Here is a little bit of wildlife news that made my day yesterday: a beaver has been spotted in broad daylight in Wales. He was discovered, you probably guessed it, because he was making a massacre of the trees in a couple's garden. Antony, as he has been nicknamed by said couple, is the first beaver to have been spotted in the wild in Wales for centuries. Just because of this, I am quite happy. In a time when environment is a concern, it is good to know that some species of animals are (maybe) thriving in a place where they were extinct. Also, I find beavers kind of cute, even though they are rodents. Anyway, give me your thoughts on this news and on beavers in the comments.
Friday 30 June 2023
A beaver in Wales
La petite/vieille école
Je partage aujourd'hui une autre photo de l'école où j'ai passé mon primaire. La "petite école", comme disait une grande tante, ce qui m'agaçait toujours un peu quand j'étais jeune: pour une école primaire, elle n'était pas très petite, d'abord. Et puis je me sentais un grand garçon d'y être. je ne sais pas pourquoi il y a des jeux gonflables. Peut-être que c'était pour fêter la fin de l'année scolaire? Au Québec, les vacances sont déjà arrivées. Ici, petit loup a de l'école jusqu'au deux tiers de juillet et il commence à trouver le temps long. Je trouvais aussi le temps long, dans les dernières semaines et je ne l'envie pas. Maintenant, cette école est pour moi la vieille école, comme dans une certaine chanson, parce que c'est l'école de mon enfance.
Thursday 29 June 2023
Tea Shortage
You may remember (I mean really, you probably don't) that in January 2022 I received from my employers a good supply of Tetley tea bags. I cannot remember how many they were, but it was a lot of tea bags. Last week, tragedy stroke: there were no tea bag in it. Not a single one. Now, it was not the only bit of tea stock I had been using over the last year and a half, I had bought loose leaf tea and various other brands, but this was the only bag I had left. And as I had taken it for granted, it was suddenly empty. So I spent a whole working day without tea. It was a long day. I finally bought some at the nearest corner shop, a much smaller bag of Tetley tea, enough to get me going for a few weeks. I intend to stock properly soon.
Le smog encore
Wednesday 28 June 2023
The Red Baron
Tuesday 27 June 2023
Snakes, Ladders and... Monkeys
I know I blogged on the same topic not long ago, but there are times when a topic comes back very quickly just because. You know my long time interest for Snakes and Ladders, even though it is not the most challenging board game. Something about snakes makes it kind of atmospheric and cool. I always loved it. So anyway we went to see Wolfie's family on his mother's side last weekend. And the grandparents had prepared this game of Snakes and Ladders. It's a very special one, as it is also a jigsaw puzzle (you can see it if you look closely). it also features cheeky monkeys on it. Which changes nothing to the game per se, but it makes it cute. And the snakes don't look too nasty either. So there you have it; two games into one and some monkeys on top of it.
Frites
Monday 26 June 2023
About Iced Tea
We went to see my wife's family this weekend. To my surprise, I saw my sister-in-law drinking... iced tea. The M&S range, which from what I understand is new. I said to my surprise, aslike her sister I know she does not like tea one bit. But she told me she now likes iced tea. Strangely enough, the same happened to my mother, she found a place in Montreal that serve an ice tea she enjoyed, because it is apparently very refreshing. So these conversations got me in the mood for this drink myself, which I haven't had since 2019. Back in 1999, in my very first few weeks in England, when I had started studying here, they were providing free bottles of iced tea for new students during freshers week. I must have drunk gallons of the stuff. I remember it was Twinings. I cannot find them anymore, which is a shame, as I really enjoyed it. Maybe because it was a freebie, but still. In any case, I have decided to drink iced tea again and see if it is as enjoyable as I remembered.
Sunday 25 June 2023
Pub Walks
Saturday 24 June 2023
Frites et Fête
ZHON-bah-TEEST
C'est notre tour...
Friday 23 June 2023
Giant Snakes & Ladders
Préparer la Saint-Jean
Thursday 22 June 2023
Children's Cookbook
Dolores (Robert Charlebois)
Parce que ce sera la Saint-Jean bientôt, je partage aujourd'hui une chanson de Robert Charlebois. Une que je trouve assez festive et que j'écoute au moins une fois le 24.
Wednesday 21 June 2023
The longest day of the year
Today we are the 21st of June, therefore the summer solstice,the longest day of the year. For me, it is the longest day of the year in many ways: I find summer days very long and I long for the evening for the light to dim. So the longest day of the year (literally) is also to me the slowest day of the year as well. And it is a long, long day. I am dreading the weeks to come, however I find solace in the fact that once this day will be over, summertime will slowly, slowly wane.
La petite école à la fin de l'année scolaire
Tuesday 20 June 2023
Aces High
The treasure I can find among someone else's bookshelves. During our last stay at my wife's parents' house, a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon this anthology of war comics. I love a good old war comics, or indeed any war story. I used to read them a lot at my grandmother's place, when I was a kid. I knew my father-in-law loved war stories, I had seen another of his omnibus in 2019. So this is another book I would have loved to, ahem, borrow from Wolfie's daddad. Maybe on our visit, but I am not sure he will let me, for one (he is not a fool), and I also have a huge pile of TBR books already.
Tellement on s'aimait (Beau Dommage)
Bon, c'est la Saint-Jean bientôt et il faut bien que je mette un peu de musique québécoise sur le blogue. Je trouvais que l'on manquait de Beau Dommage, alors en voilà une peut-être un peu moins connue, mais qui me parle à moi qui suis un incorrigible nostalgique.
Monday 19 June 2023
Antique Sword
No, no, I'm not talking about Excalibur, the mythical sword of all mythical swords But it could be, even if it is not exactly in the right place for Excalibur to be. I read this news that got me really intrigued: they found a 3,000-year-old bronze sword in Germany, in excellent state of preservation. In pristine state in fact: the report says it almost still shines. It reminds me of a certain novel. But my literary tastes notwithstanding, I find the news simply intriguing. Antique magical swords are just a staple trope in myths and legends, it feels surreal when one just appears in real life. Because when they are in this perfect state, shining and all, it feels like it's a magical sword. I don't know, maybe I'm getting carried away, because of my wild imagination. What do you think?
Dans moins d'une semaine...
Sunday 18 June 2023
Father's Day
It is Father's Day today, so happy Father's Day everyone. I know we will celebrate it here, although I am not sure how: Wolfie and his mother have a bit of a plan, but it is all very hush hush. My wife bought me beer, so that is one thing sorted out. We generally don't make a big fuss about it, at least I don't. Wolfie is always far more excited than I am about it. One of the advantages of being a father on Father's Day is that everyone reminds you to contact your own father to wish him well. Another is that your children will usually sort out the celebration somehow. In the end, it's always about them.
Renard et blaireau
Saturday 17 June 2023
A Raven
Un puit
Independent Bookshop Week 2023
Tarte aux bleuets
Friday 16 June 2023
Medieval Jousting
My wife found out that there will be Medieval Jousting at Stonor Park in a week or so. We are considering going there as we think Wolfie might like it. He said he would when we asked him anyway. I haven't been to these sorts of reenactments in a very long time. As a medievalist by profession, I will find it both interesting and amusing (because it might get quite inaccurate, these shows often are). And it will be nice to get Wolfie interested about something else than modern stuff. It could expand his horizons. Wolfie is already curious about "the old days" and he watched The Adventures of Robin Hood with me recently with a keen interest. But that is for another post. I'm just excited that next weekend, we might go (pseudo) medieval.
Thursday 15 June 2023
Gilgamesh
Premières frites "patio"
Wednesday 14 June 2023
The Day Agent?
My wife has been having this job for the last few months and it is not very deanding overall. It is kind of a boring admin job where not much happens. She mostly stares at a screen and waits for emails to come in. At first she was almost worried about it: she thought they might terminate her contract for lack of work. But I told her not to worry: if the job requires that she waits for something to happen, then that is her duty to do exactly that. "You are a bit like the Night Agent," I told her, which I think deserves to be a great unknown line. She has not seen the Netflix tv series, but I have and I thought it was fitting. For the record, I enjoyed the series, found it entertaining enough, albeit derivative. And yes, I know it's based on a novel. But in any case, there are works that don't require much work, yet they still need to be done.
La dégradation de la Grande Bibliothèque
J'ai lu avec beaucoup d'inquiétude et même de tristesse cet article de la Presse sur la dégradation de la Grande bibliothèque nationale du Québec. Je n'y suis pas allé souvent, mais j'ai toujours aimé mes visites et l'endroit lui-même. C'était vraiment acueillant pour les bouquinistes. J'espère que la situation se redressera.
The Signalman at Didcot Railway Centre
L'agente de bord avec l'accent du Saglac
Je ne connais pas Biolovik, mais je viens de voir la vidéo qu'elle a faite sur l'agente de bord avec l'accent du Saguenay à couper au couteau et j'ai bien ri. Le lien est ici. Elle en a fait d'autres et je vais en partager dans un avenir sans doute proche, parce qu'ils sont tous hilarants. L'humoriste a une page Facebook, une chaîne YouTube et d'autres choses, jusqu'ici selon ce que je vois elle n'a pas beaucoup d'abonnés, mais je crois que ça va changer et que ses vidéos vont vite devenir virales. Peut-être que c'est le Bleuet expatrié qui parle, mais elle est vraiment bonne.
Tuesday 13 June 2023
"A talk with the weather"
A few days ago, my wife and I were waiting for Wolfie's end of day and were talking to one of the mums. We were of course talking about the weather, because this is what we do in this country, and the fact that it was actually sunny and warm. She said: "Well, it better be, we're in June, it's meant to be summer now. It didn't feel like it a few days ago. I need to have a talk with the weather." I actually much prefer cooler temperatures (although I kept it for myself), but it is far to say that she expressed a feeling shared by many and I thought this deserved to be a great unknown line.
Mésange tombée du nid
Monday 12 June 2023
The Artillerie Drawer
L'orage et la grêle (enfin!)
Sunday 11 June 2023
Secret Agent
Le temps du spaghetti tunisien
Saturday 10 June 2023
Summer Books 2023
Santons marins
Friday 9 June 2023
Less Coffee, More Tea
I took this picture a few days ago from the Facebook page of David's Tea. I understand they have been struggling for a while now and been a bit discreet on social media, but I do like their products and love how they made tea cool again. Be that as it may, I love this table, although I don't know how accurate it is. From my personal experience, it is very accurate, especially about the smooth sailing energy. I don't drink coffee anymore, I'm a total tea drinker, but I am sharing it today hoping to evangelise. Drinking tea is just better.
Gâteau
Thursday 8 June 2023
The Train Money Box
Pivoines Rocky
Wednesday 7 June 2023
The Werewolves' New Moon
Pivoines Shima Nishiki
Tuesday 6 June 2023
Where to find Komodo Dragons
You may remember from this post that I have a certain interest for Komodo dragons.I find these big, venomous lizards fascinating. Well, I learned to my surprise that you can find them in capativity here in England and not too far from where we live. A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook pictures he took from his visit to Crocodiles Of The World, a zoo specialised in, well, big lizards. And lo and behold, among them was a picture of a Komodo dragon. In fact, they have a whole Komodo Dragon Experience. I just can't believe it. Not on our doorstep, but pretty close. Real Komodo dragons. We might not plan our visit very soon, our next weekends will be pretty busy, but it is good to know that we have another zoo to go and thatit would be a completely new experience. With Komodo dragons. I still cannot believe it.
"L'échec du rail"
J'ai lu avec intérêt un article dans L'Actualité intitulé L'échec du rail, d'une certaine Taras Grescoe. À propos du piètre état des transports ferroviaires en Amérique du Nord, tant aux États-Unis qu'au Canada. Ca m'attriste toujours et ça m'enrage au moins autant, parce que ça n'a pas toujours été le cas et que ça aurait pu être évité. En fait, on pourrait changer les choses. Je vous invite donc à lire l'article. Il fait un bon résumé de la situation et un excellent plaidoyer pour changer les choses. Je rêve de pouvoir voyager de Montréal à Québec, voire à Chicoutimi, en train, dans des délais raisonnables.
Monday 5 June 2023
Ascot Racecourse (in Wallingford)
Cymbidium
Sunday 4 June 2023
Return to the Wallingford Bookshop
Du blanc-manger?
Saturday 3 June 2023
Sangria
My parents told me that they recently bought a bottle of already made sangria, but that it was not good. That trivial bit of conversation reminded me that a few years ago, I was a fairly regular drinker of sangria. It was back when I was a uni student: at our kitchen parties, or simply at our gatherings, we often made sangria. Ironically, my friends then were mostly Italian. We bought some cheap wine, some fizzy soft drink, fresh fruits, fruit juice and a bottle of spirit, either tequila, gin or vodka. And we mixed it in the biggest bowl we could find. That's how our evenings started, usually. My Spaniard friend would say: "All right guys, we're gonna make sangria." And we did. I don't remember it tasting nice, but we drank plenty of it. I don't remember getting drunk from it, but one of my Italian friends got sick on sangria at the end of the infamous Saint Paddy's kitchen party of 2,000. Infamous in our circle of friends at the time anyway. Shehad decided to finish the bowl when everybody but three people were gone, after my other friend and I were downing beers. I still tease her about it. But yeah, after my uni years, I don't think I ever drank sangria again.
La lampe hippopotame
Nous sommes allés à un marage la semaine dernière et nous avons passé la nuit à l'hôtel. C'était un très beau site, même si le service était parfois déficient. Au déjeuner, nous avons mangé dans une très belle salle, avec, surprise surprise, une lampe en forme d'hippopotame. Ou "popotame", comme on dit dans mon côté de la famille. Avec l'ampoule dans la gueule. La lampe a fait une forte impression sur Wolfie, allez savoir pourquoi. Il a insisté pour que je la prenne en photo.
Friday 2 June 2023
4,000 Year Old Board Game
Les fraises
June and Juno
Michel Côté et le Québec
Excellente nouvelle: lors du spectacle de la Fête Nationale, on rendra un hommage à Michel Côté. je crois que ça tombe sous le sens et pas seulement parce qu'il est mort récemment. Michel Côté était peut-être le plus québécois des acteurs québécois. L'un des plus aimés, certainement, mais il a tellement incarné le Québec dans ce qu'il avait de mieux et aussi dans ce qu'il avait de plus typique. Enfin bref, je suis encore en deuil.
Thursday 1 June 2023
A red panda on the run
Do you love red pandas? I sure do. They look like cute little plush toy made of flesh and bones. They just look sooo adorable. I'm a bit of a sucker for red pandas. But maybe I am just saying commonplaces here. Who doesn't love red pandas? A heartless monster, that's who. So a bit of news recently caught my attention: a red panda escaped from a zoo in Cornwall last Friday and was seen walking about in the street. She was later on captured and returned to the zoo. Although the escape was short, it is far more epic to have a red panda on the run than a bunch of cows. Anyway, I'm glad Sundara (that's her name) is safe and sound and I hope she enjoyed her time out.
Un juin tolérable?
C'est le premier juin, le début officieux de l'été et quant à moi le vrai début de la saison. Je n'aime pas beaucoup juin, je vous le dis tout de suite, justement parce que c'est un mois d'été. Cela dit, je me permets une pointe d'espoir pour cette année. Jusqu'ici, nous n'avons pas eu beaucoup de journées aux températures estivales, tout d'abord. Selon la météo, il va faire un temps assez frais, un peu en deça des normales saisonnières. Ce que d'autres vont appeler un été pourri. Quant à moi, c'est un été tolérable. Enfin, ça pourrait en être un, touchons du bois.