Russian, Swedish and English, 15) an animated documentary film by Danish director Poher Rasmussen, that tells the extraordinary true story of an Afghan man, Amin, who, after fleeing his homeland and growing up a refugee in Denmark, is finally compelled to reveal his deeply-hidden secrets to his husband-to-be, despite the potential risk of derailing his new life.
Cyrano (12A) is opening from Friday 25th Feb at both Lewes Depot and Uckfield Picture House. Whilst not in French, this musical adaptation of the classic play by French writer Edmond Rostand, set in 17th Century Paris, nevertheless stays true to the tale of the soldier and wordsmith Cyrano - played by Peter Dinklage - who, embarrassed by his large, misshapen nose, uses poetry to romance his cousin by proxy as the man she loves.
You can always (re-)watch the 1990 French-language version of the film "Cyrano de Bergerac" (PG) on Amazon Prime, with the magnifique (as an actor, and of nose) Gerard Dépardieu playing Cyrano.
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Japanese, English subtitles, 15) will be showing daily at different times this coming week at Lewes Depot, a collection of three love stories depicting three female characters and the trajectories between their choices and regrets, "revealing the delicate and unassuming magic to be found in simple conversation".
STILL SHOWING
Parallel Mothers (in Spanish with English subtitles, 15) finishes today, Thursday 24th February, with showings at both The Depot in Lewes and Uckfield Picture House. Pedro Almodóvar's latest film about two very different unmarried women who give birth at the same time, one happily so and the other not.
The Three Colours French(and some Polish-)language psychological drama trilogy from the 1990s, by director Krzysztof Kieslowski finishes with Three Colours: Red on Friday 4th March, 8pm. Become a member of Lewes film club or simply pay £5 as you go. It really is worth trying to catch all 3 films in this series as they are all very different. More info and bookings here.
BOOK NOW!
Frida Kahlo (12A) at Uckfield Picture House at 6pm on 8th March, International Women's Day - delving deep into the life and works of this great Mexican artist and icon. More details and booking here.
Rigoletto (Royal Opera House Live) (12A) at Lewes Depot. (10/3, 13/3) - live performance of a modern take on Verdi's masterpiece by ROH director Oliver Mears. Info and bookings here.
Leopoldstadt (NT Live) (12A) at Uckfield Picture House (16/3, 20/3), Seaford Community Cinema (17/3) and Lewes Depot (dates TBC) - recording a live West End performance of a play about a family living in the old Jewish quarter of Vienna, Austria, over the first half of the 20th century.
...LISTEN...
Travel a little further afield to celebrate Mardi Gras and Carnival!
Across the Americas and much of Europe, today, the 24th February, is Fat Thursday and the start of Carnival celebrations culminating in Mardi Gras on Tuesday. Read all about Carnival in various countries here. Meanwhile, if you feel like venturing to Hastings over the coming week, for the 12th edition of the Hastings Fat Tuesday Music Festival, you'll be able to enjoy five days of music "with more than 350 gigs, parade and parties with 100+ artists, performing in ticketed and mainly free events across the town" - it's sure to get at least a taste of what Carnival is about and why it is celebrated so fully, deeply, loudly and colourfully in so many countries.
Chiaroscuro String Quartet at East Sussex College, Lewes on Friday 25th February,
The last few tickets are available (£20 + booking fee) for this highly-acclaimed international ensemble of musicians - from France, Spain, Sweden and Russia, whose unique sound is described in The Observer as ‘a shock to the ears of the best kind’, who will be performing works of Purcell, Haydn and Beethoven.
Offers for under-30s at Glyndebourne on selected dates, on sale from tomorrow
Glyndebourne Opera House are offering £30 tickets for Le nozze di Figaro and Don Pasquale (both sung in Italian with English 'supertitles'), and The Wreckers and Poulenc double bill operas (both sung in French with English supertitles), which will go on sale at 8am on Friday 25th February but under 30s can sign up already to get free membership.
...DO...
Eat and make Crêpes and galettes! See TASTE below.
DON'T FORGET: LAST SUBMISSIONS FOR @wearescip Beacon Show from kids/young people BY MONDAY 28TH FEBRUARY!
Seaford Contemporary Illustrators and Printmakers or SCIP are looking for illustrations, stories and poems for their ‘The Beacon Show’ in the summer, celebrating Seaford’s landscape and people. Submissions can be from any child/young person aged 5-16 year olds and should be inspired by the Seaford coastline. Why not think about the connection to France/to the French just on the other side of the Channel? The ferries that come and go every day; battles in days gone by; smuggling from France; what might have been, or perhaps what still could be. More info, resources, guidelines and details for submission here.
Abyss Booty Camp by Twerk4Fitness is on again this Saturday 26th February, 10-11am - a booty-shaking body-sculpting twerkout sessions with a South African-born Twerk instructor whose speciality is in South African style dance music, ‘Amapiano’ and ‘Gqom’ although the classes will include more well-known genres of dance music too. More info, what to bring and tickets here.
...TASTE...
Authentic Neapolitan pizza (and local wines!)
Tomorrow, Friday 25th February 5-9pm, is the first Pizza and wine night to be held at Artelium Wine Estate in Streat, where you can taste classic wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas from the Tin Roof Pizza van - with authentic Fior de Latte mozzarella - and enjoy tasting some Artelium wines. How will the fruits of the soils of South-East England pair with the hearty, rich flavours of Naples, Italy?! (via Visit Lewes)
Crêpes and galettes
It's Shrove Tuesday this coming Tuesday, 29th February and time to eat pancakes! Crepes de La Creme on Seaford seafront will be back up and running this weekend, after a few issues resulting from the visit of storm Eunice, as well as being open on Shrove Tuesday itself so why not pay them a visit and try their most delicious range of sweet and savoury crêpes!
Another option is of course to try making some at home and why not try some French recipes - en français? They might have already had their own version of pancake day with Fête de la Chandeleur (festival of the candles / of light) celebrated every 2nd February to coincide with the finally final end of Christmas, 40 days on, but they certainly know how to make pancakes! So, voici some recipes from French chef Cyril Lignac - sometimes still called the French Jamie Oliver - for both sweet crêpes and the savoury galettes made with buckwheat flour, which can make a more hearty and healthy meal of things. Otherwise, there's always the fresh sweet or plain and even pre-filled pancakes from most of the supermarkets this year, although we've yet to find any that aren't packaged in non-recyclable plastic :-(
PIC: www.marmiton.org
The Community Kitchen in Lewes has a place available on its Global Kitchen course for unpaid carers, starting Monday 28 February at Lewes Community Kitchen. "The five week course is hands on and features classic dishes from Thailand, Mexico, India, South Africa and Turkey".
Lidl (Newhaven) are launching their 'The Alps' week, starting today. As always, "when it's gone, it's gone"!
GET IN TOUCH AND SPREAD THE WORD!
You have received this newsletter because you are a student or the family of students/participants of All Abroad! Bus clubs, workshops and tutoring and/or you live in the local area and have shown an interest in the All Abroad! Bus project, or because we or someone else thought you would be interested!
If you have enjoyed it and if you know others who might also be interested in it or may have something to contribute, please subscribe and spread the word by sharing this link.
If it's not quite for you, then either give it a few more weeks to see if it is or drop us a line to allabroadbus@gmail.com to be removed from the mailing list.
