Chocolate Jack O'Lantern

 It is summer everywhere, except in the local sweet shop, where it is all seasons at once, every holiday at once, all the time. So yeah, I went there yesterday and lo and behold, I saw chocolate Jack O'Lanterns. They had somilar things for Xmas and for Valentine's Day, but I only buy them in season. For Halloween stuff, it's different. I am in an Halloween mood from January until the big day, with a short break round Easter. So I had to buy these Jack O's, even though they were not cheap. I wonder why they were not reduced, by the way. I guess I'm a sucker. I saw this, and the staff at the sweet shop isn't really greedy: they often let me keep the small change and, in this instance, I got one of the chocolates at a reduced price because the hat had been broken. Anyway, long story short, this is the second sign of Halloween I have seen since round here the beginning of the year.

La Bête du Gévaudan: un anniversaire

Aujourd'hui, c'est l'anniversaire du'un évènement de sinistre nature, qui a donné des frissons à bien des amateurs d'horreur et en a inspiré beaucoup d'autres. Vous avez deviné de quoi je parle? Il y a 260 ans, le 30 juin 1764, la Bête du Gévaudan faisait sa première victime officielle. Je m'en suis rappelé en regardant cette vidéo sur YouTube hier et je me suis dit que je devais le souligner. Avec l'une de mes images préférées du monstre. La Bête a vraiment besoin de figurer plus souvent dans le patrimoine effrayant mondial. Je songe moi même à m'en inspirer pour écrire une histoire d'horreur quand l'Halloween viendra. Enfin bref...

An autumnal vibe

 So we had a bit of a heatwave, or almost. A few days ago was the hottest day in the year. I found it very difficult: I was too hot, uncomfortable, I felt miserable. Then the temperature dramatically dropped, in the lower 20s, and it should remain like this for a week or so. Maximums might even go slightly below 20. And, probably it is wishful thinking from my part and I know this is very early still in summertime, but all the same: sometimes it feels like autumn is waiting at the door. Particularly when the wind is blowing. There is a smell in the air, a certain feel, that is simply not the one you would expect during summertime. There is something autumnal in the air. I know it will not last, but I don't care, I will enjoy it for all it's worth. I am in an autumnal mood.

Montréal...

Bon, une bonne nouvelle côté familial: c'est officiel, nous irons à Montréal d'ici à la fin de l'année. Nous n'avons pas vu le Québec depuis janvier 2020, donc ça date d'avant la pandémie. Wolfie est impatient de rencontrer ses cousins en chair et en os pour la première fois. Donc, par conséquent, nous allons avoir des vacances à Montréal. Pour les détails du séjour, on verra, mais il est certain que l'on va passer du temps en famille.

An observation on homemade haircuts

 As you may remember, I was, back in the days of the pandemic, the family barber. I cut my wife's hair, my son's hair and I performed haircuts on myself. I did a fairly good job too. Since then, while Wolfie and my wife went back to hairdressers and barber shops, I still do my own haircuts. But recently, my wife needed one and did not want to pay a fortune and spend a lot of time on it, so she asked me to do it. I did, it was a quick ane easy job. Then a few days later, she told me: "You know, this harcut, it's growing on me." I could not help it, I replied: "Of course it does, that's pretty much what hair does, it grows." I know I should not sing my own praise, but I thought it was a good joke and a new great unknown line.

Camerise et chocolat

J'ai récemment appris sur la page Facebook des Pères trappistes qu'ils ont un nouveau produit disponible: la camerise enrobée de chocolats. J'ai déjà blogué sur la baie ici. Elle devient à la mode, on dirait. Faudrait que je l'essaie un de ces quatre.

Midsummer Ghost Stories (read by the Librarian)

 I blogged about it before. It is getting closer and closer: the Midsummer Ghost Stories will be read on the 7th of July by the Librarian in the West Wycombe Village Hall. I don't know who this Librarian is, but he seems to be a sinister chap. As the big event of my summers is over for me, I am now getting more and more into a Halloween mood and a few chilling horror stories would be the right thing to forget about seasonal heat.

Limonade à la rhubarbe

J'ai appris une chose sur la page Facebook du Café Cambio: ils offrent une limonade à la rhubarbe. Si vous vous demandez pourquoi j'aime le Café Cambio même si j'exècre le café, c'est pour ça: ils ont pleins d'autres produits locaux de qualité que j'aime ou que je veux essayer. Bon, je n'en aurai pas cet été, mais qui sait, les étés suivants...

Knowing places in books

 I am currently reading A Spy Alone, which I am enjoying quite a lot. I started it not expecting much, just a half decent thriller, but it really caught my attention. Anyway, in the very first pages, it mentions and features two cities, Oxford and Reading. The former is more prominent than the latter, and the latter is truly a large town, not a city, but I digress. I have been to both is what I wanted to say. And it is one of the little bit of literary joys I have when I read: that first-hand knowledge of a place you are reading about. Am I the only one who feels like this? What about you?

Peser sur le piton

 Une solution trouvée sur les internets, si jamais vous avez un appareil électronique qui est jammé ou s'il est toujours éteint: pesez sur le piton pendant très longtemps. Il va finir par revenir à la vie. Je le sais, ça marche à tous les coups. Un iPad, un cellulaire, un portable... Ne me remerciez pas.

The Railway Children on stage

Here is a nice little bit of news I learned from the Facebook page of the Didcot Railway Centre: they will be presenting a stage adaptation of  The Railway Children. I have seen one before, almost ten years ago, which I thoroughly enjoyed.Then I read the novel. Since then, I became a father, and Wolfie has already enjoyed one novel of Edith Nesbit. I suggested we go and watch the play, he is eager to do it, but only once he have read the book. Since it is in August, I guess he has time. So yes, I am not sure if we will go, we will have a busy summer, but this is a possibility. Worst case scenario, it is an excuse to read to Wolfie a classic of children literature.

Les Bouquinistes en juin

Image prise sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes. Comme c'est le cas d'une autre institution littéraire du Saguenay, ils font la promotion de la littérature autochtone pour le mois de juin. J'ai réussi un peu à le faire. Mais sinon, je m'ennuie du temps passé à bouquiner dans ce qui fut longtemps et est encore ma librairie préférée. Quand juin arrivait, juste avant les vacances d'été, on faisait souvent une razzia aux Bouquinistes.

Bracing Myself

 Well, I guess it could not stay like this forever. Up until this point, summer had been fairly cool, or at least reasonably warm. Nothing to cry home about, everything very bearble. Well, not anymore. Yesterday was hot, today will be hotter, in fact, they are forecasting a heatwave. I checked on the BBC and the region we are in will not be spared. Thankfully, there is no amber warning... for now. We should stay just below 30 degrees. Then if we are lucky, it will go a few degrees down and be tolerable again this weekend. I hope so... Until then I am bracing myself for the next few days and the heat from the pit of hell we will have to live through.

Hymne à Québec

Puisque nous sommes un jour de Saint-Jean, je passe mon temps libre à écouter de la musique québécoise. Avec un peu de Loco Locass et un hymne à notre capitale nationale.

A poutine in London

As you may know, today is Saint John the Baptist's Day, also the Fête nationale of Quebeckers. I am celebrating today, but celebrated a few days ago in London, with a few Quebec expats gathering in a gastro pub. It was organised by the DGQL. An overwhelmed staff was serving various dishes, including and especially poutine. A Québec specialty which has achieved some fame abroad, including here in the UK. I even heard some colleagues sing its praises. I hope I don't have to explain what poutine is. You have a picture of the one I had here in any case. It was a decent one, just filling enough.

C'est notre tour...

Bonne Fête nationale à tous les Québécois et Québécoises, avec une pensée spéciale pour ceux qui comme moi sont expatriés. J'ai d'ailleurs eu le plaisir d'en voir certains à Londres samedi dernier, dans ma première vraie célébration comme expatrié depuis mon arrivée en Angleterre il y a une vingtaine d'années. des détails ici. C'est d'ailleurs là où j'ai pu récupérer ces deux fleurdelisés. Toute célébration de la Saint-Jean commence avec Gens du pays, que je partage encore une fois aujourd'hui.

The Notting Hill Bookmark

 I blogged on Friday about the Notting Hill Bookshop. Made famour because of, well, this. My wife has always been curious about it, so we visited it yesterday. I will tell you about my experience one day in another post. Suffice to say for now that a quaint little English bookshop was spoiled forever by a Hollywood romcom, and so was my shopping experience. Maybe it was because of this, but I surprised myself behaving in there. Well, sort of behaving: I bought four books, but all of them were for Wolfie, none was for me. I did, however, buy a bookmark. Because if you buy books, you need more bookmarks. And because I collect them. It's a good hobby to have, it's fairly cheap and it is useful. I love the green colour on it. They were available in red and blue as well, but I preferred green. So does Wolfie. I guess it is now his bookmark.

Le Québec à Londres

 J'avais blogué sur le sujet il y a quelques jours. Mais il y a longtemps que je voulais le faire. Enfin bref, grâce à la page Facebook de la Délégation générale du Québec à Londres , j'ai célébré la Fête nationale hier. Le 24 est tombé le 22... C'était un peu surréaliste de voir des Québécois en si grand nombre à Londres, de pouvoir parler français et d'entendre l'accent. J'ai piqué quelques jasettes, pas assez à mon goût, mais petit loup a pu avoir une idée du peuple d'où il vient. Il a aussi pu brandir le fleurdelisé, ce qui m'a ému. Morale de l'histoire: on est une belle gang d'expatriés.

Three Assassins in the Bookshop

 I blogged here and there about Japanese crime writer Kotaro Isaka, who wrote the novel that inspired Bullet Train, a wacky film which I enjoyed thoroughly. I enjoyed it enough to want to buy the source novel and, while I wasat it, the first novel of what is a trilogy. So I ordered Three Assassins from... the bookshop. I could have gone through Amazon, but I wanted to support my favourite local business. So... yeah. I received a phone call from the bookshop two days ago, saying the book had arrived. I don't know when I will be able to go there and get my hands on it, but I'm am happily surprised it arrived so quickly, in less than a week.

Olives farcies

Mes parents sont, comme moi et comme petit loup, friands d'olives. En fait, non,  pas autant, mon fils et moi, on exagère quand on mange des olives, ma femme doit nous arrêter. Mais enfin bref, nous tenons de mes parents pour notre goût des olives. Ils ont donc acheté des olives farcies il y a quelques jours. Farcies au fromage feta (mes préférées), au citron et aux oranges. Et, bien entendu, ma mère m'a envoyé des photos pour le blogue.

About the Notting Hill Bookshop

 We were discussing, my wife and I, about future trips to London. We live fairly close to the city and we seldom go there. Anyway,during our conversation, checking at all the places in London we have never been to, she mentioned the Notting Hill Bookshop. Made famous by a certain romcom movie, which I have never seen or cared to see. But she got me at the word bookshop. My wife asked, enthusiastically: "Oh, wouldn't you like to go there? Imagine how much fun you would have." I said: "Are you sure you want to let me roam free in a bookshop?" She said: "Oh you're right, that could be dangerous." So, yeah, I don't know if we are going to visit the famous (legendary?) bookshop any time soon, but my wife's reply deserves to be a new great unknown line.

À propos de la Saint-Jean...

 Bon, je vais faire mon petit laïus à props de notre Fête nationale qui est imminente et que je fête en expatrié depuis une quinzaine d'années. Cette année, je vais faire participer ma famille. Ma femme et surtout mon fils. Je vais vous donner plus de détails dans les jours qui viennent, mais surveillez Vraie Fiction.

Summer Books 2024

Quick post today, just as a quick reminder. One reminder and one quick moment of musing. First, the reminder: it is still Independent Bookshop Week, until tomorrow. Second, as summertime isofficially here, it is time to get some summer books. It may not be my favourite season, but I still enjoy a good summer read. Although my summer reads rarely go beyond July. Sometimes I finish them sooner. But that's just me. In any case, I will get my hand the free guide provided by Books Are My Bag as soon as possible. Anyway, if you have any suggestions for summer reads, please put them in the comments. I might do the same in future posts.

Mafalda: Esprit de famille

J'apprends, grâce à la page Facebook officielle de Mafalda, que l'on a publié un nouveau recueil en France. Enfin, un nouveau recueil, un livre des gags que l'on connaît tous, mais quand même. Le titre du recueil est Mafalda: Esprit de famille et je vous laisse deviner de quoi ça parle.

A Solstice Wolfism

Okay, so we are not the 21st of June, but apparently from what I read today is the summer solstice. The first day of summer, officially, although for me it starts with the month. Moreimportantly, it is the longest day of the year and one I usually dislike. Because yes, a day that never seems to end is kind of the stuff of nightmare for me. But I see the silver lining and the glass one quarter full: it means days are getting shorter, although we will not see it (or feel it) until a long time. Last year, Wolfie gave us his own take on the solstice, which I thought was brilliant. It is worth mentioning it here as a new Wolfism: "I like it because it means school days are getting shorter." That may not be strictly accurate, it is nevertheless quite sweet and the right attitude to have.

Vague de chaleur au Québec

 Oh, il y a parfois des moments comme celui-ci où je suis content d'être expatrié. J'apprends dans la grosse Presse qu'il y a une vague de chaleur au Québec. Une sans précédent en juin. Ici, il fait chaud, mais ce n'est pas encore insoutenable: en fait, le mercure ne monte pas beaucoup au dessus de 20. Et c'est le solstice aujourd'hui, même si on n'est pas encore le 21... J'espère que les températures vont baisser d'ici à ce que juin finisse. Au Québec comme ailleurs.

Spy Thriller in the Bookshop

As this is Independent Bookshop Week, we went to the local bookshop recently. I love to support local businesses, especially local bookshops. I love our local bookshop for another reason: I always find some book I did not know existed, but worth checking. So yes, I found A Spy Alone by Charles Beaumont. I have no idea if it is going to be good or not, but I have been in the mood for a spy thriller. And Beaumont being a former MI6 operative, it should be well documented if nothing else.

Des Santons pour la Saint-Jean?

Je cherchais sur la page Facebook sur les Santons de Charlevoix un Santon de Saint Jean Baptiste. Je n'en ai pas trouvé jusqu'ici. Cela dit, j'ai pensé que ceux-ci feront l'affaire, avec les jigeux et les musiciens.

I saw a Rolls-Royce

 The topic of this post is pretty much what it says on the tin: I saw a Rolls-Royce recently. We were walking back from downtown, crossing the street, and I saw the Rolls-Royce in question, waiting for us the get through the zebra crossing. I have seen plenty of BMWs round here, a few Alpha Romeos, a few Jaguars, and a couple of other luxury cars too, but this was the first Rolls-Royce I spotted in this town since I came here. As a child, growing up on the other side of the Atlantic and being ridiculously anglophile for some reason, I always loved that brand. For me, it was the quintessential, Britishest of all British cars. Rolls-Royce looked and sounded elegant, strong, fancy, gentlemanly. I remember the very first time I saw one in the flesh (metal?), during my first trip to England. It got me so excited. So yes, I recognised it right away. And I sitll got a shiver of excitement seeing one so close.

Porte blessante

 Petite anecdote douloureuse datant d'hier: je sortais les vêtements du sac de linge sale pour faire une brassée de lavage. Le sac de linge sale se situe juste à côté d'une porte, laquelle était ouverte. Un faux mouvement trop proche du loquet et je me suis fait une vilaine égratignure le long du bras gauche, dans le coin du coude. Comme si quelqu'un m'avait faitune estafilade avec un couteau. Ouch. Ayoye, je dirais même. Blessé par une porte. "Tire la chevillette..." Tu parles. Morale de l'histoire: faire la lessive est une corvée dangereuse.

Tea for Father's Day

 I blogged late in May about New English Teas. My wife bought me a metal box of it, just for the image on the tin. But the tea turned out to taste great. And I drank it all within a month. So she bought me this for Father's Day. And two jars of them, as it was a two for one. I am stocked in tea for a while. But I'm not going to complain: this is my fuel. I found the present inspired, not only because I am a tea drinker, but because I am the father of a little Englishman who is very proud of it. For now, Wolfie is too young to drink tea with me, but it should come soon enough.

Un gâteau bleu et blanc pour la St-Jean?

La fin de semaine dernière, nous sommes allés à une fête d'enfants tenue par l'école de petit loup. Il y avait dans un kiosque de dessets ce gâteau aux bleuets. J'ai pris la photo, mais quand j'ai voulu y goûter il était tout parti. Mais ça m'a inspiré: je crois que je vais faire un gâteau bleu et blanc lors de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste. En fait,je l'ai promis à petit loup, qui me le rappelle à chaque jour. Il n'y aura sans doute pas de bleuets frais, mais un glaçage bleu et blanc. Si j'ose, je lui donnerai non seulement les couleurs du Québec, mais je vais essayer d'en faire un fleurdelisé.

Looking for Three Assassins

Don't panic reading the title of this post, I mean figuratively speaking, of course. If you read this post from earlier this month, you know that I recently watched and enjoyed d Bullet Train. Which is based on a novel by Kotaro Isaka. it is actually the second book of a trilogy, starting with Three Assassins (or 3 Assassins, I have seen the title spelled both ways). Okay, so this novel will not feature extensively a train, which is one of the appeals of the film, but all the same, I love crime fiction and I want to read the trilogy in order. I could order it on Amazon, but I think I will buy it at the local bookshop.

Marine marchande

C'est la Saint-Jean bientôt, alors autant mettre de la musique québécoise sur ce blogue d'ici au 24. En voici une des Cowboys Fringants, une découverte récente pour moi.

Krav Maga in a nutshell

 As I blogged back in April, I am reading Fight Write, by Carla Hoch, to help me work on the violent scenes of my crime fiction stories. I am learning a lot of useful stuff, but I digress. At some point, she makes a list and description of martial arts and fighting techniques. This is what she says about Krav Maga: "Basically if you could put all the martial arts and fighting styles in the world into a blender and pour out a bit into a camo print coffee cup with the word peace on it, what you'd be sipping is Krav Maga." I love it. It is Krav Maga in a nutshell. On a side note, I really need to get back into training. I need to get back into shape, being far too sedentary, but alsoI think it is such a useful technique to know and to learn to master.

Fêter le Québec à Londres?

Je pense finalement avoir trouvé où fêter notre Fête nationale. Ce sera le 22 juin, donc le samedi d'avant, mais qu'importe. Car j'apprends sur la page Facebook de la Délégation générale du Québec à Londres qu'ils organisent quelque chose dans un bar/pub. L'évènement est gratuit et semble être à la bonne franquette. Ils font tirer des cadeaux, alors c'est ma façon de convaincre petit loup et ma femme d'y être. Je veux depuis longtemps développer le côté québécois de petit loup, c'est sans doute l'occasion où jamais. Ca fait un bout de temps que je songe à fêter proprement avec d'autres expatriés, je crois que cette année, c'est la bonne. Morale de l'histoire: les réseaux sociaux ont du bon.

Regatta, accursed regatta

There is a regatta in our quiet English tow this weekend, along the River Thames.. Sounds high class and sophisticated, right? Wrong! It's a pandemonium of drunken people, from teenagers to the elderly. Our uiet little town often end up into a pandemonium. I call it Sodom and Regatta. Sometimes things get nasty. Thankfully, there is generally a heavy police presence, which always feel surreal. When we lived near the town centre, we used to spend the whole Saturday in. Sunday is more family friendly, I guess because everybody is hungover. All the same, I still don't like it much.

Domino et Amy

 J'ai déjà blogué sur Amy, la chatte de la voisine et la seule chatte résidant dans notre rue à part Domino. Domino, qui n'aime pas les autres chats d'habitude. Il est vraiment hostile en fait. Mais pour une raison quelconque, pas Amy, avec laquelle il s'entend bien. J'appelle même Amy sa copine ou sa fiancée. Ils passent beaucoup de temps chez la voisine, puisqu'Amy ne sort guère. Je ne les avais pas vus ensemble depuis longtemps. Mais, il y a quelques jours, ils ont joué ensemble dans le jardin. J'ai pu prendre cette photo.

Simplified puttanesca

A few weeks ago, while I was alone at home, I cooked a spaghetti alla puttanesca, the first in a long time. I keep it simple: I don't add anchovies but sardines and I only put olives because I did not have capers. It was still delicious. I showed it to Wolfie via Facetime. As you may know, Wolfie loves olives just as much as I do. So he asked me to cook some for when he got back. So I made another batch of puttanesca, but without the sardines, so my vegetarian wife could eat it. And also because my son is not too keen on sardines. It was not as flavoursome, but he loved it anyway. Veggie Carrie, who is less fond of olives, less so. But all the same, it's a new family classic. Or father and son classic: simplified puttanesca. Although from what I read, this is pretty close to the original Neapolitan version, which is itself very simple.

L'histoire de deux drapeaux

Mon père m'a envoyé cet article à propos des deux drapeaux de la région: celui du Saglac et celui des Jeannois. Je ne savais pas tout. En fait, je vais vous faire un aveu: je ne me souvenais pas qu'il en avait un du Lac-Saint-Jean. Lequel est je dois l'avouer sans doute plus joli, même si forcément je m'identifie plus à celui du Saguenay. Enfin bref, je vous conseille de lire l'article, c'est instructif.

A railway in the garden

Here is a bit of anecdotal news which I have been wanting to comment on. My wife recently found this article about a home in Oxfordshire that has a railway in its garden. It is up for sale. The railway has been built by a railway enthusiast, obviously, in a country that is full of them and thankfully full of engineers (professional or amateurs) too. The tracks were built in 2007. Anyway, you read the article. Sadly, while we are not far from Oxfordshire, we are not nearby either and at more than a million of course we cannot afford it, but doesn't that sound like a dream house? Well, dream garden, more like. That garden is a proper playground. If I had the house, it would encourage me to tend its garden, even though I am lousy at gardening. Anyway, I know it won't happen, but one can dream.

Les fraises de l'Ile

 Mes parents, lorsqu'ils sont retournés au Saguenay, sont passés par Québec. Ils y ont acheté des fraises de l'Ile d'Orléans. Enfin, je crois que ce sont des fraises de l'Ile, je me trompe peut-être. Moi qui n'aime guère l'été, les fraises en sont quand même l'aspect le plus agréable. Enfin, l'aspect le plus agréable du mois de juin. Et je ne veux pas être chauvin, mais je le serai quand même: il n'existe pas de bonnes fraises comme au Québec. Même et surtout en Angleterre, même si les Anglais se targent de produire de bonnes fraises. Voilà c'est dit.

Skull Island

 Oh the many things we enjoy as family (well, as father and son) on Netflix. You might remember that I blogged last year about an animated series freely based on King Kong.Since then, Wolfie has developed a fascination for big apes in general and King Kong in particular. We were happily surprised to find out this year a new animated series called Skull Island, apparently based on Kong: Skull Island, which I haven't seen. As Wolfie and I are always in need of monkey action, especially with giant apes (gorillas?), we watched it and pretty much binged it in a week or so. We enjoyed it a lot. I was hesitant at first, because some of it is surprisingly gory for a kids show, but Wolfie didn't get scared and wanted to see it all. And we did. Sadly, the first season ends on a cliffhanger with lots of loose ends. And there is no second season in sight for now. Apparently the second season has been scripted, but I have no idea what will be the release date, if there is one. Still, we have enough to keep us busy: I have yet to show Wolfie the original movie.

Les truites dans le lac

 Vous savez peut-être que mes oncles, les frères de mon père, ont un lot dans le bois, avec un lac en prime. Un lac où on peut pêcher la truite. J'ai souvent partagé des photos des pêches, souvent abondantes, parfois miraculeuses. Enfin, miraculeuses, non: la population de poissons dans le lac est en fait alimentée par mes oncles. Mon père m'a d'ailleurs envoyé des photos des truites en question.

Camo Green Water Bottle

 As I mentioned last Thursday, I had to go to the local Mountain Warehouse to buy a new water bottle to Wolfie. He had forgotten his "old" army green one at his grandparents' place and the spare one he has isn't great. I decided not to take any chance: there was a 3 for 2 sale, I bought three. Including this cool looking camo coloued one. Like his original one, only more military looking. But Wolfie told me one of his friends has one just like that, so he will have another one. He generously told me I should have it instead. So I am the happy new owner of this camo green water bottle. Good, I needed one. And say what you will, but this bottle has style.

Les desserts d'Ô Petit Paris

C'était la fête de mon frère Andrew il y a quelques jours. Au lieu d'un gâteau, mes parents ont décidé d,acheter des petits gâteaux d'Ô Petit Paris, la pâtisserie française sur le Plateau. Enfin, l'une d'entre elles. Quand j'ai entendu ça, je me suis dit que ça n'avait pas de bon sens: il faut un gâteau pour célébrer une fête. Mais mon père m'a envoyé des photos des pâtisseries en question. Et je dois dire que ça ne me choquerait pas trop d'avoir ça.

Sharing Mozart and chocolates

I received this bag of Mozartkugelns (or maybe Mozartkugels? I never know for sure) for my birthday. A good idea of my wife. So this is my stock of special Mozart chocolates. Which I decided to share with Wolfie. Well, no, to be frank, Wolfie decided that sharing them with him would be a swell idea. However, there is a condition to it: whenever we eat them, we must listen to Mozart's music. He is getting quite cultured. Anyway, I thought I cannot share this picture without sharing a bit of music to go with it. Here is a lesser known aria of Amadeus, Voi avete un cor fedele, sung by Regula Mühlemann. I hope you enjoy.

Microdistilleries

Mon frère Andrew a reçu en cadeau pour sa fête cette boîte de spiritueux de différentes distilleries du Québec. Enfin, de microdistilleries, comme dans "partez à la découverte des microdistilleries du Québec". Je crois que c'est un cadeau de mes parents, peut-être de sa femme. Dans tous les cas, c'est une excellente idée de cadeau et microdistillerie est le mot du jour.

An afternoon at the fayre

Today was the school fayre. My wife was volunteering. I could not go there from the beginning, as I had my writing workshop. Which went well. But Wolfie waited for me to have lunch as he wanted to have some father and son time with me. We love all fayres, don't know why. I enjoyed this one a lot, even though I did not stay as long, coming in late and all.Mainly because it was not scorching hot. In any case, I can't wait for the next one.

Les fraises du Marché Jean-Talon

 Mes parents ont acheté des fraises au Marché Jean-Talon. C'est tout.

Titanic on the bookshelves

During our trip holiday in Belfast, our favourite part was probably the time we spent at Titanic Belfast. Espeically Wolfie, who grew obsessed about the Titanic. Of course, we bought a few souvenirs, including this model of the ship, which I placed on the bookshelves. It just gives it so much style.

Guimauve au chocolat

J'ai trouvé cette photo sur la page Facebook des Pères trappistes. J'ai déjà blogué sur leurs barres de guimauve enrobées de chocolat en 2022. Tout cela pour dire qu'ils ne font pas que du chocolat aux bleuets. Et que leurs guimauves sont maintenant en vente.

Whatever happened to the Flying Bean Café?

 You may remember that I blogged from time to time about the Flying Bean Café. It's the coffee company with coffee shops and more importantly coffee vans. I used to go buy treats from these vans visiting the business estate where I worked when I had a office job I hated. Spending a few minutes there also allowed me to briefly escape my toxic work environment. it was borderline therapeutic. I haven't been to one for years, however I used to spot one of its vans during the morning school run. Well, it struck me recently that I had not seen the van since 2022 or so. Their website is still online, so I assume (I hope I am right) that they are still in business. I promise, if I ever see one parked somewhere, I will make a stop and buy a few things. I really feel like I owe them one.

Nouvelle information sur le Manoir

Je blogue parfois sur Manoir du Saguenay. Parce que c'est un lieu d'une certaine importance dans ma région, mais aussi parce que j'y ai eu d'excellents (quoique vagues) souvenirs. Et petit loup étant obsédé par les manoirs (j'étais pareil à son âge), il veut voir celui-ci un jour. J'ai appris récemment que le Manoir du Saguenay fait un peu partie de l'histoire familiale: c'est là que mes parents ont fêté leurs noces. Apprenant ça, Wolfie a décuplé d'enthousiasme: il veut visiter le Manoir. Si ça continue, il va vouloir y célébrer ses propres noces.

New Water Bottles?

 Remember Wolfie's army green water bottle? I bought it for him last March at the Mountain Warehouse. Well, he forgot it at his grandparents' place during his last stay there a week ago. We found out on Sunday. Thankfully, we have spare bottles, but they are not as practical. So a new visit to the local Mountain Warehouse is in order to buy a new water bottle. It might be army green coloured, it might not. As silly as it sounds, I really love the design of the water bottles at the Mountain Warehouse. And they are always discounted. I think I will also buy an extra one for me: we never have enough. I also love to spend a few minutes at the Mountain Warehouse, they always have something useful for us on sale.

Lire autochtone

Petite annonce pour les gens du Québec et surtout du Saguenay. J'apprends sur la page Facebook du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean que le mois de juin est le Mois national de l'histoire autochtone. Vous pouvez y participer en vous rendant dans les bibliothèques du Saglac, les détails sur la page facebook du Salon du Livre. J'avoue n'avoir guère lu autochtone moi-même, mais je compte corriger ça un jour.

News about Amadeus

 I blogged before and again about a new adaptation of Amadeus by Peter Shaffer. I keep my ears to the ground for any development and casting updates. Anyway, I read this article a few days ago and thought I would mention it here. New actors have been added to the cast, among them Rory Kinnear. It is the one I know the most, having played Bill Tanner in the latest Bond movies. He will be playing the role of the Emperor, which I think is very fitting. So far I am quite happy about how the project is shaping up.

De quoi me plaignais-je?

Je relisais ce billet datant de juin 2013. Oui, je sais, il m'arrive de me relire, ce blogue étant aussi un peu un journal. Et je trouve que je me plaignais pas mal d'un été frais, misérable et pluvieux. Or, maintenant, je préfère qu'il fasse frais et pluvieux l'été. Le mois de juin 2024 semble être du même acabit que le mois de juin 2013: beaucoup plus frais que ce à quoi on devrait s'attendre. Il est vrai que c'est encore tôt pour se prononcer. Mais quand même: je me lève chaque matin en poussant un soupir de soulagement. Ce qui me fait me questionner: de quoi je me plaignais il y a onze ans? J'ai l'impression de lire les propos d'une autre personne.

Midsummer Ghost Stories

Even when it is summer, lovers of spooky stories and Halloween like myself know that it is still time to prepare yourself mentally to the darker season. To prepare yourself spiritually, so to speak. Anyway, I learned through social media that there is an activity in a month's time, called Midsummer Ghost Stories, held in West Wycombe Village Hall. It is not too far from here. I don't think we can go, because I doubt it is a family activity, but it would be fun. I love public reading of ghost stories. It just enhances the experience. And on a side note, what a lovely, perfectly eerie and atmospheric image.

Mafalda et le tabagisme

Une fois de plus, j'ai (re)trouvé ce gag sur la page Facebook officielle de Mafalda.Elle a été partagée lors de la Journée mondiale sans tabac, que j'ai manqué. je déteste le tabagisme en général et l'odeur de la cigarette en particulier. Et je trouve que Mafalda, de manière très simple, illustre tout ce qui est toxique dans le tabac.

About Liverpool and Ireland

I recently reread Tremor of Intent by Anthony Burgess, my favourite writer. Subtitled An Eschatological Spy Novel, it goes beyond the spy thriller genre or the satire of spy thrillers to become a Cold War philosophical tale about guilt, Catholicism, good and evil, identity, well, a lot of things making our human condition. When I first read it, I hadn't lived in England yet, so this it gave me a new appreciation of the novel. And there is a quite I wanted to share today:

"The best Catholic schools are in the North, since the English Reformation, like blood from the feet when the arteries harden, could not be push so far so easily. And, of course, you have Catholic Liverpool, a kind of debased Dublin."

Now, I lived a year in Liverpool, before I got married. It was a long time ago, almost twenty years. Obviously, I don't know how the city is now. But at its core, when I was there, it sure was exactly that: a Catholic Irish city lost in England. Debased Dublin sounds right, although Liverpool does not look as nice. Then again, I haven't been to Dublin in nearly twenty-five years and I never lived there, so who knows. Anyway, I love that quote.

Mettez vot' parka

Parce que ce sera la Saint-R'ean (je sais, je l'écris comme on le prononce) bientôt, je mets un peu de musique québécoise sur le blogue. J'ai pensé à cette chanson de Gilles Vigneault, que je connaissais peu. Chanté avec les Charbonniers de l'Enfer, que je ne connais que de nom. Dans tous les cas, Mettez vot' parka est mon coup de coeur musical cette année.

Medusa in a Zoom meeting

You may know that I love all things regarding Greek mythology and that Medusais by far my favourite Greek monster. So when I saw this meme, it really made me laugh. I thought I could share it today to brighten up your Monday. Although, I must say, from a pure geeky point of you, I don't think this is accurate at all: Medusa's reflection is harmless, in fact this is how Perseus kills her, using the back of his shield as a mirror to find her and chop her head off. But anyway, what do you think about it? Worth the risk?

La belle étoile...

Retournons un instant sur la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, enfin la Fête nationale qui s'en vient. Le thème cette année est "Retrouvons-nous à la belle étoile". C'est vraiment un bon thème, je trouve: le 24 juin se passe beaucoup le soir, à la belle étoile. Parfois toute la nuit même: je me rappelle avoir veillé jusqu'aux petites heures du matin.

A Boar's Head

 You know how much I enjoyed our last holiday in Belfast. Sometimes it's not the big tourist sights that catch my attention, but the small things. One evenening, we had dinner at the Italian restaurant Fratelli, which goes really heavy, for some reason, on boar's imagery. Better than that: they actually have a true stuffed boar's head near the entrance. I loved it. I don't know why, but I always loved taxidermy and this beast looks deliciously sinister. And alive. Anyway, what do you think?

Viennoiserie aux camerises

Petite nouvelle bouffe trouvée sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson: ils ont une nouveauté, un pain roulé aux camerises et caramel. Je ne connaissais pas les camerises, ça manquait à ma culture. ce sera donc notre mot du jour. J'apprends grâce à eux que la camerise est une baie unique au Québec, riche en antioxidants. Par conséquent, ce dessert doit être bon pour la santé.

Bullet Train (the book)

I recently watched Bullet Train on Netflix. And I loved it. Because it was a wacky action movie set in a train with just enough silliness and heart to be enjoyable. And in spite of the sillier elements, I did not feel like a complete braindead idiot watching it. I mean death and violence in a Japanese train, what's not to like? And I was happily surprised tosee that it was adapted from a novel by Kotaro Isaka. It is the second book of a series actually, so I am thinking, in spite of my TBR list, to buy it and maybe the first book as well. I read crime fiction from all around the world, so it would be nice to add Japan to the list of exotic crime location.

Le mois de la Saint-Jean

 Nous sommes le premier juin. Pour bien du monde, ça veut dire bien des choses. Pour moi, c'est d'abord et avant tout le mois de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, notre Fête nationale. Attendez-vous donc à ce que mes billets soient un brin patriotiques ce mois-ci. D'autant plus que je suis expatrié, il faut bien exprimer ma québécitude.