Bushmills for Saint Paddy's?

 "McNulty: Can I get a Jameson?
Bartender: Bushmills OK?
McNulty: That’s Protestant whiskey.
Bartender: Price is right, ain’t it?
McNulty: Make it neat."

Well, first thing first: happy Saint Patrick's Day to you all. I will make time to drink today and, at some point, I might even accompany my usual pint with a shot of some Irish spirit. It might be Bushmills, even though it would be ironic to drink a Protestant whiskey on the day of a Catholic saint. But when we went to Belfast, we visited their distillery briefly. Could be a nice way to remember the trip. Oh and for those who don't know where the exchange above is from, it's from The Wire. You can watch the scene here. I've been wanting to say the reply next time they offer me some in a pub. Haven't had the chance since the local Irish pub shut down, but maybe today is my lucky day. Luck of the Irish, as they say.

Guinness (the crisps)

Tomorrow is Saint Patrick's Day, so I am preparing myself to it. I bought a few pints of Guinness and... and, well, that's it so far. No food for the special day. The Irish make the best crisps (see my post here). And you may be aware, if not please keep it in mind for tomorrow, that Guinness is also a flavour of crisps by Keogh's. I discovered them when we went to Belfast. There's Guinness and Flame Grill Steak, which I tried, and Guinness and Oyster, which I did not, because I didn't know it existed. Anyway, these crisps go well with, well, a pint of Guinness. I hope I can find some tomorrow (you never know).

An Irish Harp for Saint Paddy's?

Well, Saint Paddy's Day is coming and I thought it was about time that I blogged about it this year and prepare for it. Because as I am typing this, I haven't purchased a single Irish beer and I haven't really prepared anything for the 17th. Shame on me. Anyway, I will head on the nearest off license asap and sort things out. It struck me that there are more than one brand of Irish beer available. I drank this beer in Belfast, but I know I can buy Harp here too. Although I have strong opinion against drinking lager on St Patrick's Day and I still can't get my head around the very existence of Irish lagers, they exist and I could maybe add them to the drink menu. Just maybe. Like at the end of the evening. I will see what I can find.

Un ours en "forêt"

J'ai pris cette photo en 2024 à l'Ulster Museum de Belfast. Vous connaissez sans doute ma fascination pour la taxidermie, j'ai donc passé beaucoup de temps à regarder des bêtes empaillées, comme cet ours. Sur ses deux pattes, il a l'air presque vivant et, si on ne voyait pas les angles de la photo d'arrière-plan, on le croirait vraiment en forêt. C'est ce que j'aime aussi des animaux empaillés: avec le bon décor, on se croirait vraiment dans un autre environnement.

Catholics VS Protestants (Derry Girls)

 Has anyone here watched Derry Girls? I'm late to the party, but I discovered it recently on Netflix and binge watched it with delight. Really enjoyed it. The sitcom first caught my attention during our trip to Belfast last year. There was this chalkboard a the Ulster Museum, which I thought was funny. It was taken from the show. In context, it's absolutely hilarious. Anyway, you can watch it here. But I cannot encourage you enough to watch the full series.

Écureuil roux

J'ai pris cette photo à l'Ulster Museum de Belfast. Un peu parce que j'ai toujours aimé la taxidermie, mais aussi parce que j'aime les écureuils roux et qu'ils se font rares dans la vraie vie. Maintenant, on ne voit que des écureuils gris. En fait, je ne me rappelle pas en avoir vu des roux à l'état sauvage depuis mon enfance. Il y en avait un qui venait faire des tours chez nous parfois. Mais c'est peut-être une fausse mémoire: peut-être que c'était aussi un écureuil gris. Je demanderai à mon père, il a peut-être une photo de la bête.

Fish & Chips for Good Friday

Today is Good Friday. I always loved Good Friday: it's a holiday, it's generally a relaxing day and it means that I can, ahem, fast. By fasting, I mean stuffing my face with fish and chips. Since I live in England, it's not Good Friday without fish and chips. I often enjoy more the Good Friday meal than what we have at Easter. I had these ones last year in Belfast, at the hotel restaurant.

"Pro tanto quid retribuamus"

 Photo prise lors de nos vacances à Belfast il y a un an. C'est le blason de Belfast avec la devise latine de la ville: "Pro tanto quid retribuamus". Traduite en français par moi même et de mon mieux (je suis un piètre latiniste), cela veut dire: "En retour de tant, que pouvons-nous redonner?" Connaissant l'histoire trouble de la ville et de l'Irlande du Nord en général, c'est une devise assez ironique. Comme c'est le cas de bien des devises latines, à bien y penser.

Tim Hortons in Belfast

Okay, so you might be interested to know (or not), but we found out that there is a Tim Hortons in Belfast. We saw it last year during our holiday there. The question I asked myself seeing it is: haven't they suffered enough already? For my wife, it was a no brainer: we had to stop there. For some reason, probably because she is British and an Anglo, she finds Tim Hortons very appealing, as if it is both familiar and exotic. For me, it's a chain that gives rubbish adverts (the Québec ones are notoriously abysmal) and is grossly overrated.

Drapeau irlandais

 Depuis le début de la journée, j'ai écouté de la musique irlandaise en regardant les photos de notre voyage à Belfast l'an dernier. Je me sens vaguement irlandais aujourd'hui. Je sais, ce n'est pas vraiment original, tout ce qu'il y a de pseudo-irlandais se manifeste lors de la Saint-Patrick, mais je pense avoir un peu légitimement le droit. Parce que selon l'un de mes oncles maternels, nous avons des ancêtres Ulster Scots, donc d'Irlande du Nord. Alors j'ai un certain attachement pour le drapeau irlandais.

Luck of the Irish

 Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone! It is one of my favourite holidays, not only because I have many fond memories of of many Saint Paddy's, since I started observing it in Montreal nearly 30 years ago, but because I love Ireland and the Irish people. I took this picture during our holiday in Belfast. Not the most original, but I do find it fitting to start the celebrations with a friendly leprechaun and a pot of gold. I wish all my readers the luck of the Irish.

Smithwick's for St Paddy's

Saint Paddy's Day is tomorrow and I thought I would blog about Irish beers. I took this picture during last year's holiday in Belfast.But I drank Smithwick's countless times before, during my first year at uni here in the UK specifically, but also in Montreal from time to time. Ironically, I kind of stopped after a while. I just can't seem to see Smithwick's anywhere round here. Or maybe I was channelling my Irishness more then? It certainly was a big part of my earyly twenties. People tend to forget that there are other Irish beers than Guinness. If you don't like stouts, or you rather have something different for variety's sake On Saint Patrick's Day, I suggest this one.

Titanic on the bookshelves

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

A Boar's Head

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

Chevreuil géant préhistorique

Photo prise à l'Ulster Museum lors de nos vacances à Belfast. Un squelette de chevreuil géant, je crois qu'il est préhistorique.

Irish Lager?

I tried quite a few beers during our last holiday in Belfast. Beers I drank time and again in the past, when I was a student here in England (more on that in a future post) and beers I never tried before. Including the Clonmel. I ordered it not knowing anything about it, except that it was Irish. It turned out to be a... lager. I don't drink lager, usually, it is against my most profound beliefs. I was surprised to enjoy it, it is very tasty for a lager, probably because it is Irish. Still, I think it's kind of weird, Ireland now producing lagers.

Titanic Games

There are a lot of things I learned on Titanic Belfast, a museum we visited with great interest. Wolfie most of all, as he is fascinated by the Titanic.In the last section of the experience, we discovered that there are games based on the ill-fated ship. Among them a puzzle and some board games. The puzzle looks very nice, so I will try to find it. But the board game is what truly caught my attention. We have too many board games already and too little time to play them, but all the same, I want to find this one, or another. What I find interesting about using the Titanic as a setting is that it adds a dramatic element to the game play. I think Wolfie and I might enjoy it a lot.

Irish Whiskey (on the Titanic)

I took this picture on Titanic Belfast, the fancy museum about the Titanic. We went to Belfast because of the museum, as Wolfie has developed a keen interest about the Titanic, which borders on obsession. I have to say, I loved it too, I found it very fascinating. You might not be surprised to know that they served Irish whiskey on board. Well, of course. I was actually happily surprised to discover that Dunville's still exists. So I could drink the same whiskey they served on the Titanic. Kinda cool to think about it. I don't drink much whiskey of any kind, but I do like it with a beer from time to time. So I might try Dunville's one day.

Le cidre en Normandie (et en Ulster!)

 Photo prise à l'Ulster Museum lors de nos vacances à Belfast. Un tableau de William John Hennesy, il s'intitule Fête Day in a Cider Orchard, Normandy. J'ai reconnu le cidre immédiatement, sans vouloir me vanter. Je n'ai jamais mis les pieds en Normandie (faudra corriger ça un jour), mais j'ai vu ce genre de méthode traditionnelle pour faire du cidre à bien des fêtes bretonnes.

True Irish Ghost Stories

I always buy at least one book when I go somewhere on holiday. It's just something I do, to give myself a feel of the place, if I have time to read some of it, or as souvenir, if I don't. Our last trip in Belfast was no exception. I bought True Irish Ghost Stories. Not sure how genuinely true they are, you know I am a sceptic, but this will come in handy during my countdown to Halloween. I find it important to have something Irish during the countdown, as Halloween is originally an Irish holiday. I also hope it will inspire my own spooky writing. Which is one of the reasons why I love to read these "real" accounts of the paranormal.