Regional Crime Reads

From time to time, youfind cool freebies in local bookshops. And it's not because they are freebies that they can't be handy. Take this booklet for instance. At first I thought it was an anthology of short stories and I was ready to purchase it. But no: it's promotional material for the work of various crime writers in various parts of the UK, giving samples of one of their novels. I took it because it's a freebie and because I am always looking for quality crime fiction to read. Now I flickered through it and I think already found one or two novels worth buying. Probably for a Noirvember read: I have already started reading horror stories for the countdown to Halloween. But I always prepare crime fiction reads for the rest of the year. My main source of literature.

Dernier jour de juillet

Je commence ce billet par un lieu commun: nous sommes le dernier jour de juillet. C'est toujours un peu délicat quand la fin du mois tombe un lundi et que l'on est au travail. Ce qui est mon cas aujourd'hui. Mon 31 juillet ne sera sans doute pas tranquille. Cela dit, comment a été votre mois? Ici, ce fut somme toute assez plaisant, parce que la température a été assez fraîche, comparée à celle du mois de juin (le plus chaud de l'histoire) mais aussi comparée à celle de juillet 2022, qui nous a donné une très mauvaise canicule. Je n'aime pas l'été, juillet est le pire mois de l'année pour moi à bien des égards, mais cette année il a été clément.

Memories of the Flying Scotsman

I found this video on the YouTube channel of the National Railway Museum of York. testimonies for the 100th anniversary of the Flying Scotsman. Maybe the coolest and greatest train in history. I found this quite touching. It speaks to me both as a train afficionado and a shameless nostalgic.

Lièvre

 Mon père a pris une photo de lièvre, je ne sais pas trop où, mais je la partage, rien que parce que.

James Bond in/for July

I found this image on the official Facebook page of Ian Fleming.It is taken from Diamonds Are Forever. Not my favourite James Bond novel by far, more crime fiction than spy thriller, but it had its moments. And the movie was way, way worse. And I always enjoy a period piece crime or spy fiction novel in any case. Anyway, I am sharing the picture and the quote today for no better reason that it mentions late July and this is late July. If you want to read a novel this time of year, Diamonds Are Forever might be the right one for you.

Chauves-souris de craie

Hier, nous sommes allés voir en famille la famille de Blonde Tickler. Ma femme et petit loup d'abord, je les ai rejoints ensuite parce que j'avais des trucs à faire en ville. Wolfie et a passé une partie de notre visite à dessiner à la craie sur le pavé avec Tickler. Ils ont entre autres dessiné des chauves-souris. Celle en bas à gauche est l'oeuvre de notre amie, celle en haut à droite a été faite par Wolfie.

Water and whiskey

I went to the local sweet shop today, after running some other errands. As I chit chatted with the shop owner, he said something that deserves to be mentioned here as a new great unknown line. He said: "I drank everything. In the end, I only love water. And whiskey." I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It made me laugh anyway.

Des compatriotes près de chez moi

Je suis allé à l'épicerie fine tenue par un Français aujourd'hui. C'est l'endroit où je vais acheter mon vin. Il m'a dit qu'il avait rencontré des compatriotes à moi pas plus tard qu'hier. J'en ai rencontré à quelques reprises, je sais qu'il y a un couple qui demeure dans la même région que moi, mais dans une autre ville pas loin (si mes souvenirs sont exacts). Je crois que je vais visiter l'épicerie plus souvent, dans l'espoir de rencontrer d'autres expatriés.

Ottie the otter

We went downtown a week ago and we stopped at an Oxfam shop. We often stop in charity shops and we often get out of them with purchases. That comes with the territory when you have a child: he's going to love something in there. Of course Wolfie found a thing he liked. So we bought for £0.99 the first otter in his ever growing plush menagerie. A sea otter apparently. His name is Ottie and I must say, he is very cute. Very cuddlable too. I am not complaining: I love otters and I bought this one for a good cause.

Cachottiers

Je partage encore une fois une photo d'un jouet conçu par Richard Émond. Jouet donné en cadeau à petit loup par mes parents, il s'appelle le petit Cachottier et c'est aussi amusant qu'éducatif, enfin quand l'enfant est très jeune. Il était trop lourd pour le transporter ici, il demeure chez mes parents. Je crois qu'il est maintenant le jouet des cousins de Wolfie, autant dire que c'est un jouet familial au sens large.

More scarecrows

Well, it's not only on my desk that we can find scarecrows this time of year. They have started showing up elsewhere too: I found these ones at the entrance of the petting zoo we visited last weekend. I love scarecrows because they are heralding harvest and autumn to come. These are less colourful and a bit on the brown side, but all the same, I think there are autumn enthusiasts among the staff and I cannot wait to be there in the upcoming season. Which, given the relatively cool temperatures we've had this month, since to be showing its presence already.

Le porc qui pique

Je partage encore une photo du porc-épic qui a été vu dans le voisinage de chez mes parents. Enfin, que mon père a vu alors qu'il marchait pas loin de chez lui. On le voit un peu mieux sur cette photo, de visage je crois. Il est plus petit que ceux que j'ai vu dans les zoos. Je me demande où il peut bien avoir sa tanière.

Faulty Walkie Talkies

I bought these walkie talkies at Wolfie's request, last time we went to a nearby petting zoo. God knows why such toys, with the cammo colours, were in their shop. Be that as it may, Wolfie thought they would make for a great addition to our crime/spy game and to our team's equipment. I didn't need much convincing: that game brings me back tomy own childhood. We already have walkie talkies, but they are fake ones, make-belief plastic stuff that are parts of a playset or another. But they proved not to be the greatest investment in our game. For once, batteries are not included: I will need to buy some. Then minutes after we got home, I managed to break the handle of one, so I will not be able to attach it to my belt. I remember when I was a child, we had various sets of walkie talkies, and they all broke very quickly. We should still be able to use these, once I get the batteries, but I will look for better quality ones and buy them for Wolfie's birthday. In the meantime, we can enjoy the "Secret War" game without them.

Saint-Bertin (bière cheap)

Il y a un mois, lors d'une fête donnée à l'école de Wolfie, il y avait un tirage qui nous a permis de gagner pas mal de bouteilles de vin et d'autres alcools, mais aussi cette bière. Une petite bière, dans tous les sens du mot: petite bouteille, petite quantité de bière donc et une lager blonde insipide. Heureusement, c'était (quasiment) gratuit. Et ça se boit très facilement à l'apéritif une journée chaude, comme c'était le cas il y a un mois.

Peanut butter and proteins

Yesterday I went downtown for a quick grocery shopping as we were short on a lot of things. It was a simple top up. On my way back, I bumped into one of Wolfie's teaching assistants, maybe his favourite TA (and I think he is her favourite pupil too). We had a quick chat, she told me: "I need to go to the shop. I have two boys, one 28, the other 25 and they just eat all the time. The quantity of proteins they need every day, it's mad!" I told her that it was similar with Wolfie as he was growing up and seemed to never feel full. Then I told her: "The males in our household live mainly on a diet of peanut butter." I think it deserves to be a new great unknown line. She agreed that peanut butter was great anyway, because of the protein intake. Anyway, that made my evening. I feel safe knowing that Wolfie has a TA that understands boys so well and knows what's good for them. And I also now that peanut butter is going to be an important part of family life for years to come.

Tracteur rouillé

 Mon fils est obsédé par les tracteurs, comme je l'ai souvent mentionné sur ce blogue. Lors de notre dernière visite en fin de semaine au zoo pour enfants (en fait une ferme pour enfants), il a eu l'embarras du choix: il y a pleins de tracteurs, vrais, en jouets et aussi de vieux tracteurs rouillés, comme celui-ci. Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi, mais je trouve que ça a un certain charme, le garder comme ornement.

The Carabinieri

I have started this year a tradition of blogging about police, army or secret service forces around the world, just for kick. Last time I did was in March, so I thought that I should do it again, if I want to make it a real tradition. So today, just for fun, let's talk about the Carabinieri. I went to Italy once, but it is one of the elements of the country that struck me: the distintive look of the Carabinieri, or rather their uniform. Even their ordinary uniform is kind of distinctive, unusually elegant. But what truly sets them apart is that they are both a police force and an army force (although separate from the army, from what I understand). They are (again, from what I understand) a sort of military police. Regardless of their role and reputation in real life (which I know nothing about), I think there is a lot of potential for drama in fiction, particularly of course crime fiction. Anyway, if I have Italian readers, regular or venturing here, please tell me in the comments about the Carabinieri and your experience with them. I want to know more.

"C'est le raisin de chez nous..."

"À la Sainte-Anne les bleuets sont mûrs. C'est le raisin de chez-nous, fils du feu; du sol humble et pierreux c'est l'offrande; c'est le miel des crans sauvages, le frère des éricales dans le royaume infini des sphaignes et des tourbières."

 Menaud maître-draveur, Félix-Antoine Savard

 Tout ça pour dire que, ben, c'est la Sainte-Anne. Je cite toujours Menaud à la Sainte-Anne, à défaut de pouvoir me procurer des raisins de chez nous, fils du feu car ils poussent en terre brûlée. Par conséquent, je parie que la récolte de l'an prochain sera abondante.

The Mountain Warehouse voucher

For someonewho does not do hiking or much outdoors activities, I turned out to be a fairly faithful customer of Mountain Warehouse. I often end up in the local shop when I go shopping for anything else. And, more importantly, I often end up buying something. I am not sure why, but it seems that there is always something I need there. A water bottle, a mug, some socks, travel toothbrushes, whatever. Last time I bought something there, I ended up with a 20% discount voucher. I am not sure if it is because I bought a lot of things or if it was simply because there was a sale going on. Then again there is always a sale going on at Mountain Warehouse. So anyway, I went there last weekend with my wife, who needs a new raincoat. Of course I forgot the voucher. I felt so stupid. So we bought nothing. The voucher is redemmable until the end of this month, so I better hurry up. As we are planning our next holiday, we should stop there anyway. I will make sure of it.

Chat à la fenêtre

Mon père a pris cette photo d'un chat à la fenêtre, allez savoir pourquoi. Je soupçonne que c'est pour faire plaisir à ses petits-fils, qui semblent tous s'intéresser aux chats. Encore une fois, allez savoir pourquoi. Le cousin de petit loup (le fils aîné de mon frère Andrew) veut toujours voir Domino quand on l'appelle.

New Sign of Halloween

We went to a petting zoo nearby(ish) yesterday and this is what I saw. This. This poster. In July. Last year I saw it in August. I was overjoyed. Okay, so it was next to a Christmas poster, but still. It counts: this is a new sign of Halloween, the second one this month. And the weather being kind of cool for this time of year, I am really getting into a spooky mood.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques

Mes parents ont fait il n'y a pas si longtemps des coquilles St-Jacques. Un classique de mon enfance. J'adorais les coquilles St-Jacques, je ne sais pas trop pourquoi. En fait oui, je sais: fromage, poisson, patates, crabe (je mange peu de crabe mais j'adore le goût du crabe), c'est juste généreux, indulgent et juste... bon. La dernière fois que j'en ai mangé, ça date d'au moins dix ans et elles n'avaient pas ces dimensions-là.

Bats at dusk

You will find this image in What to Look for in Summer, a book I bought for Wolfie in 2021. We both enjoy reading it and the other books in the collection every season. Anyway, we have bats showing up at dusk here in the neighbourhood. I see them as glimpses of shadows, nothing more. But I'm glad that they get rid of bugs. Anyway, I learned a lot  about bats thanks to that single page in the book. And I find it a bit surreal to think there is so much going on so close, so much I barely see.

Pain doré à la brioche

Des fois je fais du pain doré, ou des toasts dorées, ce que les Français appellent du pain perdu, pour petit loup. J'en ai fait récemment, avec une petite variation bien décadente: au lieu du pain, j'ai utilisé de la brioche. Une idée de la dame qui m'a vendu ladite brioche à l'épicerie fine où je vais parfois. Elle avait donc de la brioche fraîche du jour et m'a dit que c'était excellent en pain perdu. C'était la fin de la journée, elle me l'offrait à moitié prix, j'ai saisi l'occasion. C'est cochon pas rien qu'un peu. Évidemment, petit loup a adoré. Et moi aussi.

Cocaine Shark?

Okay, so you probably know about the movie Cocaine Bear, which I must confess I haven't seen and don't really care to watch in any case. Well, my wife sent me this article. Its title is obviously clickbait, nevertheless it is an interesting if scary thing to ponder: we might have to deal with sharks intoxicated with cocaine off the coast of Florida. I am fascinated by sharks, like many men of my generation, so my wife knows my fascination for the apex sea predators so she sends me articles like this one from time to time. I am also watching a documentary about shark attacks, but this will be for another post. Right now, I just wanted to share with you the clickbait article. Okay, so I really don't think this can be taken seriously for now, for one I doubt that much cocaine is being thrown in the wild so to speak, let alone end up in sharks' stomachs, which are from what I understand very resilient. Nevertheless, it would make for a more interesting dramatic premisse than a bear on coke. If sharks do get high on drugs, then humans are to blame. As always.

Le blaireau empaillé

Les lecteurs de longue date ici savent que j'ai une certaine fascination pour les animaux empaillés. Quand je vais dans des musées ou des endroits qui en ont, je passe beaucoup de temps à les contempler. Ici, il y a toujours des blaireaux, qui font partie de la faune locale. Je n'en ai cependant jamais vu dans la nature. J'en ai vu en captivité dans des zoos et, bien entendu, empaillés. Celui-ci je l'ai trouvé dans la section visiteurs d'un sanctuaire/hôpital pour animaux que nous avons visités il y a quelques semaines. Il valait la visite à lui seul. Certains animaux empaillés ont l'air misérables, en très mauvais état, maganés comme on dit au Québec. Lui pas du tout. Il a l'air vivant.

Last day of school

This picture was taken in the Isle of Wight, in Robin Hill. A place Wolfie liked a lot. I might be wrong, but I believe it was taken in Duck Down Village. I share it because it goes well with today's topic. Today is Wolfie's last day at school in year one. The school he goes is not nearly as small as this one, but it is a fairly little school, with only a few pupils per year. I will not repeat what I said last year, except that the year does go too fast. I will add oe thing though: the school year is far too long here. I mean it ends in July, when the month is two thirds done. It is really too long and exhausting for the children and their parents. And it makes for far too short holidays, even though the year went too fast. Being a parent creates all sorts of paradoxes like this one.

La téléphoniste du Saglac

Petite vidéo humoristique trouvée sur la page YouTube de Biolovik, intitulée La téléphoniste du SagLac. Je n'arrive pas à l'intégrer au blogue, ce qui est dommage, mais suivez le lien et vous ne le regretterez pas. Elle fait des classiques instantanés. À répétition.

Taking proper walks again

During my last health check up, the doctor had told me that, according to my level of activities, I was having a sedentary life, which isn't great for a man my age. I had been wanting to be more active since then. Call it laziness, call it procrastination, but I hadn't really got into it. It is only recently that I have started talking proper walks again, I mean walks that last longer than a few minutes. First to go to Wolfie's school for his sports day. I had to stand a whole morning in the rain. Then walk back home to work. Then on Saturday I went downtown on foot for an eye exam and to run some errands. Then again on Sunday, this time as a family, we decided to take a walk in the neighbourhood. It was rather enjoyable, but my muscles were in pain, especially my legs'. I intend to increase my level of activities in the future. In spite of the pain, it made me feel really good. And walking is quite pleasant as itself, especially in the nice little town where we live.

Jardin chinois

Photo prise dans l'Isle of Wight, dans le parc de Robin Hill. Parmi toutes leurs attractions, ils ont un jardin chinois. Nous avions vraiment l'impression d'entrer dans un autre pays, même si je ne crois pas que ce soit vraiment authentique (je me trompe peut-être). Mais authentiques ou non, je trouve les jardins orientaux en général assez calmants et toujours très plaisants à voir. Ils ont le sens de l'esthétique.

The three scarecrows

My wife bought me these three scarecrows as a birthday present, two or three birthdays ago. When we got our working desks sorted out, I put them on display. I love scarecrows because they are so typically, so perfectly autumnal. They are a staple of harvest. I had bought scarecrows in the past, which I planted in the garden, but they had nothing to guard and they got in a sorry state really quickly. So I have them on my desk. Every time I look at them, I think of autumn.

Les chocolats aux bleuets s'en viennent!

Message d'intérêt public, dont j'ai eu vent sur la page Facebook des Pères trappistes. Les bleuets enrobés de chocolat noir (autrement appelés chocolat au bleuet, ou chocolats aux bleuets, pluriel, ou bleuets au chocolat) devraient être disponibles dès la semaine prochaine. Ne me remerciez pas.

New (vintage?) tractor

As you now know, since Wolfie loves (among other vehicles) tractors, we practice tractor spotting. We can spot regular tractor going through this town and we can now identify new ones. So this morning, during the school run, we spotted one we had never seen before. A smaller one, orange and white, the white on top. Its frame was pretty angular and my wife thought it looked kind of old, both in design and a bit worn out. Sadly I could not take a picture. So now, even though we cannot pretend we are connoisseurs, we might even be able to identify vintage tractors. We will check in our many tractor books (yes we have tractor books too, quite a few of them) if we can find the specific model.

Frites dans le jardin

Je partage encore une fois une photo des "frites patio"de mon père. Un peu pour faire de la food porn, mais aussi parce que je me suis rendu compte que je n'ai pas souvent montré les frites patio dans leur habitat naturel (façon de parler), c'est à dire la friteuse sur le patio, avec en plus le jardin en arrière-plan. Mettons que ça donne une nouvelle perspective au repas. En d'autres mots, ça lui donne de la gueule. Qu'en pensez-vous?

New Weapon

A few days ago, we tried to convince Wolfie to take a walk, because we thought he was spending too much time inside. It was hard, but he ended up following us. We went to one of the not too near corner shops, as we promised him we would buy him a magazine. And we found one he liked. I must saw, I liked it too: it had this toy set with it. So we now have one more gun (not to mention another walkie talkie, badge and ammo) for our crime/spy game and our artillerie drawer. Also called the War Game by Wolfie.This should come in handy for our next mission.

"Du coup"

J'ai trouvé ceci sur les internets. S'il y a une expression française (et je dirais même francouillarde) qui m'agace, c'est bienc elle-ci. On ne la dit pas trop au Québec, enfin pas que je sach. J'espère ne pas me tromper et ue ça restera ainsi.

Assam Tea

You may remember that a few eeks ago, I had to face a sudden and dire situation of tea shortage. On weekdays. On working days. So I had to quickly run to the nearest corner shop and buy an out of price bag of tea bags. Well, I have temporarily solved the issue and in the meantime, I rediscovered a pretty nice brew. So anyway, I stopped at a Co-op a few days ago and bought a box of their home brand Assam tea. I had forgotten how strong it was and how good a kick it gave, especially in the morning, especially when you needed to get on with things and stay alert. So Assam is now my go-to tea and will be for the next few weeks at the very least.

Qui s'y frotte s'y pique

Des fois je partage une photo juste parce que je trouve un bon titre pour un billet de blogue et pour aller avec ladite photo. Mon père m'a envoyé des photos d'un porc-épic qui se promenait dans le voisinage (pendant que mon père lui même se promenait d'ailleurs). Mais vous le saviez déjà. Je n'en ai jamais vu à l'état sauvage, c'est donc un spectacle assez rare. je me demande si sa proximité avec nous tient aux bouleversements climatiques que le Québec a dû subir cette année. Je suis parfois ces jours-ci dans un état d'esprit vaguement apocalyptique.

Reese's: first sign of Halloween

Something made me very happy recently when I went to the local sweet shop: I found Reese's chocolates. The ones Jack O'Lantern shaped. Which makes it officially the very first sign of Halloween I have seen this year. Okay, so I could see ones shaped as Christmas trees too, so they probably were from last year anyway, but all the same, it still counts. Reese's is a staple of treats during trick or treat in any case, so it is all the more fitting. Especially since it has been feeling borderline autumnal recently.

Le repaire en couvertures

 Lors de notre dernier séjour chez mes beaux-parents petit loup a décidé de sefaire une maison en couvertures et en coussins. Ou un chalet, ou une cabane, je ne suis pas certain. Un repaire dans tous les cas, très gardé, surtout qu'il était le seul à pouvoir y entrer. Il en a déjà fait des plus élaborés, mais celui-ci a tenu quelques jours (avec quand même quelques travaux de rénovation ici et là). Morale de l'histoire: les enfants n'ont vraiment pas besoin d'autant de jouets, un rien les amuse et leur imagination fait le reste.

"Is it St. Swithin's Day already?"

As some of you may know, it is St Swithin's Day today. Which was mentioned, years ago, in The Simpsons, in one of their best summer episodes. I blogged about the day last year and in 2016. This year, I just show you this short clip, which is nevertheless hilarious:

Porc-épic

Devinez quel visiteur mon père a vu dans le voisinage? Un porc-épic. Spectacle assez rare, je n'en ai jamais vu à l'état sauvage.

More Chaos

I finally finished watching the Israeli crime/spy drama Fauda, which I got hooked on back in February. Four seasons of pure goodness, with plenty of violence, cool Krav Maga stuff, but also plenty of humanity and genuine emotions to leave me wanting for more.Apparently, there will be a fifth season, but I have no idea when it will be aired. In the meantime, I am trying to get my fix of crime/spy dramas with another series featuring Lior Raz (the main actor in Fauda, also one of its creators), called Hit and Run. It's also on Netflix. So far so good, it is well made, but it is much cleaner, more polished and much less... chaotic, if that makes sense. It is less localized, feels less authentic. I am enjoying it though, if only because Raz makes for a relatable as well as believable hero. But I long for more Chaos.

Le 14 juillet

Comme je le souligne à chaque année sur ce Vraie Fiction, nous sommes aujourd'hui le 14 juillet, la Fête nationale française. Jour de la Prise de la bastille, ah ça ira, ça ira, allons z'enfants de la patrie, etc. Non, j'ai l'air de me moquer, mais plus sérieusement, je souhaite un excellent 14 juillet à tous mes lecteurs français (s'il y en a). Je suis avec vous de coeur, surtout que votre Fête nationale est aussi beaucoup une fête républicaine et j'envie beaucoup la France d'être une république (ça et sa laïcité). J'essaie toujours de célébrer un peu, rien qu'à cause de ça.

Promises and Wolfism

Sometimes I get worried and I think Wolfie acts recklessly. Like when he climbs up a tree and I find the branches a bit weak. So I ask him not to climb said tree. After I asked him over and over to promise it, he asked me this question, which is a new Wolfism: "Daddy, if I promise you something, is it okay if I say it, but don't do it?" I told him that it kind of defeats the object. That said, I can't help but think it's kind of how many adults deal with promises. Most promises. So this Wolfism is a very innocent statement that reveals a very cynical truth. What do you think?

Des tornades au Québec?

Ma mère m'a appris cette nouvelle il y a quelquesjours, qui m'a beaucoup étonné: il semblerait qu'on pourrait y avoir des tornades au Québec. On en aurait même vu une à Sainte-Adèle. Et juste avant que je publie le billet, je vois qu'il y a une alerte à la tornade à Gatineau. Les tornades sont à la fois fascinantes et terrifiantes, mais au Québec, elles ont aussi quelque chose d'exotique. On n'en voit pas souvent. Je me rappelle qu'un ami avait bien fait peur à mon frère PJ quand il était enfant en évocant la possibilité d'une tornade à Chicoutimi. Je ne sais pas si la possibilité d'une tornade était une éventualité sérieuse, mais ça nous avait donné un certain frisson. Mais dans tous les cas, si j'ai des lecteurs à Gatineau, bonne chance, courage et soyez prudents.

Rifles and Revolvers

This picture was taken in the Isle of Wight, in one of the boutiques of Blackgang Chine, the oldest theme park in the UK. They sold very realistic looking rifles and revolvers. I did not buy a single one. Because we were already fully packed and I was worried we would have no room in our baggages. I also thought they looked a tad too real. Like the old toy guns from my childhood. But boy, I regret it to this day. I would just love to play cowboys and desperados with Wolfie and I think I really missed a good opportunity there. Sure they were costly, but they looked like really good quality toys. Oh well, maybe next time.

Quand il pleut...

Ma mère m'a dit qu'il a beaucoup plu récemment chez eux, à boire debout. Ici aussi. J'aime les grosses pluies, même si je suis conscient des dangers qu'elles peuvent générer.

Summertime: so far so good

 You know how much I grew to dislike summertime. In fact, I dread it. I have been dreading this one since April and May, which were thankfully not too hot. And so far, to my relief, summer has been bearable. Well, we had apparently the hottest June on record, but I did not find it worse than any other year. We had a few truly hot days here and there, but overall it has been in the lower 20s. In fact, last week it went down to 16 degree... In July Let that one sink in. I had to wear a light jumper in the evening. Pure bliss. Oh and it has been raining a lot. Sometimes stormy too. Now I don't even dare to be cautiously optimistic: I have been burned before. In fact, I dread a hot August or worse, a summery September. But for at least a week, they are forecasting cooler temperatures in the lower twenties and plenty of rain, so I will take it as it is.

Hibou

Mon père a pris une photo de cette girouette il y a quelques semaines et me l'a envoyée. Je crois que c'est une girouette, enfin il n'y a pas de rose des vents, mais ça doit bien être à ça que ça sert. Dans tous les cas, parce que c'est un hibou (avec une aile gauche qui a l'air d'une aile de papillon ou d'une hélice de moulin), j'aime beaucoup.

Socks for railway journeys

I won (again) a few Amazon vouchers at work and I decided to spend it on, well, stuff that can be as useful as they are nice. As my socks quickly get full of holes, I always buy new ones. I bought these. You probably noticed why I bought them in particular. I love the steam trains on them. It is not the first time I buy socks with train motives. It won't be the last. I haven't worn them yet. I intend to wear them for our next railway journey, which will most likely happen on our next holidays. We haven't decided yet when and where, but that should be sorted out soon. I love having little traveling rituals like this.

Un gâteau

J'ai fait du gâteau en fin de semaine. Parce que je l'avais promis à petit loup et aussi parce que je trouve qu'un dessert fait maison, c'est mieux qu'un truc acheté. Enfin c'est le principe de base. Et même si je fais souvent des gâtastrophes, j'aime bien cuisiner des desserts, je ne sais pas trop pourquoi. Sans doute que ça me relaxe un peu et ça me permet de faire quelque chose de plus manuel. Mais sinon, le gâteau est assez réussi, quoique le glaçage l'est beaucoupmoins: il était supposé être orange. J'ai pas mis assez de colorant on dirait. La prochaine, je crois que je vais remplacer le glaçage par de la crème et du sirop d'érable.

The Waterstones Loyalty Card

You may remember from last week that I found a bunch of loyalty cards in my wallet. Well, among them I found a Waterstones card. That is a very interesting finding, on many levels. I haven' been to Waterstones to purchase something for at few years now, even though I we live not too far from one. I visted this one a few times, but bought nothing. No particular reason for it, except maybe now that I have an independent bookshop to go to, I prefer to support it. That said, I used to love Waterstones a lot. The loyalty card is very old: we had to collect stamps, you get one stamp per £10 you spend, you collect ten stamps you get a Waterstones giftcard or £10 in bonus points on your Waterstones Card (I am not sure I have that one). The card was valid until... the 30th of April 2014.

Orchidée (cymbidium)

Histoire de mettre un peu de couleur sur le blogue, je partage une autre photo d'un (une?) des cymbidiums de mon père. Le violet foncé sur fond vert, ça ne fait pas très estival, mais ça a un côté nocturne que j'aime assez bien. Je ne suis pas très doué pour la botanique (pas plus que pour le jardinage), vous devinerez que je ne tiens pas de mon père dans ce domaine.

The Summertime Bookmark

As you may know, if you have read this blog for long enough, I collect bookmarks. It is an easy enough hobby to have, it is a cheap one, they make for nice souvenirs when you are on holiday and also, as we have an indie bookshop that sells many, one easy way to support a local business. Furthermore, it takes far less rooms than buying new books (which I do anyway, but I digress). Every time I go there, I try to buy a new bookmark. Last time, I got this one. Not really my favourite, I must say, but kinda cute with its swimmer. It is a very summery bookmark. Now on to find a fitting book for it.

Pivoine

Je suis un piètre jardinier. En fait non, c'est pire: je suis un très mauvais jardinier. C'est sans doute une des raisons mineures pour laquelle je n'aime guère l'été: même notre jardin n'a pas l'air présentable, avec de jolies fleurs bien entretenues. Mon père lui sait s'y prendre et le jardin chez mes parents est superbe en été. C'est pourquoi il m'envoie des photos de ses fleurs, dont ses pivoines. J'en partage une aujourd'hui, rien que parce que.

The village of Iping

As you may remember from a recent post, I have been (re)reading H.G. Wells' s The Invisible Man, which I had read more than 30 years ago. I noticed something I had not paid attention to the first time I read the novel: a lot of the plot is set in the village of Iping, where the Invisible Man is first, errrr... seen? I checked quickly online and it turned out to be a real village, not a made up one. I thought it was pretty neat, it gives Wells' tale a veneer of authenticity. It also means that an obscure English village got its name immortalised in a classic work of sicence-fiction. And that is pretty cool. Now we don't live near there, so we will not be visiting any time soon, but it could be interesting one day. I wonder if there is anything to see there since its most infamous visitor showed up (sort of showed up). Maybe some H.G. Wells fans? Academics perhaps? If you know anything, please let me know in the comments.

Question existentielle (382)

Tiens, ça fait un bail que je n'ai pas posé de question existentielle (en partie parce que plus personne n'y répond). Une m'est venu en tête récemment, alors la voici:

-Quelle est la meilleure confiture pour manger avec des croissants?

New (and adorable) Wolfism

Wolfie said the cutest thing yesterday and I had to share it here: we learned that one of his friends at school, one he is really close to (they even do the school run together sometimes) is sick. Her two brothers are sick too, and so were their mother. The family has not been lucky. Wolfie's friend has been having a fever for a few days. So we suggested to Wolfie that he sends her a get well soon word, something to let her know he thinks of her. He said: "I don't want her to get well soon, I want her to get well now." So yes, that is so adorable that I had to share it here.

Santon loup-garou

 Photo trouvée sur la page Facebook sur les Santons de Charlevoix. C'est LE Santon que je veux avoir en priorité. Ex aequo avec celui du Bonhomme Sept-Heures. Et je le veux pour donner une touche québécoise aux Halloweens que je passe ici. Il y a d'autres santons conçus pour l'Halloween, mais celui-ci est celui que je trouve le plus réussi. Il est à la fois effrayant et ragique: on voit que le loup-garou est l'objet d'une malédiction, regardez comme il essaie de couvrir son visage avec son manteau, dans une expression à la fois de honte bien humaine et néanmoins bestiale. Oh et il a les bras velus et des griffes en plus. Il est vraiment très réussi.

Orange Tractor

 You may know that, Wolfie loving all sorts of vehicles, especially tractors, we practice in this family tractor spotting. Every time there is one rolling nearby, passing through our town, we spot it. It is like a reflex. And we recognise those we see more than once. Well, there is a new kid on the block, so to speak. I mean we saw one recently that we had never seen before: an orange (very orange) tractor. Orange clothes seem to have become fashionable, then we started seeing orange vehicles, but this is our first sight of an orange tractor. Sadly I could not take a picture of it. I love orange things, especially if they are a darker shade of orange, for me it is an automnal colour. So I hope we can see this tractor again.

Des livres et des guêpes à l'Anse

J'ai trouvé cette photo sur les internets, sur la page Facebook Spotted: l'Anse Saint Jean. Je ne suis pas le groupe, mais j'essaie de me tenir au courant des nouvelles saguenéennes, même mineures. Alors donc, il y a un guêpier dans la boîte à livres du presbytère. Je ne savais pas que le presbytère de l'Anse-Saint-Jean avait une boîte à livres, mais c'est une très bonne idée. Pour lee guêpier, j'espère qu'ils s'en sont débarrassés depuis le partage de la photo.

Wolfie's Haunted House

 Wolfie drawed a haunted house at school a few days ago. No idea why, I guess he felt inspired. You can see ghosts in the windows and a zombie in the garden. I am so proud of him. My brothers and I used to do the same thing when it rained during our holidays: we drew plenty of haunted houses, full of ghosts of all sorts and critters. Then we used it as prop for our Haunted House Game. It kept us busy when we longed for Halloween, which was yet so far away. I think Wolfie might want to play haunted house before long.

Le jardin sous la pluie

Mon père m'a envoyé des pictures des pluies diluviennes tombées il y a quelques jours par chez eux. En voici une autre que je partage. Nous avons eu de la pluie ici aussi et elle est bienvenue. J'en viens à aimer les jours de pluie. C'est cent fois mieux que la canicule et mille fois mieux que le smog. Dans tous les cas, l'ambiance d'une pluie diluvienne a son charme.

Questions about pu'er tea

A few months ago, I watched The Night Agent. It was all right and entertaining enough, if a bit light and derivative. But it got me curious about something. You see, one of the characters drinks pu'er tea. Its virtues are discussed briefly, apparently it keeps one's awake and alert or something. I have seen pu'er, or pu-her, or p'u-erh tea in various businesses, but I don't remember ever trying it. Its mention in the Netflix series got me curious, so I have a few questions, which I have decided to ask on this blog:

-Are there anyone among you, my dear readers, who drink pu'er tea?

-How does it taste?

-What are its virtues? Not the alleged ones, the ones you have experienced, if any.

-Is there a proper way to prepare it and drink it?

-Finally, what's the correct spelling? Pu'er, pu-her, p'u-her tea, or something else entirely?

 Well, that's it for me tonight.

Chère Denise...

Triste nouvelle aujourd'hui: Denise Bombardier est décédée subitement ce matin. On dira ce qu'on voudra d'elle et ça m'est arrivé de lui lancer des vacheries, mais elle demeure une grande intellectuelle et une féministe de la vieille école qui a été pour beaucoup de femmes (et d'hommes) une source d'inspiration. Je ne l'aurais pas dit il y a dix ans, mais je vais m'ennuyer d'elle.

Rediscovering The Invisible Man

I read very little science fiction. It is simply not my literary genre. When I do, it mostly has a lot of horror elements in it. But I do enjoy reading the father of science fiction, English writer H.G. Wells, albeit I read fairly little of his work. The very first book I read of him was The Invisible Man, when I was 12. I had barely started discovering old British classics and I remember my mum suggesting I tried this one when we found it in the local library. I was not expecting much of it, but ended up reading it in a few days and loving every page. Maybe because I was already an Anglophile, I don't know. Surprisingly enough, it took me decades to read more of him. But a few days ago, I decided it was time to revisit The Invisible Man, this time in the original language. I am surprised that I remember quite a lot of it, so it must have made a sreally strong impression on my young mind. I also find it surprisingly violent. I knew it was, but I had thought it had been mostly my impressionable young mind. I love how Wells never shies away from the more sinister implications of scientific discovery. The novel is subtitled "A Grotesque Romance" and this is very fitting.

Les pieds nickelés

J'ai cette chanson en tête depuis des jours. Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi. Je ne me rappelle pas quand je l'ai entendue pour la première fois, mais j'ai toujours aimé. Je ne connais pas du tout l'oeuvre d'Arthur H, mais j'aime le petit beat rock avec la voix rauque. Sans oublier l'atmosphère de polar.

Hedgehogs in Myths and Legends

A few weeks ago, we went to an animal sanctuary/hospital, that takes wounded wildlife animals and try to make them better. They take care of many animals, including hedgehogs. They also have a visitors section that is small, but absolutely packed with goodies. This is where I found this poster about hedgehogs in myths and legends. I don't know if you can read much if you increase the picture's size, but I found it fascinating. Who could suspect that such a small, common creature had such impact on folklore? I guess it makes sense, hedgehogs being familiar animals, they ought to have an impact in collective psyche. I will never look at one the same way.

Pluie diluvienne

Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo de la pluie qui tombe sur le toit du solarium chez mes parents. Il ne pleut pas rien qu'un peu. Je partage cette photo parce que c'est vraiment impressionnant, on dirait une chute qui tombe du ciel.

The Second Cup Loyalty Card

A few days ago, I was tidying up my wallet from all the old cards I could find in it. I made a few interesting discoveries, which I intend to blog about, one post for each. But I will start with this one: I found among them a Second Cup loyalty card. It must be an old one: it's in a very sorry state, all broken on one side and it's one of these cards that must be punched. Like in the old days. It's only been punched twice, probably some coffee I bought for my wife. I really cannot remember for the life of me where I got it. At first I thought maybe in Québec, but it's only in English. So I now suspect it might have been in Cardiff, "only" six years ago. Sitll, the punching seems weird. do they still use it anywhere? That or stamping? Be that as it may, I doubt it is still valid and the nearest Second Cup is kind of far away, so I don't think I will be using it.

Qui veut des frites?

Je partage encore une fois une photo des "frites patio" que mon père a fait il y a quelques jours. Un peu pour commettre un autre billet de food porn, un peu parce que j'y pense souvent, aux frites patio, une des joies de l'été que je n'ai plus depuis que je suis ici. On peut faire des frites dans un four, mais c'est juste pas aussi bon. Et puis l'huile, c'est un cauchemar à laver des plats. Ces frites sont sérieusement les meilleures que j'aie mangées à vie.

The War Game

I blogged before about an ongoing police/spy game Wolfie and I have been playing for the last few months. There is a whole drawer in my desk with all the weaponry and equipment we have for it. Well, I don't know if it is me watching Fauda that influenced my son (albeit I swear he did not watch it with me), but he has developed the game in ways that really made me proud. My son has an imagination that even I did not have at his age. And he makes me live a second childhood wiht a vengeance. In fact, I envy his creativity. So here it goes and be warned, it can be quite dark and violent:

-He calls the game War 2, or War.

-We play a special force, a bit like a S.W.A.T. team mixed with military force and we are a bit of a spy team too.

-The team is called Black Whale, don't ask me why. 

-He's the Captain and of course the commanding officer. I'm lieutenant or something.

-He's Max, I'm Joe, but we also have codenames, which change. I think I'm Black Bear or Grumpy Bear, sometimes he's Shark, sometimes he has another codename.

-Our enemy is a terrorist/mob organisation called Phantom. It was called Giant Ghost before, but he thought Phantom sounded scarier, so it changed.

-At the head of Phantom is a sinister and mysterious figure codenamed King Cobra. Real name unknown. He always has a mask covering his face and he is clad in red, "like blood."

The plots are fairly thin so far, they consist of going from A to B in various means of transport (more on that another day) and shooting Phantom mercenaries. We are also trying to discover King Cobra's real identity. There is never a dull moment. Anyway, if you are not bored with it I will blog more about it. I am just very proud of Wolfie's creative mind.

Le Jour du Déménagement

 Nous sommes le 1er juillet, ce qui bien entendu au Québec signifie... Le Jour du Déménagement. Ironiquement, c'est en Angleterre que j'ai déménagé un 1er juillet, il y a de cela sept ans aujourd'hui. Dans la maison où nous vivons maintenant. Enfin non, ce n'est pas exactement vrai: nous avons déménagé le lendemain, mais nous sommes devenus proprios un 1er juillet. Je ne crois pas l'avoir souligné, mais nous ferons peut-être quelque chose aujourd'hui afin de célébrer, je ne sais pas quoi. N'hésitez pas à faire vos suggestions dans les commentaires.