Who we are

The Club Francophone du Wharfedale was created in 1994 to enable people who enjoy the French language to talk together in an informal, relaxed atmosphere. We meet every month (except August, when some of us are in France!) in the Lounge, St John's Church, Ben Rhydding, with the evening's proceedings starting at 19h45 and generally finishing between 21h30 and 22h00.

The format for the evening varies. Sometimes we have speakers from the Alliance Française, with whom we are affiliated, who are always excellent speakers and highly entertaining. Local French speakers, musicians and even cooks are invited on other evenings to talk about and demonstrate their own specialities. We have had a French chocolatier making some the chocolate delights on sale in his Leeds shop, a dégustation of French cheese and wine, and Julie's tarts. From time to time we welcome one of our members to give a talk.
Some topics we have had:
Haussmann Les chapeaux à la française
La fête du citron à Menton Le rôle de la France dans l'Ocean indien indien

We also have the very popular "Soirées Club" where the committee members organise word games in French when the competitiveness amongst the groups arouses great laughter. On other occasions we have called on the personal experiences of members, sometimes producing very nostalgic moments.

All the evenings have one thing in common. We aim to encourage people to speak French at whatever level they wish, without in any way being judged. Our membership ranges from native French speakers to people who have just started to learn the language.