I’d welcome some help please as to what the phrase “Autour de la Pierre” signifies to you IN FRENCH. I’m not looking for a literal translation, but any nuanced interpretation and what would be included in this phrase and what would not.
This is the title that a local village is proposing for their summer photographic competition. They are looking for photographs of local old buildings. I am concerned that they will also get this, which they don’t want …
Am I right?
Good question! I don’t know, but do you think that the capital P in Pierre has any significance?
I would take it mean round the subject, as in if someone said x was talking autour de la pierre I would understand it to mean they were taking a long time to get to the main subject, or wandering off it. A bit like going round the houses in English. But that could be a faux ami that has settled in my head.
OH says there are a lot of restaurants called autour de la pierre.
He also says that la pierre can mean buildings, as in I’m investing in la pierre for my children’s inheritance.
Yes, and spécialistes en aménagement paysager too !
Thanks everyone. Good points and useful for our meeting tomorrow.
Used quite a bit by immobiliers to suggest buildings
https://pierrestradition.fr/fr/
So, in my opinion your title may be better as plural, ‘Autour des Pierres’ rather than singular? The singular might rather suggest a cooking stone, which is possibly why it is a popular name for restaurants.
It could easily mean “anything to do with stone” in the broadest sense possible, including your little pebbles on the beach, literally, anything that figures a stone, part thereof, rocks, cliffs, buildings, architecture, statues, effigies, etc - the list goes on quite a long way as to what might fall into that definition.
Just got back from work!
I think I’d understand something like all about stone, or all things stone, anything at all to do with stone.
It shouldn’t be pierres plural because that would be eg Stonehenge or Carnac 
Thank you Vero. That’s a help as I think they are imagining everyone will just take photos of old stone buildings in Lot et Garonne and it seems to me it can be much wider than that, like stone statues or cairns.
Or indeed my kitchen table with a macro lens
Or a pile of pebbles.
Thanks everyone for your input. At the meeting yesterday it has been clarified that entrants will be filling in paperwork, which will clearly state that the photograph must be of old building(s) in Lot et Garonne.