Fizzy Fest

 I blogged about a month ago about the Fizzy Fest, a of prosecco festival that will be held in the very English town of Marlow in mid-July And not just any prosecco festival, but "the prosecco superior festival". Sunds very posh and a bit snobby, but I'm all for it. Anyway, it has a cool promotional poster, it looks more like a gathering of educated English ladies of good families, but hey, they might let me in if I go there with my wife. And if not this year (we may have other engagements), then the next, because I suspect it will be a success.

"Au moins il neige pas"

Une amie a partagé ce meme sur Facebook. J'ai décidé de le partager, parce que c'est pas mal comme ça qu'on se sent ces temps-ci ici: c'est plein de bibittes, c'est chaud, c'est collant, c'est franchement dégeueulasse. Et j'en ai plein mon *st** de calvaire. Mais ce qui m'agace le plus, c'est l'attitude béate et franchement masochiste de ceux qui aiment l'été. C'est pas mal comme ça que le les vois. Ah oui, et c'est le solstice aujourd'hui. Calvaire.

007 First Light

You know I'm a  James Bond fan, from the movies as well as the original books by Ian Fleming. With (shudder) Amazon taking over the Bond franchise and taking creative control, I often despair, doubting I will ever see my favourite hero any time soon on film, and very skeptical they can do him justice. That said, I got cautiously optimistic when I saw the teaser for the videogame 007 First Light. I generally don't play videogames, but this one seems to be getting at least a few things right: Bond's past and the death of his parents, for instance, as well as his scar, a signature in the novels. Sure, they may seem superficial, but it seems that the creators have done their homework. Now I don't own a PlayStation and I may never play the game, but it's nice to know it is being made. You can see the teaser below, in any case. Tell me what you think.

Mafalda et le monde

Photo prise sur la page Facebook officielle de Mafalda,publiée récemment parce que, la situation internationale... Enfin, bien entendu. Et comme d'habitude, Mafalda est mon remède contre la mélancolie ainsi que l'angoisse existentielle.

"Summer Books"

I took this picture during our visit to The Little Bookshop in Cookham. I really like the retro display. Anyway, as you know, I loathe summertime. I try to survive it, through various means. Among them, of course, is reading. I loathe summertime, but I do read seasonally, because I enjoy summer books, paradoxically. So I always eagerly pick up this free seasonal leaflet from Books Are My Bag. It always has something in there that is worth reading, or at least buying. So yeah, I picked one leaflet, checked it, and bought a book listed in it. Because for me, summer can only be tolerable if I lose myself in a book.

Moules et frites

Des fois mon père m'envoie des photos de ce qu'il a cuisiné. Et il y a quelques jours, il a fait des moules et des frites. Lesmoules et frites, c'est pas mal mon idée du bonheur, la mer et la terre qui se rejoingnent dans une assiette. Ah oui, et avec de la mayonnaise pour les frites, bien entendu. Je crois que la prochaine fois où je mettrai les pieds dans un restaurant français, c'est ce que je vais commander. Ils ont souvent des moules et frites au menu et ça fait environ mille ans que j'en ai pas mangé.

The New C of SIS/MI6

There is a bit of news, not already getting old news, which I have been wanting to blog on. As you know, I like a good bit of spy fiction, albeit I don't read as much spy fiction as crime fiction. But yeah, I do enjoy it. Anyway, I learned recently that SIS, also known as MI6, has a new C. Which is the real life equivalent of M in James Bond movies (and books! Never forget that they were books before). And for the first time in its history, it is a woman, Blaise Metreweli. The Bond films had already started the trend in 1995. But what really struck me reading about her is her age: she is only a few months younger than me! Ouch! Moral of the story: some people just get cool careers, even if they are civil servants.

J't'aime comme un fou

La Saint-Jean approche,alors je mets plus de musique québécoise ici. Je n'ai pas partagé de chanson de Robert Charlebois depuis 2023, ce qui est quand même aberrant, alors voici J't'aime comme un fou. Ce n'est pas ma préférée, mais je me rappelle qu'il l'a interprétée lors du spectacle de 1994 avec énergie. Et l'année d'après, en août 1995, au Vieux-Port de Chicoutimi. J'y étais, ce fût une belle soirée.

The Summer of our Discontent

"Now is the summer of our discontent..." I am paraphrasing Shakespeare, but here it is: our first heatwave is on its way. It's pretty much here, as far as I am concerned: I get uncomfortable when it goes up to 25 degrees. And it will go above it. At least now, thanks to social media, I know that I am not the only one to suffer: there is a whole community of people who hate summertime. I'm glad, because I literally cannot stand the noise, the blissful sun worshipping of people who seem so eager to get burned. So I found a support group, I try to cope with the heat and well, if everything goes well, summer will be over soon enough.

York vu de haut

 Photo prise à York, du haut de la Clifford's Tower. On peut voir York Minster au loin. Je n'ai pas assez partagé des photos de notre dernier voyage à York, l'une de mes grandes villes préférées dans celles que j'ai visitées. J'ai tendance à souffrir parfois d'un léger vertige, surtout lorsque je suis en hauteur à l'extérieur, sur un balcon ou une plateforme quelconque. Paradoxalement, j'aime vraiment voir une ville de haut. Et le médiéviste de formation que je suis aime bien entendu visiter les constructions médiévales, alors j'étais servi.

Weaponry for the Arsenal

 You may remember that I blog from time to time about the "War Game", a make-belief game Wolfie invented a few years ago. It's a mix of spy and crime adventures and it is really fun, like the game I played as a child. We haven't played it for a while, but this should change soon. Because we went at a local fête recently and in one of the game stands Wolfie won a price and he choosed this toy. We have plenty of weapons and equipment in the artillery drawer, but Wolfie loves the novelty (and the variety). So I'm expecting to receive a new mission orders soon.

Canard blanc (une pensée et une question)

Il y avait une fête locale en fin de semaine, nous y sommes allés. Parmi les attractions, il y avait des animaux de ferme dans les enclos, dont des canards. Dont ce canard blanc, que Wolfie a semblé bien aimer )parce qu'il était distinct des autres). Une question comme ça: y a-t-il des canards blancs à l'état sauvage? À part les albinos, je veux dire. Je ne me rappelle pas en avoir vu. Si j'associe les canards sauvages à l'automne, les canards blancs, je les associe à la domesticité et à la ferme. Il est cute quand même.

Cuba Libre VS Rum&Coke

I discovered something recently and I feel really silly. I used to think that the Cuba Libre cocktail was just a Rum and Coke with a fancier name. They even have the same Wikipedia entry. Well, not quite. There is a difference: the Cuba Libre has to have lime in it, from what I understand either a slice or a bit of its juice. So a Rum and Coke is not a full on Cuba Libre, in fact it is the Coba Libre's poorer brother. I feel like such a Philistine. I seldom order cocktails, last time I ordered a Rum and Coke was in 2018. Probably because there was no beer I liked at the pub. So anyway, next time I will make sure I order the right thing and say a Cuba Libre.

Le Gars d'la Compagnie

Parce que c'est la Saint-Jean bientôt, voici une des Cowboys Fringants. La première que j'ai entendue, il y a de cela des années, dans un bar de Chicoutimi. Une chanson engagée en plus, et une des meilleures du genre, à la fois amère et festive.

The Little Bookshop

I have been wanting to visit it since 2020. Yesterday, I finally got my wish granted: we went to The Little Bookshop in Cookham. I think I'm in love, it's like the perfect quaint village bookshop. As it was also the first day of Independent Bookshop Week, I decided not to behave, I spent like a drunken sailor and I bought myself five books. I would have bought more, but Wolfie didn't find anything he liked and my wife did not dare, fearing rightly I might go on a hoarding spree. Then again, I thought I would spoil myself as it is today Father's Day. Which the bookshop advertised quite a lot, so it's all fair. Anyway, we will not go back to Cookham any time soon, so I think it's okay to make the best of our short visit. Until next time.

Pâté chinois

Autre photo du dernier pâté chinois que j'ai fait il y a une semaine environ. Le maïs n'était pas en crème, ce qui m'a fait beaucoup de peine, c'est un peu sec à mon goût avec du blé d'Inde "ordinaire". Mais je me suis rattrapé avec beaucoup, beaucoup de beurre et de lait dans les patates. L'expérience a été concluante (lire: Wolfie a aimé) et je devrais en cuisiner un autre dans quelques jours. Avec des betteraves, cette fois-ci,parce que vraiment sans les bettes, il manquait quelque chose.

Independent Bookshop week

 Quick announcement for those living in the UK and who love books: today is the beginning of Independent Bookshop Week. I will of course make time to go to the local bookshop, where I might not behave.

Les fraises du Québec

C'est juin, c'est donc le temps des fraises au Québec. Mon père me l'a rappelé en m'envoyant des photos de... ben... de fraises, bien entendu. Je vais passer pour chauvin, encore une fois, mais il n'y a pas de fraises belles comme ça ici. Je peux en témoigner. Même quand elles sont rouges de l'intérieur, elles ne sont pas rouges comme ça. Je ne peux pas exagérer à quel point les fraises du Québec sont bonnes, surtout si on les compare.

Friday the 13th of June

Let's just state the obvious: today is Friday the 13th. The very first this year and the only one too. Not that it matters: I am not superstitious, for one, and second, I know from experience that sometimes every Friday is Friday the 13th, in a way, when things go bad. I used to call Friday "the day out at the madhouse". But I digress. Yesterday was truly more Friday the thirteenesque: we lost the internet connection in the neighbourhood for a few hours. I am not saying things cannot go bad today, of course not (I am not jixing anything), but let's face it: a bad day is a bad day is a bad day, whatever the date. Worrying about what may happen is pointless. If a bad day happens, you need to cope with it then and there. So anyway, to all of you, I hope you have a good day today.

Question existentielle (396)

Nous sommes vendredi 13, alors je me pose une question existentielle:

-Est-ce que le treize du mois, surtout un vendredi treize, fait le mois?