Bonfire Night

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

So today (tonight, rather) is Bonfire Night. I always mention it on the blog. This year, to mark the date, I am sharing a picture from the Ladybird childhood classic Stories of Special Days and Customs. I found it a few weeks ago in a charity shop, and I regret nothing. It's a very dramatic image of the historical origins of the night, the (in)famous Gunpowder Plot. Otherwise, if you live in the UK, tell me if you celebrate.

Feu de foyer au sous-sol

Mon père m'a envoyé une photo d'un feu de foyer, qu'il a fait dans le foyer du sous-sol. Ce qui est rare. Je me demande ce qu'il y a de mieux qu'un feu de foyer en automne. À part, peut-être, un feu de foyer en hiver. Mais je crois qu'en automne, c'est encore mieux.

What to Love in November

If you read old posts from this blog, I mean really old ones, like dating back to 2008 or 2010, you might be surprised to see that I did not like November one bit back then. Or at least I stated that I did not like the month. Too close after Halloween, to far away still from Christmas. Maybe it's maturity kicking in, maybe it's because I worked a lot on it, but I now love the month. Sure, I still have the blues early on, but even I learned to appreciate it. Anyway, here's a list of what to love in November:

• It's still autumn, and it might be the most autumnal month.
• November tends to be quieter than any other month of the year. It's time to slow down, to appreciate things more. It's the month of comfort.
• The smell of bonfire here. I'm not too keen on fireworks, but there's just something about bonfire in autumn, and the smell is everywhere this time of year.
• It's also Noirvember. Time to watch and read a lot of crime fiction. 
•  Even boredom and melancholy has its use. I tend to be melancholic all year round, but in November, it's a comfortable feeling.

Anyway, that's my list. Do you enjoy November? If so, why? 

A Coven

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to blog about witches again. I love them both as Halloween characters/critters and as antagonists in horror stories. I think our horror stories need more witches. And what is scarier than a witch? A gathering of witches, aka a coven. During on eof his walks in the neighbourhood, my father took a picture of one of them. At least I think it was meant to represent a coven, albeit a small one. Maybe they are the Weird Sisters, but I think three is a crowd. I have written a few horror stories, most of them involving a witch, one day I want to write about a whole coven. In any case, I find this display both terrifying and inspiring. And you, what do you think of it?

Fearsome Witch

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to share a picture my father took during one of his walks. There are already Halloween displays in front of houses, like this one, ready for trick or treat. You might have seen this witch before, because it's on display every year and every year I share a few pictures of her. She is just deliciously sinister. And this year, she is putting a Jack O'Lantern in a cauldron. God knows what she is stewing in there. I think there is a story to tell about her. Maybe one day.

Autumnal Chronicle

I thought it was time for a new autumnal post, this time a generic post about how autumn is so far. Because yes, it is autumn, because yes, the season starts with September. So here are my observations about autumn here:

• So far, it's not ideal, as it is a tad too warm. Yet, after the ridiculous and never ending heatwaves of summertime, it's still enjoyable. (More on this below.)
• Morning and evenings tend to be cool, so I can wear a light jacket or coat. It's lovely.
• While it's not cold enough yet to wear thick jumpers, at least I have been able to wear long sleeve shirts for the first time in months.
•  Trees have started showing some colours. Not much, but still.
•  There is often a nice, cool breeze that makes even warmer days tolerable.
•  For some mysterious reason, we can often smell bonfire when we step outside.
• The sun goes down earlier. Yeah, I know, it's supposed to, but it's more noticeable and every time the dimming light is just lovely.

So that's my pre-equinox autumn so far, how is yours? I will write more in the upcoming days.

La queue d'un dragon

Photo prise au Royal Pavilion à Brighton. Comme tout est décoré à la chinoise, ou en tout cas à la pseudo-chinoise, avec des dragons partout, il y a une exhibition sur les dragons. On trouve aussi dans le pavillons deux dragons espiègles (je ne me rappelle plus des noms), un rouge et un vert, qui se promènent partout et font parfois du saccage. J'ai pu prendre une photo de la queue d'un d'entre eux, qui montait une cheminée. Vous voyez les traces de ses pattes sur la dalle de pierre.

Le temps du feu de foyer

 Photo prise il y a quelques semaines. Juste pour dire que c'est le temps des feux de foyer ces temps-ci. C'est calmant, après une période toujours effrénée.

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. 

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.

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.

Fear the Witch

For today's countdown to Halloween post, another witch, because Halloween is truly their season. You might remember last year, I blogged about a scary witch on a lawn. Well, the witch is back, by a bonfire that has not been lit just yet. There's no cauldron yet either, but I suspect she is preparing the fire to cook something, or... someone. Seriously, there are some great Halloween props that could be used as inspiration for horror stories. This is one of them.

More Halloween Tea

For today's countdown to Halloween post, let's talk about tea. I am a bit of a weirdo for an autumn and Halloween lover: as I don't like coffee, I don't care about pumpkin spice latte. Instead, I go for autumn teas, which are just as suitable. So recently, I was looking for new pumpkin and autumnal teas available here in the UK' and I found out that Whittard has a Spiced Pumpkin Chai. Just my kind of thing. We had a Whittard in town, but it closed down more than 15 years ago.I promise to revisit the next Whittard shop I come across and stock myself.

Pumpkin Spice Chai

I love tea, but I love to drink tea even more in autumn. Hence, I love autumn tea. So I was happily surprised to discover that Teapigs has its own blend of autumn tea, the Pumpkin Spice Chai. And it's naturally caffeine free as well, so this will be my go-to hot drink in the evening. That should last me until Halloween, maybe after. Which is fitting, as it is a pumpkin tea. And if you have more suggestions for autumn teas, please let me know in the comments.

Autumnal Chronicle

 This year, I really cannot complain about autumn: since the beginning of September it has been truly great, like I did not hope it would be. Here is a list of the things I enjoyed these last few days:

• Almost every afternoon when we pick up Wolfie from school, it smells of bonfire. I thought it was a one off, but no.
• While it can get warmer in the afternoon, it nevertheless remains cool enough to warrant long sleeve shirts, if not jumpers and fleece.
• In fact, I have started wearing my thick jumpers in the evening.
• I also wear thick socks and sometimes gloves.
• Evening is falling earlier and earlier every day. The light is absolutely gorgeous.
• It's still sunny, yet cool. Pure bliss.
• The leaves on the trees are showing colours earlier this year. 

Anyway, that's my autumn so far. What about yours? 

The smell of bonfire

 We were going to pick up our son yesterday. It was a tad cool and the colours had started showing in the trees on our way. It was feeling very autumnal, then it went up a notch: we could smell bonfire in the air. We did not see where it came from, we could not see any smoke, but the smell was very distinctive. I love it. Today was way too warm, but it should go down dramatically this weekend. So I am in a happy, borderline blissful, autumnal mood.

Montréal sous le smog

Des fois, j'ai mal à mon Québec et à mon Montréal. Enfin bref, triste nouvelle: j'apprends dans la grosse Presse que les feux de forêt ont donné du smog à Montréal. L'horreur, l'horreur. L'ambiance (je n'ose pas dire l'atmosphère) était paraît-il apocalyptique. C'est vraiment triste de voir ma ville souffrir ainsi.

Des renards pour ma fête

Mon fils a trouv, quelques jours avant ma fête, une carte d'anniversaire qu'il a tenu à acheter pour moi. C'est celle-ci. Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi il trouve qu'elle représente vraiment son père, à part que les renards figurent parmi mes animaux préférés. Ou alors il trouve que les guimauves sur le feu de camp, c'est vraiment une activité père-fils essentielle. Même si je n'ai fait ça avec lui qu'une suele fois. Dans tous les cas, c'est une image vraiment cute.

Feu de foyer (2)

 Photo envoyée par mon père. Je partage ici parce que. Il fait froid ces temps-ci et j'aimerais pouvoir profiter d'un feu de foyer.

Feu de foyer

Mon père m'a envoyé des photos du feu de foyer qu'ils ont fait le Jour de l'An. Une belle manière de commencer l'année.