  Using 2D numerical simulations as well as analytical modelling, we show how
slow viscoelastic dynamics of aqueous foam are linked to coarsening induced
intermittent bubble rearrangements. The macroscopic strain rate is expressed in
terms of mesoscopic dynamics where local rearrangements are represented by
strain fields induced by force dipoles. We relate these dipoles quantitatively
to local geometrical features of the corresponding bubble rearrangements. We
also explain how applying a small macroscopic stress biases the outcome of
coarsening induced rearrangements.
