l'Institut de Français, Villefranche sur Mer (photo the author) I have been asked many times what is it about France which makes me enjoy it and so want to learn the language and spend time there? Of course the reasons for my interest are varied and have changed over the years. But I think the enduring fascination actually began with my mother. Josephine loved cooking and collected French cookbooks, from which she would choose recipes, try to find the ingredients, not always easy in the '60s in Australia, and play French records, particularly Françoise Hardy, while she hummed away in the kitchen over her new creations. This song is one which I remember being able to sing all the words, without having any clue what they meant! A perfect way to learn French as a child... Françoise Hardy ... "Tous les garcons..." Those early influences certainly inspired me to learn the language and my first lesson was at boarding school, when I was 11, with a tiny...