Autumnal Happiness

I found this image recently online and I thought I'd share it as part of my autumnal chronicle. Because it explains in a nutshell why I love autumn so much. These are all the details that makes the season great: warm comfy clothes, hot drinks (tea for me), books and yes, even the rainy days. In so many words: comfort. You just can't get any better than that.

Les tambours du marathon

J'ai déjà blogué sur le le Marathon de Montréal. Qu'importe: cette photo est meilleure, même si l'on ne voit guère de coureurs. Ce que l'on voit, cependant, ce sont des percussionnistes. Ce qui est notre mot du jour. Des tambours pour un marathon, c'est assez peu orthodoxe, mais ça le rend plus festif.

London in Autumn

This blog is an autumn chronicle until further notice, so let me muse about my favourite season again. I know this blog is read by autumn lovers anyway. I stumbled on this picture online and I fellin love with it I know it is most likely photoshopped, but I have been to London in autumn many times and I know how glorious it can look. In fact, I'm not so sure this has been photoshopped, come to think of it. We are planning to go to London soon, so I might be able to take pictures to share on the blog. Maybe not as good looking as that one, but watch this space.

Le Salon du Livre 2022 est ouvert

Bon, je sais que c'est un peu vain de le bloguer encore, mais j'ai quelques lecteurs qui vivent encore au Saguenay (mes parents et ma cousine), alors donc je fais l'annonce pour eux: le Salon du livre du Saguenay Lac-St-Jean est officiellement ouvert. Allez-y si vous le pouvez, c'est un bonheur. Vous y trouverez des auteurs régionaux et aussi pour les enfants c'est vraiment bien. Enfin c'était bien quand j'étais enfant. Je partage une autre image du salon, avec un petit monstre qui ressemble un peu à un bleuet, ce qui est assez inspiré.

The goose and the pumpkin

This could be the title of a great story, but it will merely be for now the title of a blog post. And a picture. So my father is getting ready for Halloween early and really caught up with me in his preparaions: he bought his pumpkin for the night. And he sent me this picture, right next to the wooden Canadian goose he has in the living room. I thought it looked gorgeous and so perfectly autumnal, I decided to share it here. I could not wait until October.

La Grande Bière à la Citrouille

J'ai déjà blogué plus tôt ce mois-ci sur la bière à la citrouille de McAuslan. Au Québec, c'est ma bière de l'automne (sans oublier de l'Halloween), même si elle est loin d'être la meilleure bière. C'est simplement que je ne peux pas, en mon âme et conscience, ne pas boire de bière à la citrouille en automne au Québec.Je n'en bois pas beaucoup, mais j'en prends une bouteille de temps à autre, par exemple à l'apéritif. Et puis j'aime le nom qu'on lui a donnéL La Grande Bière à la Citrouille.

My old Kanuk coat

There is a moment in autumn which I always love, it is the time when it gets cold enough to start wearing my old Kanuk coat. I have three Kanuk coats: one for winter (the very first I bought), one for summer and for springtime and autumn, which in this country I wear from autumn until spring inclusively. Maybe this is why it is the oldest looking one, albeit still in a good state and very wearable. It was my father's coat originally, but it did not fit him very well, so he gave it to me back in 2013 and I have been wearing it ever since. Kanuk is not a brand that is well known outside Quebec, but it is easily recognisable because of the snowy owl it has on its collar (although I think recent models might not have it anymore). Anyway, yesterday the temperature dropped dramatically and for the first time since last April I wore my old Kanuk coat. And it felt so good. Especially since it is fairly early in the season to wear something that warm.

Les chouclaques spatiales

Petit loup ne rentrait plus dans ses souliers, moi les miens étaient usés (parce qu'ils ont beaucoup voyagé), alors donc, nous sommes allés chez Clarks en fin de semaine. Et nous avons trouvé des chaussures à nos pieds. Pour Wolfie, ce n'est pas banal: ses nouveaux souliers ont des fusées spatiales dessus et des lumières qui s'allument quand il marche. Il a des chouclaques spatiales. Bien entendu, il les adore.

Pumpkin Patch

Here is a new sign of Halloween I have seen while I was walking to Wolfie's school to get him. I was walking near one of the local allotments and I saw this pumpkin patch. The pumpkins are already big and with the fiery orange colour. In a few weeks, they will be scary jack o'lanterns. Whoever is the gardener who planted them, I envy him. My attempt this year was absolutely pathetic. All the same it is heartwarming to see pumpkins growing, almost ready to be harvested. Oh and it looks and feels like autumn too these days, but this is for another post.

Le Marathon de Montréal

Mes parents étaient à Montréal récemment. Ils devaient partir hier, mais ils avaient oublié que c'était le Marathon de Montréal. Certaines rues du Plateau étaient bloquées, ils n'ont pas pu partir immédiatement. Ils ont fait contre mauvaise fortun bon coeur et ont pris quelques photos. J'en partage une maintenant. Je me rappelle avoir assisté à un marathon de Montréal, celui de 2015. C'est dire à quel point je ne suis pas sportif.

Henley Literary Festival

The things you sometimes stubmle upon. We were at my in-laws' house today and I saw this among a neatly organised pile of leaflets and magazine. (my wife's mother is very organised). I knew there was a Henley Literary Festival, but I had forgotten about it and did not know it was held round this time of year. Now we don't live in Henley, however it is not too far from where we are so we might be able to go there in a week time. I think it would be a nice activity. In any case, I love literary festivals and I am so happy to see there is one nearby.

Souvenirs d'un journal dominical

 Photo prise sur la page Facebook du le Salon du livre du Saguenay Lac-St-Jean, qui commence le 29 septembre. Ils ont une cahier spécial disponible dans le Progrès de ce samedi, donc hier, mais ce n'est pas de cela que je veux parler. La photo m'a rappelé qu'il y avait il y a longtemps un autre journal au Saguenay, dominical celui-là, qui s'appelait Le Progrès-Dimanche. Enfant, il me semblait énorme, comme un gros journal et non pas un tabloïd. Je l'aimais beaucoup, j'y dévorais les bédés, l'horaire des films de la semaine, les critiques de jeux vidéos et des cahiers spéciaux comme celui-ci, qui me faisaient oublier pendant quelques heures la nostalgie du dimanche. Le Progrès me semble bien mince par comparaison. Enfin, tranches de vie, je ne crois pas qu'on puisse trouver de nos jours, au Saguenay ou ailleurs, un journal en papier qui faisait autant de bien au bon moment, qui nous donne de petits bonheurs alors que la fin de semaine achève.

New sign of Halloween

 Last weekend, exactly a week ago in fact, we saw a new sign of upcoming Halloween, which I wanted to share here. I cannot wait until October and the official countdown, there are simply too many signs to hold back. So anyway, we were walking by one of the new local bakeries when Wolfie saw these pumpkins in a basket. Okay so they are small, but still. Pumpkins on display mean harvest means Halloween means jack o'lanterns. Oh and on a side note, you can see Wolfie's hand on the bottom left. I didn't notice it when I took the picture. Cute.

Le gâteau arc-en-ciel

Vous vous rappelez sans doute que j'ai blogué plus tôt cette année sur le rainbow cake, un gâteau aux couleurs arc-en-ciel que l'on trouve à la cafétéria du zoo pour enfants local. On peut même y acheter une boîte avec les ingrédients et la recette pour le faire à la maison. Il semblerait maintenant que ce gâteau soit devenu fort populaire, maintenant on le retrouve partout: aux fêtes pour enfants, aux cafés et aux évènements festifs. Je crois que c'est en passe de devenir le gâteau de prédilection de notre petit loup. Peut-être un peu le mien aussi.

St Pancras' Tree

I took this picture at St Pancras, the last time I had to go to the office. I commute by train (and I connect at the station. St Pancras is my favourite train station in London and it might be my favourite train station, period. It always had some very picturesque things. It is meant to be "St Pancras' Summer tree" but seriously, with colours like this, it looks more like a tree in autumn. So today being the equinox, let's say this is Saint Pancras' Autumn Tree. I should be going back to the office soon for my monthly visit, maybe there will be a different tree then, a proper autumn tree. Who knows. In any case, I thought this was fitting to share this picture today for the autumnal equinox.

L'araignée est de retour

Je ne sais pas si vous vous rappelez, mais il y avait une araignée qui avait élu domicile près de la remise. Elle avait tissé sa toile entre ladite remise et la clôture. Je m'en suis débarassé assez vite en la capturant dans un verre, puis en la balançant par-dessus bord. Peine perdue: quelques jours après, que vois-je près de la remise? La même araignée. Ou peut-être une autre, c'est pas impossible. Dans tous les cas, je n'ai pas osé jusqu'ici la déporter dans le stationnement derrière notre jardin. Un peu par paresse, un peu parce que si c'est bien la même, j'ai un certain respect pour sa détermination.

Late Equinox

Today should be the day of the autumn equinox, but this year, as it happens sometimes, it will arrive a day late, on the 23rd of September. I don't really care: for me, autumn starts with September, not with the equinox.  Read what they say about it on Wikipedia and I'm not the only one thinking like this. So we are 22 days into autumn, I don't care what astronomers say. Sorry if this post sounds like rambling, but it irritates me so much when people thinks September is still summertime. So yeah, it's been over for some time, autumn is here, the temperature is dropping, the leaves too and well, you just need to accept it now. But I know I am preaching among converts here. My regular readership is made of autumn lovers. All the same, I had to get it off my chest.

Un 22 septembre...

Une tradition sur ce blogue, chaque 22 septembre. Voici donc Le vingt-deux septembre de Georges Brassens. L'équinoxe est pour demain, mais c'est tout comme.

The best carrot cake?

I eat, or at least try to eat, following the seasons. When autumn comes, I eat hearty food and I also have seasonal desserts. For me, the most autumnal one might actually be the carrot cake. So come September, as soon as the temperature cools down a bit, I buy a carrot cake for the family, or a piece for myself. With tea on a cool day, it's just the ultimate comfort food, at least this time of year. Of course, you cannot go cheap: you need to find a really good one, or bake one if you have the skills (I don't).

Well, I am lucky, as I believe I found what may be the best carrot cake I ever ate (bare maybe this one). And in a chain, not in a quaint little café or shop. At COOK, of all places. But their carrot cake is really out there. Unlike a lot of those you can find in shops, it's very moist, not dry at all. And it's triple layered, thus very indulgent. And at £14.00, it's very reasonable for a cake this size. Since 2020, when I bought one just to try it, it has become an autumnal tradition in this household. My wife is not too keen on carrot cake, so she has very little, but Wolfie and I just wolf through it. So yes, maybe it's the best carrot cake ever.

Le programme du Salon du Livre

Nouveau rappel pour ceux qui peuvent, donc les Bleuets qui lisent ce blogue: le Salon du livre du Saguenay Lac-St-Jean commence le 29 septembre. On a publié le programme complet. Du temps que j'y allais, je ne planifiais jamais vraiment ma visite: je m'y rendais quand je pouvais et je visitais leskiosques au petit bonheur la chance. J'ai en fait acheté assez peu de livres au Salon du Livre. Assez pour me rappeler de ceux que j'ai (ou que l'on a) achetés, voir ce billet. Ce que j'aimais, que j'ai toujours aimé, c'est l'atmosphère, c'est l'ambiance de kermesse littéraire qu'il y avait.

Idyllic Autumnal Picture

I found this picture online,in one of the many autumn pages I am now following on social media and I wanted to share it here, as this blog is followed by many autumn lovers. I know that the image has been photoshopped, but all the same, I think it shows many things I love about autumn: fiery colours, chilly weather, warm comfy clothes, warm comfy blankets, hot black tea (and said tea without milk) in big but fancy tea mugs and, well, everything. Oh and I am no dog person but there is a cute dog too. Of course this picture is idyllic and borderline allegorical, but if it does not reflect reality it reflects my current state of mind. Right now, even though it is not very cold, the temperature still dropped a few degrees down, enough so I can finally wear long sleeves and jumpers as well as thicker socks, I wrap myself in blankets to read just for the fun of it, trees are starting to show colours and I drink a lot more tea. And you, how is your autumn so far?

Tarte aux pommes

Mon frère PJ a fait une tarte aux pommes, l'une de ses tartes préférées. Hélas, Je n'ai jamais aimé la tarte aux pommes. J'ai blogué sur le sujet ici. Mais je tenais à partager la photo pour une raison bien simple: la pomme est le fruit de l'automne et des récoltes. Comme Vraie Fiction devient une chronique automnale quand arrive septembre, à défaut de manger de la tarte aux pommes ici (puisque personne n'aime assez ça, pas même Wolfie), autant en partager une photo, ne serait-ce parce que c'est automnal, une tarte aux pommes.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie Tea

I wanted to share one happy discovery I made last year. As I was getting desperate for some tea for Halloween, I found after a quick Google search the Spiced Pumpkin Pie Tea from Bird & Blend. I bought some last year,went through it, the experience was conclusive, so I stocked myself this year as well. I don't care about coffee and thus don't care pumpkin spice latte, so I needed some tea equivalent, both for autumn and Halloween. You know, sometimes you just want to taste the season. So I am very happy I found it. For the tea drinkers among you who also love autumn and Halloween, this is the real deal.

Salon du Livre (rappel)

Petit rappel: le Salon du livre du Saguenay Lac-St-Jean aura lieu dans moins de deux semaines. Moi si je pouvais y aller, j'aurais l'entrée gratuite (explication ici), mais sinon, les prix sont dans la bannière plus haut. Allez-y, c'est génial.

South African Chardonnay

My father bought recently a Chardonnay and sent me the picture of the bottle. Why send me a picture of a wine, you may ask? Well, because it is a South African wine and my father-in-law (aka "daddad") is South African, so my dad thought about his opposite number, so to speak, in my wife's family. When I told my in-laws that my parents drank a South African Chardonnay, my father-in-law said: "Well of course, South Africa makes the best wines, because many Huguenots settled there and they used French vines on fertile African soil." Did I mention that my wife's father is a proud South African? Apparently, he is patriotic even when it comes to wine, even if he barely drinks any himself. In any case, I had a quick lecture on why South African wines are the best: French vines and French know-how, best soil, ideal weather and temperatures. I'm sure many would beg to differ, but there you go.

Une longue fin de semaine impromptue

Parce que la reine est morte et que demain est son jour de funérailles, ce sera jour de deuil national. Ce qui veut dire un jour férié impromptu. Je ne m'en plaindrai pas: j'ai toujours pensé: 1)que l'on avait besoin de plus de jours de vacances dans une année et 2)qu'une journée de vacances en automne serait une bonne chose. Ce qui veut dire que ça nous fera un beau dimanche. Je crois que l'on devrair avoir une journée de congé en septembre à chaque année. Mais bon, c'est sans doute juste moi qui aime les mois d'automne et qui aimerait avoir plus de temps libre durant ma saison préférée.

Postponed Carnival

Today, we were supposed to go to the local Carnival. I always loved that carnival, mainly because it is set in the biggest park in town during the second half of September and often feels very autumnal. It's like a carnival welcoming the equinox, in a way. I blogged about it before. But due to the death of Queen Elizabeth and subsequent national grief, it has been postponed. At first, I was gutted, as I feared the carnival would be cancelled. But they decided to postpone it until... the 1st of October. Which is deeper into autumn. Hopefully it will be chilly. So anyway yes, the carnival has been postpone, but I think we will just appreciate it more when it happens.

Spaghetti tunisien... avec saucisses

Petit billet gastronomique: le mois dernier, je me suis fait un spaghetti tunisien. Jusqu'ici rien d'anormal. Mais, comme ma femme et petit loup étaient chez les beaux-parents et que je soupais en célibataire, j'ai décidé d'ajouter des saucisses. C'était la première fois que je faisais ça, mais je sais que beaucoup rajoutent de la saucisse à leur tunisien et je songeais à le faire depuis un bout. Enfin bref, c'était vraiment un repas cochon. Mais c'était bon en tab. Je vais le refaire c'est certain.

Running to school

This week, while we were getting Wolfie to school, we chatted with one of his best friends' father at the gate, while watching our kids walking in. First the two boys were walking, but as soon as they passed the teachers doing surveillance, Wolfie's friend started running to his class. The father said: "My son has been told off for running to school, so now walks, unless he thinks he can get away with it." We said it might make some kind of sense for security reasons to forbid pupils from running to their class, although truly they can't expect young children full of energy not to run when they feel like it, and they should be happy to see a pupil eager to get in class. He laughed and said: "Yes, God forbid some kid enthusiastically runs to school!" I thought it was very funyn and deserves to be a new great unknown line. For the record, I never ran to school, unless I was late. How about you?

La St-Ambroise à la citrouille

Grosse nouvelle dans le monde brassicole québécois, en tout cas en ce qui me concerne: la bière à la citrouille de McAuslan est maintenant disponible. Pas leur meilleure, mais un incontournable de mes  automnes et de mes Halloweens au Québec. Je vais m'en ennuyer encore cette année.

Sign of Halloween at the sweet shop

Last weekend, I went to the local sweet shop. I did not stay very long: there were a few too many customers and service was slow, so I did not buy anything. But I did see the very first sign of Halloween in town: these short of candied kebabs with a Jack O'Lantern, wicked witch and ghost. I think the bottom one is a bat or a cat, I'm not sure. You could see more Christmas based sweets, but this should change as we are getting closer to Halloween. I hope so anyway. In any case, I will purchase a few and share my sugary discoveries here.

Le pactole de cadeaux

Photo prise lors de la fête de notre petit loup. Je voulais y revenir encore une fois, rien que parce que je voulais la partager. Il a eu beaucoup, beaucoup de cadeaux. Pas tous les nôtres: le gros sac vient de ses grand-parents maternels et il y en a quelques uns de nos amis. Mais quand même, nous n'y sommes pas allés de main morte. La plupart étaient des jouets, mais pas seulement. Chaque année, je me dis qu'on exagère, chaque année, c'est la même chose.

The Corps! Air Command

I found a new brand of toys thanks to my son's birthday: The Corps!. Okay, so the new website and the company is Lanard Toys, but anyway I know it as The Corps! because that is what's on the label. A military helicopter, a military motorcycle and a commando in one hell of a great packaging. It was a present from the family of Blonde Tickler, who actually chose itespecially for Wolfie. He loved it. So do I: it reminds me of my old GI Joe toys, especially the action figure, whose limbs are flexible like our old Joes. I suspect it was their inspiration for it. We will be very careful with it: I remember they have a short life expentancy and are prone to get maimed. Be that as it may, this toy sent me down to nostalgia lane again. As I always say, being the father of a little boyallows you to live a second childhood.

Les annonces de McAuslan

J'ai découvert une chose récemment: la Brasserie McAuslan fait des annonces. Je l'ai découvert sur leur chaîne YouTube, mais on les retrouve aussi sur leur page Facebook. Elles sont très courtes et franchement assez drôles, en tout cas elles m'ont fait sourire. Je me demande si elles sont présentées aussi à la télévision, ou si c'est seulement en ligne qu'on les retrouve. Quelqu'un du Québec peut me le dire? Dans tous les cas, McAuslan joue dans la cour des grands et j'en suis heureux. En passant, j'ai pris cette photo en septembre 2015, je ne crois pas l'avoir partagée sur ce blogue avant.

Say it with a dragon

It was recently the birthday of Wolfie. He turned six. Time goestoo fast. My parents could not be here this year, so they sent him money, to be spent on something useful, and a card. This card. They bought it months ago, because when they saw it they knew it was going to be the birthday card for Wolfie. Their grandson insisted on unwrapping it in the morning, as he knew it was going to be a special one. He loved the dragon. I must say, I loved it too and it just made sense that our son had a friendly dragon on a birthday card. A cheeky one too, or at least he looks cheeky.

Martre (des pins)

Encore une fois, je partage une photo prise lors de notre séjour à l'Isle of Wight dans la section d'animaux empaillés à Amazon World. C'est une martre des pins. Et c'est cool: j'aime tout ce qui est martre, hermine et furet. J'aime bien comment ils ont mis les dents, très acérées, elles lui donnent un air féroce.

Monster Plants (Monstrum)

Monstrum has just released a video on Monster plants. As always, fascinating. Malevolent plants are a common trope of both horror and science-fiction. So you might to check this video if you are looking for inspiration for some Halloween reads, or simply scifi stories with a more sinister element. In any case, it is a very thorough history of the birth and evolution of a modern myth. That said, I am a bit sad they did not mention The Pavillion by E. Nesbit, my favourite horror story featuring a monster plant.

Automne au Québec: la bonne et la mauvaise nouvelle

J'ai lu en diagonale cet article dans la grosse Presse. Apparemment, l'automne devrait être doux, avec des températures plusélevées que la normale. C'est hélas devenu la norme, justement, avec le réchauffement climatique. C'est donc la mauvaise nouvelle: un automne trop chaud. C'est un peu le cas ici en ce moment, mais les températures devraient finir par baisser dans les prochains jours. Je regarde les prévisions avec anxiété. La bonne nouvelle, c'est que les couleurs seront magnifiques. C'est au moins ça de gagné.

Royal Python

One of our favourite places to visit during our trip to the the Isle of Wight was to Amazon World. They had many exotic animals, including a handful of scary reptiles. Among them, the royal python. Can you see it through the glass? I know I'm not the best photographer, but still. My wifewas scared, I had a delicious chill, both afraid and fascinated. It is amazing how well camouflaged it is. You could easily get caught unaware, ensnared and strangled.

Trottoir aux cerises

 Nous étions allés, lors de notre dernière visite à Wallingford, à une sorte de festival avec des stands qui vendaient bien des trucs, dont bien entendu des desserts. Nous en avons acheté pour notre repas du soir. Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais j'avais envie d'un truc aux cerises. J'ai donc acheté un trottoir aux cerises pour moi. Les Anglais appellent ça un cherry slice, ce qui m'amuse, parce que c'est le même nom qu'on leur donne au Saguenay, slices. Sauf que ceux qu'on faisait chez nous étaient aux fraises ou aux framboises. Enfin bref, c'est ce qui m'est passé à l'esprit quand je l'ai acheté.

Orchard Thieves

I saw this bar mat in a pub in the Isle of Wight. I had already drunk my share of beer, so i did not try the cider, but I wanted to try it just for the name. Orchard Thieves sounds sovery cool. I think cider is an autumnal drink, because it's made from apples, the autumnal fruit if there is one I also associate foxes with autumn, because of their fiery colours. So I will try to find this cider somewhere, so I can drink it this season. Even though it's owned by Heineken. I'm terrible.

Demillionnaire

Un certain débat de chiffres au Québec sur qui est un ultra-riche (je n'en dirai pas plus) m'a inspiré ce calembour atroce: "Quand tu as un demi million de dollars, tu es un demillionnaire." Je sais, je sais, c'est vraiment atrocieux. Ne m'en voulez pas.

9/11

I almost forgot that today is the 21th anniversary of 9/11.  I will be brief this year, or at least I hope to be. Read this post from 2008 and this one from 2009. They are from a long time ago, when I was much younger, nevertheless I am still very proud of them and I consider them my best posts. Youcan also read my posts from 2011, 2012 and 2013. As for my current state of mind, you can read my post from 2021. Sometimes I wished we still lived in the nineties.

Thé noir dilué

 Hier, nous sommes allés à la fête d'un ami de notre petit loup. On nous a offert à boire et comme il n'y avait pas d'alcool (je m'en suis discrètement enquéri), j'ai demandé du thé. J'ai précisé que je le voulais noir et... Ben, il semblerait que noir c'est noir avec du lait. J'imagine que c'est du thé noir dilué. L'horreur, l'horreur. Ce n'est pas aussi pire que ce que j'ai reçu dans d'autres célébrations, mais je me dis quand même parfois que je dois être le dindon de la farce anglaise.

Guerilla Wargames

 Today, we went to the birthday party of one of Wolfie's best friends. I am always a bit wary going to big children birthday parties, they can be fun, they can be boring and everything in-between. This one ended up quite fun. The hosting family had prepared a room for a battle game, with Nerf Guns and ammo a plenty. And also goggles for security. Wolfie was not sure at first, seeing the shooting. I think he thought it was a bit daunting. The father of the birthday boy tried to divide the children between two teams, one blue and one orange, but it didn't catch on. Not until after the lunch, when the kids were more relaxed, didn't care about the rules of engagement one bit and a bunch of teenagers (friends of the birthday boy's big sister) decided to play too. I loaded Wolfie's gun, explained how to pump it and shoot and... I joined in too. We decided to target the teenagers, I thought they can take it and won't get hurt as much as the children might. We had lots of fun and the teenagers were good sports. I think we won the war, but maybe that's just me. Anyway, I said it before and I will say it again: being the father of a boy allows me to live a second childhood.

Georges Brassens - Le temps passé

Je sais que j'ai partagé ici du Georges Brassens le 7, je sais que j'ai déjà partagé Le temps passé en 2010, mais qu'importe. Mon frère PJ l'a mis sur Facebook il y a peu de temps et c'est de circonstances.

Devil's Peak, the TV Series

Now you know that I am a big fan of South African crime writer Deon Meyer and the characters and universe he created. I learned a few days that a TV adaptation of his novel Devil's Peak had started filming. Cool! It is the novel where reformed alcoholic detective Benny Griessel truly developed. It's not the first of his novels that has been adapted. I have watched a few adaptations and want to watch them all. I just need to find where and when it will be released here in the UK, if it gets released here. In the meantime, I am up to date with his novels, but if you haven't read Meyer's novels, I suggest you start. Like right now.

Des araignées encore

 Je bloguais le 7 septembre à propos des araignées que l'on retrouve partout dans le jardin ces temps-ci (mais assez curieusement, pas tant dans la maison). Or, pas plus tard qu'avant-hier, que vois-je près de la remise? Pas une mais deux araignées, une grande (la femelle?) et une petite (le mâle?), sur une toile entre la remise et la porte du jardin. Les voye-vous sur la photo? Je crains que je n'ai pasété bien bon avec mon focus, je suis un piètre photographe. Je m'en suis débarrassé assez vite merci, parce que ma femme déteste.

The Early Cryptkeeper

The countdown for Halloween has not officially started (unofficially that is different: I have been starting the countdown since last month), but I decide to get ready early this year and I added to my blog layout this year's badge. There is a wide choice of badges, all very nice, but I hesitated a moment until I chose this one. I had to go for the Jack O'Lantern with the skeleton bodyand the clawed fingers. It's scary, sinister, ghostly and so very perfectly seasonal. Anyway, I will be reporting for duty on the first of October, until then I will of course post about Halloween anyway, to get myself in the spirit.

Mûres et crème

Mon père a acheté des mûres il y a peu de temps. Ce n'est pas un fruit que je me rappelle avoir beaucoup mangé lorsque je vivais au Québec, mais ici les mûres sont partout. Il y en a pleins de sauvages que l'on peut aller récolter. Nous avons dû le faire une ou deux fois. Elles sont sans doute aussi populaires que les framboises et plus populaires que les bleuets. Il a aussi acheté de la crème 35% (ils ne la  fouetteront pas) parce que mes parents vont les manger en dessert et ça sera pas mal cochon.

The Queen Is Dead...

My wife told me a few mintues ago, as I was typing another post, that Queen Elizabeth the Second is dead. At her age, it is not exactly shocking, but it is nevertheless a big event here. As an expat (and a republican at that) living in the UK, I feel like I'm in the eye of the storm. I am not a monarchist, as you know, I cannot say I am very sad, especially since she died like not many people do: in comfort, receiving the best medical care, after living a priviledged life in luxury. Nevertheless, she was loved and many will be upset about it. For me, it just shows me that however well born you are, you cannot escape your own mortality.

Rappel: le Salon du Livre du Saguenay

Petit rappel parce que le temps passe vite et que c'est pour bientôt: le Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean aura lieu du 29 septembre au 2 octobre 2022. Mon Salon du livre préféré, qui est plein d'atmosphère et qui a lieu au meilleur temps de l'année pour un Salon du livre. Je vais le manquer encore cette année, ce qui est dommage car j'ai une passe gratuite à vie (longue histoire, que j'ai déjà racontée je crois). Dans tous les cas, allez-y si vous le pouvez, c'est vraiment plaisant, comme on dit dans la région.

The books in the coffee shop

 I blogged recently about the new (although I don't know how long exactly it's been there) Coffee #1 in the little town of Wallingford. I loved it for many reasons, one of them being that they have bookshelves. It is nothing new, but reading in a coffee shop is one of the things I love to do and do too seldom. I also love flicking through the books in a coffee shop, smell them and see the variety they have. It just makes the place so much classier and so calming. So anyway, the staff must have thought I was crazy, but I took a picture. I cannot wait to go back there.

Un ours noir

 Photo prise par une des caméras sur le lot de mes oncles. Vous savez comme j'aime les ours en général et les ours noirs surtout. Celui-ci est maigre après avoir hiverné. Il devait être affamé. Dans tous les cas, je ne voulais pas attendre à l'an prochain au printemps lorsque cette photo a été prise pour la partager.

Drink beer, visit Milan

My readers know that I love English real ales and if I drink other beers sometimes, real ales are my go-to poison. In Québec, it's of course microbrewery beers, again usually English ale types. I'm not the biggest drinker of Italian beers. But sometimes, just sometimes, I go for Italian beers. It was the case recently, when I bought myself an Angelo Poretti. I think it was my first time. It was an all right beer, but I bought it because it also gave me the chance to win a trip to Milan. Now I have been to Milan once and I actually disliked that city, I found it utterly vulgar. That said, I have friends that live not so far and I think it would be a good opportunity to visit them. Anyway, I didn't win, but at least I got a beer.

Des araignées partout

Elles n'ont pas encore commencé à investir la maison comme ça arrive souvent au mois de septembre, cela dit, nous avons pleins d'araignées dans le jardin. Il y en avait une qui avait élu domicile juste à l'entrée de la remise, une autre dans la remise et finalement celle-ci, qui avait tissé sa toile entre le bac vert pour le compost et la clotûre. J'ai dû la chasser, mais j'avoue que je l'ai fait à regret, parce que la toile était vraiment magnifique.

Historical Autumn Traditions

 This post is for all autumn lovers among you. I know there are many. Anyway, I found this article from English heritage, titled Historical Autumn Traditions. There is a lot you probably know already, it talks of Halloween of course, but you might learn a thing or two nevertheless. I love English Heritage, I always learn something with them, or they make me remember something I had forgotten about history or folklore. As I am typing this, I have just flickered through the article, but I will read it more thoroughly as soon as possible. I intend to integrate old traditions to our family life here. I try to automnise my life and, when autumn is finally here (and it is here now, no matter what people say about it), I automnise it more.

Le boulevard du temps qui passe

Je mentionnais récemment sur mon mur Facebook la rentrée scolaire de petit loup, me lamentant que le temps passe trop vite. Mon frère PJ a envoyé cette chanson de Georges Brassens en guise de commentaire. Je l'avais déjà entendue, mais c'est la première fois que j'y prends vraiment conscience. Dans le cocktail de nostalgie et mélancolie, c'est peut-être parfait.

Being the good Samaritan

Last Sunday, as I was walking on my way downtown to run some errands, passing by the local clinic, I was asked by an old lady if I had a pen on me. She was walking with her dog and had a few envelopes in her hands that she needed to post through the mailbox of a drugstore. She had forgotten to write a few things on the envelope. Thankfully, I had a pen in the breastside pocket of my coat, even better it was not out of ink, so I lend it to her for a moment. I held the dog's leash, who was curious and friendly towards me while she wrote her stuff. She profusely thanked me. So that was my good deed of the day and I played the role of the good Samaritan. Moral of the story: always keep a pen on you.

Vache à lait

Lors de notre dernière visite dans un zoo pour enfants pas loin de chez nous, nous avons pu assister à la traite d'une vache. Je sais pas pourquoi, je me sentais mal à l'aise, un peu comme si on regardait une mère allaiter sur scène. Je me sens même un peu coupable de partager cette photo, c'est vous dire. Peut-être que les arguments des vegans ont fini par m'influencer, je sais pas. Dans tous les cas, je serai toujours reconnaissant envers la vache de nous donner du lait, parce que je suis un grand consommateur de lait et de produits laitiers.

Labouring Day

Today is Labor Day on the other side of the Atlantic, but here our bank holiday was the last Monday of August. Our next holidays will be at Christmas. So yeah, today we had a normal working day. You could say that instead of Labor Day, we had a labouring day. I do miss a good September holiday and I must confess, I am still not used to not having Labor Day. But hey, at least it's September.

Rosa, rosa, rosam, etc.

Bon ben mon fils a eu son premier jour d'école de première année et moi j'ai survécu. Je trouve que le temps passe (trop) vite. Alors donc, je partage encore une fois cette année Rosa de Jacques Brel, rien que parce que ça parle un peu beaucoup de ça, de l'école, de temps qui passe trop vite et de l'enfance.

 

Coffee #1 is in Wallingford

We made one happy new (re)discovery during our last visit to Wallingford: believe it or not, they have a Coffee #1. You may remmeber that I discovered this chain back in Cardiff, one of the best things during a trip that had been overall pretty lacklustre. It's a fairly small chain, they had a few coffee shops in Cardiff but little outside and none nearby. None until we found that one in Wallingford, that is. Now I don't like coffee at all, but love a good coffee shop, for everything else: the seating place, the atmosphere, and so on. Going back to this one, I remembered why I enjoyed it so much: it is a very nice setting and the staff is warm and friendly. Wallingford has many nice places like for a drink and a quick bite (or a lazy afternoon), so it makes sense that they opened a franchise there. We will go back.

Retour à la petite école

Non, non, je ne retourne pas à l'école. Mais petit loup oui, il entre en première année pas plus tard que ce matin. Et oui, c'est la rentrée aujourd'hui. Et je ne suis pas prêt, bien entendu, je trouve que le temps passe trop vite. Afin de souligner la nouvelle année qui commence, cette photo des jeux sur mon école primaire, "la petite école" comme une de mes grand-tantes l'appelait. Je me rappelle avoir moins aimé ma première année, alors je regarde cette photo avec un mélange de nostalgie pour moi et d'anxiété pour mon fils. Un brin d'anxiété, pas trop.

September Calendar (in a nutshell)

I took this image year or two ago the Facebook page of David's Tea. I didn't have time to share it then, so I am doing it now. I know they have been struggling, but they can be so in tune with what I think it is uncanny. So here is their September Calendar, which I find very accurate, at least where I come from.

Chevreuil et Île d'Anticosti

La photo date d'une dizaine d'années, mon père l'a prise sur l'Île d'Anticosti, m'a-t-il dit. Le coucher de soleil est superbe et on voit très bien le chevreuil, alors je la partage.