We went to see a circus this weekend. A very small circus doing a special event to raise fund for a school in a nearby town. A Catholic school, I may add, because it might explain what happened next. At the intermission, a lady asked me where was the loo. Once I told her, she smiled and say: "Oh, you are Irish too! How lovely!" I replied: "It would be, but unfortunately I'm not, but thanks anyway, I love Ireland." Which I think deserves to be a new great unknown line. Apparently, according to the Irish lady, I have a Northern Irish accent. She is from the South, so she is maybe less familiar with the Northern one, hence her mistake. But my wife thought maybe I have a bit of an Irish twang when I speak English. Which would be cool if I did. That said, I don't want to create a confirmation bias: we were in a place where they were a higher number of Catholics and I think the lady assumed I must have been Irish when she did not hear me speaking with a British accent. Oh well. One can dream.
Monday, 23 May 2022
The Irish accent
Tornades au Québec
C'est pas aprce que je suis un expatrié que je ne me tiens pas au courant de ce qui se passe chez nous. Même en ce qui concerne la température. Enfin bref, j'ai lu cette nouvelle sur la météo et les prévisions météo au Québec. Les orages, ça ne m'étonne pas: j'y suis habitué. Mais les tornades? Ca c'est plus rare. En fait, je ne me rappelle pas avoir entendu des prévisions de tornades au Québec très souvent. La dernière fois ça date de quelques décennies, durant mon enfance. Et d'apprendre que les tornades pouvaient se produire chez nous avait créé une certaine commotion chez moi et mes frères, mais ce sera pour un autre billet. Toujours est-il que c'est plus dramatique, une tornade, j'associe ça surtout aux états américains du Sud. J'espère que ma famille et mes amis seront en sûreté et ne souffriront ni de l'un, ni de l'autre.
Sunday, 22 May 2022
Jubilee Bookmark
À Québec
Saturday, 21 May 2022
Manor (HQ)
Sometimes my mind wanders and I muse about things. Recently, it was about manors. Probably because Wolfie asked me questions about Batman and I ended up talking a lot about Wayne Manor. Wolfie seemed greatly interested in it. When I was a child (albeit a bit older than he is now), I had a similar fascination about manors in general, even though I only had a vague notion of what manors were. They seemed to be the absolutely coolest dwelling places and in our make belief games, it was often the headquarters of our heroes and villains. Of course they were full of secret doors and passages, sometimes they were even haunted, in any case they were places of adventures. Or at least the starting points of many imaginary ones. This country is pretty rich in manors, so every time I pass by one or visit one, I remember our old childhood games and wonder if this particular manor has everything it takes to be a proper HQ for a self-respecting hero or a sinister villain.
Frites "Patio"
Friday, 20 May 2022
Luxury Trains
Paris sur le Plateau?
Thursday, 19 May 2022
First Wasp
Two days ago, my wife and I cleaned cleaned and cleared the windows of the bedroom, which we hadn't done in a long while. It was about time. My wife left the windows open to let some fresh air in, forgot to close it and, surely enough, a wasp got in. The first wasp to get in the house this year, as far as I can tell. I hope it will be the last. Last year, I received the fairly regular visit of wasps, often enough to make me suspect there was a nest nearby. This year has been much quieter so far on the wasp front, but I am always wary when I see one. While I don't have a phobic fear of them, I do not trust wasps one bit. So I will remain vigilant.
Le mystère du bijoutier
En relisant ce billet sur l'histoire du spaghetti tunisien (un grand moment sur Vraie Fiction, soit dit en passant), un ami m'a fait remarquer une chose: la mention d'un bijoutier du nom prédestiné de Pierre Laroche. Mon ami se rappelle de lui, il était en effet venu parler de pierres précieuses à l'école. Je ne pense pas avoir vu la présentation. Je me serais rappelé de son nom, d'une part, d'autant plus que les pierres précieuses exercent une certaine fascination sur moi depuis longtemps (parce que). Un bijoutier nommé Pierre Laroche aurait donc été à l'origine du spaghetti tunisien dans la région et aurait eu une carrière de bijoutier au Saguenay. Je me demande ce qu'il est advenu de lui et quelle a été son histoire. Tout ce que je sais du commentaire de Germain Bonneau, c'est que Monsieur Laroche aurait vécu en Tunisie un certain temps.
Wednesday, 18 May 2022
Drinking beer for Ukraine
La poutine ici
Tuesday, 17 May 2022
A walk in the rain and the mud
Last Sunday, we went to Pub in the Park and we didn't take the car: we decided to walk it. The nearest parking was at a ten minutes walk from the main event and about the same time away from home. So we walked. It was supposed to be a rainy day, but I foolishly said Wolfie didn't need his rubber boots (called wellies in this country). So... when we arrived atthe park, it started raining a lot and we quickly got soaked. And our shoes all got very muddy. Wolfie was very grumpy. Like pretty much every Englishman I know, he hates rain. Which is a kind of tragedy, in this country. It made the experience more exhausting as well: walking in the mud does that, as if you spend more energy for each step. And it feels like the rain drains you too, if that makes sense. We ended up enjoying ourselves, but my boy and I were glad to walk home a bit earlier, while his mummy stayed when her friends. Moral of the story: always bring boots. And I need proper wellies myself.
Guille et les pantoufles
Monday, 16 May 2022
South African Flag
We went to a "pub in the park" event yesterday (more on that in future posts). I was surprised to see the South African flag floating there. Probably at a stand serving biltongs or something of the sort, but I did not have time to check. It felt a bit strange, because my brother-in-law (the brother of my wife), who is half South African, has been recently trying to get his nephews interested about that part of their national heritage. In fact, no later than that very morning he had send usa video of Pata Pata to share with them (but Wolfie knew about the song already). So seeing that flag was a strange moment of synchronicity. Or it is Fate telling me that Wolfie is at heart, like his daddad, very much South African.
Les cigares
Sunday, 15 May 2022
The Adopted Teddy Bear
L'horloge du Jura (encore)
Saturday, 14 May 2022
Happy birthday Cate Blanchett!
Trop chaud, trop tôt
Mes parents vont à Montréal en fin de semaine, juste quand une canicule historique s'annonce. La canicule la plus précoce depuis qu'on enregistre les données, paraît-il. C'est dans ce genre de moment que je m'ennuie moins du Québec. Je sais qu'il peut y avoir des températures estivales au mois de mai, mais c'est pousser la note un peu trop. C'est trop chaud, trop tôt. Et ça n'annonce rien de bon pour la planète ou pour les mois qui viennent.
Friday, 13 May 2022
Friday the 13th: an anniversary
Well, it is Friday the 13th and I hope nobody here is superstitious. For me, 13 might actually a lucky number: it was on the 13th of May last year that I started my then new job. Since then I have changed account, but I still work for the same company, which is great. I needed a bit of professional stability after the tumultuous years that were the years 2017 to 2020. This is what I was hoping for when I started working for them, and this is what I got. As it is Friday, I might actually do something to celebrate.
Georges Brassens - Le parapluie
Il a plu passablement il y a quelques jours, alors pour une raison quelconque ça m'a mis cette chanson de Georges Brassens en tête.
Thursday, 12 May 2022
A portrait of Marilyn Monroe
Sometimes I kind of follow news about art and auctions, not sure why. But anyway, you have probably heard about it before and I know I am late in the news, but one of Andy Warhol's portraits of Marilyn Monroe has been sold to a record sum of $195m. I used to be a big fan of Marilyn Monroe, I still quite like her a lot as an artist and an icon. But never cared all that much about Andy Warhol, I must confess. And as a great artist as he was, I prefer Marilyn Monroe witthout weird colours added, or on black and white. Be that as it may, if I had that much money, I'd keep it for something else and watch one of her movies instead.
Frites et mayonnaise
Wednesday, 11 May 2022
Tea by the gallons
I have a new manager at work, because I work on a new account, with a new team. Nice guy, pretty smooth, gives us all the space we need to work, does not breathe over our neck (although since I work from home, I guess that would be hard anyway). But I digress. At one of our team meetings, I saw that he drank from a huge bottle of tea, like one of these big travelling tea mugs. So he's a big tea drinker, which is always a good sign in my mind. He told us he gets through the bottle in his working day. I don't drink nearly as much tea, not these days anyway, but maybe I should. When it is cold in the office (or at your home home), when there's a lot of work to be done and you haven't slept enough the night before, well... Tea is like the proper working fuel. Productivity fuel, even. Unlike coffee, it keeps you awake and alert. So yes, I might just try to find myself a big bottle like that and drink it through the day.
Le gazon... encore
J'ai tondu le gazon dimanche dernier, pour la première fois depuis l'automne dernier (je crois que c'était en septembre). Seulement le gazon de la cour avant, pas la cour arrière. En fait, quand je dis cour, je veux dire la jungle qui tenait lieu de jardin. Je déteste tondre le gazon, je sais pas trop pourquoi, toujours est-il que je le remets au surlendemain, mais parfois il faut le faire. J'espère pouvoir en être quitte pour le mois prochai. Cela dit, il va me falloir raser la jungle qui est le jardin d'en arrière. Et je n'ai plus l'excuse d'attendre que la clôture soit remontée: c'est fait.
Tuesday, 10 May 2022
Beauties and the Beasts
Oh the manyt reasures one find in the local bookshop. Things I would never thought to look for, because I never suspected they existed. So last time I went to the local bookshop, I behaved and only bought two books, including this one. An anthology of tales and stories following the themes and plot of Beauty and the Beast. Which is truly a tale as old as time. I have already a lot of books on my reading list, so I have no idea when I will read this one. Be that as it may, my motto is buy now, read later. You don't want to miss buying a book when you see it available.
Rouge Burger Bar
J'ai un nouvel objectif lorsque nous retournerons à Chicoutimi: manger au Rouge Burger Bar. Mes parents y sont allés avec des amis il y a peu de temps et ils m'ont envoyé des photos. Même la salade de ma mère était... copieuse. C'est le moins qu'on puisse dire. Voir la photo si vous êtes sceptiques. Le seul ennui, c'est que je doute que ma femme, qui est végétarienne, apprécie l'endroit. Et je ne crois pas que ce soit le genre d'endroit pour petit loup non plus.
Monday, 9 May 2022
The Snakes
"Ménage du printemps"
Sunday, 8 May 2022
Anti-Terror Forces
Premier burger sur barbecue
Saturday, 7 May 2022
Plants for Adoption
La maison des hérissons
Friday, 6 May 2022
Dracula in Whitby
On the 26th of May, it will be the 125th anniversary of the publication of Dracula by Bram Stoker. It is my favourite horror novel. I learned on t the Facebook page of English Heritage (where I found this picture) that they are organising an event to celebrate: a gathering of vampires (well, people dressed as vampires) in Whitby Abbey. A large portion of the novel is set in Whitby and the abbey is featured. It is a perfect place for a vampire to dwell. I have been wanting to do my vampiric pilgrimage to Whitby for years, I don't think I can get holidays on such short notice and it is not during my son's midterm in any case. Neither would it be a suitable event for a young child, come to think of it. Even if Wolfie has a spooky mind. That said, I might make it a holiday destination one year. Nearer Halloween, perhaps, say the autumn midterm? It would be fitting. I will do my pilgrimage there one day, in any case. It's long overdue.
Le campus de mon alma mater
Thursday, 5 May 2022
My name at work
We had a meeting today at work (a virtual meeting of course) and one of the seniors asked me: "Guilly, do I pronounce your name right?" I made the mistake, when I started working there a year ago, to give them the name I received during my Krav Maga training, because they could not say Guillaume to save their life. So now I'm Guilly at work too, which I don't hate, but I don't like either. I said: "You can pronounce it the way you want, it's not my name." People thought it was quite witty (the senior laughed anyway). And I tink it deserves to be a new great unknown line.
Le retour de la foire
Après deux ans de pandémie, la foire du mois de mai, appelée "May Fayre", est de retour. Bon elle était de retour l'année dernière aussi, mais cette année ça risque d'être plus imposant. C'est un festival local qui dure toute la fin de semaine et qui est vraiment l'un des plaisirs du mois de mai ici. Pour petit loup, qui est maintenant conscient de ces évènements, ça devrait être très excitant. J'ai aussi très hâte. Les foires locales, grandes ou petites, surtout celle de mai et celle de septembre, font parties de ces nouvelles traditions que j'aime beaucoup.
Boat cleaning services
Boy the things you discover during a school run. Last week it was the sight of a coffee van that caught my attention. Yesterday in the morning we were behind a van and I noticed that it was a... boat cleaning company. Call me silly, but I didn't know there was such a thing. I thought boat owners cleaned their bot themselves. But hey, it makes sense that some don't. After all, there's car wash, so why not boat wash? We are relatively near the Thames, so there must be plenty of occasions round here for this van to do business. But it's the very first time I have seen a boat cleaning service.
Domino à la porte
Wednesday, 4 May 2022
Checkers
During one of our last time with Wolfie's maternal grandparents, our son found a game of checkers (or jeu de dames as we call it in French) and he received his first lesson in the game. I think he got the gist of it. I did not play much checkers when I was a child. My brothers and preferred chess, even then. Checkers was more a game played at school, during break time when it was too rainy to go out, or near the end of the year, when we had lots of free time. I was never a big fan of checkers, that said I think it's good that Wolfie can learn to play it and hopefully it will develop his interest in other games as well.
Boudin noir en tranche
Tuesday, 3 May 2022
Majestic Griffin
Monstrum has released today a video on the ancient, mythical, majestic, magnificent creature that is the griffin. I have nothing more to say, enjoy, it's really fascinating:
Le 3 mai 1992
Voici un souvenir saguenéen d'avant les réseaux sociaux. Et c'est pour tester et je l'espèredémontrer que j'ai bonne mémoire. Alors donc, le 3 mai 1992, il a neigé au Saguenay. Je m'en rappelle encore. Je pourrais même vous parler de ma journée du 3 mai 1992, mais je vais laisser ça pour une autre fois (il se fait tard). Si vous vous rappelez du 3 mai 1992, surtout (bien entendu) si vous êtes du Saguenay, laissez-moi un commentaire.
Where to go in Liverpool?
I recently stumbled on this article about the places to go when you are in Liverpool. I found it quite interesting and in a way a bit surreal, for one reason. As those of you who have been following this blog for a while, I lived in Lovverpool for about a year (well, nine months), before getting married. It was for professional reasons: I workedt here. I only returned there once, for a day. But living in a city for nine months leaves a certain impression in one's mind, and while I never felt like a local, I still have a certain affection for the city. Yet, I never truly experienced it as a tourist. In fact, I have barely been in the city's main tourists attractions. So I am neither a Scouser nor a complete stranger. I don't think we will go there for our holiday, but I would like to revisit it again and see how much the city changed. I do miss it, sometimes.
La nouvelle clôture
Monday, 2 May 2022
Clue: The Great Museum Caper?
Portrait de Domino
Sunday, 1 May 2022
May Day, Maypole and Snoopy
Saturday, 30 April 2022
Walpurgisnacht!
Qui aime le chardonnay?
Des fois, je bois du vin plutôt que de la bière. Assez rarement, mais des fois. Je suis plus amateur de vin rouge, cela dit j'en bois de moins en moins, car il me fait éternuer. Alors je dois me rabattre sur le vin blanc, qui n'a jamais été mon fort. Au moins, je peux partager avec ma femme, qui aime le blanc (en très, très petite quantité), mais pas le rouge. (Elle aime la couleur du rosé, rarement son goût, ce qui la désole à chaque fois, mais c'est une autre histoire). Cela dit, grâce à mon magasin local tenu par un Français, j'ai la chance d'avoir une sélection de vins blancs fort honorables, en plus d'avoir les bons conseils pour les choisir. Et donc je me suis rendu compte, à ma grande surprise, que j'aime de plus en plus le chardonnay. Ce qui ne finit pas de m'étonner. Enfin bref, qui d'autre ici aime le chardonnay? Si c'est le cas, veuillez me donner des suggestions dans les commentaires.
Friday, 29 April 2022
Rovos Rail Mornings
I found this picture on the Facebook page of Rovos Rail, the South African luxury train company. Apparently the most luxurious train in the world. I know it is a promotional picture, I know it is photoshopped, but oh to wake up like this, in a place like that! If only time and money were no objections. That would be my dream holiday. Maybe one day, if I win the lottery or something.
La Coupe Stanley
Thursday, 28 April 2022
Sighting the Flying Bean Café
Yesterday, during the morning school run, I saw a van of the Flying Bean Café going in the opposite direction. They were most likely going to one of the local business estates. It was not the first time I had seen it, but it dawned on me: it means that after lockdown(s), with more people working from home and so on, they are still in business. I'm glad. I never used it much, not being a coffee drinker, but I used to get some treats from them from time to time. Back when I was working at the job I hated, seeing their van used to provide me with an excuse to get out of the office for a few minutes. Call me silly or sentimental, but I have always been kind of grateful towards them. So I'm happy that it is still, well, flying.
Casse-croûte et québécismes
Wednesday, 27 April 2022
A Bag for Bookshop Day
"Mon" Guy Lafleur
Tuesday, 26 April 2022
Volvoville (Stellenbosch), South Africa
I'm currently reading The Dark Flood, written by South African crime writer Deon Meyer. He's one of my favourite crime writers and one of the many things I love reading his books is how he gives a sense of place simply in a few lines. Okay, so many writers do it, but he's really efficient about it. For instance, he mentioned that the town of Stellenbosch is nicknamed Volvoville by police officer Vaughn Cupido, because many citizens drive Volvos there, apaprently. As Cupido explains: "if the world is your oyster, and you can buy any luxury car, why buy the most boring one known to man? Rich whiteys. I just don't get them." It made me laugh. My mother drove a Volvo in years and for me it was always a solid, reliable brand, but I know it is often perceived as a boring car. Anyway, I now have a pretty good (if somehow unflattering) feeling of Stellenbosch.
Le pommetier des beaux-parents
Monday, 25 April 2022
Wolfie's Favourite Spot
Premières fleurs
Sunday, 24 April 2022
Autumn Gnomes
Jouer 1000 Bornes
Saturday, 23 April 2022
Saint George's Day
Happy Saint George's Day everyone! It is a day seldom rarely celebrated here, which is ironic because: 1)Saint George of Lydda is the Patron Saint of England and 2) as a dragonslayer, he is one very cool saint. We try to do something about it every year, or at least I to do something to commemorate. That said, this year I'm not sure whatwe will do, if we do anything. There are no special events we know of being organised nearby, so we might not even go anywhere. Which is kind of sad. But if anything happens, I will of course blog about it in the coming days or hours.
Morbier
J'ai acheté du Morbier dans le magasin local tenu par un Français. Pour deux raisons:1)je voulais du fromage pour faire un vins et fromages, qui a fini en lunch sans vin, pour ma fête et 2)ça faisait un bail que je n'avais pas mangé de Morbier. C'est le genre de fromage qui pue (mais alors ça pue vraiment), mais qui est bon quand même. Ma femme n'a même pas voulu essayer, dégoûtée par l'odeur et par le filet de moisi au milieu. Wofie non plus. Je l'ai donc tout pour moi.
Friday, 22 April 2022
Birthdays, books, cats and cards
Emballage de bière
Thursday, 21 April 2022
45
I'm 45 today. Half my way through my forties. Time runs so fast. Okay, so enough of clichés, commonplaces and banalities, but it does feel like time is slipping through my fingers. Thankfully, I have a little boy who makes everything worth it, even getting old(er). As an adult, I enjoyed my birthday less and less, until he came into my life. Now, he is an enthusiastic party organiser and party guest, getting excited about everything regarding today's celebrations. Most of the presents I will receive I am sure, are going to be enjoyed by the two of us equally, and it is all right like this. I said it often before and I will say it again here: being the father of a boy gives you a second childhood. And I am grateful for it.
"Marquise si mon visage..."
J'ai 45 ans aujourd'hui, donc... J'ai les traits un peu (plus) vieux. Comme le vieux Corneille le disait dans les Stances à Marquise, chantées ici par Georges Brassens. Une tradition sur ce blogue.
Wednesday, 20 April 2022
Wolfie's new blanket

Le printemps en éclosion
Tuesday, 19 April 2022
This week has four days
Well, after a four days weekend, due to bank holiday, we are back to normal today and I am back to work. I say this and I cannot complain too much: we have only a four days week and it will be my birthday very soon. Which means I have to prepare for it, which should keepme pleasantly busy. Plus, I might have a few other exciting things to look forward to, but I will let you know in another post, should they materialise. Watch this space, as the saying goes. Be that as it may, I hope these four days will not be too exhausting.