Freshly elected COP27 attendees

This week on The Sound Kitchen you’ll hear the answer to the question about the two newly elected leaders at the COP27 conference. There’s the bonus question and the “Listeners Corner”, and “Music from Erwan”. All that, and the new quiz question, too, so 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,  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 staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” on the upper left-hand side of the page. 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: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, 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 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 12 November, COP27 was in full swing in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, and there were two newly elected leaders at the conference. You were to tell me their names and the countries they represent. 

The answer is: Brazil's president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva – who promised to protect the Amazon from deforestation after defeating climate-skeptic President Jair Bolsonaro, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who wasn’t going to go, but then changed his mind.  

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, which was suggested by Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India: “What was the happiest moment of your life?”

The winners are Mahesh Jain, who’s the president of the RFI Club, Delhi, in Delhi, India. Mahesh is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Mahesh!

The other winners this week are Bezazel Ferhat, the president of the RFI Butterflies Club Ain Kechera in West Skikda, Algeria, and RFI Listeners Club members Samir Mukhopadhyay from West Bengal, India, as well as Khadija Aktar Najni from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Rounding out the list is RFI English listener Shahanoaz Sultana from Bogura, Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Mr. Sandman” by Pat Ballard, played by Stuart "Stukulele" Fuchs and Babik; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock, Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson, Harvey Mason, performed by Herbie Hancock and the Head Hunters.

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

This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, look for Paul Myer’s article about the final World Cup 2022 match on our webpage.

You have until 23 January 2023 to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 28 January 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 form your own official RFI Club, click here.