In terms of gastronomy, Cassel offers the charm and authenticity of his taverns. These restaurants are an invitation to conviviality, to sharing, all in a typical Flemish atmosphere, with his dried hop leaves hanging from the ceilings, his old crockery from our grandmothers, photos from another century. You will taste typical Flemish dishes such as carbonnade ( a beef stew , cooked with some locals beer , gingerbread), potjevlesch ( some differents kinds of meat like pork , rabbit , cooked and served cold in aspic) , both of this two disches are served with some fries, appetizer boards to share (local cold meats, local cheeses like Cassel Ball), all accompanied by a good beer , like a  » Reuze Beer  » (to be consumed in moderation).

Ja Om’t Vlamsch !!

The  » Château de La Motte au bois  » was built in 1065 by Robert le Frison , Count of Flanders in The Middle Age. La Motte au Bois is a small village , near from Hazebrouck , and during the French Revolution ( 1790 -1794 , not very sure of the right date) , the former has merged with Morbecque.

During the First World War , La Motte au Bois , and his castle ,was very close from the front line of Belgium. The Baronne Clementine de La Grange open the gates of his castle to the british force of Commonwealth in October 1914 , the 12th. The HQ ( Hight Quarter) of the british cavalry , commanded by General Allenby , was laced in the very enclosure of the castle.
The baroness hardly speaks a word of English, the everyday situations with the soldiers, who came to rest a little before leaving for the front were sometimes very funny.
Clementine, will befriend these unfortunate people, and will keep a diary where she will note the news from the front.
Her husband , Amaury de La Grange,was a pilot in the French army during the conflict.

During these 4 years of war, the baroness received many personalities including king Georges V. In April 1918, the castle was completely plundered, leaving the baroness in the most complete disarray.
In 1919, the baroness received the highest British military distinction and she became  » Mother of the British Army ».

The castle was completely destroyed in 1944 by the allies during some bombing and rebuilt in 1950. Now , The castle was today the home of the Institut Aéronautique Amaury de la Grange , which trains aeronautical engineers.

So the idea of the blog is for you to share your experience during your internships.

If you would like to just talk in general about the place you are working then great. Equally, if you want to share any photos e.g. of a monument, painting or just the building where you work then also all good!! It could also be interesting to post if you have the opportunity to speak English with a tourist – did you find it difficult and why? or even better – was it easy?? 🙂

I will be looking at the blog regularly but it is really a place for you to share your experiences with each other. Finally, please do not worry about writing something which is not perfect in English – this is a ‘safe space’ and you are students learning the language. Look at the blog as an opportunity to share your experiences and do not be afraid to make mistakes – if we do not make mistakes, then we do not learn how to improve…

To start us off you will see that I have uploaded some photos of Scotland (greatest place on Earth). They are all from an area which is very close to my heart – The Hebrides. The Hebrides are a group of islands on the western side of Scotland and are part of what is known as The Western Isles (Islands) in Scotland. They are easily my favourite area of Scotland to visit due to the variety of tourism on offer – look at the photos! They are rich in traditional culture, have incredible landscapes and are covered with both ancient and modern historical sites. Now, I could go on and on about how special they are, but that is not the point of this site!! The point is for you to write, not your silly old teacher…