Friday 31 January 2020

Direction Signs

I blogged a few times and not long ago about our time in Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshireand the pathway in the woodlands nearby, which was a great place and worth the admittance fees by itself. Going through the pictures I had taken then, I saw this one, which I had completely forgotten about. It is a very unhelpful yet very charming road sign. if you are struggling to read the directions given on the arrows, it says "WHERE'S THIS?" and "WHICH WAY?". I wonder if it frustrates people walking around there. I cannot remember if it frustrated us, but I liked it enough to take this picture anyway.

Pâques déjà?

C'est du moins ce que l'on pourrait croire, à voir la page Facebook de la Chocolaterie des Pères trappistes. Comme le dit la photo et l'annonce, "les petites poules sont arrivées". Bon, ce ne sont que les petites poules et pas le reste de la ménagerie, mais quand même: je trouve ça un peu tôt. Après Noël qui commence de plus en plus tôt, il ne faudrait pas charrier avec Pâques aussi. Je dis ça, et ici aussi, on voit des chocolats de Pâques apparaître partout. Mais je croyais que des moines feraient preuve de plus de retenue...

New Tea Mugs

I got this picture from the Facebook page of David's Tea. They have new mugs. I know I'm a complete sucker for these kinds of things, but I really, really, really would like to have some of them, or even a complete set of them to impress our guests at tea time (I am jesting of course, we very rarely have guests coming for tea). However: 1)our cupboards are already crammed with mugs and 2)I live way too far from the nearest David's Tea shop to buy a set. The second point is the real problem, as I can easily convince my wife to buy new cute mugs, especially since there are some old ones we could get rid of.

Des bleuets...roses?

Je suis tombé sur cette photo prise par mon père (enfin je crois, c'est lui qui me l'a envoyée) je ne sais où, du temps des récoltes de bleuets. Des bleuets dont certains ont une couleur rose. Je n'avais jamais vu ça avant, enfin pas en pareille quantité. Ça détonne un peu. (Et je sais pas qui c'est l'enfant dont on voit le bras et le ventre. Cousin ou cousine éloigné de petit loup?). Enfin bref, il est loin le temps des récoltes de bleuets, mais pour patienter, j'ai pensé partager cette photo aujourd'hui.

Thursday 30 January 2020

"Like the 50th of January..."

This week, one of my colleagues, the only one I get along really well with, told me this: "Well, it feels like it's the 50th of January." I think it sums up the end of the month perfectly and it deserves to be a great unknown line. I wish I had come up with that one.

Une rue Mafalda

Excellente nouvelle apprise hier: il y aura une rue appelée Mafalda à Gatineau. La petite fille et grande dame de cinquante ans et plus, le grand trésor national d'Argentine sera donc honorée au Québec. Je suis fier de mon pays et pour une fois dans ma vie, j'ai envie d'aller à Gatineau.

Wednesday 29 January 2020

Trolls (or ogres?) in hiding

I blogged before about our visit to the Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire, one of my favourite places there. Now, a few meters away from the village, there was a long pathway in the nearby woodlands, where you could walk. And there were lots of wooden sculpture and other alongside the pathway, including these monsters which you can see here, these kind of ugly looking creatures hiding underneath boxes or treasure chests.

Now I am not sure what they are meant to represent, but my money would be on trolls. There was a bridge nearby, for one, and they have the deforme and grotesque look of trolls. Beside, of all the humanoid monsters, trolls are the ones closest to nature and these were literally crawling off the some underground hideout. They could also be ogres, although I always imagined ogres more at least somewhat more civilised. Be that as it may, it was as if we were stepping in a fairytale or n old legend and they were the adversaries we had to overcome before carrying on our journey. I envied Wolfie for a moment, because he could still use these monsters in his make belief games. He did not seem scare of them, by the way. Or that much impressed. But I still think they were absolutely as scary as they were lifelike.

Une anecdote sur le rasage

Petite anecdote humouristique qui s'est passée lors de notre dernier jour de vacances chez mes parents. Avec le voyage du retour et tout, je n'ai pas eu l'occasion de la raconter avant. Je la reproduis donc aujourd'hui comme petite farce en un acte et une seule scène. Voici donc.

Personnages:
-Moi: votre humble narrateur et bloguer, la quarantaine, marié à une Anglaise, père d'un garçon.
-Ma mère: donc, ma mère, qui lit ce blogue parfois, je vais pas dire son âge, mariée, mère de trois garçons et grand-mère gâteau.

Ma mère: "Tu as décidé de te faire pousser la barbe?"
Moi: "Non, je me rase juste moins souvent quand je suis en vacances."
Ma mère: "La barbe te va bien mais, ben, est blanche!"
Moi: "Ok, ok, je vais la raser."

Vous devinerez que ma mère n'aime pas trop quand ses fils ne se rasent pas lorsqu'ils viennent en visite.

Tuesday 28 January 2020

About a diamond

I wanted to share a bit of fashion and luxury news that got me thinking: Louis Vuitton has revealed in Paris a diamond as big as a tennis ball. Now I know nothing about fashion, luxury retails handbags and what have you, but a big diamond always fires up my imagination. I blogged recently about the concept of the MacGuffin. I know that it is now a ridiculously overused cliché, but I think this diamond, or a fictitious one based on this diamond, would make for one Hell of a MacGuffin in a crime fiction story.

Le retour de Croc

Petite nouvelle déjà vieille et nostalgique: le magazine Croc, mort au feuilleton depuis le milieu des années 90, était de retour pour une édition spéciale en 2019. Ce fut l'un de mes cadeaux de Noël. La page Facebook est ici. Croc, je ne l'ai pas beaucoup lu, mais ça m'est arrivé et à chaque fois je l'ai trouvé tordant et mordant. Ce fut une joyeuse redécouverte et en lisant ça, je regrette un peu de ne pas avoir plus lu Croc quand c'était un magazine mensuel, du temps où ils se vendaient encore.

Monday 27 January 2020

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Birthday

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He would be 264 today. Yet he will be forever young (and some would imagine juvenile, as per his most famous depiction in fiction). For me, he will simply be the greatest, mainly, I must confess, because of his operas (I was celebrating one no later than yesterday). But I to celebrate him, here is a two parts video from YouTube, which explains... why Mozart was, or in fact is, a genius.

Les cochons de bois

J'ai déjà blogué sur eux en 2019, les cochons de bois que mon père a pris en photo dans le Vieux-Montréal. Je les partage à nouveau parce que ça fera changement un peu des photos de neige. Et aussi parce que je les trouve mignons. Je ne sais pas quelle utilité ils ont à part être décoratifs. Pour bloquer les portes, peut-être?

Sunday 26 January 2020

"All women do it"

No, no, this is not the title of a work of pornographic nature (although let's face it: it could be), it is the title in English of Cosi fan tutte, which premiered 230 years ago today. I have grown quite fond of and fascinated with this opera over the years and thought it needed to be celebrated on Vraie Fiction. So "All women do it" is its title and also the moral of the story. As in "all women are unfaithful, if given the opportunity". Sexist, cynical? Absolutely, yet it is difficult to find flaws in Lorenzo da Ponte's libretto, or Mozart's music. As an external observer, one can easily see how love is fleeting, capricous and fickle. In the end, Cosi is cruel like comedies often are, but in all honesty you cannot fault the argument or the demonstration. Anyway, I have two videos for you, one which gives you a rundown of the plot with commentary, made by the people at Opera Cheats, and one duet from the opera itself, sung beautifully by Anke Vondung and Miah Persson, as Dorabella and Fiordiligi respectively.

Sortir sous la pluie

Petite anecdote qui ne veut peut-être rien dire, mais qui m'a fait réfléchir. Comme nous avions jusqu'ici passé à peu près toute la fin de semaine enfermés à l'intérieur, nous avons décidé de sortir en ville quelques heures dans l'après-midi. Ce n'était pas le moment le plus opportun: nous étions trempés dans les trente secondes après qu'on ait stationné la voiture. Qu'à cela ne tienne: je me suis rendu compte que petit loup ne s'en formalisait pas et qu'il souriait même trempé. Je ne suis pas certain de la morale de l'histoire, mais j'ai pensé à ce moment qu'il vaut parfois mieux sortir lorsqu'il fait mauvais temps que de rester enfermé, surtout un dimanche où c'est déjà assez facil de s'ennuyer. Et j'ai aussi pensé que la pluie ne nous pourrit pas nécessairement la fin de semaine, en autant qu'on ne soit pas trop casanier. Bref, le dimanche, sortez, même quand il pleut, surtout quand il pleut.

Saturday 25 January 2020

Mozartian crimes

Tomorrow is the 230th anniversary of the premiere of Cosi fan tutte. Maybe Mozart's best opera, certainly his most cynical. I will properly celebrate tomorrow of course, and the next day is Mozart's birthday, so another excuse to blog about it and share my love for the music. It may be a coincidence, but I am reading at the moment... Cosi Fan Tutti, by (British) crim writer Michael Dibdin. I found this novel at total random, saww the title and knew I had to have it. So far so good, although I find ti a bit light for my liking. I quite enjoy, if nothing else, the connections with Mozart: like the opera, the novel is set in Naples and the B plot involves a similar scheme of fooling two people into cheating. The difference is that the victims of this scheme are two Neapolitan thugs instead of two ladies, hence the gender switch in the title, tutti instead of tutte.

Tic-tac-toe

je partage encore une fois ce soir une photo prise à Crich Tramway Village dans le Derbyshire, lors de notre promenade dans le sentier en retrait du village. Un peu parce que je veux bloguer sur d'autres sujets que des photos de saisons, un peu aussi parce que j'aime bloguer à propos de jeux de société, même les plus simples comme le tic-tac-toe. Que vous avez j'espère reconnu. Bon, la table est un peu ronde, c'est un tronc d'arbre transformé en plateau de jeu, mais vous pouvez voir les x et les o. Anecdote amusante: petit loup aime bien jouer au tic-tac-toe, même s'il en saisit mal les règles: son idée d'une partie est de remplir la grille, point, dans un agencement qu'il essaie de rendre diférent à chaque fois. Et il joue toujours contre lui-même.

Mysterious Tower

I took this picture at Branféré. It is both a botaical garden (or a botanical park as they call it) and a zoo in France. We often go there when we are on holidays to see my wife's parents. Last time, I took a picture of this tower. I am not certain why. It is just a tower, but I always find towers quite fascinating, especially when its walls are covered with plants like this one. It is a tower that has character. I know it is in a public place, but imagine a tower like this one in a remote area, on a private property that may or may not be abandoned. I think there is a story to write about this tower, but I am not certain which one.

Frimas

On va dire que je suis en train de presser le citron de l'hiver et du temps qu'il fait (ou dans ce cas faisait). C'est vrai que je blogue souvent sur le temps qu'il fait, ici ou ailleurs, sur les saisons encore plus. Mais j'ai toujours dit que Vraie Fiction prend les couleurs des saisons. Mais enfin bref, la semaine dernière, il a fait très froid, surtout le soir et le matin et nous avons eu droit à du gel au sol. Ce qui ici en Angleterre est pas mal le plus hivernal que l'on peut avoir. Bon, il peut neiger aussi parfois, mais c'est très rare et ils ne savent pas trop comment gérer la neige. Le frimas, c'est malgré tout joli et à défaut de neige, c'est plaisant.

Friday 24 January 2020

The Friday's Sandwich Treat (with giant olives)

It has been a while since I last blogged about my Friday's sandwich treat. last time was in 2017. For the long time readers, they may remember that it is a tradition I have, since my last job: every Friday, I go to the nearest sandwich shop and treat myself with a decadent sandwich: chicken, onions, tomatoes, lectuce, salt, pepper and olives, in a baguette bread. Sometimes it is slightly different, but in general this is what I have, with crisps and a Coke. It's a way to celebrate the coming weekend. Sometimes, when I am lucky, they even have giant olives, like these ones, and it makes the sandwich all the more delicious.

Défi château de neige

Mon père m'a récemment informé de l'existence d'un concours, le Défi château de neige. Pas que je puisse y participer: le concours s'adresse aux résidents du Québec. et pas que j'aurais été bon: les châteaux que j'ai fait étant enfant se résumaient à une palissade toute simple que j'avais pelletée de peine et de misère. Mais si vous voulez et si vous pouvez y participer, vous avez les informationsdans le lien que je vous ai donné ci-dessus.

Thursday 23 January 2020

Trivia about Cate Blanchett

The things you learn about your favourite actress. I was reading the TV Tropes entry on Cate Blanchett and I discovered one or two things I did not know:

-She was nicknamed "Queen Cate" and "Cate the Great" because she playeda few queens and queenish characters.
-Her fans commonly call themselves "Blanchetters".

So I'm a Blanchetter. I can live with that. Funny I was not aware of that, I guess it shows that, however a fan I can be, I stay far away in general of fan communities, even online.

"Une vieille, vieille dame vivait dans une chaussure..."

Je vais peut-être trahir mon âge, mais vous vous rappelez-vous de cette publicité animée du Service de prévention des incendies? Ceux de ma génération se rappelleront de la vieille dame qui prodiguait des conseils de sécurité. Et en rimes en plus. On retrouve (toute?) la série sur YouTube. Enfant, elle me fascinait et me faisait peur tout à la fois. J'imagine que c'était l'effer recherché.

Wednesday 22 January 2020

The star of Marilyn Monroe

A few months ago, my brother PJ went to Hollywood on holidays. He took a few pictures, including this one, of the star of Marilyn Monroe. Maybe the greatest star there ever was he said, commenting on the picture on social media. I think he is right, and there is no need for any maybes. She used to be my favourite actress, not so much for her acting skills, which to be very honest I think were rather limited (but very enjoyable nevertheless, what she lacked in acting abilities, she made up for in charm), but for her iconic status. Now, I have another favourite actress (you know which one), but I still think Monroe's movies are great fun to watch. Not always because of their intrinsic qualities (although she did play in genuine great films), but because they are freaking Marilyn Monroe movies.

Damier en bois

Photo prise à Crich Tramway Village dans le Derbyshire. Il y avait un sentier pour se promener, un peu en retrait du village lui-même, et on y trouvait des sculptures en bois ainsi que des jeux, dont ce jeu de dames. Je trouve que c'est bien pensé: de quoi s'amuser en se reposant entre deux séances de marche dans un sentier entouré de boisés. Et les dames, c'est juste assez simple et les parties sont assez brèves pour pouvoir en jouer une de manière impromptue sans que l'on néglige la promenade ou les autres activités du village (lequel est pas mal mon gros coup de coeur de nos dernières vacances dans ce coin-là). Je n'ai jamais été un grand amateur de dames (j'ai toujours préféré les échecs), mais en plein air comme ça, c'est peut-être un jeu idéal.

A beer and a train

During my last holidays in Québec, I drank mostly beers that I knew already, beers that I had missed far from home. That said, I was feeling guilty of not trying new products, so a few days before our departure I bought a couple of local products. I made a few pleasant dicsoveries. Maybe my favourite was the Smelting, from regional microbrewery BR77. So regional and so new that it barely has anything on their website and no English version. I bought it because it is a red ale and I love red ales and, I must confess, because I really liked the label with its train on it. I don't judge a beer by its label, but the steam train on this one is a nice homage to a bygone era when Chicoutimi had a proper railway system. Anyway, the Smelting will be back on the drinking menu for my next visit.

La remise sous la neige (encore)

Je présente une autre photo de neige venant de mon coin de pays. La remise de mes parents sous la neige. Comparez cette photo à celle d'il y a un mois et demi environ. Il y a eu de grosses bordées depuis. L'hiver québécois, à défaut de le vivre en vrai, je le vis virtuellement, par le biais de photos comme celle-ci.

Tuesday 21 January 2020

A real horrorshow loyalty card!

As you may know, the Anthony Burgess Foundation has its own café. I learned yesterday that it now has loyalty cards! And not just any loyalty cards. Viddy well the image on the card. If it isn't little o' Alex. It is a shame that I live so far away from Manchester, where the Foundation is. That said, I will most certainly stop at the café during my next pilgrimage in the city of my favourite writer and I will get myself one of these horrorshow loyalty cards. It will take a while for me to get my free drink, but it will be an excuse to go there more often.

Les Marque-pages des Bouquinistes

J'ai trouvé par hasard cette photo sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes, la librairie indépendante de Chicoutimi et l'une de mes librairies préférées, même encore aujourd'hui. Je suis retourné aux Bouquinistes lors de nos dernières vacances, je voulais aborder cette visite impromptue de quelques minutes seulement (je dirais dix tout au plus), mais ne savais pas trop comment. Et puis je vois cette photo. Le commentaire qui l'accompagnait c'était: "Nostalgie". Nostalgie en effet. Je crois que si je cherchais un peu dans les bibliothèques chez mes parents, je pourrais retrouver le petit marque-page orange que l'on voit au milieu et qui date au moins des années 80. Ces signets, c'est un peu l'histoire de ma découverte de la littérature, grande et petite. Ah oui, et j'ai acheté deux livres aux Bouquinistes lors de ma dernière visite.

Monday 20 January 2020

"Blue Monday" again...

So here we go again, today is Blue Monday, allegedly the most depressing day of the year. Which is of course pure hogwash: the most depressing day of the year, if there is one, would differ from person to person and according to way too many variables to be able to pinpoint it to a specific day in advance. January is, by and large, a rather depressing month. And Mondays are never very pleasant. I never liked them much anyway, except when they end. Anyone among you who enjoy Monday, especially in January?

La diaspora québécoise

J'ai lu hier la chronique de Claude Villeneuve dans le JdeM sur la diaspora québécoise, qui m'a fait bien réfléchir. D'abord parce que ça m'a soudainement frappé que je suis membre de cette diaspora, vivant à l'étranger. Pourtant, je n'ai que très peu souvent rencontré des Québécois vivant ici, certainement pas assez pour en constituer une communauté. La diaspora québécoise, j'en suis peut-être le seul représentant dans la petite ville anglaise où je vis. On se sent parfois bien seul. Mais la tournure positive de la chronique de Villeneuve, quand il dit que tout grand peuple mérite une diaspora. C'est quand même un peu vrai que je répand la culture québécoise dans le monde, bien modestement je le concède, mais quand même.

Sunday 19 January 2020

Watermill (and how it works)

Today, we went to Henley and spent a bit of time at the River & Rowing Museum. Small museum, but it has some very interesting sections and it's a great place to keep a child entertained. It is also a nice place for an adult who never really completely grew up, like me. I saw many very fascinating things there, among them this watermill model. I am not very technical, but thought it was really well done, explaining in layman's terms how thw watermill works. I also loved the attention to details: there is a cat and a mouse on this display, as there would be in a real watermill (the mouse eating the grain, the cat hunting the mice). Can you find them?

Martin-pêcheur

Petite escapade en famille aujourd'hui: nous avons passé l'après-midi à Henley, dont une partie au River & Rowing Museum. Petit musée, mais on y retrouve quelques exhibitons assez intéressantes. Il y avait, comme à bien des musées dans ce pays, une section avec des animaux empaillés. Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais les animaux empaillés me fascinent toujours un peu. J'y ai donc pris la photo d'un Martin-pêcheur. Un oiseau qui est assez commun ici, si je ne me trompe pas, mais que je n'ai jamais remarqué dans la nature. Je le trouve un peu exotique. Son nom en anglais, kingfisher (roi pêcheur) a plus d'allure, lui donne un fond d'ancienne aristocratie.

Saturday 18 January 2020

The Mars bar, with extra caramel

I am a big fan of Mars bars. I have been for years. What I particularly love about Mars bars is how extremely indulgent the whole mix is: caramel and nougat coated in chocolate. For me, it is the quintessential sugary dessert snack, the one that boost your endorphin level automatically, as long as you forget about the calory intakes. It is the worst chocolate bar, it is the best chocolate bar. Recently, I had the opportunity to try one of its variations. I received in my Christmas stocking Caramel Mars bar, where it is all caramel inside, without nougat. It was enjoyable, but it did not taste as nice. The classic Mars bar has a balance that is lost here. Still good, for one who likes caramel, just not as enjoyable an indulgent experience.

La fresque de Berry Pomeroy Castle

Cette photo a été prise à Berry Pomeroy Castle, dans le Devon. Je ne me rappelle pas des détails, mais c'est une fresque qui date de la fin du moyen âge/début de la Renaissance. J'aurais dû la partager à l'Épiphanie, parce que c'est une scène représentant l'Adoration des Mages. Mais comme je ne veux pas attendre un an avant de la mettre ici, je la partage ce soir.

What is a MacGuffin?

For people into movies and genre fiction in general, you may have heard of the term MacGuffin, which was coined by Alfred Hitchcock. It is one of these concepts which I have been obsessing about, both in my own writing venture and in the crime and spy fiction I read. I finally found online the anecdote where Hitchcock explains what it is on The Dick Cavett Show. I had read the story, but never heard it straight from Hitchcock's mouth. I find it fascinating.

Des louveteaux et des balles

Petite nouvelle scientifique mignonne sur laquelle je suis tombé récemment: les petits louveteaux peuvent aussi, comme les chiens, aller chercher la balle. Je parle bien entendu des petits du loup et de la louve, pas des jeunes scouts. C'est adorable, surtout pour ceux qui aiment les loups comme votre serviteur, mais ce n'est pas qu'anecdotique. La nouvelle met un peu plus en lumière la relation entre le chien et le loup et l'histoire de leurs évolutions respectives.

Friday 17 January 2020

Early mornings at M&S

I have to commute very early in the morning to catch the bus, but I only start at 9:00. Which gives me plenty of free time when I arrive at the bus station which is my destination. I generally spent a portion of it to read. But recently, as I found out that the nearby Marks and Spencer opens early, I spent a few minutes there too. Since my working clothes are getting all old and worn out (I don't care about my casual clothes to be old and ugly), I have put this free time to good use and decided to benefit from the January sales. I literally kill three birds with one stone: I bought clothes I direly needed, I bought them cheap and then I don't have to go clothes shopping at the weekend. It feels a bit strange being there, most of the very few customers that are in the shop at this time are middle aged to elderly ladies, so I kind of stand out. But I won't make an habit out of it.

La corneille et la neige

J'ai déjà (et il n'y a pas si longtemps) blogué sur la photo d'une volée de corneilles sur la neige. Voici une autre photo de même nature, avec une seule corneille. Mon père l'a prise sans voir l'oiseau, moi je l'ai remarqué tout de suite. Comme pour l'autre photo, je trouve l'image saisissante.

Thursday 16 January 2020

Charcoal Smoothie

Sometimes I try strange things just for the heck of it, because I'm rather curious of nature. This is what happened during our last holiday. We had brunch at the Wondertree on the Terminal2 of Heathrow. When I travel, I usually have a juice or a smoothie with my first meal of the day, mainly because I think I might get low on fruits and vegs, so we might as well try to correct this early on. Among the smoothies on their menu, there was one called "Black Magic". Intriguing and exotic name, I thought, full of promises. It had cherries, banana, blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries and... charcoal. My wife thought it sounded way too weird and that I should think twice about drinking this, suspecting it might be toxic, even poisonous. The waitress said that it was quite good actually and I was very curious, so I decided to try it. It was indeed very good, even though I could taste the charcoal. It was actually the best thing we had there. So now I can say that once in my life I drank a charcoal smoothie.

Un fort la nuit...

Bon ce n'est pas la nuit, en fait c'était aux petites heures du matin, mais c'est tout comme pour la photo. Mon père allait chercher son frère pour se rendre dans leur lot en forêt quand il a vu le fort de neige dont j'ai parlé ici. C'est alors qu'il a pris la photo que je partage maintenant. La nuit, on dirait presqu'un vrai château.

Wednesday 15 January 2020

Howling Wind

Since yesterday, the wind has been blowing madly around here. So much so that the BBC has given a yellow warning of wind for the area that should last until 5:00PM. Last night, it was howling like a huge wolfpack, it was beautiful. Some people are scared by it, or a bit uneasy, but I'm not. I love wind blowing, although I far prefer to be the comfort of home rather than commuting or at work when it blows like this. It makes me want to snuggle up and relax, do very little or nothing and just listen to it.

Grosse bordée de neige

Nouvelle photo envoyée par mon père de l'hiver au Québec. Ils ont eu une grosse, grosse bordée de neige. Le bonhomme de neige qu'on a fait avec petit loup (son premier) a été complètement enseveli, ou en tout cas il a pris beaucoup de volume.

Tuesday 14 January 2020

The Burmese cat of Wallingford

As you know, we went this weekend to the lovely, quiet little town of Wallingford.There were not many people around, being on a Sunday and all the town was almost sleepy, but I saw the most beautiful Burmese cat. Or at least I think it was a Burmese cat from its look. All dark of face and its fur like caramel, except its paws which are coal like. It was walking by a stone fence near a church and stopped there, looked at me and remained there. I managed to get close to the feline and take this picture. I did not dare to give it a stroke, you never know when they can unleash at you and claw or bite. That said, since I got close to it and the chat show no sign of distress or anger, I think he/she is not a feral cat. I hope I can see it again next time we visit. I just find that cat so darn beautiful.

Noir, matin et soir

S'il y a une chose que je n'aime guère à ce temps-ci de l'année, c'est qu'il fait noir tôt le matin jusqu'à un peu avant huit heures environ (mettons sept heures et demie et un peu plus), puis à partir de quatre heures et demie, le soir commence déjà à tomber. Quand je ne travaille pas, ça passe encore. Chaque matin en me rendant au travail, je trouve que ça me joue sur le moral un peu trop. Pourtant, je ne suis pas du genre à aimer les longues journées d'été, loin de là. Mais pour moi, quand il fait noir, c'est le temps d'y aller doucement, de respecter les cycles circadiens et d'être au repos.

Monday 13 January 2020

An old anecdote about the Isle of Man

Here is an anecdote from a fairly long time ago, told by my mother-in-law yesterday. It is about her father and mother, so my wife's grandparents, when they traveled to the Isle of Man in their youth. It was when they were married, but before they had children. Ity happened sometimes after World War II and I think their years of war partially inspired it. They were taking the boat and the future grandfather said: "Don't worry dear, it is only a short journey, thirty minutes at the most." Future grandmother said: "Oh, are you sure we should not bring emergency rations?" Which apparently made him laugh so much that he repeated it to his children years later and it became a family's running gag. I thought it was so funny myself that it deserved to be shared here, as a "new" great unknown line.

Le rooibos

Nous sommes allés hier à Wallingford et nous avons pris le lunch à Bean & Brew, notre café préféré là-bas (depuis la fermeture de Catherine's Corner), en compagnie des parents de ma femme. Je crois que mon beau-père aurait préféré aller ailleurs, il avait en tête le moins compliqué et surtout moins prétentieux Greggs, mais ce sera pour une autre fois. Un peu pour me faire pardonner de lui avoir imposé Bean & Brew, j'ai voulu flatter sa fibre patriotique en buvant du rooibos (celui-ci vient de Tea People). Mon beau-père est sud-africain, voyez-vous, et le rooibos est originaire d'Afrique du Sud. C'est aussi une excellente boisson chaude sans caféine et donc assez relaxante. Je n'en avais pas bu depuis des mois, je crois que je devrais recommencer à en consommer régulièrement.

Sunday 12 January 2020

By the Wallingford Bookshop

What to do to get rid of that Sunday feeling and enjoy the last day of the weekend? Our idea today was to go to Wallingford. There are not many things more enjoyable than a walk in this quaint English town. Of course, on a Sunday, it is rather quiet, which is not a bad thing per se, but unfortunately I cannot stop at the Wallingford Bookshop for some impromptu purchases. Because it's closed on Sunday. I guess my wallet will be better for it (and my wife grateful I will not clutter the bookshelves this time). I still took a snapshot, just because I was walking by. For me this bookshop is like an old friend, the thing that made me love Wallingford. By the way, this post is a good opportunity to share some good news: independent bookshops are actually thriving in the UK at the moment. In an age when a lot of our shopping is done online, this is rather unexpected and reassuring.

Harry, Meghan et la caricature d'Ygreck

Bon, je ne la reproduirai pas ici, mais allez jeter un oeil à la caricature d'Ygreck au lien suivant. Sur la tragicomédie royale qui commence drôlement à m'ennuyer ici. Cela dit, je trouve la caricature bien drôle. Je l'ai montrée à ma femme, qui n'a pas tout compris et à mon fils, qui l'a trouvée tordante. Il l'appelle "la cawicaturrre". Je la lui montre et c'est un fou rire garanti.

The Debut Dagger Award

The host of our writing workshop sent me information about a writing competition from the Crime Writers' Association: the Debut Dagger Award. That is how much of an asocial and an ignoramus I am when it comes to what's on in the literary world of my country fo adoption: I didn't know about it. be that as it may, I am very tempted to participate in it. I do not have a novel completed, but I do have a story that is long enough to be a novella, and that can potentially be developed into a full lenght novel. All that needs to be done is to send the opening of the novel (3,000 words), then an synopsis of up to 1,500 words. I got the opening done, all I need is to write a synopsis. I have never truly done oen before, but that should be simple enough. I know my chnces are slim at best, but I might as well try.

Château fort de neige

Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo. Un château fort de neige comme on n'en faisait pas dans mon enfance. Ils ne les font pas à moitié, maintenant. Je suis à la fois impressionné, envieux et un tantinet nostalgique. il fut un temps où j'en faisais (des vraiment plus modestes) et où on inventait pleins d'aventures dans ces forts.

Saturday 11 January 2020

Meeting King Arthur, Merlin and the others

Sometimes you get back to your old literary (and, in this case, legendary) loves. Last month, I was saying that being at my parents' home, I had the pleasure to roam the bookshelves to read and reread old books. One of them was this one. The title in English would be "The Great Book of King Arthur", about the Arthurian legend of course. I received it as a Christmas present a few years ago, I can't remember when, and I had never read it. It tells in layman's terms the details of the Arthurian legend. I had not read it before because, with all humility, I am not a layman when it comes to Arthurian literature: I did my PhD on it, so there is very little if anything I can learn from that book. That said, it is a beautiful book, with gorgeous pictures and illustrations and just for this I decided to read it. And since I have left academia a long time ago, I could enjoy it innocently so to speak, as I would have had as a child or a teenager. Without feeling guilty about reading something beneath the academic that I still am, at least in title. I did not go very far in my reading, but it was nice to meet King Arthur, Merlin and the others again, so to speak. I thought about bringing the book home, but my wife strictly forbid it (too much to read here already). So it will be for our next time home.

Question existentielle (355)

Première question existentielle de 2020, je vous laisse deviner quand et comment elle m'est venue en tête, mais enfin bref la voici:

-Les Smarties, devrait-on les manger un à la fois, ou en poignée?

Friday 10 January 2020

Meghan, Harry and a Tim Hortons coffee?

Well, I wondered if I should mention it, and if so, how to talk about it on this blog. You know the big psychodrama that is happening here: Prince Harry and Meghan are stepping away from their royal duties (such as they are) and are trying to become independent financially. As they have more than 40 millions pounds in the bank, or so I read, I don't think money will be a problem. They are also going to live outside the UK, probably in Canada. Because it is a former colony and in many ways still is. It sort of makes sense: there are plenty of Brits fed up with the dreary weather there who just want to go and live somewhere else (my wife is not one of them, in case you are asking). And to turn this psychodrama on a farce, Tim Hortons are offering the couple (I guess not their baby boy) free coffee when they move in. Really? I have no sympathy for the royal family, but do they really deserve to suffer this? Because coffee is a vile drink, and Tim Hortons' one is as vile as it gets (like a lot of horrors they make). No seriously, no wonder they offer it to the couple for free: who would want to pay for it?

La mythologie grecque en bédé

Ce fut l'un des rendez-vous manqué de mes dernières vacances: mon père a acheté cette bédé, La naissance des dieux, premier d'une série de bandes dessinées sur la mythologie grecque, La sagesse des mythes. Autant dire sur mes premiers amours mythiques. Je ne sais pas s'il en acheté d'autres, mais j'ai bêtement négligé de le lire lorsque j'étais à Chicout. Je m'en veux un peu et je compte corriger ça aux prochaines vacances, ou me le procurer d'ici là.

Thursday 9 January 2020

Another train set from the thrift shop

I took this picture at the National Railway Museum of York,I am putting it on this post as it suits its topic. Yesterday, my wife went tothe thrift shop. She bought a new train set for Wolfie. That must be our fourth one. That said, this one, unlike the one she bought in February last year, it is in a very good state, it seems solid and it works, or seems to be working fine. It's in plastic, but not cheap plastic stuff. And it is another bargain: she checked and it is worth £56 new. She bought it £5. I usually think he has too many toys, but I don't mind this one, as I love trains and train sets. I think we'll enjoy this one together, my boy and I.

Revoir les loutres

Photo prise dans le Derbyshire, dans un sanctuaire de loutres et d'autres animaux, qui si je ne me trompe pas n'existe plus maintenant. Par bonheur, ce pays a pleins de sanctuaires de ce genre et ce n'est même pas le premier qu'on a visité. Il y a assez longtemps qu'on n'a pas mis les pieds dans un endroit de ce genre et j'aimerais beaucoup revoir des loutres. C'est un des animaux de la faune anglaise que j'aime le plus. Un peu parce que je leur trouve une gueule mignonne, j'imagine. Il faudra trouver le sanctuaire le plus proche. Ça ferait un beau projet de sortie familiale.

Wednesday 8 January 2020

Crows and snow

My wife took this picture during opur last stay in Québec: a murder of crows flying above a snowy ground, in the early evening, when dusk is about to set. It was striking, very beautiful and atmospheric. The picture does not give it justice. I really grew to love crows in the last few years, I came to like even their cry in fact. It is raspy, raw and beautiful in a primitive way, with a touch of eeriness, especially when there are lots of them like at that moment.

Canneberges et chocolat noir

Petit délice découvert lors de notre dernier séjour au Québec: les atocas secs enrobés de chocolat noir. Il faut aimer le chocolat noir et le goût très sûr des canneberges. Ça arrache un tantinet la gueule, mais c'est délicieux.

Tuesday 7 January 2020

How to get through the weeks ahead

If you have read my post from yesterday, you know that I am a bit (a lot) down about getting back to work, especially since there are nothing remotely exciting that will happen in the forseeable future. I am bracing myself for some boring and bluesy weeks ahead. I asked my wife how to get through them and she came up with a brilliant advice, so good in fact that I think it deserves to be a great unknown line: "Let's plan our next holidays." So simple, yet so true and efficient. They will not happen soon, obviously, but just preparing them, seeing when we can take them, where we could go, what we could do, it will keep our mind off the most tedious aspects of everyday life and give us something we look forward to.

Épiphanie et calembour atroce

Bon, d'accord, c'est le dernier billet que je ferai sur les Fêtes jusqu'à au moins novembre 2020, promis, juré. Il fallait simplement que je partage le calembour atroce que j'ai commis récemment sur la page Facebook de mon frère PJ: "À l'Épiphanie, les Fêtes sont fanies." dites avec l'accent québécois pour faire une rime riche. Je sais, c'est horrible. C'est vil. C'est vraiment un calembour forcé et donc atroce. Mais si comme moi vous avez le blues et vous vous sentez mélancolique après Noël, bien au moins j'espère que ça vous fera un peu changer le mal de place. Parfois les circonstances font en sorte que les plus mauvaises farces deviennent les meilleures.

Monday 6 January 2020

The full measure of January

I'm back at work today. And I don't feel like it, but of course I must. I don't like Monday, I don't like January overall, but the first working Monday of January is even worse. You get the full measure of the month in one go. Now it is a question of getting through the month, one day at a time, one Monday at a time and hope nobody will get me in a foul mood today. Any suggestions on how to get over it, please let me know in the comments section.

La galette des rois

Noël est bel et bien fini aujourd'hui: nous sommes l"Épiphanie, ou comme on l'appelait dans le temps, "Les Rois". Les dernières fois où j'ai un peu célébré, c'était à Montréal, quand j'allais acheter une galette des rois à Première Moisson. Avec la couronne en plus, c'était charmant. Ils en font encore, mais je suis un peu loin. Pour plus de détails sur comment on célébrait, lisez ce billet de 2019. J'aimerais bien reprendre de la galette, à défaut du reste.

Sunday 5 January 2020

Playmobil's Snow Plow

This is one of the presents my wife gave Wolfie for Christmas: a Snow Plow from Playmobil. This proved to be a success, both for Wolfie and... for me. Never thought I could find one of his toys so darn cool. As a child, there was a time when I used to love Playmobil, so it kind of channels these memories, but none of the ones we had was as elaborate as this one, with a hook, a grate, everything. It looks like the ultimate winter vehicle. It took ages to build it up, but it was worth it. So Wolfie plays a lot with it and I assist him and the little Playmobil's Snow Plow driver the best I can.

Des rails et de la neige

De retour en Angleterre, ce qui sans me surprendre me choque quand même, c'est qu'il n'y a pas de neige. L'hiver ici est gris et brun et encore gris. Je vais donc vivre mon hiver neigeux par procuration, à travers les photos prises lors de mon séjour au Québec et celles que m'envoie mon père. Dont celle-ci, de rails couverts de neige. Il n'y a rien de plus charmant qu'un train qui voyage à travers un paysage enneigé. J'ai déjà fait quelques trajets du genre ici, même si les transports endurent en général assez mal les bordées de neige. Tout de même, un long train par train alors qu'il a neigé tout autour, je veux vivre ça un jour.

Local Book Exchange

I blogged before about the old British phone booth nearby that is now used for book storage and basically as a point of exchange: you can take and leave books from and to the phone booth. I have not done so yet, but I intend to share a few of mine soon. In fact, I want to be more active in the readers community. I recently found out on social media that the person in charge of this book exchange point is none else than the person hosting our creative writing workshops. So all the more reasons to get myself involved. I tend not to share books, whether it is to lend or to borrow. I love to own books. But I think it is important to share what you enjoy and make people discover works of literature, great or small, so I will make an effort.

Cinq jours en décalage

Les derniers jours ont été difficiles pour moi avec le décalage-horaire, ou décalage-horreur comme je l'appelle: je suis ou bien dans le coton et somnolent, ou bien insomniaque quand vient le temps de se coucher. C'est la même chose pour le reste de ma famille. Ma femme a fait des recherches et il semblerait que ça prend un jour par différence d'heure entre le point de départ et le point d'arrivée pour s'en remettre. En tout et pour tout, il nous faudrait donc cinq jours pour se remettre de ce voyage.

Saturday 4 January 2020

Rasputin

I thought I would put some upbeat music song on this blog, just to get over the post holiday blues. Maybe not the most profound or the best song, but one that has recently proved quite popular with Wolfie: Rasputin from Boney M.. Which you probably very well, as it is quite catchy. This is maybe the main source of information many Westerners have about infamous mystic Grigori Rasputin, but in my case I first learned about him from my babysitter when I was aabout four (true story). I knew he was a giant of a man and had been murdered through multiple stabbing (I know he was allegedly poisoned, then shot, but from what I remember my babysitter told me he had been stabbed), nothing else. Anyway, here it is:

Le Red Champagne revisité

Des fois je refais des choses sans trop savoir pourquoi. Durant les vacances, j'ai bu à nouveau du Red Champagne. Et ce, même si mes expériences passées étaient loin d'être convaincantes. Je sais pas pourquoi, j'imagine que c'est peut-être mon esprit de clocher et de fierté régionale déplacé qui me fait apprécier tout produit qui vient du Saglac, même si dans le fond c'est rien qu'un crème soda rouge. Ils disent sur leur site que c'est à saveur de pommes rouges (!), mais soyons honnêtes, ça goûte le rouge, point. Anyway, à défaut de Saguenay Dry... Lequel soit dit en passant, devrait un jour être ressuscité.

Friday 3 January 2020

The basics of black tea

There is one thing I am a bit sad about our last time in Québec: not once I managed to have a brew at David's Tea, or buy any of their products. We stopped once at the airport, but only for a minute and I did not even have time to try their tasters. Well, maybe next year. Not that I find their teas outstanding, but I love how they made tea drinking trendy again. Anyway, seeing their shop reminded me that I once saw an image on their Facebook page which I found quite interesting. I am sharing it tonight. The basics of black tea. There are many other teas, but black tea is still by and large my favourite. I don't know if the benefits have been scientifically proven, but it works for me.

Parce que je reviendrai à Montréal...

Avant-hier, j'ai cette chanson en tête. Je sais que je l'ai partagée souvent ici, mais je crois que c'est de circonstances, alors je le refais encore une fois... (Et je sais que les hivers montréalais ne sont plus ce qu'ils étaient et que les boeings ne sont plus toujours bleu de mer. Je sais aussi que l'on peut se rendre à Montréal en airbus.)

Thursday 2 January 2020

An anecdote about the Millenium

This may be the last post I write about the new year. I don't like to dwell on it too much, as it is not something I like to celebrate. I don't really do or follow new year's resolutions, although I do make myself some objectives for the year, just not resolutions per se. Anyway, something came to my mind about my indifference towards new year celebrations: when the year 2,000 came, with all the madness surrounding it, I was in my bedroom, in my parent's house, listening to music on a tape (it was a long time ago and one of the last times I listened to something on a tape). I could have been in one of the bars, I could even have spent it in the UK like many of my friends, but no, the new Millenium came to me in a whimper. And I don't think I missed something.

De retour au méridien de Greenwich

Nous sommes de retour en Angleterre depuis ce matin, après un long vol qui a eu plusieurs retards. Ma femme, mon fils et moi subissons donc tous le décalage-horreur de diverses façons. Les vacances sont terminées, enfin la partie voyage en terre natale de celles-ci. Je suis encore en congé jusqu'à lundi, ce qui devrait me permettre de me remettre du décalage et de m'adapter au méridien de Greenwich. Cela dit, je suis un peu triste que tout ça soit fini.

Wednesday 1 January 2020

Auld Lang Syne, and all that...

It's 2020 already according to the meridian of Greenwich, and this blog is set on it, so Happy New Year everyone reading this! Now it is time for Auld Lang Syne and all that... Enjoy it and happy new year again.

Feu de foyer (et première photo de 2020)

Comme mon blogue fonctionne sur l'heure anglaise, nous sommes déjà le nouvel an: bonne année à tous mes lecteurs et lectrices. Je vais la passer à me préparer au voyage du retour, regarder le Bye Bye (peut-être) et lire au coin du feu de foyer qui brûle en ce moment. ce sera donc ma première photo de 2020 sur Vraie Fiction. Encore une fois, bonne année à tous.