The Orient Express Puzzle

You know I love trains, old steam trains and luxury trains, so of course I love the  Orient Express. Since the first time I saw it, some two years ago, I keep seeing it again in posh local shops and it keeps taunting me. I don't even like puzzles all that much, but this one has class. I have it on my present lists for Christmas this year, maybe for my birthday next. In any case, I think it looks very stylish.

Vers un Noël blanc?

Nouvelle météo d'un intérêt certain, on prévoit un hiver d'antan cette année. Enfin! Ce qui veut dire qu'on aura sans doute, je l'espère, touchons du bois, un Noël blanc. Photo prise à Chicoutimi, par mon père, où nous serons pour les Fêtes.

A Lamborghini in the wild

A few days ago, as Wolfie was in a friend's birthday party, my wife and I went to one of the local shops. We saw parked by a Lamborghini, which obviously was drawing all sorts of attention. It was the first time I have seen a Lamborghini, at least in the wild. It is an impressive car, but to be honest, I think it is a foolish purchase here in the UK, given the state of the roads here. It's not exactly meant for cars built for speed. The Lamborghini truly is a car designed to impress rather than be truly practical.

Spaghetti tunisien

Depuis que je suis sans emploi, je fais plus souvent la cuisine. J'aime cuisiner, pour autant que la recette soit simple et familière. Sinon, c'est souvent une catastrophe. Mais enfin bref, ma femme aime quand je fais ce classique qu'est le spaghetti tunisien, même quand je n'y vais pas de main morte avec la harissa. La photo n'est pas géniale, vous ne voyez pas les échalottes ou les champignons, mais ça vous donne une idée. Il y a des restes, alors on en mange encore ce soir.

The Italy Badge

My wife has a Fitbit. I used to have one too, but it had a ridiculously short battery life and I could not sync it, so I stopped using it after a while. But anyway, yesterday she received from her Fitbit a special badge, an "Italy Badge". It means that she has now walked the equivalent of the lenght of Italy. Not sure since when. And sadly, it does not mean that we walked in Italy. I guess it's not the same as being there, but it's a nice milestone all the same. I want to go back to Italy, she wants to go there once, so it's on our list of holiday destinations. Until then, she has the badge.

Deux sopranos du Saguenay

Petite nouvelle régionale et mélomane d'un certain intérêt: les sopranos Élisabeth Boudreault et Marie-Ève Munger seront de retour au Saguenay. Région d'où elles sont originaires, tout comme moi. C'est pourquoi je suis leur carrière depuis un petit bout de temps. Elles vont jouer dans une production de l'Opéra du Royaume de Cendrillon de Jules Massenet. ce sont deux cantatrices de calibre international, je suis donc très fier d'elles, je suis aussi heureux de savoir qu'elles pourront se faire découvrir et redécouvrir par un public local. Je vous invite donc à aller voir la production.

Socks: lost and found

I blogged recently about gloves and socks. The only way I can enjoy clothes shopping is if I buy new socks and gloves. Well, I have a new anecdote about socks, believe it or not. Something that happened recently. Anyway, a few years ago, my mum bought be some really nice, warm socks, Thinsulate ones, the best of the best. I really liked them: they had a nice forest green and ochre colours. And after my last Christmas visit home, I think it was during the pandemic, I lost these socks. For years. I thought they had been eaten by the washing machine, then I even thought I might have imagined the whole thing and never owned the socks in the first place. Well, it turned out that they were stuck behind a drawer. So yeah, long story short, I now have really good Thinsulate socks that are six years old, yet they look brand new. I'm very happy. Moral of the story: warm socks make me happy and they make my day better.

Complainte pour Ste Catherine (à la suédoise)

C'est la Sainte-Catherine, je partage donc une chanson québécoise (comme je le fais chaque année), chantée ici par des Suédoises.

Mince Pie Day

My wife said earlier: "Isn't today Mince Pie Day?" It is and her question deserves to be a great unknown line. And don't for it on Google, this is not the official Mince Pie Day, which was actually yesterday here in the UK. But today is Mince Pie Day in our household. If you have been following this blog, you know what I am referring to. One evening a few years ago, back when I was studying at uni, I was bored and feeling peckish, so I went to the residence's kitchen to eat a mince pie. Then in walked an English girl, who was visiting a friend, housemate of mine. The English girl, of course, was Veggie Carrie. And this was our very first meeting. Since then, I always eat a mince pie on that date.

L'hiver, la neige, etc.

Je partage une autre photo prise par mon père. Parce que c'est déjà l'hiver à Chicoutimi, ce dont je me réjouis. Avec une fierté toute saguenéenne, dois-je ajouter.

Socks and Gloves

It has been cold these lastfew days. Properly cold I mean, around and below zero, like a proper winter. Well, a proper English winter that is. I am a strange beast, I actually enjoy colder days. As long as you wear proper clothes, it is actually quite enjoyable. I don't like shopping, particularly clothes shopping, but I do enjoy from time to time stopping at the local Mountain Warehouse for clothes. Essentially to buy two things: socks and gloves. For myself and for my family. I enjoy other products, but they are the things I buy the most. It is the only instance when I enjoy clothes shopping.

Le Salon du Livre de Montréal, 2025

Annonce d'intérêt public, pour ceux qui peuvent: c'est encore le Salon du livre de Montréal aujourd'hui et demain.

The 87th Precinct for #Noirvember

As we are getting near the end of November, I thought I would make another reading suggestion for #Noirvember. It is one of the novels from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. It is a personal favourite of mine, Lady, Lady I Did It!. I read it more than twenty years ago, when I stumbled upon a second-hand copy of it,on a cold November day, when I was in a forced convalescence. So it had a Noirvember feel to me before the term and the hashtag even existed. It starts on an Indian summer day, when a massacre is committed in a local bookshop. There are multiple (random?) victims, among them Detective Bert Kling's fiancée. So yeah, it's Noir all right.

Fil enneigé

 Photo envoyée par mon père... Un fil tout enneigé (glacé sans doute un peu aussi). Je la partage parce que.

From Russia With Love

As I am reading spy fiction for this year's #Noirvember, it just struck me that some James Bond novels would be really suitable for it. And more enjoyable than what I'm reading, as Ian Fleming is a genuinely good writer. He writes more colourful and itneresting characters, in any case. Anyway, one of the Bond novels I would suggest for Noirvember would be From Russia With Love, which may be one of Fleming's darkest. Not to spoil anything, but its ending is dramatic and very different than one you would expect if you have only seen the movies. It's borderline Noir. Oh and, on a side note, for train afficionados like myself, a fairly lenghty portion of the action is set on the Orient Express. That last point is not Noirvember relevant, but it just makes the novel even cooler.

Il neige. Mettons.

Il a neigé hier. Enfin, un peu. Hier matin, on prévoyait du verglas, on nous avait avertis, puis finalement, ça été trop doux pour la glace. Mais juste assez froid pour qu'il tombe une neige fondante. Ici, dans le sud de l'Angleterre, on est chanceux si jamais on a de la neige à quelque moment que ce soit en hiver. Que ça tombe en plein novembre, même de la neige tombante comme celle-là, c'est presque de la science-fiction. Je ne me plains pas, en fait ça a fait ma journée. Je m'ennuie de la neige à chaque année.

Bourne: The Montreal Connection

As you may remember, I started reading  The Bourne Identity for #Noirvember. As a spy thriller, it's very solid and it keeps me entertained, if nothing else, even though I pretty much know what will happen. As a literary experience, it's a mix bag: Robert Ludlum writes too many words and his dialogues are often stilted and not very natural. He's better at writing plots (albeit with a high number of contrivences) and develop interesting concepts (a man who lost his memory is pursued assassins) than creating believable characters. But anyway, there is one thing that caught my attention, one element that was absent from the the movie adaptation: Marie St-Jacques, the romantic interest of Jason Bourne, is actually French Canadian and studied in Montreal, at McGill. She's a bit bland (then again, so is Bourne, and many others), but I thought this was funny. It's nice to have Montreal being mentioned in a famous spy thriller.

Le retour du pain choco-canneberge

Bonne nouvelle trouvée sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson: ils ont remis sur les tablettes leur pain choco-canneberges. J'ai déjà blogué sur le sujet en 2024. C'est plus un gâteau ou une brioche, en tout cas (entéka? atocas?), c'est un dessert en bonne et dûe forme. Je suis un fan depuis que je l'ai découvert il y a p;us de ving ans et j'espère pouvoir le faire découvrir à mon fils un jour.

730 Posts

 Well, well, well, this is my 730th post on Vraie Fiction this year. So it means that I posted for every day of the year already, one post in French, one post in English. I know blogging is now the least popular of all form of social media expression, but obviously, I really enjoy it and I try to write daily. I guess I pretty much succeeded. I also find that the more you blog, the more you find inspiration to blog. Anyway, I wanted to mention this benchmark today.

La neige au Saguenay

 Autre photo prise par mon père de la neige au Saguenay.

Bradley's Railway Guide

We went to the local bookshop today, just for a quick stop to see if we could find any present ideas for Christmas. Yes, it's early, but Christmas will come soon enough and it's nice to be prepared. Within two minutes, I saw two books about trains that I would love to have. One of them being Bradley's Railway Guide. My wife told me: "You are really too easy to buy presents for." I think it deserves to be a new great unknown line, although she might have said it before. In any case, a quick visit to the local bookshop should get her sorted regarding my presents.

Ciné-cadeau 2025 (observations)

Je voulais commenter à propos de la cuvée Ciné-cadeau 2025. J'ai trouvé le calendrier en ligne, grâce à la page Facebook Souvenirs de Ciné-cadeau. Vous voyez l'horaire ici. Tout d'abord, ça a vraiment changé depuis ses débuts: quand j'étais enfant, il y avait un film Ciné-cadeau en soirée, offert en reprise le lendemain dans l'après-midi, pour ceux qui l'avaient manqué. Maintenant, Ciné-cadeau commence dès le matin. Et ça commence très tôt: dès neuf heures. C'est moins une émission de soirée, d'ailleurs le film de soirée arrive tôt lui aussi. Il y a aussi beaucoup plus de films de nos jours, enfin une plus grande variété. Ou c'est peut-êtreune fausse impression. Dans tous les cas, le format de Ciné-cadeau a beaucoup changé. Qu'en pensez-vous? Vous pouvez me faire part de vos observations dans les commentaires.

Aquila on gemstones

I know I said it before, but I am saying it again: Wolfie receives the best mail. So, yes, he received this month's of Aquila Magazine (tagline: "Big ideas for inquisitive kids") issue and I have been wanting to blog about it for a while now. And this November's Aquila is all about geology. There is a whole section about gemstones, which is pretty cool. He's already been through it more than once, so I can now pick it up and read it myself. Wolfie might not become a geologist, but he loves learning about diamonds, rubies and emeralds, not to mention gold and other metals. So this issue was a winner. Again.

La remise sous la neige

Mon père m'a envoyé des photos de la neige qui est tombée, dont celle, obligatoire, de la remise. Une banale remise prend tout un cachet sous la neige.

The Helicopter Heist (#Noirvember read)

I blogged on the 8th about Netflix tv series The Helicopter Heist for #Noirvember. It's a Swedish caper thriller based on a novel by Jonas Bonnier. The novel it itself itself by true events. Since I blogged about it, I found out that The Helicopter Heist has been translated in English. Obviously, the adaptation is giving it a fair deal of exposure. So if I enjoy the series enough (so far I am), I might get my hands on the book. Not for this Noirvember, but maybe next year one. Scandinavian crime fiction is maybe one of the genre trend I have most neglected, so I intend to correct this. But if you have other suggestions, please let me know.

Première tempête de neige à Montréal

Photo prise par mon frère PJ de la neige après la première vraie tempête de neige. Comparez avec sa photo prise la veille. L'hiver prend vraiment le pas sur l'automne. Et ce n'est pas moi qui dit que c'est une vraie tempête de neige, c'est la météo. Et le 11 novembre, il paraît que c'est tôt, en tout cas pour Montréal. Il fût un temps, quand j'étais jeune, où une bordée de neige pareille ce n'était pas inhabituel au début de novembre, en tout cas pas au Saguenay. Dans tous les cas, je commence à me permettre d'espérer qu'elle durera et que ça ne tombera pas en sloshe. Qui sait, on aura peut-être un hiver d'antan cette année.

Narco-Sub

I do like to read a bit of crime news from time to time, and one caught my attention a week ago and I wanted to blog about it: there is a narco-sub that has been intercepted by Portuguese authorities in the middle of the Atlantic. By narco-sub, you must understand it as a submarine carrying 1.7 tonnes fo cocaine. A submarine. Carrying drugs. It's not the first time a submarine carries drugs, but it's rare enough to catch my attention. I am not saying it is cool, but busting certainly is impressive. And this could be the basis for some really neat crime thriller. A bit like an helicopter heist. I would read a novel about it for  is #Noirvember, if there was one.

La neige à Chicoutimi

 Mon père m'a envoyé des photos de la neige qui est tombée sur Chicoutimi. J'en suis vraiment heureux: nous ne sommes même pas encore au milieu de novembre et il neige. C'est pratiquement hivernal au Saguenay.

Poppies in Wallingford

Today is Remembrance Day. I commemorate with a picture I took recently in Wallingford. They had figures like this of soldiers with a poppy at the breast. Simple, beautiful and touching.

Première neige à Montréal

Mon frère a pris cette photo dimanche dernier (je crois). Une première neige est tombée sur Montréal. Nous sommes encore le début de novembre, même au Québec, ou en tout cas à Montréal, avoir de la neige en novembre, c'est un peu tôt. Je ne m'en plaindrai pas cependant, parce que ça pourrait annoncer un hiver blanc. Et puis j'aime ces moments en novembre, de plus en plus rare de nos jours, où l'hiver commence à se montrer et l'automne est toujours là. Ce moment de transition qu'amène la première neige.

Travelling to Antarctica

No, no, don't worry, I don't intend to do it. Not yet anyway. But you may remember back in May 2024, I mentioned that I discovered thanks to Where'd You Go, Bernadette? with my favourite actress Cate Blanchett that you could take holiday trips to Antarctica. Well, a few days ago, during the school run, I heard on the radio an advert about such holiday. I didn't hear much about it, except that they were advertising travelling to Antarctica, but it must have got some traction to be advertised on the radio. If you have ever been, or are considering it, or have seen similar adverts, please let me know in the comments.

La cuvée Ciné-cadeau 2025

 Bonne nouvelle: j'apprends aujourd'hui que la cuvée Ciné-cadeau 2025 est maintenant disponible. Je suis tombé dessus par hasard en googlant, mais c'est bien officiel. Elle a été dévoilée aujourd'hui, ce qui est assez tôt. et elle commence le 5 décembre, assez tôt également. Je vais commenter plus en détails dès que je peux, d'ici là je vous encourage à la consulter et à commenter.

Bourne for #Noirvember

Maybe I'm taking the easy route, but for #Noirvember this year, I have decided to read The Bourne Identity. Yes, I know, I know, Robert Ludlum is an airport novelist and this is not exactly great prose, not even within the genre of spy thriller, but all the same, I have been curious about the original novel since I watched the old TV miniseries back in the late 80s, then the movie adaptation which gave the character of Jason Bourne a second life. Anyway, since I now have plenty of free time, I thought I might as well read something big, but not too demanding. And for all its limitations, it's a pleasant read, with lots of action and suspense. It's not exactly Noir, but it's dark enough.

Un hôtel à Vienne

 Photo d'un restaurant et d'un hôtel à Vienne. Je partage la photo rien que parce que.

Free Fizz

We went to a French restaurant recently, to celebrate my wife's birthday. As she subscribed to their newsletter, we received a glass of "free fizz" each. Well, except Wolfie. I cannot tell if it was champagne or prosecco, but it's a nice piece of freebie when we celebrate. Even my wife, who does not like alcohol all that much, enjoys a bit of bubbly from time to time. It was not the greatest "champagne" I drank (if indeed it was champagne), and it was not cold enough, but all the same, I do enjoy a freebie, especially when it's alcohol.

Moules et frites

C'était la fête de ma femme il y a quelques jours. Pour célébrer, nous sommes allés manger dans un restaurant français. Ce qui faisait changement des pizzerias où l'on se ramasse plus souvent qu'autrement. Pour la première fois depuis longtemps, j'ai commandé des moules et frites. Je ne sais depuis combien de temps exactement, mais je sais que ça date, lire ce billet. Les moules ne remplissent pas leur homme, mais les frites étaient à volonté, et avec de la mayonnaise, ben c'est solide comme repas. Ah oui, et nous avons eu droit à une coupe de mousseux (champagne? prosecco?) gratuit.

The Helicopter Heist (#Noirvember watch)

As it is #Noirvember, I try to read and watch a lot of crime fiction this month. I recently discovered on Netflix a miniseries called The Helicopter Heist. I am ealy in it, but so far I'm really enjoying it. Not only because it's a heist story with the use of an helicopter, which is in itself super cool(seriously, what a selling point). But because unlike many heist stories, this one is quite dark, with plenty of tension and violence. It is also set in Sweden, so it belongs to the Scandinavian Noir subgenre that I have seldom explored yet. Sweden is a great setting for a Noirvember story as well, come to think of it. The series is based on a novel by Jonas Bonnier, itself based on a true crime, which gives the story a veneer of authenticity. I might buy the novel one day, once I finish watching the series.

Mafalda siempre

 Autre image prise de la page Facebook officielle de Mafalda. J'avais oublié ce gag. Pour ceux qui n'aiment pas ces temps-ci de l'année, vous vous consolerez peut-être en vous rappelant que c'est le printemps en Argentine et dans tout l'hémisphère sud.

It's clementime!

One thing I love when November comes, it's that clementines are at their best. Or start being at their best, I eat them ravenously between November and December. So I associate clementines strongly with these two month, enough so I call it clementime (atrocious pun, I know, but cute). I bought these at Lidl, where I was happily surprised to see they sold them in boxes, like we have in Montreal. They should go in no time and I will buy some more. They make for an easy, healthy snack and they smell good too.

Petit loup et les feuilles d'automne

Hier, lors de notre marche en revenant de l'école, petit loup a pris plaisir à marcher dans les feuilles mortes. C'était un moment Kodak que j'ai réussi à prendre en photo. Pas une photo géniale, mais bon. Elle donne un peu une idée de l'ambiance. C'est l'un des nombreux plaisirs de l'automne que j'aime et je suis heureux que mon fils soit adepte. Et un petit rappel, pour ceux qui n'aiment pas novembre: c'est encore l'automne et ça peut vraiment être un beau mois. Dans tous les cas, c'est l'une des raisons pour lesquelles je me suis réconcilié avec le mois: on peut toujours marcher dans les feuilles mortes en novembre.

Bonfire Toffee Tea

 Silly me: it was Bonfire Night yesterday and I forgot to mention that I found out a tea brew perfect for the occasion: Bird & Blend's Bonfire Toffee Tea. I got it as a freebie last year, with my pumpkin tea order. I don't like smoky tea generally, but this one has just a subtle smoky flavour, so it was not invasive. And it mixed nicely with the toffee flavour. I had it the morning of the 5th of November, sadly I forgot to order more for this year. I got a freebie, but not this one. But hey, if you find a Bird and Blend shop, or wishes to order some, it's the perfect tea for November. 

La vieille dame dans sa chaussure

Photo prise dans l'Isle of Wight, à Blackgang Chine, l'un des plus vieux parcs d'attractions au monde. Il y avait une section dédiée aux comptines pour enfants. Vous avez peut-être reconnu la vieille, vieille dame qui vivait dans une chaussure. Enfin, la chaussure qui était sa demeure, j'ai été nono, je n'ai pas pris en photo la vieille dame, de front, mais vous pouvez la voir de sa fenêtre. Ceux de ma génération se rappellent peut-être les annonces de prévention des incendies. J'ai fait l'association tout de suite.

Bonfire Night

 "Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."

Tonight is Bonfire Night. Which means there will be fireworks tonight. After twenty-five years in England, I am just starting to get used to it. My wife gets excited about fireworks, but then again, she's English, I guess fireworks in November is part of her culture. I on the other hand am not a fan of fireworks, however I love the smell of bonfire smoke in the night (or any time really). It's just nice, especially in autumn. So I came to appreciate this early November tradition as part of my (fairly new) appreciation of the month. Because yes, November is still autumn.

Le Salon du livre de Montréal

 Pour ceux qui vivent dans ma ville d'adoption, il y a un évènement ce mois-ci pour ceux qui cherchent quelque chose à faire: le Salon du livre de Montréal aura lieu du 19 au 23 novembre au Palais des Congrès, et du 7 au 23 novembre dans la ville. Ce n'est pas mon Salon du livre préféré, parce que je n'ai pas autant de souvenirs avec celui de Montréal que celui du Saglac, mais pour ceux qui aiment la littérature, c'est quand même un évènement important. Et j'ai quand même bien aimé les fois où j'y suis allé.

A line from the bookshop

 I went to the local bookshop this afternoon, briefly. I behaved: I did not buy anything. I just wanted to see what I could find for my wife's birthday or if they had any new titles. So yes, I did not buy anything, however I heard one of the staff members telling to a customer: "We all love books, but we don't like computers." I'm not certain of the context, either it was referring to an error in an order caused by their system, or about ordering books on Amazon, or maybe something else entirely. Be that as it may, we spend too much time on a machine and I think it deserves to be a great unknown line. 

Des nouvelles de la Bouquinerie du Plateau

Vous vous rappelez peut-être que j'avais appris avec inquiétude il y a deux mois la fermeture de la Bouquinerie du Plateau. Bonne nouvelle via leir page Facebook: la fermeture n'est pas définitive. En fait, elle serait dûe à un incendie et ils commencent déjà à faire des achats à domicile, voir la photo plus haut. Donc, si vous pouvez les encourager, ce serait bien.

Two Spoons Tea (and rooibos)

 You may remember that I blogged before, back in February, about  Two Spoons Tea, a fairly local tea company I have been wanting to discover. Well, it turns out that this is the brand that one of our local coffee shops offers. So since then, I had the chance to drink their teas a couple of times. And their rooibos too, which I believe is what you can see on the picture. I drink rooibos for two reasons: it tastes strong like a black tea, but has no caffeine, so it does not trouble my sleep when I drink it late and my father-in-law is South African. I feel like I'm connecting to some of the culture of his country. Anyway, I now know another tea company to enjoy.

Le S'quatre Novembre au Soir

Je 'drais, voudrais vous dire que... Petit moment d'humour nostalgique, que les Québécois de ma génération reconnaîtront d'emblée. Je me rappelle encore l'avoir vu en première, ce qui ne rajeunit personne.

Skorpio for Noirvember

I have the perfect book to read for this year's #Noirvember: South African crime writer Deon Meyer's latest novel Skorpio. It's being released this month, for all I know it might be out already. The only problem is that it's in Afrikaans. So I will have to wait until it's translated. But hey, if there are any Afrikaans readers among my readers (you never know), buy it, lucky you, and enjoy it. Thankfully I have a big TBR list (well of course I do), so it's not like I have nothing to read at the moment. But there's just something about Meyer that just fits Noirvember perfectly.

Novembre: trop tôt pour Noël

J'ai lu un débat dans la grosse Presse hier: Pour ou contre: les lumières de Noël dès le 1er novembre. Entre Stéphane Dompierre et Rose-Aimée Automne T. Morin. Je ne connais aucune des deux personnes. Et ce n'est pas une question existentielle pour moi, alors je ne la poserai même pas. Pour moi, ça tombe sous le sens: je suis contre et c'est encore l'automne, alors non, non et non. Je suis donc fermement dans le camp de Dompierre. Néanmoins, faites-moi part de votre opinion sur le sujet dans les commentaires.

#Noirvember

There are many reasons why I made peace with the month of November. I used to dislike it, not so long ago. You can even read some of my posts from a few years ago on the subject. Well, not anymore. There are many reasons for it, as I said, but the most recent one is that it's #Noirvember. So I read crime fiction, I watch crime films and well, it's all about Noir. It is fitting for the month, of course, but since crime fiction is my favourite genre, it makes for a fine way to spend free time and enjoy the month. So if you have any reading or watching suggestions for Noirvember, tell me in the comments. And watch this space, as I should blog about it a good deal in the next few weeks.

Les Beaux Dimanches et moi

J'ai déjà blogué ici sur Les Beaux Dimanches, l'émission de Radio-Canada qui passait justement tous les dimanches soir. J'en ai rediscuté avec des amis il y a quelques temps et on s'est tous entendu pour dire que la musique d'ouverture de l'émission (vous pouvez l'entendre ici) nous rendait mélancoliques. Elle indiquait la fin de la fin de semaine et souvent le temps de se coucher. Sauf quand, parfois, on pouvait regarder le film ou l'émission avec nos parents. Mais quand même, il m'arrive parfois de m'ennuyer des Beaud Dimanches. Surtout que maintenant, j'ai l'âge pour les apprécier, étant pas mal dans la tranche d'âge du public-cible de l'époque.

Post. Halloween. Blues.

Today is All Saint's Day, which is of course the day after Halloween. I used to loathe November just because Halloween was over. This is no longer the case, however I still suffer from post-Halloween blues every first of November. It falls on a Saturday today, I'm not sure if it makes it better or worse. I have a whole weekend to enjoy, yet I also miss the anticipation, the eeriness, the spookiness, the everything. Don't worry: it used to take me a month or so to get through the dreary feeling, now it only lasts a day or two. I will blog more about what I love of November, so watch this space.

Tarowean

 "Je suis l'océan Pacifique et je suis le plus grand. On m'appelle ainsi depuis très longtemps, mais ce n'est pas vrai que je suis toujours pacifique. Je me fâche parfois, et alors je donne une raclée à tous et à tout. Aujourd'hui par exemple, je viens de me calmer mais hier, je dois avoir tout raflé sur trois ou quatre îles et autant de coquilles de noix que les hommes appellent bateaux... Celle-ci... Oui, celle que vous voyez ici, je ne sais pas comment elle a pu s'en sortir. C'est peut-être parce que le capitaine Raspoutine connaît son métier et que ses marins viennent des îles Fidji. Ou bien parce qu'ils ont fait un pacte avec le Diable. Mais cela n'a pas d'importance, aujourd'hui c'est "Tarowean", le jour des surprises, le jour de tous les Saints, le 1er novemvre 1913."

Nous sommes la Toussaint, par conséquent je cite le début de La ballade de la mer salée d'Hugo Pratt. C'est une tradition sur ce blogue. Il faudrait d'ailleurs que je relise le bouquin.

Trick or treat 2025 (a report)

 This is my report on trick or treat tonight and probably my last post for Halloween 2025. It goes way too fast. We didn't many rings on our door, but apparently there was one giant group that took a lot, or so my wife told me.They were about a dozen of them, which I have never seen since we moved here  I think trick or treaters tend to swarm: when they see one going somewhere, they follow. . Especially when they see a good Halloween display. I was pretty proud of mine. I suspect there will be more and more in years to come. I will decorate accordingly, making our own displau bigger. Wolfie got a fairly decent bounty, but our little town sure isn't where I grew up, although there are a few Halloween lovers out there. There's been a few genuinely spooky houses. Now trick or treat is over, but there's still a few hours of horror movies and horror stories to keep myself entertained until tomorrow.

Une observation sur l'Halloween cette année

L'une des citrouilles que j'ai creusées cette année. Design suggéré par Wolfie. Nous avons passé l'Halloween très brièvement, ça a duré une heure environ. Beaucoup d'Halloweeneux, mais pas autant de maisons que l'an passé, célébraient, ou alors nous ne sommes pas allés assez loin. Mais je compte couvrir plus de terrain l'an prochain.

Happy Halloween 2025!

 It is midnight where I am, the witching hour, it is the 31st of October, it is Halloween. So happy Halloween everyone. We made Jack O'Lanterns, this one is the best, or at least my favourite. Wolfie and I worked hard on it, it was team work: he designed most of the jacks, I did the carving. And later it will be trick or treat. I will try to blog again until the end of the day and evening. But until then, happy Halloween again.

L'Halloween sur le Plateau

 Mon frère PJ m'a envoyé des photos de l'Halloween sur le Plateau Mont-Royal. On n'y fait pas les choses à moitié, avec la Faucheuse et tout. Vraiment c'est magnifique...

Halloween, autumn and reading

These last few days, as it looks and feel very autumnal, I have been reading outside as much as I can. If a neighbour sees me, I guess I look like a monk with a rather sinister mind. So yeah, yesterday I took Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories and I read it in the garden. I took a snapshot for the blog and the countdown. It was chilly, it had just enough sun, it was quiet, the leaves on the ground and the smell just enhanced the experience for me. So yes, it is my Halloween activity suggestion for today.

Une Dame Blanche à Chicoutimi?

 Mon père a pris cette photo il y a quelques jours. L'Halloween c'est demain, les fantômes sortent, il y a des Dames Blanches partout, même à Chicoutimi...

THE Scarecrow

So for today's countdown to Halloween post: scarecrows. So we went to the Scarecrow Festival two days ago.And there was a lot to love and blog about, but I wanted to share the best scarecrow we saw. This one. Many were cute and inventive, but I thought not enough of them were scary. Then, walking back to our car, cutting through the woods, we got slightly lost, then quickly found our way back to the village. And we saw this scarecrow. A Jack O'Lantern as the head, surrounded by actual crows, punpkins at its feet, the evening was falling down, a quintessential autumnal image... I could have watched it until night time. Then again, maybe he'd have started moving and chasing us. This scarecrow belongs to a horror story, which I hope to write one day.

Pâtisseries de fête

 C'était la fête de mon père récemment. Au lieu d'un gros gâteau, ils ont mangé des petits gâteaux (enfin, des pâtisseries), je crois qu'ils viennent de Mergeay. La plupart du temps, la Pâtisserie Mergeay était l'endroit où l'on achetait nos gâteaux de fête, quand ma mère ne les faisait pas. Souvenirs, souvenirs...

The Dracula Puzzle

I an not a fan of jigsaw puzzles per se, that said I can enjoy doing one if the image on it talks to me. So I saw this one during my last visit in a Waterstones. I did not buy it: we already have many, many, many jigsaw puzzles and we seldom play with them, even though Wolfie likes them a lot. But I regret it and I just might buy it one day, just to have a Halloween-themed game to play during the countdown and because Dracula is, as you probably all know by now, my favourite horror novel. The puzzle shows quite a few key events of the book, albeit it has been tainted by the popular image of Dracula (the black and red cape for instance). All the same, I think it looks gloriously eerie and it deserves a place here among our games.

Soir macabre

 Photo prise par mon père cette année, lors de sa promenade dans Chicoutimi. J'aime particulièrement le mort-vivant chauve. Un zombie? Je vais finir par me réconcilier avec lemonstre. Ici, on a changé d'heure, le soir tombe plus vite. Et il n'y a rien de plus délicieusement macabre qu'un soir qui tombe sur un cimetière hanté, même si ce n'est pas un vrai cimetière.

The Lost Skull Mask

This photo dates back from... 2007. It is a picture of me, and don't tell me I looked much better then. No, but jokes aside I had bought this book on the cheap in a shop, as I was waiting for my visa to arrive. I first wore it when my wife and I went out to an evening of scary stories telling and enactment outdoor. It was great fun. Then I have been using the mask ever since on Halloween. I sed to put it on for trick or treat. Until last year, that is, as I lost it when I accompanied Wolfie trick or treating. I must have dropped it somewhere. As we walked a lot, I could not find it afterwards. I hope it was not picked up by an homicidal maniac or an evil spirit. I think there is a horror story to be written about this lost skull mask. I just need to work on it at some point.

L'automne sur le Plateau

Mon frère PJ a pris cette photo sur la rue Fabre il y a quelques jours. L'automne sur le Plateau, ben c'est beau.

The Jack O'Lantern and the Goose

 I blogged before about my parents pumpkin for this year's Halloween. Well, my father carved it recently. It's a bit early for my taste, I hope the pumpkin doesn't go bad, however I do like the design, very simple with its many triangles. With the goose in the background, it looks suitably spooky and autumnal.