France’s “Day of National Recognition for the Harkis”

This week on The Sound Kitchen you’ll hear the answer to the quiz about the coup which unseated Chad’s Hissène Habré. There’s The Sound Kitchen mailbag, listener news, Music from Erwan - 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.

I am 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, rfienglish.com, 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 a 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 part of the RFI English service!  Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists.

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, Br 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. 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.

RFI 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 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 recognised 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!

We have a new RFI Listeners Club member to welcome - Robin Spalding from Berkeley, California.

Welcome, Robin!

You too can be a member of the RFI Listeners Club – just write to me at [e-mail] and tell me you want to join, and I’ll send you a membership number. It’s that easy. When you win a Sound Kitchen quiz as an RFI Listeners Club member, you receive a premium prize, AND, you can join our Facebook page, the RFI Listeners Club page. You must ask to join the group, you must furnish your RFI Listeners Club membership number, I’ll approve you, and then off you go! Robin, be sure you join us!

This week’s quiz: On 28 August, I asked you a question about the death of Chad’s former dictator, Hissène Habré, who died on 24 August. Habré was serving a life sentence for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Senegal. Local media said Habré died of Covid-19.

Coming to power after a coup d’état, Habré himself was unseated by a coup. I asked you to answer these two questions: in which year was Chad’s former dictator, Hissène Habré, forced from power by a coup d’état and who was responsible for the coup which forced him out of power?

The answer is: Idriss Déby, in 1990. Déby was the head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement and was president of Chad until last April when he was killed in a battle with the opposition militia FACT, the “Front for Change and Concord in Chad”.

Déby survived various rebellions and coup attempts against his rule. He eliminated term limits for the office of president, and his three decades in power were marked by - according to studies by Transparency International - widespread corruption, including cronyism, embezzlement, and a deeply entrenched patronage system.

Since his death at the hands of the militants, Déby’s son, Mahamat ibn Idriss Déby Itno, is the Chairman of the Transitional Military Council and de facto president of the country.

The winners are: Biswanath Mandal, the president of the RFI World Radio Club in Murshidabad, India, and RFI Listeners Club member Kashif Khalil from Faisalabad, Pakistan. There are faithful RFI English listeners Zhu Lijun from Maanshan, Anhui in China; Vikram Kumar Kaga from Rajasthan, India, and Muhammad Rocket from the Friends Radio Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: "The Astounding Eyes of Rita" by Anouar Brahem, performed by the Anouar Brahem Quartet; “Tabuh-Tabuhan: Toccata for Orchestra and Two Pianos” by Colin McPhee, performed by Elizabeth Burley, John Alley, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “Una mas” by Kenny Dorham, performed by the Kenny Dorham ensemble, and “Lulu's Back in Town” by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, performed by George Wein and The Newport All-Stars.

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

This week’s question ... You'll have to listen to the show to participate. You have until 25 October to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 30 October podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address in 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