Judith Bouvard, Dean of Grenoble Graduate School of Business

Grenoble Life talks to Judith Bouvard, Dean of Grenoble Graduate School of Business, about her background, the changing business and training environment in France, and why students should consider coming to Grenoble.

Grenoble Life: Where do you come from originally?

Judith Bouvard: I was born in a small town near Manchester in the North of England. 

GL: Why did you come to Grenoble ?

Judith: When I left Manchester I went to live in Romans in the Drôme, to work in the luxury shoe industry. After a couple of years there I came to live in Grenoble to resume my studies.

GL: What kind of work did you first do on arrival in Grenoble ?

Judith: When I arrived in Grenoble at the same time as I was studying I was working part-time for a UK firm as a marketing consultant helping them to develop the market of protective clothing for building sites and road works. I then started to work in the training and continuing education business by doing some teaching and helping some French companies to set up in-house training courses.

Then I started working at ESC Grenoble – this was the name of the school before we became ‘Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM)’. I was involved with the school right from the day it was founded and I was even a member of the entrance juries for the Grande Ecole program before the building was finished.

I started teaching at the school and little by little I increased my contributions by developing the international relations. Then, in 1995, I created the Master in International Business (MIB), which was the first international program to be offered by GEM. I really felt there was a niche market for such an Master in Management program taught in English in Grenoble.

I gradually introduced more international degree programs taught through the medium of English and continued to develop the portfolio of international programs until GGSB became one of the schools of GEM.     

Parallel to that I continued my studies on the Henley DBA program and also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Consultancy.

GL: What three professional achievements are you most proud of?

Judith: Developing a whole new international school from nothing and setting up all the programs; putting Grenoble on the map in international rankings, such as those of the prestigious Financial Times. I am also very proud of the careers and success stories of our graduates further to qualifications that I designed.

GL: Apart from the quality of the course programmes on offer at GGSB, why should potential students consider coming to Grenoble?

Judith: They should certainly consider coming for the dynamic nature of the city. It is easy to get by in Grenoble for non-French speakers. There is not a day that goes by without me hearing English on the street. However, most of our students become quite fluent in French rather rapidly as they experience true French culture. Our students are also sure to build a large international network of friends they can rely on in the future due to the fantastic diversity of the student population at GGSB.

GL: You have created partnerships between GGSB and schools around the world, including those in Iran and Saudi Arabia. As a woman, did you face any challenges in this respect?

Judith: The challenge was for me to actually challenge the pre-conceived ideas of what people had warned me about in advance. In those countries, people actually respect you for your intellect, status and qualifications regardless of your gender. Qualifications come above anything else and with more and more women gaining higher education degrees, the challenge for them is lessening. The other challenge was the dress code, but only from a comfort point of view. Wearing a head scarf when it is 40 degrees outside can be quite uncomfortable when you are not used to that!

GL: How has the business environment changed since you arrived in France, and how has GGSB contributed to this change?

Judith: Over the past 30 years, I have seen more international exchanges – both academic and corporate – and better means to conduct these exchanges, thanks to technology. Technology has definitely changed the way people do business. We can now work with different parts of the world without feeling that it is far away. For example I can be talking to a colleague in China or Singapore in the morning and to another colleague in Mexico in the evening. Of course the result is that the working day can be quite long!

At GGSB, we train qualified managers capable of working beyond national borders with a multitude of cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Our graduates are increasingly working in virtual teams spread over different countries. The contact with colleagues all around the world definitely adds a different dimension to business. 

GL: How has the learning and training environment changed?

Judith: We now have access to more information, thanks to the internet. What used to be called a ‘correspondence course’ is now called a ‘distance learning course’; technology has made learning more user-friendly. Furthermore, whereas years ago classes were made of one single nationality, the learning environment has become highly international, offering numerous opportunities for students.

Also the faculty members have become more like facilitators than lecturers. At GGSB gone are the days of long monologues by a lecture standing in front of the students. Now there is far more interaction and exchange between the lecturer and the students. Also I think that business schools have realised that it is important to have a good blend of lecturers with a more academic approach and business professionals who bring their work experience to the classroom.

GL: What is next for you and the school?

Judith: I’m very excited about our new Global Executive MBA that will begin in January 2011. This new course will run in eight different locations: Grenoble – Geneva – Moscow – London – New York – Singapore – New Delhi – Beijing, and is aimed at top managers who will travel to each location for specific courses and country case-studies.

This Global EMBA is the result of all the knowledge I’ve acquired over the years, after observing how companies function and their different needs. I’m also an AMBA auditor, so I’ve got to examine various programs, their pluses and minus.

I’m also preparing the future of GGSB when I will no longer be there to ensure the continuity of GGSB. I’m busy getting the right people in so the school will keep the same prestige and have the possibility of progressing. I’m proud as I see the next generation come in to be trained by GGSB. Often, children of those who I taught come to seek advice and are keen to live the same enriching experience at GGSB as their parents did.

Radio Activity. Photo: Velocity kendall

In the final English Talk Radio before the summer break, guests include Kristine Minski, talking about global currency markets and Bertrand Tappaz, talking about the history of 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble.

Listen to the show: here

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. There are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

Helen McEwan (left) with children joining in on English Talk Radio

The May 21 English Talk Radio show features Helen McEwan of ABC Anglais, and took place at Les Petits Bilingues, Grenoble.

Listen to the show: here

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. There are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

Le Créarc - international theatre in Grenoble

The May 7 English Talk Radio show features Anne-Laure Dubois and Marco Andrello of Le Créarc – Centre de Création de Recherche et des Cultures - talking about international theatre in Grenoble.

Listen to the show: here

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. There are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

Garvin at the Radio Campus studio

The April 25 English Talk Radio show features Garvin: a Franco-Welsh-Scots rock band from Grenoble.  After only a little over a year together and they are already finishing the recording of their first album. A mix of English pop-rock, progressive and folk, they play two songs live in the studio for you!

Listen to the full show: here

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. There are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

Speaker Grill. Photo: Chase Houston

The April 11 English Talk Radio show features Trudi Penkler, a psychologist, psychotherapist and ‘Intercultural Consultant’ with her own practice, Active Adaptation Counselling, in downtown Grenoble. The discussion is about third culture kids, particularly teenagers …

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. There are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

Listen to the show: here

Radio. Photo: stigwaage

The March 28 English Talk Radio show features guest Kate Daligault of Banque Rhône-Alpes in Grenoble talking about banking in France, and Mary Zaccai interviews Kristine Minski and Vivian Draper about five years doing the show.

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

Listen to the full show: here

Radio. photo: morberg

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

The February 7 English Talk Radio show took place at The Bookworm Café in St Laurent, Grenoble. Listen to the full show here:

Dials. Photo: ericcomando89

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

The January 22 English Talk Radio show features Trudi Penkler, psychologist and inter-cultural coach and trainer, talking about teenagers and moving. Listen to the full show here.

Mixer. Photo: Andrea 'Bau' Pinti

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life. 

The 18 December 2009 English Talk Radio show took place at the Grenoble Graduate School of Business and featured GGSB’s Judith Bouvard, Dean and Director, and Mary Zaccai, International Press Officer. Listen to the show here

Radio On. Photo: Flavijus

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and also live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and streaming here on Grenoble Life.

English Talk Radio November 27 podcast

Guests on 27 November 2009 English Talk Radio:
Mandy Besson talks about “Peter Pan – a pantomime”, January 20–23 2010 at Cité Scolaire Internationale (information & ticket purchase : gregg.west@ac-grenoble.fr )
James Dalrymple talks about the English language web site Grenoble Life
ETR Presenters Kristine Minski, Mary Zaccai and Vivian Draper, sound engineer Bertrand Tappaz

On Air. Photo: Curtis Kennington

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8  Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests.  We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice - hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and also live on www.campusgrenoble.org – plus podcast here.

Guests on 13 November 2009 English Talk Radio:
Ariane Zenker of The Cake Shop (fancy cakes & accessories).
Amélia Feuer is a young opera singer from New York who is now living in Grenoble.
ETR Presenters Christina Menéz, Mary Zaccai and Vivian Draper, sound engineer Bertrand Tappaz
Listen to the Podcast
etr@campusgrenoble.org

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English Talk Radio l’émission en anglais pour les expatriés et les amoureux de la culture anglo-saxonne.
Vivian Draper l’animatrice / rédactrice reçoit :
Ariane Zenker du magasin The Cake Shop (fancy cakes & accessories).
Christina Menez à propos de l’éducation en Chine.
Amélia Feuer jeune chanteuse d’opéra new yorkaise qui vit désormait à Grenoble.
Diffusion les dimanche à 12H30 et mercredis à 19h sur Radio Campus Grenoble.
90.8 et en direct sur www.campusgrenoble.org + Podcast
etr@campusgrenoble.org

Marianne Raynaud

Marianne Raynaud worked for twenty-four years at Grenoble Institute of Technology
(INPG). She has conducted TESOL workshops in France (Paris), Spain (Madrid and Seville) and the USA (Seattle). Now, she is offering workshops here in Grenoble. Grenoble Life wanted to know more.

When I was close to retirement, my young colleagues kept saying, “Marianne, you must find a way to tell other teachers about our course.” While working with me they had seen how fast our students progressed. Moreover, we received numerous letters and e-mails from former students thanking us for teaching them how to give presentations, introduce speakers, debate on topical issues, and of course be successful in job interviews where competence in English is required. They often reported on the high scores they had obtained at international exams: TOEIC, TOEFL, and Cambridge.

The year was 2003, and we were experimenting with new tools offered by the computer and Internet revolution. We were already correcting student work through email and communicating with students via our school’s intranet. So that is when I had the idea of taking the two-year CPPG (the first cycle of engineering studies) English course and putting all the material we had developed ourselves onto a DVD. This new data format enabled me to combine text, image, PowerPoint, audio and video and to make use of hyperlinks to connect explanations about techniques and exercises directly with the files we used. I also intended to make good use of the work our students produced: essays, CVs, letters, stories, TV ads and even 10 min films they wrote, directed and produced themselves. In all there are over 1,500 different files on the DVD (2.2 Go).

Now this digital book is available on my website QualityTime-ESL.com and is being used by teachers on four continents and even in China. I often communicate with these teachers and continue to write materials according to needs that are articulated. One example is the series of podcasts I have produced called Better Speaking Skills (found on iTunes). The first two are available free of charge on my website. Just look for QualityTime-ESL Podcasts (oral interactive drills) and Your English (oral vocabulary-building exercises).

Bringing teachers together to work towards a common goal is my next mission. I believe teamwork is so essential and beneficial. I am now starting a series of practical workshops in the Alps. I hope teachers will join me – and the speakers I invite – for some lively and productive collaboration. The aim is: making the life of an ESL/EFL teacher easier and more enjoyable – with great progress for our students:

Thursday, October 15th, 2009, 2 pm to 5 pm
“Student Presentations—Making Them Beneficial and Worthwhile for Everyone!” with Marianne Raynaud, Coordinator, TESOL France, Grenoble
Room B10, ENSE3 – CPPG, 961, Rue de la Houille Blanche BP 46 – 38402 Saint Martin d’Hères
Free even for non-members this year
To register or if you have any questions, write to me through my website

Thursday, October 29th, 2009 2 pm to 5 pm
(We realize it is during the holiday week, but this is our unique opportunity to work with an outstanding colleague from Paris)
Swapshop: “Using Film and Song in the Classroom“ with Sophie Pietrucci
216 rue Victor Hugo, 38920 Crolles
Free even for non-members this year
To register or if you have any questions, write to me through my website

I am also willing to organize workshops at different lycées or universities. This is an opportunity for you to have an event with colleagues at your own place of work.

There will be future workshops on:
- preparing customized booklets (workbooks),
- increasing individual student speaking time
- evaluation (written work, oral skills and participation)

And here is the program for the TESOL France Colloquium on Nov. 6th and 7th in Paris – with well-known speakers from many different countries.

Marianne Raynaud worked for twenty-four years at Grenoble Institute of Technology
(INPG), setting up English programs at ENSERG (today part of Phelma), EFPG and CPPG. She recently published QualityTime-ESL: The Digital Resource Book and runs the website QualityTime-ESL.com. She has conducted TESOL workshops in France (Paris), Spain (Madrid and Seville) and the USA (Seattle).

Welcome in seven languages

Marion Lhuillier is chief librarian of the International Public Library (Bibliothèque Municipale Internationale) in Grenoble. She kindly agreed to answer our questions about the library’s services, her background and why she loves Grenoble.

Grenoble Life: As chief librarian, can you explain a little your background?

Marion Lhuillier: In December 2000 I was hired by the Grenoble library network to work on the project of the international library, which opened to the public in September 2003.

My personal background would probably explain this choice: after a humanities-oriented school education (German language and literature, French literature and library sciences), I started my professional life first as manager of the information centre in a big French food company, then as a product manager. There I discovered marketing, promotion and advertising, which became very useful later for my job as a chief librarian.

Then, after the birth of my third child, I worked as a librarian in a middle school near Paris and followed my children’s father, who works for Carrefour, to Taipei, where my kids became true American Students at Taipei American School (TAS). Over there, I discovered the life “abroad”, the American way of life and the American way of education (the students worked hard!); as well as the Chinese one. I worked at TAS as a part-time French language teacher assistant and came back to France with my children in September 1997.

At that time I realized how rich this experience had been for my children and I, how deeply it had changed my own opinion on people and countries: how much it had broadened my horizons. The benefit of this experience remains with me now.

I have continued to practice English and German for my pleasure as well as for my professional needs. I also use it to travel and visit my children, and have been back to China several times to see my daughter, who studied and worked in Shanghai and Beijing, but now works in London. I have also travelled to Wellington, New Zealand, where the second of my children studied one high school term, and to Patagonia for my own pleasure. Certainly I’ve never forgotten Europe! Trekking and reading are two of my favourite forms of entertainment … the third one is to enhance my linguistic efficiency or, at least, to keep it alive: thanks to languages, it has been easier to make contact with foreigners, who are both similar and yet so different from us. Building such human links is very important to me.

GL: What and where is the International Public Library?

ML: The International Public Library is part of the Grenoble library network and hosts collections in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

It is located in the brand new Europole area, near the train station, Grenoble Ecole de Management, Minatec and CEA, not far from downtown, close to the B line tram station “Cité Internationale” (see full contact and address details, opening times and membership info at the bottom of the article).

GL: Who is the library for, and what facilities and services do you offer?

ML: Open to children as well as adults, the International Library offers various materials in these seven languages: fiction and non-fiction books, picture and comic books, magazines, language learning CD-Roms, DVDs, audiobooks, music and ethnic song CDs.

Access to the library is free of charge. You can borrow materials in all seven languages: up to 15 documents per membership card (as follows: 15 books, 15 journals, six CDs, four audiobooks, three CD-Roms for four weeks, three fiction and three non-fiction DVDs for two weeks).

From home (thanks to the internet), you can find documents through the online network catalogue. With your PIN number and your password, it is possible to renew your loans and make documents reservations.

There is also a special room dedicated to Rosetta Stone, the famous American language-learning software. In this case, as well as for browsing the internet, reservation is needed by phone or at the library. Both services are free of charge.

Salle de Lecture

GL: What events take place at the library?

ML: We also organise multilingual storytelling – the next one on December 2 at 16:30 – in English, Portuguese and French.

There are also meetings with authors from other countries – the next ones are on September 16 at 18:30 at the downtown Library with Colum McCann, the famous Irish-American writer, and on October 8, at the International Library, with Alicia Dujovne Ortiz, from Argentina.

Consulting the cultural program of the Grenoble’s library network is easy on our website or on our magazine “les Rendez-vous”!

GL: What does Grenoble mean to you?

ML: Grenoble is the town where I decided to work because of its cosmopolitanism, which reminds me of my life abroad, particularly in the tram, when I listen to people speaking so many foreign languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, English, German and several others that I don’t know.

Grenoble cannot be separated from its wonderful sunrises, with mountains like a shadow theatre and sunsets with rose-coloured mountains: an unbelievable luxury!

Bibliothèque Municipale Internationale
6 Place de Sfax, 38000 Grenoble
04 38 12 25 41 (tel)
04 38 12 25 46 (fax)
email : bm.internationale@bm-grenoble.fr

Opening hours:

- During school time : on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 5 to 7 pm, on Wednesday, from 2 to 6 pm and on Saturday, from 10 to 12 :30 and from 2 to 5 pm.
- During the school holidays : on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 2 to 6 pm, on Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm.

Membership:

You can become a member while paying an annual subscription, depending on your age and place of residence:
-Under 18 or still at lycée: free of charge. From 18 to 25 : 7 € (Grenoble residents and non-residents)
-Adults : 14 € (Grenoble resident), 35 € (Grenoble non-resident)
-Over 65 : free of charge (Grenoble residents), 35 € (Grenoble non-resident)
-Unemployed people, minimum wage earners, and asylum seekers have free membership. Please show an identity document and a proof of residence (e.g., utility bill) when signing up for membership.
Children under 16 must have their parents’ authorization.
Come and join us !!

Testing the off-road performance!

Darren Moss is an experienced climber from Preston in the UK but has lived in Grenoble for the last two years. In summer 2009 he and his girlfriend Cecile took off for Corsica from Grenoble by scooter. They lived to tell the tale on Grenoble Life.

by Darren Moss

All she’d ever done since I bought it was take the mickey out of it. So it came as a bit of a surprise when Cecile, my better-half, suggested that for our August holidays we should ride my 125cc Retro Chinese scooter from our home in Grenoble to Corsica.

I bought it from a supermarket last September for a thousand euros, brand new. Cecile described it’s Italian retro styling as a cross between a Harley Davidson and a plastic bug. Undeterred, I named it Tian-Ma, after the legendary Chinese horses of unnatural power and agility.

We made a pile of only the absolutely necessary items: a fifteen kilogram bag of ropes and climbing equipment, tent, sleeping bags and mattresses, a cooking stove and pots and pans and cans of gas, beach towels, snorkels and masks, inflatable dolphin, swimming costumes and a parasol, warm clothes for the mountains, waterproof jackets, first-aid kit, headtorches, tool kit for the scooter … We looked at our mountain of absolutely necessary items and something had to go. It was painful, but we left the flippers.

With four bulky backpacks strapped to it and another between my legs, the handling wasn’t up to it’s usual Ducati-like standard. The suspension bottomed out over bumps and tight turns were difficult as the handlebars hit my knees. But eventually, in the early evening, doubting our legality, we wobbled onto the open road and kept our eyes peeled for Gendarmes.

Maximum uphill speed: 25kmph

As it only did sixty kmph flat out, maybe seventy downhill with a tailwind and the mirrors folded back and my head tucked behind the speedometer, the autoroutes were a no-go. Even the big Routes Nationales were scary, as cars whooshed past leaving us weaving in a whirlwind of dust and fumes. So we stuck to the scenic route. This was better anyway. On steep uphill sections we couldn’t shift faster than twenty kmph, so we could relax, admire the scenery and converse with passing cyclists. At ten-o-clock, we struck our first camp, under a viaduct near Monestier de Clermont.

The next day we made it to Orange, where we saw Buena Vista Social Club in concert and luxuriated in a three star hotel. On day three we had to make it to Toulon, six hours of scootering away.

What’s that bloke doing in the middle of the road? It was one of France’s finest, Monsieur Gendarme, signalling us, of course, to pull over. I considered gunning the throttle and burning past him, but he looked quite fit and could probably run pretty fast. There were two of them. While the serious one scoured the bike for socially endangering infringements, the friendly one chatted about rugby and his elbow injury and how we reminded him of when his dad had travelled to Corsica on a motorbike when he was a kid and how we should mind out for people driving round the bends on the wrong side of the road, and the pigs – watch out for the wild pigs. By the end we were all laughing like a bunch of mates and they let us off scott free. We warbled away, riding proud and righteous.

On the afternoon of day four, we trundled down the ferry ramp amidst and the roar and growl of a squadron of brother-bikers. Corsica. We’d made it. For the next two weeks we swam in crystal seas, marvelled at the blood red sunsets, climbed the sculpted granite spikes high on the Massif de Bavella. We lazed naked in sun warmed mountain pools. And Tian-ma powered onward, over the highest of passes, along the roughest of roads and around the wildest of pigs.

Sunset, Col De Bavella, Corsica

Amazingly, someone nicked our reg. plate! We crawled out of the tent one morning and there it was; gone. It was undoubtedly already in Italy stuck to the back of a stolen motorbike. The thief obviously had too much respect to steal the whole bike. We reported the theft and fashioned a stylish cardboard replacement.

Then the back tyre developed a crack an inch long down the sidewall, which though not leaking air, could’ve exploded at any moment. Perhaps the designers envisaged that the tyre would last longer than the bike because to remove the rear wheel you have to remove the exhaust pipe, which requires the removal of the plastic fairings, which requires the removal of the seat, the rack, footrests … I’m convinced that manufacturers the world over have a competition to produce “The world’s least user-fixable vehicle”. This thing would’ve done well. So we nervously continued until the sad day that we had to leave Corsica.

On hearing of our epic voyage, the garage owner we found in Nice, his son, the mechanic, administrative assistants and several passing locals shook our hands in congratulation and admiration. He said that as a salesman of this model he knew how bad they are and that we’d made him very proud. He took photos to send to the manufacturers in China. Maybe there are already huge billboard advertisements all over China showing me and Cess astride their trusty steed.

Three more days of butt-numbing trek followed. We even grovelled our way up to Col de la Cayolle on the border between the Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, all two thousand three hundred and twenty six metres. Some of the last bikers to fire past us beeping and waving, took our photo when we arrived.

Grenoble. Home. One thousand eight hundred and forty three kilometres and exactly three weeks later. The following Monday I rode the scooter to work. People still laugh at it, but they don’t know anything. Even Cecile is convinced. They’ve never known the joys of warm summer wind breezing through your Bermuda’s, the sweep and swoosh of the mountain roads, the joyful burble of a little low polluting cheap as chips motorbike, Tian-Ma.

Congregation at The English Speaking Church of Grenoble

Rev. Stephen Coffin is the Chaplain at The English Speaking Church of Grenoble. James Dalrymple of Grenoble Life talked to him about the church services and activities, his experiences in Africa and England, and why he came to Grenoble. Grenoble Life: Who attends services at The English Speaking Church of Grenoble?

Stephen Coffin: We usually have members from about 10 different Church denominations – and those of no denomination – and 15 nationalities (currently from Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Madegascar, Nigeria, Peru, South Korea, Spain, UK, USA). On a typical Sunday 60 adults and 15 children will be present, across the whole age range, from babies to the retired. Many of those who join us are in Grenoble to work or study for limited periods, so usually a quarter of our membership changes every year. We currenty have 80 adults and 35 children on our membership list, the economic crisis having led to many repatriations. People travel up to an hour from villages and towns around Grenoble.

GL: So, for French legal purposes the church is an Association de l’Eglise Anglicane de Grenoble, but the church is open to non-Anglicans …

SC: Organisationally we are part of the Church of England’s Diocese of Europe, but only a minority of those who attend are Anglicans, and we warmly welcome everyone. People come to us because English is the language we use, sometimes even just to practise their English! We also have French speakers (25% of current members) who like the way our church is. Some people come to ask questions about Christianity, others just for friendship. Our aim is to be a welcoming body of people, who are discovering more of God’s love and sharing it together and with others. We work in partnership with other local churches, especially the Roman Catholic and Reformed congregations with whom we share the St Marc’s Ecumenical Centre we use.

GL: Tell us about your time in Africa

SC: My wife Marian and I had developed an interest in the wider needs of the world, and felt it right to offer our energies to those less well off than ourselves. Friends worked in Rwanda, and when we contacted their mission agency we were told they were praying for someone with my qualifications. We went to Burundi, where I worked alongside an African pastor in the local language and French (which he couldn’t speak), particularly with secondary school children. Our 2 and 4-year-old daughters were a great point of connection with local people, and they had a great time there. We received far more from the local people than we felt we gave.

GL: What brought you to Grenoble? SC: We came to Grenoble nine years ago from rural Cornwall – I blame my wife, who prayed for a change! We’d been 14 years in an idyllic country parish, but needed a fresh challenge. Three churches in France were advertising for a new priest, Marian encouraged me to apply and I was blessed to be chosen by Grenoble.  We love the wide variety of people we meet here, and the lively nature of our church. I’d find it hard to go back to a parish in England, I think, as I know people who’ve enjoyed our church do when they leave us.

GL: What do you miss about England?

SC: The only thing that’s hard is being a long way from family, particularly our daughters and elderly parents. But we love life in France and always find ourselves the object of other people’s envy when we’re in UK. We can always bring back odd products like marmite (!) and the internet gives access to English books. British TV, still best, comes on DVDs.

GL: You are rennovating a house in Savoy – how is that going?

SC: We bought a wreck seven years ago, which we’ve been gradually transforming on days off. It’s nearly finished now, and will be ready for our eventual retirement, we trust. Meanwhile it lets us enjoy the cheap skiing in the Maurienne valley, with a more French ambience than you find in the big stations.