Poland’s startling debt

This week on The Sound Kitchen you’ll hear the answer to the question about the fines imposed on Poland by the European Union. There’s “Ollia’s Happy Moment”, oodles of RFI Club news, plenty of good music, and of course, the new quiz question. Just click on the “Audio” arrow above and enjoy! 

Sound Kitchen Podcast RFI

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to [e-mail]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts which will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website and click on the three horizontal bars on the top right, choose “Listen to RFI / Podcasts”, and you’ve got ‘em ! You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers, take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [e-mail]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: My beloved music teacher from St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, Dr Gerald Muller, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that’s how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here. 

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([e-mail]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([e-mail]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

And don’t forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven’t yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above, and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”).

There’s a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club, too. Just click on the link above and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don’t like to do!

This week’s quiz: On 7 May, I asked you a question about an article from RFI English journalist David Coffey: “EU fines against Poland's 'rule of law' dispute surpass 160 million euros”. The article was about the one million euros per day fine imposed on Poland by the European Union due to, as David wrote: “… the European Union's accusation that Warsaw's conservative government had undermined judicial independence and rolled back democratic norms.”

But there is another daily fine for Poland from the EU as well, and that was your question. You were to write in and tell me what the other fine is for, and how much per day it is.  

The answer is: The other fine is for refusing to close a coal mine. To quote David’s article: “The EU had imposed the fine of €500,000 a day last September for refusing to comply with an order to close its Turow mine producing lignite, or brown coal. Poland's neighbours, the Czech Republic and Germany, had complained of environmental damage from the mine, including groundwater pollution as well as dust and noise.”

The winners are: Shahanaj Parvin Sathi, the president of the Nilshagor RFI Fan Club in Nilshagor, Bangladesh; Mrs. Nadira Begum, a member of the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh; RFI Listeners Club members Samir Mukhopadhyay from West Bengal, India; Solomon Fessahazion from Asmara, Eritrea, and Kanwar Sandhu from British Columbia, Canada.  

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Lullaby” by Johannes Brahms, performed by the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra; “Tarantelle” in A-Flat Major, Op. 43 by Frédéric Chopin, played by Arthur Rubinstein; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Chariot Procession” from the film Ben Hur, composed by Miklos Rosza; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “La Cumparsita” by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez and Roberto Firpo, sung by Carlos Gardel.

Do you have a musical request? Send it to [e-mail]

This week’s question ... You have to listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, refer to our article “Shakespeare comes out on top at France's Molières theatre awards” to help you find the answer.

You have until 18 July to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 23 July podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

[e-mail]

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or to form your own official RFI Club, click here.