Roasted Nuts for Christmas

 I love the products of  Rebellion Beer. I love their beers all time of year, but especially come Christmastime, because they really have perfectly seasonal ones. So yesterday, we went to a day out at the petting zoo, our first Christmassee day out, and I saw they were selling Roasted Nuts. Roasted Nuts is available all year round now, but it truly is a Christmas beer in my eyes. So I had half a pint, because that was the only format they were selling it into. On a cold day like yesterday, it's a pleasure.

La Marche des Rois

Comme le veut la tradition sur ce blogue, je partage La marche des rois. Je le fais parce que c'est le premier décembre, premier jour de l'Avent (en fait non, officiellement c'était hier, mais bon, ça n'a pas d'importance,pour tout le monde ça commence avec décembre).

The Marlow Donkey (the railway line)

I took this picture in one of our latest trips to Marlow. Before the Marlow Donkey was a pub near the train station, which was bigger than the one they have now, it was the affectionate nickname given to the branch line. I love all things trains and their history, big or small, so I wanted to share it here. If you increase the image, you might be able to read about the line's history.

Série Noire pour l'Avent

 J'ai blogué à plusieurs reprises sur Un beau cadeau, un polar publié par Série Noire. Le roman a cette originalité d'être un polar de l'Avent, donc un roman qui se lit comme un calendrier de l'Avent, un jour, un chapitre. Il y a de ça environ trente ans (je crois que c'était en 1998) que je l'ai vu pour la premièr eet dernière fois. Je regrette amèrement jusqu'à ce jour de ne l'avoir pas acheté. Mais je l'ai mis sur ma liste de cadeaux de Noël et j'espère pouvoir le lire pour l'Avent de l'an prochain. Il doit bien se trouver quelque part.

Christmas in the Jewellery

Is it too early to talk about Christmas? I guess not, although I try to avoid the topic until December, or at least until very late November. Well, it gets hard, as Christmas comes earlier and earlier. So anyway, you may remember that I blogged last year about a jewellery in Marlow that had really nice decorations. They did it again this year, with this big teddy bear and sort of slide of presents. It's very cute. Last time we went into Marlow, I took this picture so I could share it here.

Beaujolais pas nouveau

 Bon, c'est le temps du Beaujolais nouveau. Je ne suis pas un grand amateur de vin, ni encore moins un connaisseur, mais j'aime bien parfois suivre la tendance et les vieilles traditions, enfin bref, il m'arrive de boire du Beaujolais nouveau. Ma femme en a donc commandé lors de notre dernière épicerie. Je me suis rendu compte que c'était du Beaujolais de... 2023. Je l'ai bu quand même. Pour être honnête, je ne fais pas la différence.

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.