Well done, Springboks!

by Pierre Grange (level B2)

This Saturday, October 28, the South Africa - New Zealand final marked the end of the 10th Rugby World Cup, after two months of competition.

For the second time since 2007, France was in charge of organising the World Cup. 

What to remember from this event?

Once again, it is a team from the Southern Hemisphere which wins.

The North has only won once: it was in 2003, when England (at home) inscribed their name on the prize list.

This year, the most playful nations (France, Ireland, New Zealand) were not rewarded and, for the most part, were beaten by the rigour and physical struggle imposed by South Africa.

It’s probably not rugby that pleases, but it’s rugby that wins.

 

Positive points / Images that will stay in my memory: 

*First of all, a successful organization. Full stadiums. In short, a real popular success. 

*Secondly, Portugal's fantastic performance against Fiji.

At the end of the match, the Portuguese captain declared - tired but happy -  “I can die now!”  

*But in my opinion, I will only remember one match: Ireland -New Zealand.

What a fantastic battle between these two teams!

In terms of the game but also in terms of the atmosphere.

All you had to do was listen to the Cranberries' song, Zombie, sung by the green tide of Irish supporters in the Stade de France.

 

Click on the photo to hear the atmosphere!

 

Unfortunately, this was not enough for Ireland to reach the semi-finals.

However, Ireland was ranked first in the world rankings at the beginning of the World Cup.

 

The negative points and disappointments. 

To be brief, I will only remember two disappointments: 

*Of course and above all: France's defeat in the quarter-final against South Africa.

Years of work and training to get there. What a disappointment!

This defeat broke the beautiful national atmosphere.

All French people dreamt of a France-New Zealand final, like for the opening match of this World Cup.

Unfortunately the Springboks and the refereeing were present.

 *Refereeing is the second disappointment of this World Cup.

Yes, it is one of the causes (but it is not the only one!) of the defeat of the French team.

The French supporters are not ready to forget the referee in charge of the quarter-final between France and South Africa.

Criticism of refereeing, although quite rare in rugby, seemed to become more widespread as the competition progressed,

Of course, the rules are complex, the referee can make mistakes. But when certain teams are penalised for faults and other teams not punished for the same mistakes?

Where is the fairness? This influenced the result for several matches, particularly for France…

 

So, in the end, what do we think of the South Africans’ victory? 

Springboks have always seemed to be on mission for their country.

First of all, we must mention the South African national anthem (Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika) sung at the beginning of each match.

Do you know that this anthem is written in several languages?

It truly serves as a link for this nation, the rainbow nation!

Listen to it here!

  

South Africa's matches and victories always have a very special flavour.

I don't know if you have seen the film INVICTUS directed by Clint EASTWOOD with Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman about the world cup of rugby in South Africa in 1995?

 

It sums up well the state of mind that drives this team.

The plot:

This film tells about the relationship between Nelson Mandela, elected president the year before, and Francois Pienaar, the captain of the South African rugby team.

To unify the country and give each citizen a reason for pride, Mandela focuses on sport.

What was their crazy bet? Win the World Cup. And they suceeded!

 Watch the trailer here

Finally, for Springboks, the most important is not really the ranking but rather what victory can represent.

The one who best sums up this state of mind is Siya Kalisi, the South African captain at the end of the final:

"People who are not from South Africa don’t understand what it means for our country. It's not just about the game. Our country goes through such a lot,” he said. “I want to tell the people of South Africa, Thank you so much. This team just shows what you can do.”

 

This will be the final word!

More adventures in Wales

by Robert Jacquemoud  and Michèle Garcia (level B1)                                                      

After a postponement due to the COVID period we were finally able to make this trip to Wales.

The period chosen by the organizers was entirely relevant since it corresponds in these regions to what we usually call “Indian Summer” Ideal weather for travelling: mild, very little rain, and no wind at all.

After leaving Grenoble before dawn, via Geneva, we swiftly winged our way directly to Bristol on English soil. 

Part 1: THE ROMANS

We easily understand the passion of the Romans for this distant northern land, it is full of mining resources of primary importance, so necessary for their empire: gold, silver, and especially copper, tin, lead, iron.

Bath : City famous for its imposing Roman thermal bath, fed by a hot spring (more than 40°C) whose flow seems not to have changed for 2000 years. Britain’s only hot spring.

Caerleon : The site of the ancient city of Isca,  ruin of a permanent base of one of the three main garrisons of Great Britain with Chester and York. Also see the arena.

 

Part 2 : CAPITAL, RUGBY, COAL, CULTURE and SOCIAL LIFE

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Cardiff : Capital of Wales and of rugby, founded by the Romans. We will stay there for three days.

 

The majestic stadium is visible from all four corners of the city. 

Cardiff

We stayed three days in Cardiff, the capital of Wales with its 350 000 inhabitants. The Welsh love rugby, a true religion, but also the arts. We discovered the Wales Millennium centre with its amazing contemporary architecture made of metal, wood, glass and slate. Its facade is made up of words in Welsh on the left and in English on the right : "In these stones Horizons sing", the line of a poem written by Gwyneth Lewis, a Welsh poet born in Cardiff in 1959 . Some of us went to see an opera "Ainadamar", about the story of Federico Garcia Lorca, and really liked the beauty of the place and the quality of the acoustics.

The Welsh people are very proud of their Celtic origin and culture. They have kept their language alive which coexists with English. As in Brittany, the names of towns are written in both Welsh and English.

After the discovery of coal and iron in the 19th century, Cardiff became a very important port and participated in the industrial revolution which transformed England into a conquering power.

The Blaenavon mines north of Cardiff bear witness to this. Today it’s just a museum.

Another emblematic wealth of the region was the extraction of slate in open-cast mines. They are located in the north of the county not far from the Snowdonia National Park.

 

Part 3 : CASTLES

After the fall of the Roman Empire nearly all of the cities were equipped with fortifications and castles (Norman invasion, Celt occupation….). They are found in large numbers and in a very good state of conservation. 

On our route we visited the most important: Cardiff, Pembroke a powerful Norman fortress dating from the time of William the Conqueror, it’s the castle where Henry VII was born, 1^st sovereign and founder of the Tudor dynasty, Conwy built by Edward the 1^st of England in 1284, Beaumaris located on the island of Anglesey, It is the largest castle built by Edward 1^st in Wales.

 

Part 4 : CATHEDRALS and ABBEYS

Christianity in Great Britain began very early, before the 6^th century. It left on the territory numerous religious buildings, prestigious cathedrals and abbeys. Bath, Llandaff founded by Saint Teilo, and Saint David’s the largest cathedral in Wales.

Part 5: MORE PRETTY TOWNS AND PLACES

Llandudno

We arrived on a rainy day in Llandudno, a Victorian seaside resort located in the north of Wales. It’s a city with old-fashioned charm. We lived a surprising experience when we took a tramway climbing a mile (1500m.) through the Great Orme, a chalky promontory. This tramway opened in 1902 and we got aboard one of the restored tramcars. 

The view from the summit was breathtaking on the coast and the bay. We could see also bronze age mines. We went down on foot and then took a walk on the pier. A good moment!

Isle of Anglesey

We went to the Isle of Anglesey, off the north-west coast of Wales, situated in the Irish sea and separated from Great Britain by the Menai strait. It is associated with the Celtic druids. 

We visited Beaumaris Castle. Its construction began in 1295, after the conquest of Wales by the English king Edward the First. The work was directed by the Savoyard architect Jacques de Saint Georges. 

We stopped in the station of a village with the longest name in Europe Llanfair­pwll­gwyn­gyll­go­gery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch  (l’église de Sainte Marie dans le creux du noisetier blanc près d’un tourbillon rapide et l’église de Saint Tysilio près de la grotte rouge).

Snowdonia Park

When we were in north Wales, we took a steam train from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. It was not the Orient Express but almost! We travelled through a part of Snowdonia Park in a wild and preserved nature. Curious coincidence, this locomotive was built in Belgium in 1952 and spent all its working life in South Africa until 1998 and our English teacher, Melanie who accompanied us comes from the same country!

Portmeiron

Morfa Harlech reserve

Portmeiron is a tourist village designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975. It is caracterised by Italian architecture. 

But nearby, I was more impressed by Morfa Harlech reserve which is the most important actively-growing dune system in Britain.

Finally,we were very happy to discover Wales, its geography, its history and to practise our English with the Welsh. So we are ready to go again -  to a new destination next year !

Robert and Michèle

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My report on EKIDEN 2023

by Pierre Grange (level B2)

EKIDEN: what is it? 

Of Japanese origin, the EKIDEN is a relay race of 6 runners.

The first EKIDEN was organized in Japan at the beginning of the 20th century.

Runners had to run the distance from station to station, passing a relay.

For many years, the principle of this race has developed in Europe and particularly in France, in many cities.

Now, the distance of an EKIDEN is the equivalent of a marathon - that is to say, a little more than 42 kilometres.

This year, Grenoble organized its 14th edition, and the UIAD presented its team for a second time.

From left to right : Philippe (our captain), Pierre, Sylvie, Chris and Denis (Glwadys is absent)

Sunday october 8 was the D-day for the dream team of the UIAD.

To remind you, the race took place in Grenoble, in the EUROPOLE district, near the Oxford bridge.

There were a lot of people. More than 3700 runners registered!

 

The members of each team had to run relays of 5 or 10 kilometres.

For my part, I was registered to run a 10-kilometres relay.

The day of the race, it was sunny. But it was really much too hot to run.

Imagine running on asphalt, in a hot sun, especially around noon! It was very tiring. But we all ran our relay courageously.

I tried to live up to my teammates who are all very good runners.

We even improved the time of last year by 16 minutes!

I shall keep very good memories of this event.

It was a real pleasure to be together and for us, of course, the goal wasn’t to win.

We all  had in mind what the Baron Pierre de Coubertin said, about the Olympic Games :

'The most important is to participate'.

And at the end, like many runners, we said to ourselves: 'See you next year!' 

Here are some photos of the UIAD team in action :

1st relay between Denis (602.1) and Chris

 

2nd relay between Chris (602.2) and Sylvie (602.3)

 

Pierre (4th runner) is very focused on his race

Our fifth runner : smiling Glwadys

And finally, Captain Philippe (6th runner) to finish our EKIDEN.

A pleasant trip to Wales

 by Michèle Bethier (level B2)

A pleasant trip to Wales with Melanie and a friendly group. After landing in Bristol, we went to BATH and its Roman baths.

Three days in CARDIFF: city tour, castle, bay and pubs!!

We followed the south coast to PEMBROKE and then we went north to LLANDUDNO passing by abbey of ST DAVID'S.

Many castles often in ruins : Cardiff , Pembroke , Beaumaris (on the island of Anglesey) , Conwy.

A steam train in SNOWDONIA National Park allowed us to admire beautiful landscapes : mountains, valleys, lakes..

We went to PORTMEIRION where the series "The Prisoner" was shot ; it is a special colourful place that look a bit like Italy.

We came back with wonderful memories.

Discovering Wales

by Laurence Lugiez and Joëlle Pace (level A2)

Photos by Joëlle Pace 

We had a really wonderful trip to Wales ! We were 25 students of English from the UIAD accompanied by Melanie Brumberg.

We left Geneva by plane to land in Bristol. Our local guide, who travelled with us in the car, commented on the different visits. In Bath, we discovered this town with its well-preserved Roman baths.

After, we visited Cardiff, the capital of Wales : we saw its magnificent castle renovated by the family Bute. In the evening, some of us went to test the atmosphere in the pubs and see the die-hard and somewhat alcoholic supporters of the All Blacks against France, first match of the Rugby World Cup 2023 !

Others preferred to listen to lyrical songs in the renowned "Millenium Centre".

In the north of Cardiff, in Blaenavon, the visit of the coal mines was essentiel to understanding the great industrial boom (in the 18th century). The descent into the underground galleries gave us a little thrill of adrenalin, but the humorous comments from the old miners were very funny !

Laurence

We went to the Wales with a teacher from the UIAD, Melanie Brumberg, from the 7th to the 15th of September 2023. She was a great teacher as she talked to each of us, all the time.

We went to Cardiff, the capital, where three thousand inhabitants live. Three million inhabitants  live in Wales.

In each town, there was a castle, open air, very imposing, with a beautiful story. Every town was built around this castle.

The funny thing about this country was that there were eleven million  sheep to three million
 people. Also, Welsh people speak a similar language (Welsh) to French people from Brittany.

On every road sign, we saw both languages (Welsh and English).

In the pubs, there was a nice atmosphere and people were very friendly, speaking to us.

This was a great experience and a very good trip.

Joëlle

Discovering Cymru

by Aline Vincent (level A2)

 

From September 8th to 15th, I visited Wales, with a friendly group of UIAD’s English students and Melanie Brumberg, UIAD English teacher, who was very kind and who helped us to practise our English.

The country that is part of the UK but with its own parliament, is bordered by England to the East, Irish Sea to the North and West, Celtic Sea to the Southwest, Bristol Channel to the South. We came in this way, after visiting the lovely English town of Bath with its Roman Thermal baths.

Wales is largely mountainous with green hills and a lot of sheep (3 sheep for 1 inhabitant!). Its highest peak, mount Snowdon, is 1,085 metres high.

We crossed the country from South to North, by bus, and even with an authentic steam train, and visited many different sites: Roman remains (Caerleon), castles and fortresses, (Cardiff, Pembroke, Beaumaris, Conwy), coastal village with coloured houses (Aberaeron), Anglican cathedrals (Llandaff, St Davids), Art and History Museums (Cardiff, St Fagans), a wonderful garden at Bodnant Garden…

We also had a walk in the unusual village of Portmeirion, created by a passionate architect and we breathed the air of the sea at LLandudno, a Victorian style seaside resort.

We didn’t forget that the industrial revolution began in Wales in the 19th century: the impressive but still fun visit of an old coal mine, Big Pit, at Blaenavon, with former miners, reminded us.

Wales is considered as one of the Celtic nations. Around 600,000 people (25% of the population) speak the Welsh language. Everyone can learn this language at school, even at university. It is a very important part of Welsh identity.

Another part of this identity is rugby! Our trip began at the same time as the beginning of the Rugby World Cup 23! So, it was a special moment for many of us to taste the local beer in a pub at Cardiff with the Welsh supporters!

In this country known for its poetry and songs, and its artistic culture, it was also an emotional experience for some of us to attend the incredible « Ainadamar » opera in the fantastic Millenium Centre of Cardiff. 

The trip ended just as we had started it, in joy and a good mood, still without rain!

I’m very happy to have discovered this country and its culture and hope to come back.