Fish & Chips for Good Friday

Can one wish a happy Good Friday? I love Good Friday, sometimes just as much as Easter. Because it's a bank holiday, at least in this country. And because every year I commemorate by "fasting". And by fasting, I mean I eat fish and chips.It has become a tradition since I live in England. We spent last year's Good Friday in York.It was our last night in the city. I bought these fish and chips in the nearest chippy. It tasted absolutely perfect, even though it stank up the place. I'm not sure where I will eat my next Fish and chips from.

La chasse aux oeufs des Bouquinistes

J'ai prise cette image sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes. Je tenais à vous faire un rappel: ils font une chasse aux oeufs, du 30 amrs au 4 avril. Et vous pouvez gagner des prix de commerces régionaux, voire l'image plus haut. Et puis vous pouvez toujours vous acheter un livre ou deux, une fois que vous êtes là.

No Easter Bunny at M&S

Two days ago, I stopped at the local Marks and Spencer to stock up on food for Easter. They have plenty of goodies, but something struck me when I went in their Easter chocolates section: I could not see any rabbit. Not a single one. So I asked one of the staff member if there was a shortage and if they were expecting more to come before Sunday. Her answer: there is no Easter chocolate bunny this year. No. Easter. Chocolate. Bunny. I was shocked. I mean, it's THE emblematic Easter animal, you must have at least one Easter bunny in your chocolates for the big day. And they have all sorts of creatures: ponies, sloths (?), cats, dogs... But no bunny. Well, it means that I will have to go somewhere else.

Des moutons à la fenêtre

Lors de mon dernier atelier d'écriture, je suis allé chez l'un des participants, qui vit dans le coin perdu d'un village. La fenêtre de sa cuisine donne sur un champ et on peut y voir des moutons. J'ai pris cette photo, parce que j'aimais la vue de la fenêtre. Pâques approche à grands pas, le mouton (et l'agneau, il ne faut pas l'oublier) est l'un de ses animaux emblématiques, alors je partage aujourd'hui la photo. Je la trouve pascale.

A book for Spy Wednesday

Today is Holy Wednesday, which is also called Spy Wednesday. I prefer to call it Spy Wednesday, because it's a much cooler name. And every Spy Wednesday, I try to commemorate by blogging something espionage related. This year, I thought that I would start reading a spy thriller to mark the date. So I bought William Boyd's Gabriel Moon at some point last year, I'm not even sure where. I think I might give it a go today, as I am between books. Okay, not between books, but between novels, most definitely. And Spy Wednesday is a good excuse as any to read a spy novel.

(D'autres sirotent leur) Boisson d'avril

Nous sommes le premier avril, donc je partage Boisson d'avril de Groovy Aardvark. C'est une tradition sur ce blogue.

KitKat Burglars

 Well, after stealing violins, now it seems that criminals come after chocolate. I read the news a few days ago: more than 12 tons of KitKat chocolate has been stolen in Italy. Twelve tons! Of yummy KitKat chocolates, their new F1 line bar. This is a despicable crime on so many levels. And just before Easter on top of it, which according to the article could cause shortage for customers. When I said it is despicable, I really mean it... Anyway, once the investigation is over and hopefully the thieves are behind bars (sorry for the bad pun), it might be a great starting point for a crime fiction story.

Dernier jour de mars

 Nous sommes le dernier jour de mars (lieu commun ici). Je pensais le souligner en une photo, comme je le fais parfois pour chaque mois. Mars, c'est le printemps, c'est le retour des oiseaux, c'est la végétation qui commence timidement à reprendre ses droits, j'ai donc pensé prendre une photo de la mangeoire dans le jardin chez mes beaux-parents, photo prise en mars 2025.

Sherlock Holmes on the Moors

 I blogged back in February about the first edition I read of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I took this image from the book. You can see Sherlock Holmes in his iconographic if apocryphal clothes, with a deerstalker hat, but an ordinary coat and not an Inverness cape, for some reason. Still, the hat gives him away immediately. In this image, it makes some sense that he is wearing this, as he is on the Devon's moors. Some illustrators and movies have Holmes dressed like this in the middle London, which is patently absurd. Anyway, I think it would be nice to revisit Devon, but more inland this time. Follow the footsteps of Sherlock Homes, when he investigated an old legend who turned into a murder conspiracy.

Première Moisson en mode pascal

Photo trouvée sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson: la boulangerie/pâtisserie se met en mode pascal. Si j'étais à Montréal, j'y ferais un tour. Si seulement ils pouvaient ouvrir une succursale en Angleterre! On n'est pas aussi bien servi ici en desserts de Pâques, pas plus en chocolat qu'en gâteaux.

A Praise Of Our Neighbourhood

Yesterday, I went to my writing workshop. It was a great time, but this is not what I wanted to blog about. As it was in a different place as usual, I got a lift from some of my fellow writers. After the fairly short journey from my house to our host's house, my lift told me that he really liked my neighbourhood. At the end of a quiet road with lots of trees, surrounded by them in fact, he really thought it was a great place, just far enough from the centre. Oh, and from a walking distance of a country pub he likes. I knew of the pub, I had been there a few times, but didn't know it was from a walking distance from us. Good to know. I never thought someone would say this of our neighbourhood, which we always thought wa slower middle class at best, so it felt good to hear it.

Dimanche des Rameaux

Nous sommes aujourd'hui le Dimanche des Rameaux. La dernière ligne droite avant Pâques et une assez grosse affaire quand j'étais un petit enfant catholique. Maintenant, c'est plus un moment d'anticipation. Pâques, ce n'est pas Noël, il n'y a pas la même fébrilité, ce n'est pas la même ambiance non plus, mais j'ai quand même beaucoup de plaisir à attendre Pâques et à faire des plans. Sinon, que faites-vous aujourd'hui? Quelques chose de pascal? Ou c'est juste un dimanche comme un autre?

Tea Collections in a Bookshop?

During my last time at home, I went ao couple of time to the local Archambault. I used to love the bookstore chain, I am not really a fan anymore: it now sells too much of everything besides books. It used to feel like a proper bookshop, now it feels a bit tacky. So I was not surprised when I noticed they were also selling tea boxsets. One from an English company, of all things, the English Tea Shop. Very fancy. I live in England, so I thought it would be pointless to buy teas from England, even though my parents don't have much tea at home. So I didn't. And then, I thought I was being a grouch. Because buying tea and books together kind of makes sense: you get something to read and you have some tea with it. I mean drinking tea and reading a book are activities that go so well together. They are blissful, even. So yes, if there is anything else besides books, book bags and bookmarks that is suitable to buy in  a bookshop, it might actually be tea.

L'architecture de Salzbourg

 J'ai pris cette photo lors de nos vacances en Autriche l'an passé, à Salzbourg. Vous voyez un commerce, en tout cas un édifice, qui date de quelques siècles, R.F. Azwanger. Ce que j'aime dans l'architecture de Salzbourg, c'est justement qu'elle a l'air figée dans le temps, comme je le disais dans ce billet. Même avec l'apparition des stands et des réclames plus modernes, comme on voit ici. Et avec les couleurs parfois pastel, parfois vives, on dirait souvent des maisons de poupées géantes. Il y a quelque chose de délicat dans cette ville.

An Evening of Murder

A long, long time ago, I blogged about a murder party series we used to love, called An Evening of Murder. Back in the eighties and nineties, it was all the rage among adults, teenagers and, well, sometimes also "old" children. The first we ever played was Forever Friends, localised into (Qébec) French as Éternellement Vôtre, or Eternally Yours. A better title, IMO. I mention localisation, as the character names and the places were all adapted to québécois culture, but for simplicity I will refer to the original English. The setting was a hotel called "the Old Lodge", where a group of college friends reunited, to find one of them murdered. I got hooked. Everybody had something to hide, was guilty of something. A cassette gave you the sounds of the murder, pretty gruesome stuff, introduced by Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and a rather dark and sinister voice. You could also find in the box set invitation letters, characters sheets, also a booklet with suggestions of disguise, of décor, even a menu for the evening. Sure, the resolution owe nothing to anyone's deductive powers, but oh the atmosphere! And the role play! The fun we had. I will always treasure it.

Ale à l'érable (un conseil)

Photo prise de la page Facebook de McAuslan. Ils font grand cas de leur bière à l'érable. J'en profite pour revenir sur la critique qu'a faite mon frère PJ. Il m'a aussi donné un conseil, que je partage ici: "vu que ça se vend à l'unité, achètes-en une pour célébrer le printemps, tu la bois un peu déçu d'avoir manqué un autre hiver, pis tu remets ça à l'année prochaine." Bonne idée.

The Violin Thief

 I blogged last year about the theft of a 285-year-old violin worth £150,000 in a London pub. Well, there has been some development to the story since the man was arrested: he has been charged with theft. It was about time. As a music lover, the stealing of a rare and ancient musical instrument is to me both morally and aesthetically repellent. Hell, you could argue it is a crime against our civilisation's memory. That said, it could be the subject of a great crime story. Everything about it makes for a great drama. An atmospheric one too: he stole the violin in a London pub, after all. I'm sure there is a scriptweriter working on it at the moment. I'm kind of tempted to try my luck at it and write a short story on the subject.

Ours polaire viennois?

 Photo prise au Zoo de Vienne lors de nos vacances l'an dernier. Je ne tenais pas tant à y aller (au zoo je veux dire). Mais ce fût quand même agréable. Et puis c'est toujours plaisant de voir (notamment) des ours polaires, tant qu'ils ne puissent pas vous atteindre. Je trouve toujours ça un peu surréaliste de voir un animal polaire dans un zoo européen. Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi.

Devious March

 Since the vernal equinox and even before (see this post for instance), this springtime had been rather idyllic. For those who love when it gets warmer during spring, that is. Because I am not one of them. I far prefer cold weather and when it gets warmer, I start dreading the hot days of summer to come. Thankfully, March is a treacherous month and he proved himself to be again: since yesterday, the temperature dropped, it's overcast and sometimes rainy, furthermore it gets quite windy. Oh I love when March gets cold and windy! I know it will not last, but I am feeling oh so comfy right now and I am making the most of it.

Le synopsis de Cendrillon

 Un rappel pour les amateurs: l'Opéra du Royaume présentera Cendrillon de Jules Massenet du 28 mars au 2 avril. Ils ont présenté le synopsis de l'opéra, si vous êtes curieux d'en savoir plus.