Friday 8 December 2023
Christmas Gnomes
Le Plateau et l'hiver
Wednesday 6 December 2023
I missed Krampus Night
La Légende de Saint Nicolas
Nous sommes la Saint-Nicolas , donc je partage l'une des légendes associées au saint, celle qui est si délicieusement sinistre. D'habitude, je partage la verison chantée, cette fois-ci, c'est une pièce de théâtre avec des marionnettes trouvée sur YouTube. Et, comme je viens de me rendre compte qu'on ne peut pas la partager directement sur les autres sites, vous trouverez le lien ici. Dites-moi ce que vous en pensez.
Tuesday 5 December 2023
Mozart: Requiem Aeternam
Here is a sad anniversary that I have to commemorate. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died on that date. As it is a tradition around the world, his Requiem is played. We commemorate his death, we are still in grief, even centuries after his departure, but we celebrate his work. Mozart is eternal.
Le Plateau sous la neige
Sunday 3 December 2023
First Mulled Wine
Les marchés de Noël
Saturday 2 December 2023
The Christmas Connection
You probably know my love for The French Connection. What you might not know is that it is one of the movies I like to watch for Christmas. I consider it a Christmas movie, or to be more precise a Christmascrime film. I think I need to hashtag that term and make it a thing on social media. But I digress. The French Connection is a Christmas film because a good portion of it, from the beginning to its middle at least, is set around Christmastime. And main character Popeye Doyle is introduced wearing a Santa Claus costume, which is in itself an excellent reason. It happens in a scene that is both comical and yet genuinely immersive. Doyle comes off not as a joke, but like a driven cop ready to do what it takes to get his man. The chase and the subsequent interrogation scene are a piece of anthology and I am sharing it here for you to appreciate. For some people, Christmas is about Hans Gruber falling from Nakatomi Tower. For me, it's about Popeye Doyle dressed as Santa running after a drug dealer and not caring one bit about what he's wearing.
Les beignes de Noël, 2023
Friday 1 December 2023
Frost
La Marche des Rois
Thursday 30 November 2023
Railway Journeys
Un polar pour l'Avent
Tuesday 28 November 2023
Will it snow?
It is getting colder and colder here, which makes me very happy. It feels like winter in everything but one point: there's been no snow so far. In other words, it does not look like winter, not like the winters I know anyway. My wife told me yesterday that it might actually snow by the end of the week. I don't know where she got that from. I double checked the weather forecasts for our area and, while the temperatures will drop slightly below zero, there is so far no risk of snow, not even a low one. I will not hold my breath, I won't even hope. But maybe, just maybe, these lower temperatures are a sign of things to come, maybe not this week, but next month.
Les réserves de clémentines
Sunday 26 November 2023
The Ivy's Polar Bear
Calendrier de l'Avent et confitures
Saturday 25 November 2023
The Darkest Season (from #Noirvember to Christmascrime)
Complainte Pour Sainte Catherine
Parce que c'est la Sainte-Catherine...