Bonjour!

Today is the big day, with our first national broadcast.  When I say “our”, I’m not using the regal plural but I am thinking of all the people who have supported me from the very beginning.  So, we are on Broadcasting House today and I hope you don’t feel I’ve let you down.  As I said in my previous blog entry, I can only get better, but this is assuming we get another chance.

I’ll be distributing flyers and trying to get people to come to a Top Up your French session while you’ll be drinking your third cup of tea with the Sunday papers spread around you Radio 4 in the background. 

I went to see Norman Baker MP yesterday at his surgery in Lewes, Normie as my friend Mayke calls him.  I did not kiss him on both cheeks on her behalf as she had asked me to do but we’re not on those terms (yet!) and actually I don’t think she is either!  She’s a Dutch woman with a big heart, and when she kisses you  you’d think she has a loo plunger adapted to her lips!

So Norman Baker was very receptive and offered to help me with the media and with getting in touch with our MEP Sharon Bowles.   He also said he would write a press release for me.  My natural French arrogance (don’t you like stereotypes?) made me think “well Normie, that’s very nice, but I didn’t wait for you to write a press release that got me to BH and also a “sounds great, what are your sailing dates in the summer” from, wait for this, Simon Calder, yes, the Independent Travel writer! ”  Funnily enough, I still haven’t managed to secure an article in the local papers such as Sussex Express and The Argus.  I accept that reading about a mad French woman trying  to get people to learn foreign languages is not as exciting as “Kitten found in geranium” (Sussex Express), but hey! I’m local (Alfriston) and I can prove it; can the kitten???

Ooops, nearly 7 am and I must get ready for the ferry.  It’s a later start today but I still woke up at 4.30!  I’m meeting my Transmanche contacts and supporters Emmanuelle and Marie in Dieppe for lunch.  First time I have the opportunity to step off the ferry since I’ve started the ferry sessions. 

Best cosmofil greetings

Babette

Hello

I still can’t believe it!  Cosmofil on Radio 4, Broadcasting House (BH) on Sunday at 9am?  Up to the last minute, this morning 6.15 I did not really believe that  Paddy O’Connell would be boarding the ferry in Newhaven to join me on a day return trip to Dieppe.  Actually, he almost did not make it, arriving just seconds before the bus took the foot passengers to the ferry, in real “Tintin reporter” style!

If you know me a little, you will have an idea of how anxious I was about meeting him, but believe me, my anxiety subsided as soon as we met.  He could have been an old friend of mine and in fact I felt more at ease with him than with many people I have known for years.  I guess that’s what makes a good reporter, this ability to make people comfortable so they confide in them. 

Paddy helped me set up for the day’s crossings (sticking posters on the wall and setting up the captain’s table for the first Top Up your French On Board session).  He then followed me when I went to the cafeteria and the bar with my questionnaire and £1 off vouchers trying to get people to  join a session.  Amazing how the sight of a microphone (and Paddy’s light hearted questions) can get people talking!   There was much laughter and frank admissions along the lines of “yeah well, I know I should make the effort but what the heck, I’m on holiday, let me finish my drink and I might think about it”.

Top Up Your French On Board broke a new record today with 10 people attending the first morning session, 6 adults and 4 children.  It was a joyful session, with 3  generations of one  family playing their part in the roleplay “ordering a meal at the Cosmofil restaurant”.  So much fun and just what cosmofil is about, bringing people together to enjoy communicating in a foreign language.

Only two people came to the afternoon session, despite the £1 off voucher and Paddy’s rich voice making the announcement on the loud speaker.  Still, two is better than none, and I’m sure they’ll help spread the word, one way or another.

I hope I did not miss this fabulous opportunity to put the cosmofil message across.  Of course I am annoyed with myself for not always giving short and sharp answers or sounding cleverer but hey, it was a first  so I can only get better.  Anyway, I am sure the children’s laughter is worth ten times more than anything I could have said.

Tune in to BH on Sunday at  9am if you can.  I will be  almost mid-way between Sussex and Normandy so I’ll listen to the broadcast on the internet when I get home on Sunday night. 

 Best cosmofil greetings to You

Babette