Pinecone Construction

I took this picture back in 2024, during our holidays in the Isle of Wight, at Robin Hill. There was a whole section of the theme park looking like a building site. I thought it looked kind of funny, something as mundane as a construction company, turned into an attraction for children. For little boys at least: my son Wolfie used to love, and loves still, any construction vehicles. Also, I love pine cones. Pine cones are cool. And it makes for a great name for a construction company. I wish it really existed.

Dix ans ici (Jour du Déménagement)

Photo prise à Brighton. Cest l'Upside Down House et je la partage ici parce qu'elle illustre un peu le sujet du billet. Nous avons emménagé dans notre maison il y a dix ans cette année. En fait non, ce n'est pas tout à fait vrai. Pour être exact, nous sommes devenus propriétaires le 1er juillet 2016. Nous avons emménagé le lendemain. J'ai toujours trouvé ça amusant que le hasard fasse que nous devenions propriétaires ce qui au Québec est le Jour du Déménagement. Notre maison n'est bien entendu pas à l'envers, enfin pas comme la maison de Brighton. Dans un autre sens, oui, elle l'est. Ouch. Désolé, il fallait que je commette ce calembour.

The End of June

Today we are the last day of June. One month of summertime done and dusted, and it has been a trying month from yours truly. Because we had one of the worst heatwaves in history, for one, which really made me struggle. I used to like the month of June, a long, long time ago. Not so much now. Especially since as I got older, I started to seriously struggling with heat. And since June is now generally way hotter than it used to be... Well, it's going to be over soon. Thankfully, the heatwave is gone, for now. I'm bracing myself for the next one, whenever it may be. Until then, I can find some solace knowing that I survived the first month of summer. And you, how was your June? Did you enjoy it?

Barrière de lavande

 Je vais faire un aveu: je ne porte pas dans mon coeur certains de mes voisins. Surtout l'une de nos voisines, que j'appelle la vieille grebiche. Mais il faut lui donner ça: elle est meilleure jardinière que moi. Pas que ce soit très difficile. Le jardin qui borde le nôtre a une allée de lavande. Ma femme déteste l'odeur de la lavande, mais moi j'aime bien. Et je me dis que ça fait entre elle et nous une barrière naturelle plutôt jolie.

London, City of Espionage

This post is part of my City of Espionage series started earlier this year, about, well, cities associated with espionage and intelligence world in both fiction and the real world. This series is itself a part of a broader series of posts about spy thrillers. Today is about London. Of course, London is famous for being the residence and office base of the most famous fictitious secret agent in the world. But he is not the only secret agent that lives in London when he is not on a mission. Of course, London is the city where the headquarters of SIS/MI6 are. Also called Vauxhall Cross. Impressive piece of architecture, which unfortunately I haven't seen in real life just yet. It's in my bucket list. If I can ever take pictures of Vauxhall Cross (one never knows, with the intelligence community), I will share them here. In any case, just because of the MI6 Building, London deserves to be mentioned as a city of espionage. Obviously, it's also an essential centre for the intelligence community.

Larousse 2015

J'ai pris cette photo chez mes beaux-parents, lors de notre dernière visite. Ma belle-mère, qui est francophile et parfaitement bilingue, a donc un Larousse, édition 2015. Je sais que le Larousse n'est pas aussi bon que le Robert, mais je l'ai toujours aimé comme ouvrage de référence. Je me rappelle mon premier Larousse, édition 1990 je crois. La couverture a changé, mais elle a toujours le fameux pissenlit. Quand je vois des pissenlits, je pense d'ailleurs toujours au Larousse.

Dracula (a memory)

Well, the solstice is done and dusted, so days are slowly getting shorter, hopefully the heatwave should be over soon and this is thus time to... get ready for Halloween. I'm not kidding: I start preparing round this time of year. Yes, because this. But it is nothing new to me, I've always started getting on a spooky mind and preparing for Halloween months before. More than 35 years ago, if I'm not mistaken, in the summer of 1990, I first read Dracula by Bram Stoker. Before I watched any adaptation of the famous novel. I had been wanting to read classics of horror for a while and found a copy of Dracula in the local library. I blogged about it in details in a post from 2018. The memory came back to my mind recently. The novel was a revelation to me and it truly started my love of horror. I was interest in the macabre and scary stories before, but as a child my mother wouldn't let me read such things. As a teenager, she couldn't stop me.

Un vieux globe terrestre

Autre photo prise au Royal Pavilion à Brighton. Vous connaissez sans doute (peut-être) mon intérêt pour les globes terrestres et les Atlas. Surtout les globes terrestres. Surtout les vieux globes comme celui-ci, avec des couleurs plus vieilles et défraîchies, un peu fades, et sur un support de bois. On dirait que l'on voyage dans un monde ancien, dans une autre époque. J'aimerais avoir assez de place pour en avoir un comme ça ici. On peut rêver.

A Secret Passage?

 I took this picture in Brighton. To be more specific, at the Royal Pavilion. It looks like nothing, just a wall with wallpaper, but look closer and you will see that it hides a door. A secret door opening to a secret passage. Well, maybe it does. According to what I heard in the audio tour, the Pavilion has or had secret passages. From what I remember, to help staff move from one room to the other without being seen or heard while doing service. But it could be used in a more dramatic setting. Secret passages are a staple of old(er) mystery literature, either crime stories or spy thrillers. In a modern story, they come off as cheating, but I always liked them all the same.

"Du bon fromage pour du bon monde"

Photo prise sur la page Facebook de la Fromagerie Boivin lors de la Saint-Jean. C'était pour souligner la Fête, mais ce n'est pas pour revenir sur le 24 que je le partage ici. En fait, j'ai surtout aimé le message dessus, chaleureux et sans prétention. "Du bon fromage pour du bon monde." Oui, je fais une plogue pour ma région et pour un commerce de la région, je n'ai aucune gêne.

Heat in Isola

I know I'm blogging a lot about Ed McBain's 87th Precinct crime novel series these days, as I am reading the books in order of publication (as much as possible). But it struck me that one novel would be very fitting for this summer, either this heatwave or the next. I blogged about Heat back in July 2024, more specifically about a grossly lying cover on its French translation. I hate heatwaves, but they are more bearable when I read seasonal crime fiction. It makes me hate the heat more, ironically enough. But hey, it's not the only novel of McBain set in summertime. He seemed to consider sunshine as evil as I do (see this post). But hey, if you are looking for summertime crime fiction, you can't go wrong with Ed McBain.

Qui a vu le lièvre?

Je bloguais jeudi dernier sur le lièvre qui visitait mes parents et leurs voisins. Mon père l'avait baptisé Bozo. Je suis conscient que Bozo n'est peut-être plus de ce monde, mais s'il y a eu un lièvre dans les environs, il y a de fortes chances qu'il y en a d'autres. Je vais mettre mon père là-dessus. J'aime bien les animaux sauvages en milieu urbain.

Summerween is a thing

A few days ago, while she was doing a grocery shop online, my wife saw some Halloween articles on sale: Jack O'Lantern cushions or something. It must be a manifestation of Summerween. Yes I know the term, which is our word of the day. Do I think it's too early to think about Halloween? No. Do I do Summerween? Well, yes and no. I don't really put any Halloween decorations out, but some of my autumnal ornaments remain on display all year round. And I do long for Halloween all year, so I make a countdown to the countdown. I start reading horror stories in summertime (albeit maybe not that early) and watch horror related stuff. It helps me cope with the heat and the long days. Be that as it may, I'm glad I'm not the only one to be in a spooky mood already.

Pour un instant...

 Bon, c'est toujours la  la Saint-Jean, notre Fête nationale, alors je partage de la musique québécoise. Comme je suis toujours en deuil de Serge Fiori depuis l'an dernier, je repartage un grand classique d'Harmonium. Dans des temps plus difficiles, comme c'est le cas ces jours-ci, leur chanson la plus émouvante vaut la peine d'être écoutée. En espérant que ça vous donne un instant de joie, ou du moins de calme, pour votre 24.

A Poutine in London

It is Saint John the Baptist's Day, also known as the Nationale Day of Quebec. Even as an expat, I celebrate it every year. On the day itself and, since 2024, in London the Saturday before, at the the Garden Bar. As I mentioned last year, the DGLQ organises every year a special event there for all the Quebec expats living in the UK and their friends and families. It allows me to speak to my fellow Quebeckers (and in French), listen to Québec music and... eat poutine. Far from the best poutine I had, but a decent one, with real cheese curds. This year, they had nothing else on the menu, knowing nobody wanted anything but what we truly long for. By the way, one word about our most famous national dish: make no mistake, this is 100% a Québec invention. With its fairly new popularity, poutine has been often labeled a Canadian dish. Truth is, it has been snubbed by the rest of Canada for years until fairly recently. So I always get a bit miffed when someone claims it's a Canadian dish. Because it's truly Québécois, both in origins and spirit. It's simple, yet unapologetically excessive.

C'est notre tour...

C'est aujourd'hui la Fête nationale du Québec. L'an prochain, ça fera 20 ans que je la fête de l'Angleterre. J'essaie de transmettre à petit loup au moins un peu de québécitude. Petit à petit, année après année, ça fait son effet. Enfin bref, comme à chaque année sur ce blogue, je partage Gens du pays. C'est quand même un bel hymne national sans prétention.

Green Vehicles

 Wolfie and I have noticed it during the school run: there seems to be quite a lot of green cars rolling around these days. We saw a couple of jeeps and I guess green is a normal colour for a jeep, but also "ordinary" cars. And all sorts of green: Lincoln green, forest green, olive green, lime green. But mostly forest green, I think. My son and I love green, but my wife doesn't. Anyway, back in 2023, we had noticed a high number of orange vehicles, this year green seems to be in fashion, at least where we are.

Pendant ce temps, à Montréal...

 Nouvelle déprimante que je tenais à mentionner ici: il y a eu une fusillade à Côte-des-Neiges, faisant deux victimes, un civil et un agent du SPVM. Phoque. Je m'en suis rendu compte sur le tard hier, en allant sur les réseaux sociaux. Deux jours avant la St-Jean, en plus, ce qui fait encore plus mal. Je ne veux pas trop commenter sur le sujet, mais lisez la chronique de Patrick Lagacé, je pense pas mal dans ces eaux-là. J'ai mal à mon Montréal aujourd'hui.

Amber/Red Warning

We are going through a week in Hell: it is a heatwave. Not the first this summer, but by far the worst yet: the Met Office gave an amber warning of extreme heat from Monday until Tuesday, and a red warning from Wednesday until Thursday inclusively. It should go as high as 37 degrees. This is pure madness. I don't understand how people can be happy about this and thinking it's all just fine and they say it's lovely sunshine and so on. I think it's sheer masochism. So yeah, I keep hydrated, I stay in until evening comes, I just brace myself and cannot wait for summer to be over.

La veille de la St-Jean

 Demain c'est la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, la Fête nationale du Québec. Je vais essayer de la fêter du mieux possible, même si ce n'est pas un jour férié et que nous avons une canicule. Je me souviens de certaines veilles de la Saint-Jean où l'on célébrait autant sinon plus que le 24 juin. J'ai passé quelques Saint-Jean un peu lendemain de veille en tout cas. Mais bon, c'est demain le grand jour.

Introducing Cotton Hawes (87th Precinct)

As you know, this year I have been reading Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, as much as possible in order of publication. So I recently read Killer's Choice, the fifth entry of the series. The novel is significant in the series for a number of reasons: one of the detectives of the 87th gets murdered, for one, and it's also the debut of Detective Cotton Hawes in the series. Cotton Hawes was invented by McBain at the request of his publishers to provide the series with a ladies' man (the other cops are rather monogamous). Hawes is tall, muscular, redheaded except for a shock of white hair (caused by a knife wound) and of course handsome. I hadn't paid all that much attention to Hawes in the past. I'm not sure if it's because most of the series' entries I read often did not feature him prominently or just that others caught my attention. But now that I have read his debut, I will see the character in a new light.

Pain fleurdelisé

J'apprends sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson qu'ils font des pains pour la Fête nationale. Un pain avec une fleur-de-lis dessus. Autant dire un pain fleurdelisé. Achetez-le si vous le pouvez et prenez-le en toasts au déjeuner. Il doit être aussi bon que beau.

Summer Solstice

 Today is the summer solstice. So the official or astronomical first day of summer, although in my book the season truly starts with the month of June. Be that as it may, we're in a heatwave, with temperatures going up to 30 degrees today. And it is the longest day of the year. The horror, the horror. I don't like summertime, I don't like long days and I don't like heat. I know, I'm a strange beast, I'm weird, but I know I'm not alone. So yes, I am not really in a great mood today. If only it was a cool and rainy day, it would be bearable, but no. There is one thing, and truly one thing I like about the solstice: once it is over, it means that the days are going to get shorter and shorter. It's going to be long until we feel it, but it gives me some level of solace.

Fête des Pères

C'est aujourd'hui la fête des Pères, que je fête depuis 2016, quand ma femme m'a offert une carte avec une photo du phoetus qui allait devenir notre petit loup. Il prépare avec sa mère quelque chose, je ne sais pas quoi. Sans doute au moins une carte, ils me donnent toujours une carte à la fête des Pères, toujours très élaborée parce que Wolfie a pleins d'idées. Mais j'ai souvent eu des cadeaux: des bas, des livres, du thé, etc. Je me fais gâter, disons. Alors donc, je me demande ce que ce sera cette année.

Brighton Rock (Cocktail)

I'm blogging again about our last holiday in Brighton. During our stay here, we went to a pizzeria named Pinocchio. But I'm not going to blog about their pizza (this will be for another post). I wanted to blog about a cocktail my wife drank there. My wife seldom drinks alcohol, even on holiday. When she does, she goes for sugary cocktails, like this one. It's called a Brighton rock, in honour of the confectionery of the same name. It has gin, blue Curaçao (no surprise there) and... A chunk of Brighton rock. Verdict? It tastes disgusting. My wife didn't like it, I had a sip and didn't like it. I'm not surprised: it looks radioactive. But hey, it looks pretty in a glass. Anyway, now that you have the recipe for it, you can try it if you are brave.

Voir à 360 degrés

 Photo prise à Brighton, lors de nos dernières vacances. Notre séjour a été pour moi un peu en dents de scie: il y a des choses que j'ai beaucoup aimées, certaines beaucoup moins. Et il y a aussi des expériences qu'il fallait vivre rien que parce que. C'était le cas de Brighton i360, une tour avec une soucoupe qui monte et descends, tout en tournant comme un boulon sur une vis. On peut voir la ville, la mer, on peut même boire un verre. Bon, le choix de boissons, avec ou sans alcool, n'était pas terrible, et pour ce que j'imagine être des raisons de sécurité les verres et coupes étaient en plastique, mais quand même. Disons que ça avait malgré tout un petit côté glamour, surtout qu'on a une belle vue sur la mer. J'ajouterais en conclusion que la ville est plus jolie vue de haut.

Blackjack (Signature Weapon)

 This is my new post in the Signature Weapons series. Today's weapon is an oldie: the blackjack. I don't think I have seen one in real life, but they do pop up from time to time in old crime fiction stories, generally in pulp stories. Generally wielded, as far as I remember, by villains, when they knock the hero unconscious with one. Because yes, it's a bludgeoning weapon. It's quite a nasty one too, from what I read, as it is capable of causing permanent injuries, even death. So don't let its small size fool you. Because it can easily be concealed, I can easily see it making a come back. I still think the blackjack fits a villain more than a hero. That said, I must make a confession here: there is one think I love about blackjack, and that its name. It just sound elegant and cool. Like the eponymous card game (which I think I played once or twice), it just has a sort of posh aura, in complete contrast with its true nature. This is another why I think it would fit a crime story nicely and enhances its atmosphere somehow.

Dixie (Harmonium)

Parce que c'est notre Fête nationale bientôt, je crois que c'est le temps de partager des chansons québécoises. Je suis encore en deuil de Serge Fiori depuis l'an dernier, alors je partage une toune d'Harmonium. Je dis toune à dessein, comme vous le savez si vous avez déjà écouté Dixie. Une chanson festive qui est quant à moi incontournable le 24 juin.

Spy Secret Messages

I love Usborne books for children, and so does Wolfie, so I end up buying lots of them. And they have a handful of books of espionage games and activities. There is one we particularly like, especially when we travel, it's called Spy Secret Messages. It's a small pocket book, smaller than a pocket book actually, and it's all about deciphering spy codes and finding the meaning of messages. It's really great fun. The only drawback is that soon we will have finished every activity in the book. I guess I will need to find more gamebooks in the genre, from Usborne and others.

Où est passé le lièvre?

 Vous vous rappelez peut-être qu'il y a quelques années, mes parents avaient un lièvre qui passait partout dans le voisinage. Mon père l'avait baptisé Bozo. J'ai retrouvé des vieilles photos qu'il m'avait envoyées. Et ça m'a fait penser: qu'est-il arrivé à Bozo? Ou à ses descendants, parce qu'il ne doit pas y avoir qu'un lièvre dans le coin chez mes parents. Mon père ne m'a pas envoyé de photo de lièvre depuis un bout de temps, 2023 je crois. Enfin bref, j'espère que Bozo le lièvre se porte bien.

Man On Fire

 Well, here I am, plugging another spy thriller, and another Netflix series. This time it's Man on Fire. I started it very recently, so I'm not sure if the series will hold on, but so far so good. It's about a former CIA operative who has to protect the orphaned daughter of his assassinated mentor from terrorists. It's set in Brazil and, like I said, so far so good. Nothing terribly original, but nothing horrible either, the plot keeps me invested in it. I know it's freely adapted from a novel from A.J. Quinnell and that it was already adapted in a 2004 movie, which I haven't seen, so the story is all new to me. If I am still satisfied when I finish it, I might buy the novel. Anyway, if you read the source material, or watched any of its adaptations, let me know in the comments. Please no spoilers.

On parle des Bouquinistes

 Petite nouvelle à propos d'une nouvelle qui maintenant date un peu (très peu, mais quand même un peu). Je l'ai apprise par le biais de la page Facebook des Bouquinistes: on a écrit un article dans la grosse Presse sur eux. Plus précisément, sur leur transformation en librairie coopérative. Enfin bref, j'en recommande la lecture. Je suis un client assidu des Bouquinistes. Enfin, quand je vivais au Saguenay. Je me rappelle quand la librairie n'était guère plus grosse qu'un comptoir et deux pièces, l'une un espace plus petit pour la section jeunesse. Je suis heureux qu'ils aient encore pignon sur rue à Chicoutimi, même si je ne peux pas les visiter avec la même assiduité.

A book about volcanoes

 You might not know it, unless you have been reading this blog for a while. Anyway, a long, long time ago, my brothers and me, particularly PJ, were kind of obsessed about volcanoes. Well, it seems that Wolfie is following on our footsteps: this is the book he picked up at school to read this week. I will try to pick it up and give it a read before he has to hand it back.

La St-Jean (et un peu de Paul Piché)

Ce sera notre Fête nationale dans un peu plus d'une semaine, je m'en voudrais de ne pas bloguer sur le sujet un peu avant le jour J. Le Québec, j'essaie de le fêter tous les jours, surtout en rappelant à mon fils d'où il vient, enfin d'où sont ses racines. Quand vient le mois de juin, je sors les drapeaux du Québec. J'écoute aussi de la musique québécoise. (En passant, pour la petite histoire, j'en écoute à l'année longue, pas seulement le 24 juin). Et ça m'est venu en tête: il faudrait que j'en mette un peu plus sur ce blogue. Donc, ben, comme j'ai pas mis de Paul Piché depuis 2022, voici une de ses tounes.

 

8 Pints of Milk

Here is a little anecdote for you. I had to buy eight pints of milk for the school's fayre last Saturday. To pour in coffee and tea (patently absurd in tea, but I digress). I thought it was too much milk for what we needed, but since I was tasked to do it, I did it. So I stopped at the local Sainsbury's in the morning. They were out of semi-skimmed milk bottles of the right size. So I asked one of the employees there. He asked me to give him less than five minutes and in the meantime, he told me where the find the other bits and bots I had to buy. A really helpful guy. I thought he would come back late telling me they were completely out of stock, but no. Within five minutes, on the dot, he was walking with the milk bottles. As I always like to show my gratitude for helpful staff, I told him he was a man of his word. he replied: "If I was not a man of my word, what kind of man would I be?" Which I think deserves to be a new great unknown line. I might use it in my writing one day, in any case I thought I'd share it on the blog. But yes, eight pints of milk was way too much.

Lecture sur le quai

 Bon, ce n'est pas parce que ça arrive une fois par année que le Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean, chôme le reste du temps. Il y a donc une soirée de lecture sur le quai à La Baie, sur le Quai Laurier-Simard. Le 18 juin, ou le 17 juin s i on prévoit de la pluie le 17.

Shiny Gems

A few weeks ago, Wolfie and I went to the local toy shop. Not to buy anything, just to see what there was available, see if we could find as a present idea for the next birthday, or just the next special celebration. Every time we stop, I get a few pictures, as a reminder for the future. And this is one of the things that caught Wolfie's attention: a bag of "shiny gems". I can see rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds. All in plastic. They'd make for great MacGuffins in some of our games, especially our Secret War Game. And for props at D&Dr. But the nicest thing about these shiny gems is that, unlike real ones, they're quite cheap.

La devanture de William Walter

Mon père a pris cette photo de la devanture de William Walter, sur le Plateau Mont-Royal, je crois. SYmpathique. Les saucisses de William Walter, ça a été la base de bien des repas dans mes belles années à Montréal, quand mes frères et moi on avait envie de fêter sans prétention. J'y allais aussi le midi pour me commander un hot dog. Enfin bref, souvenirs, souvenirs.

Lying Book Cover (87th Precinct)

My year in crime fiction reading has been marked by the return of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct in my to be read list. It had been long overdue and I intend to read some more before the end of the year. And, as much as possible, in order of publication. Anyway, one funny little thing I noticed on the cover of The Con Man, is that the cover shows a man holding a gun, which is misleading: this man is definitely not the antagonist of the novel. Because the main villain does not use a gun: he's a swindler who murders his victims by poisoning them with arsenic. He may be one of the Detectives, but S&W revolvers were the service weapons at the time the story was written. So this cover is lying. Well, covers always lie, and it did not stop me for enjoying The Con Man. But I thought it was funny all the same.

La Cabane Lulu

 Bon, je m'inquiétais depuis un bout de temps à propos de la Chocolaterie Lulu. Depuis un bout de temps, je ne voyais aucune activité sur la page Facebook, en tout cas pas depuis 2024(!). Mais je respire: j'apprends qu'ils ont maintenant ouvert deux casse-croûtes, un à Chicoutimi et un à Metabetchouan. Avec des murs roses, c'est assez mignon, même si un peu bonbon à mon goût.

"Shark Bites"

Well, what do you know. I blogged about sharks about two weeks ago, I blogged about a book of sharks two days ago, so what do I spot at Wolfie's school's latest books sale? Another book about sharks. It's titled Shark Bites, it even comes with a cool shark tooth necklace. But they got me with the cover. Wolfie was not too keen on it, but since he wanted two other books and it was three for two, we got the Shark Bites one too. I can't wait to read it together. I guess he will end up with the tooth necklace, but hey.

Limoilou 2

 Autre photo prise par mon père en 2021 à Limoilou. Quelqu'un peut me dire ce que c'est?

The chill in the air

Sometimes, one counts his blessings, knowing it will not last. We had one dreadful heatwave and another one is forecast, starting this weekend. But since the end of the last one, we had surprisingly cool weather. With lots of rain, but not only rain: I actually had to wear long sleeve shirts and light jumpers to stay warm. It struck me a few days ago: my wife had opened the bedroom windows, it made the whole place feeling chilly and cool, and oh so fresh, it truly felt wonderful. Almost autumnal, although not quite (my favourite season has a different smell). Still, it made me forget that summer has only started. I'm really enjoying this.

Les longues journées d'école

Je n'envie pas Wolfie ces jours-ci. Dans les semaines d'été (parce que bon, juin c'est l'été) qui mènent aux vacances, c'est de plus en plus pénible d'aller à l'école et de devoir y passer ses journées, beau temps mauvais temps. Je me rappelle de moi à son âge, comme les vacances semblaient s'éloigner à mesure qu'on s'en rapprochait. Au moins, lorsque j'étais enfant, on terminait l'année scolaire beaucoup plus tôt, à environ un mois d'avance. Donc, je ne l'envie pas, parce que je vois comme il trouve le temps long.

"Mad about... Sharks"

Last year, as I had suddenly turned unemployed and had plenty of time on my hands, I spent a fair deal of it in charity shops. I fumbled upon a children book about sharks, aptly titled Mad about... Sharks. As I explained to the cashier: "For £0.50, it's in my price range." Which I think deserves to be a great unknown line. Anyway, it's cheap, but it's educational, and of course it's a great opportunity for me to read it with Wolfie. We both love to learn about sharks. Especially at this price.

Limoilou

Photo prise par mon père à Limoilou en 2021. C'est tout. Je ne l'avais pas partagée à l'époque, alors je le fais maintenant, rien que parce que ça donne de la couleur à mon blogue. Pour la petite histoire, je n'ai aucune idée de ce que ça représente.

The Hunted (Elmore Leonard)

 Well, it's been long overdue: I am currently reading a crime novel by Elmore Leonard. I have been wanting to get back to Leonard since January 2025, it was one of my reading objectives that year: add one of his novels to my TBR list. Well, better late than never, I recently bought The Hunted, among a number of his books I was pondering on. I'm reading it now. The hunted of the novel is hero Al Rosen. I say "hero", but maybe it's more fitting to say protagonist, although he is as heroic as one can be in a Leonard story. He is hiding in Israel from Detroit mobsters, drifting in the Holy Land out of trouble, until he saves some tourists from a hotel fire, which gets him his picture in the press... and the attention from the mob. It's a neat thriller so far, with nasty criminals, a sleazy lawyer, great dialogues and plenty of atmosphere.

Un vrai orage

 Bon, il ne se sera pas trop fait attendre: nous avons eu droit à un orage électrique en bonne et due forme la semaine dernière. J'ai pu prendre une photo, mais elle lui rend pas justice. Bon, je dis ça à chaque fois que je partage une photo d'un orage, mais c'est difficile de montrer quand il tombe des cordes, encore plus de saisir les éclairs. Ce que je n'ai jamais réussi jusqu'ici. Mais bon, c'est le plus orageux des orages que l'on a eus depuis le début de l'été.

Seeing a Deer

We saw a rare sight a few days ago, last Thursday n fact, when we picked up Wolfie from school. We were walking back to the car when we saw a shape moving, like running in the alleyways. At first I thought it was a dog, but then we saw it was a small deer. I tried to take a picture, without any luck: the deer was just way too fast. He ran from the alleyway to a park near the school, disappeared a moment out of sight, then ran back towards us, jumped away on a front garden, then he ran further away and disappeared. And that was it. Apparently, there have been sighting of a similar animal, maybe the same, elsewhere in town. It could be a muntjac, possibly, at least it has been speculated. I will keep you posted if we see the critter again and I will try to take a snapshot this time.

Gâteaux

 Photo prise il y a plus d'un mois, en avril, lors de la réunion familiale chez la cousine de ma femme. C'était dans un pub de village. Nous célébrions deux choses: 1)les cinquante ans de la cousine et 2)son second mariage. Il y avait donc deux gâteaux: un à la mangue et un autre au Biscoff ou au caramel (ou les deux?), je ne sais plus trop. J'ai essayé de ne pas trop exagérer, j'ai eu un morceau de chaque et c'était délicieux.

FCB Coffee

Here is one happy discovery we made during our stay in Brighton. I noticed it when we set foot in the train station: I saw a Flying Coffee Bean, or FCB Coffee stand. I thought at first it was a Flying Bean Café, which I always liked. But no, it's a completely different company. On the way back home, we stopped there for a drink and a snack for the journey. I love discovering these kinds of shops when I travel by train. Not necessarily big chains, but smaller ones which makes a railway station a little bit different than the others. It's one of the little things I enjoy when travelling.

Pizz@ïoli?

 Un court billet en forme de questionnaire et d'appel à tous: je bloguais le mois dernier sur la fin de Pizza Royale à Chicoutimi. Depuis 2013, il semblerait qu'une autre pizzeria ait pignon sur rue à la même adresse: Pizzaïoli. Ou Pizz@ïoli, avec un a commercial, à en croire leur logo. Quelqu'un y a déjà été? Si oui, c'est comment?

Looking for Devil's Peak

You may remember that I have been desperately looking for the TV series adaptation of Deon Meyer's Devil's Peak. I love his crime thrillers and of course I want to see all the adaptations of his work on the screen, whether they are movies or series. South Africa is such a great atmospheric setting for crime dramas and seeing it on screen adds a new perspective to the experience, like an extra layer. I thought it would screen on the BBC, eventually, but apparently it never did. I recently did a Google search and thought I could find it on Tubi, but again, no: it's available in the US and Canada, but not in the UK. I have started to wonder whether I should just subscribe to a streaming service that has it.

Les longs dimanches

Tout d'abord, un lieu commun: nous sommes aujourd'hui dimanche. Comment va votre dimanche? Est-il court ou long? Je transformerai peut-être cette question en question existentielle un de ces quatre, mais je voulais juste faire une observation sur les dimanches. J'ai des rapports ambivalents avec dimanche: c'est encore la fin de semaine, mais comme c'est aussi le dernier jour de la fin de semaine, à mesure que le temps passe, on sent pointer le lundi qui s'en vient. Dimanche est souvent monotone et mélancolique. Il l'était quand j'étais enfant en tout cas. Et il semblait alors très long. En même temps, si on avait un dimanche actif, avec beaucoup d'activités, il passait vite, il semblait court et alors la fin de semaine terminait trop vite. Donc, d'une certaine façon, je préférais parfois m'ennuyer un peu le dimanche, pour que le temps ne passe pas trop vite.

An Evening of Murder (pulp style)

 I am blogging again about An Evening of Murder, the murder party series which I really enjoyed when I was younger. This is the back cover from Beyond the Grave, the second box we played, but the very first game of the series. I will share its front cover another time, this post is not about the specific plot, but about the art on the back cover. I always loved its aesthetic, but it is misleading. The games are all whodunits, yet this image calls back to pulp fiction and hardboiled stories, with private eyes, gangsters and femmes fatales. I love it to bits all the same, but it is misleading. Anyway, my two cents.

Préparer la Saint-Jean

 Nouveau billet sur la Fête nationale, que je fêterai ici pour la vingtième fois, si je ne me trompe pas. Le plus gros de la célébration, nous la célèbrerons à Londres le 20 juin, puisque la Délégation générale du Québec à Londres prévoit quelque chose pour les expatriés comme moi. Ce sera ma troisième participation cette année. Je vais me répéter sans doute, mais fêter la Saint-Jean en expatrié nous fait vraiment prendre la mesure de notre québécitude. 

Glock (Signature Weapon)

This is a new post in my Signature Weapons series, about weapons that say something about the characters using them, especially but not exclusively in crime fiction. So today I am blogging about the Glock. This is the very first firearm of the series. And before I go further, a disclaimer: I know almost nothing of firearms, I'm not a gun enthusiast by any stretch of the imagination, I don't have a gun fetish either, so I am writing this as a complete outsider, but as an aspiring crime fiction writer. Now, I find Glocks interesting for a number of reasons: thematically, symbolically and practically. First, it is the service weapon of many police forces in the world, including the SQ (Sûreté du Québec). So this is often the weapon of choice of my characters. According to the TV Tropes entry on handguns, it has the reputation of being the boring but practical gun of all boring, but practical guns. It's reliable without being flashy. Also, it's an Austrian weapon, and the name is very close to the German Glocke, which means bell. I find it ironic that a weapon is thus linked to something often seen as delicate and playful, used to produce music. And yes, I am working to use this double entendre in couple of stories.

La collection de cocottes

 Vous ne le savez peut-être pas, mais petit loup aime les cocottes, pour une raison quelconque. Les cocottes, les bouts de bois, sinon les branches tombées des arbres, les cailloux, les roches, les fleurs sauvages et les cocottes. Il les collectionne: j'en retrouve dans son sac d'école et dans ses poches de manteau. Celle-ci, trouvée un matin d'avril alors qu'on allait à la gare, il ne l'a pas prise, parce qu'elle était trop grosse pour ses poches, mais j'ai pris une photo. Les cocottes me font toujours un peu penser à l'automne, je ne sais pas trop pourquoi.

Panda Babyccino

Sometimes, I go and pick up Wolfie from school by myself, when I have a free afternoon. We go and then stop at one of the local café, where we have a cake or a pastry to eat and something to drink. I drink a tea or a rooibos and he drinks a babyccino. They often make a design on them with the cocoa powder. It's often a panda, like this one. And that's it. It's just quite cute. It never fails to make Wolfie's day.

Chinoiseries (mot du jour)

 Photo prise au Royal Pavilion à Brighton. Vous y trouverez pleins d'exemples de chinoiseries, ces objets d'art européens qui évoquent la Chine. C'est une sorte d'exotisme qui est perçu comme un peu quétaine maintenant. Cela dit, tout exostisme est par définition quétaine, parce que c'est tout sauf authentique. J'imagine que les visiteurs du pavillon devaient trouver qu'ils plongeaient dans un autre monde. J'en avais aussi un peu l'impression, je le confesse, même si je sais que c'est un peu tomber dans un piège. Dans tous les cas, chinoiserie est le mot du jour.

A Spy at War

Back in 2024, I read A Spy Alone, debut novel of Charles Beaumont. He is a former MI6 operative, so he knows what he is talking about. I had decided to rediscover spy thrillers and read more of them. I quite enjoyed it, it was a neat suspense, set in our time and Beaumont's professional background gave the book authenticity and believability. I discovered recently that he wrote a sequel A Spy at War. I have a lot on my TBR list, so I might wait a bit to buy this one, but I am tempted to get my hands on it all the same. Besides, as I am blogging more and more about the world of espionage, it might be good to have this novel as a reference.

Pâté chinois (une idée pour la Saint-Jean)

 Ceci est un morceau du dernier pâté chinois que nous avons mangé, avec des betteraves bien entendu. Il date de mars dernier: ma femme avait trouvé où acheter du maïs en crème, fa que... Or, il m'est venu en tête une idée: pourquoi ne pas un pâté chinois pour le 24? Me semble qu'il serait temps et quee ça serait approprié. C'est notre plat national après tout. Bien entendu, il y a un problème potentiel: il risque de faire chaud pour un plat qui va au four. Mais bon, on verra dans le temps comme dans le temps.

Brussels, city of espionage

 This post is another one from my city of espionage series, talking of cities in the world closely associated with espionage and intelligence services. And today I chose one who may be lesser known in that regard. I am talking of course of Brussels. The capital city of Belgium and the administrative centre of the European Union, it is a city of vital geopolitical importance. Therefore it makes sense that Brussels is also a centre of international espionage. Yet, we don't really see it in fiction. I am not (yet) a connoisseur of spy thrillers, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember Brussels being featured in spy novels or movies. Or TV series. I don't even remember Brussels being mentioned, even in passing. I visited it once, years and years ago, and while I thought it looked like a nice enough city, I didn't see it as a paerticularly glamorous or exotic one, let alone a suitable place for gritty espionage dramas. But I think it deserves more recognition and it deserves to be featured more often in spy thrillers.

Dunkin Donuts revient au Québec

 Bon, je suis en retard sur les nouvelles, mais je tenais à le souligner: Dunkin Donuts revient au Québec. Enfin, il va être de retour dans quelques mois, si tout va bien. C'est une excellente nouvelle: j'ai toujours plus été Dunkin que Tim Hortons. Tim, que l'on appelait avec dédain Ti-Motton dans ma jeunesse (même ceux qui en mangeaient), c'était le second venu, c'était l'usurpateur. L'affaire qui a réussi à s'imposer que lorsque Dunkin Donuts a commencé à avoir des problèmes, d'abord, puis avec une série de publicités débiles que j'ai toujours détestée. En fait, les pubs de Tims étaient insultantes. Celles de Dunkin avaient Claire Pimparé, bon. Ce qui suffit pour aimer la marque. Non, sans rire, je trouve que la localisation de Dunkin a toujours été meilleure, ce qui explique leur succès initial et mon affection pour la marque. Donc, j'espère que Dunkin aura à nouveau du succès au Québec.

The Shark's Mouth

We went to Brighton for a week. SO I took a few pictures, which I will share in the upcoming days and weeks. My wife had wanted to visit Brighton for a while, because it's meant to be a kind of hippy place with lots of veggie and vegan restaurants. Which is kind of true. Anyway, it's near the sea, which means the city has its share of sea and marine imagery. I took this picture by a minigolf. We didn't stop there, but I big scary shark, even if it's not a real one. It looks like a real one anyway.

Le mois du Québec

 Nous sommes le premier juin. Je ne l'aimerais pas trop, sauf pour une chose qui fait toute la différence: c'est le mois de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, la Fête nationale du Québec et des Québécois. Alors attendez-vous à ce que Vraie Fiction prenne ce mois-ci les couleurs du Fleurdelisé, comme à chaque année. Le mois de juin, c'est aussi un peu le mois du Québec.

Farewell to a local pub

Well, this is not good news: one of the local pubs has been put on the market. My wife actually knows the wife of the landlord. It's not a very old pub, in fact it changed ownership and name a few times since we moved here. And it's not my favourite pub, mostly because I seldom visit it. Still, every time I've been there for a pint I enjoyed it. I tend to prefer smaller pubs, but this one looked nice enough and was generally quiet. Maybe it didn't have enough customers? I hope it doesn't get replaced by a big chain.

Le dernier jour de mai

Nous sommes le dernier jour de mai. Officiellement ou officieusement le dernier jour du printemps. Dans les faits, ice, nous sommes en été: il fait (trop) chaud et tout le monde est en mode estival. Je ne suis pas fan de ce genre de mois de mai. En même temps, je crains les mois qui s'en viennent. Ils risquent d'être pire. Et vous, votre mois de mai? Comment est-il/était-il?

Bulgarian Umbrella (Signature Weapon)

This post is part of my Signature Weapons series. While most of the weapons mentioned so far are either traditional weapons and/or belong to crime fiction, this one is fairly modern and was made infamous during the Cold War. You may never have heard the term Bulgarian umbrella, but I think you probably know the device: a seemingly mundane umbrella with a hidden mechanism capable of shooting ricin in a victim's body. It has been used in real life by the Bulgarian ecret Services against dissidents. It's a signature weapon in the truest sense, the literal sense. Because of its origins, it belongs more to spy thriller than crime fiction, at least it's a more natural fit, but who knows, sometimes both genres connect. Obviously (and naturally), this is a villain's weapon. 

METAL, Youppi et un calembour atroce

J'apprends via la grosse Presse que Youppi, la mascotte du CH, a un frère qui s'appelle METAL. J'ai lu l'article et je me suis qu'un frère qui s'appelle METAL, ben c'est heavy. Je sais, je sais, vous avez mal aux yeux de lire pareille ineptie. J'ai presque honte de vous faire subir ce calembour atroce. Presque.

Accursed Heatwave

 If you are living in the UK, even in Europe, you are experiencing it now (at least when I'm typing this): there is a heatwave. I have been expecting it, but not looking forward to it. In fact, I have been dreading it since the last heatwave we have experienced, back in August 2025, when we had two weeks of this horror. I don't like the heat, because of this I stopped liking summertime. I'm not sure exactly when, but I reallt dislike summertime now, at least and especially when it's hot outside. I hate the heat, it makes me numb, tired, restless, uncomfortable, irritable, it drains me of my energy. So yes, I'm looking forward for it to end.

Les sandales

 Petit billet estival, rien que parce que faut s'y faire. Je m'y fais très mal, mais enfin bref, c'est vraiment l'été. Et que porter en été? Des vêtements légers. Sur les pieds, des sandales. Mon frère Andrew en porte jusqu'en novembre, je crois. Bon, j'exagère, mais je regardais les photos datant de notre dernière visite à Montréal, en août 2024, et il portait toujours des sandales. Ce qui m'a frappé, c'est que 1)mon frère est la seule personne dans la famille qui porte des sandales durant l'été, 2)il porte les sandales depuis des années et 3)ça doit bien faire au moins quarante ans que je n'en porte plus.

Crime and Cognac (87th Precinct)

So I am in a binge reading streak these days, more specifically reconnecting with Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. And you may remember, if this post's title looks familiar, that I blogged last year about one of The Mugger's characters' fondness of cognac. It was to be more specific the hero's romantic interest. Well, after reading The Con Man, fourth book of the series, it seems that criminals can be also fond of cognac. I will not spoil anything, but the main villain (a very sinister one, by the way) drinks Remy Martin. He even pronounces the name properly, except when he mocks the waiter who brought the drink to him. I'm not sure what to think of it, but I can say that, while I am curious about cognac, which as far as I can remember I never drank, I don't think I'm eager to try Remy Martin. It's probably out of my price range anyway.

Première canicule

Bon, je sais que nous ne sommes pas encore officiellement l'été, mais on ne va pas se mentir: l'été est ici officieusement arrivé et il est arrivé en grande fanfare, sans crier gare, une vraie peste mêlée à du choléra dans une éruption volcanique. Parce que nous avons droit à notre première canicule et ce, depuis vendredi dernier. L'enfer ensoleillé. Il va sans dire que je déteste cordialement. Et vous, comment c'est chez vous?

"The Story of... Tea"

Quick blog post to plug a documentary I watched on Netflix and really enjoyed: The Story of... Tea. It's part of a documentary series on various drinks and food, I didn't watch any of the others, but this episode on tea was really nice. I learned a few things, about how it got introduced here in the UK and elsewhere and it's just nice to see how it is picked up and made. It remains to this day the most popular non-alcoholic beverage on earth. That's right. More than coffee. I don't know for you, but I find it kind of reassuring. Anyway, are you a tea drinker? What's your favourite brew?

Pizza Royale (correction)

 J'ai blogué vendredi dernier sur Pizza Royale, la pizzeria préférée de mon enfance à Chicoutimi. Mon frère PJ a fait des recherches et m'a confirmé qu'elle n'existe plus à Chicoutimi, bien qu'il y a encore des franchises à Québec. Oups. Et sa fermeture date d'au moins une quinzaine d'années. Re-oups. Elle a été remplacée par une autre pizzeria, sur laquelle je bloguerai peut-être. Dans tous les cas, si vous connaissez Pizza Royale et avez une idée de ce qui a pu la faire fermer à Chicoutimi, faites-le moi savoir dans les commentaires.

Dracula Day

 Today is World Dracula Day, as it is the anniversary of the publication of Dracula by Bram Stoker. It is by far my favourite horror novel ever and also one of my favourite novels all labels aside. I have lost count on how many times I read it. So I find it important that I commemorate today. Also, in my long countdown to Halloween, or my countdown to the countdown, today is also a stepping stone. Stoker's novel is an essential read for any horror fan ans it remains to this day the greatest vampire story ever told.

Boîte téléphonique anglaise

Photo prise il y a quelques mois, à la fin mars je crois, dans un petit village pas très loin de chez nous. Nous y étions allés à pied. Ce genre de boîtes téléphoniques, si typique de l'Angleterre, on ne les retrouve pas si souvent de nos jours. En fait, elle servent àpour faire joli pour les touristes plus qu'autre chose. Quand même, je partage, justement parce que c'est joli et typique de mon pays d'adoption. Et ça a un charme. Un charme désuet, mais un charme quand même.

Military 1st(?)

 I don't know what the YouTube algorithms tell me about myself, but for the last few weeks, I have been seeing adverts about Military 1st, an army surplus shop that sells, among other things, combat clothing, outdoor clothing and tactical gears. Maybe because I like olive and forest green clothes? (Ironically enough, my wife hates green clothes.) But surely, YouTube cannot know this about me. Anyway, I had a look on their website. There are a few of their clothing articles that look nice in a totally unpretentious way and, well, green, but I don't do enough outdoors activities to order any. Still, it's kind of spooky to get such marketing every time I watch a YouTube video.

Le cidre de Corneille

 Bon, c'est le temps d'un nouveau calembour atroce. Je sais que je ne suis pas le seul à l'avoir commis. Je crois l'avoir entendu dans Ding et Dong le film, notamment. Donc, je ne suis pas du tout original, mais il faut quand même le proférer ici rien que parce que c'est vraiment mauvais: vous connaissez Le Cid de Corneille? Bon, c'est à ne pas confondre avec le cidre de Corneille. J'imagine que vos yeux saignent rien que de lire ça. Dites-le et vos oreilles saigneront aussi.

Evil Milk

I have been wanting to share this meme for a while now and thought, why not today. Now, I have only watched one movie of thee four featured here. It is, of course, A Clockwork Orange, my favourite film and based on a novel by my favourite author, Anthony Burgess. In both book and movie, milk represents purity, innocence and a certain barbarism, if not downright bestial savagery. My reflection on milk in fiction can befound in this post from 2010. So this meme is not new to me, but it's still worth sharing.

Un dragon noir à la Tour de Londres

Photo prise dans la boutique de souvenirs de la Tour de Londres. C'est le deuxième dragon que j'ai pris en photo cette journée-là. Ce dragon-ci était un dragon toutou énorme et il était là pour faire beau, il n'était hélas pas à vendre. Pas que j'aurais pû le transporter, mais petit loup aurait beaucoup aimé le rajouter à sa ménagerie.