by Clare Jones

We have now been in our new home in Oundle, East Northants, for a whole month and all the boxes have at last been unpacked. I was delighted that so many of my students decided to travel a little further to continue attending lessons with me and I have been pleased to take on a few new learners too. I think we will be happy in Oundle!

A week after moving in, we had a little party for friends and family. The French call this la pendaison de crémaillère (literally the hanging of the chimney hook). This comes from medieval times when, on completion of the building of a house, the last thing to be done was to hang within the chimney place a long piece of metal with several notches taken out of one side; it allowed a large stew pot to be placed at varying heights above the fire to cook the meal. Once the hook was in place, guests could be invited to share the first meal.

Une semaine après avoir emménagé, on a pendu la crémaillère. Nos invités nous ont apporté des fleurs et de petits cadeaux pour la maison. On a passé un très bon moment ensemble. Maintenant nous avons l’impression d’être chez nous !

A week after having moved in, we had a housewarming party. Our guests brought us flowers and small gifts for the house. We had a great time. Now we feel at home!

You can see a picture of une crémaillère and read about the expression in French here on Wikipedia.

Next week I’ll write more about the verbs déménager, emménager and aménager so don’t forget to subscribe to this blog if you would like to learn more!

A bientôt!

Clare

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