Spies in Stokenchurch

You may remember that two years ago I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Spy Alone, debut espionage novel of Charles Beaumont. An important portion of the novel is set in England and I already mentioned that I enjoyed reading about places I was familiar with, but within the context of a spy thriller. Well, I was surprised to see that the village of Stokenchurch is featured in the plot. One chapter is even named after it. I have been to Stokenchurch a few times as it's not very far from here. I have not visited it in a while. Anyway, that's what is said about it: "They pull off the M40 at Stokenchurch, a village high in the Chiltern ridge. It's a strangely charmless place: in spite of a village green and a few pubs it feels cold and empty. The sort of place you don't stop at unless you really have to." It's a pretty fair assessment of the place, and when we stopped there, it was indeed because we had to. Nevertheless, if I visit it again, I will look out for spies. Because you never know.

Lammas Day ("there comes an autumn sickle...")

 

And as the daylight's fading
When Lammas has come in
And gleamers go to work among the stubble
There comes an autumn sickle
To cut the summer's throat
Before the season knows it is in trouble

Martin Newell, Black Shuck

 We are Lammas Day, the first of August. As a tradition on Vraie Fiction, I quote this poem, maybe my favourite poem ever. A scary story in the form of a poem. Anyway, for me these verses remind me that autumn and Halloween are coming and they put me in an autumnal and spooky mood.

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.

"Beware the Ides of March"

 Today is the 15th of March, therefore, this is the Ides of March. Which means that it is the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar.A rather gruesome anniversary, but it shapes the world like not many others did, for centuries to come. I blog about it every year, it's a sort of tradition, because I love history and I get in an Ancient Rome mood round this time of year. That and an Irish mood, too, but I digress. So yeah, as you probably, we owe to Shakespeare the line "Beware the Ides of March," you can hear it in Julius Caesar. I have yet to see the whole play, shame on me. For me, it reminds me of this scene from the HBO series Rome. I am going to watch it. If you do, fair warning: it is very bloody.

"Pas grand-chose, c'est quelque chose."

 Je suis en train de lire (et, je l'espère, de terminer, car je lis trop lentement) le polar Entre deux mondes d'Olivier Norek. Un excellent roman noir comme ils en font de l'autre côté de la Manche. Et il y a de grandes répliques dans ce livre, je voulais en partager une. Le héros Adam Sarkis, ancien flic syrien devenu réfugié dans la Jungle de Calais, se fait demander par sa nouvelle connaissance Ousmane s'il a de l'argent. Il répond pas grand-chose, croyant être prudent. Ousmane lui dit alors: "Pas grand-chose pour qui? Pas grand-chose, c'est quelque chose. Je sais que tu as de l'argent, puisque tu viens d'arriver. (...) Mais tu dois toujours répondre non." Et voilà, c'est tout, je crois que ça peut s'appliquer à bien des situations, pas seulement celles des réfugiés. On a toujours quelque chose pour les gens mal intentionnés. Et sinon, lisez le livre, c'est vraiment un grand roman policier, une grande découverte dans le genre pour moi.

Voltaire (citation apocryphe)

 Tiens, j'en ai appris une bien bonne aujourd'hui et je voulais la raconter. C'est une citation apocryphe de Voltaire, mais quand même, elle est drôle. Donc, sur son lit de mort, le 30 mai 1778, un prêtre vient à son chevet.

Le prêtre: "Renoncez-vous à Satan, mon fils?"

Voltaire: "Mon bon monsieur, ce n'est vraiment pas le moment de me faire de nouveaux ennemis." 

Bon, comme je dis, c'est apocryphe, mais c'est plein d'esprit. Une part de moi espère vraiment que ce soit vrai.

Safari Outfits in South Africa

At the moment, I am rereading South African crime writer Deon Meyer's novel Blood Safari. I know I have a huge pile of TBR, however I was in the mood to revisit this novel as it features one of my favourite characters of Meyer, troubled bodyguard and sort of private eye Martin Lemmer. And sometimes rediscovering novels you enjoyed years ago (more than a decade for this particular one) is just what you need. Anyway, so rereading Blood Safari, I discovered that one of the characters, a middle aged barmaid who is attracted to Lemmer, makes an observation about tourists in South Africa, the very same another character of Meyer made in another novel (more details in this post from 2016). She notices that among tourists, "(...) the foreigners wear safari outfits." Ouch. If I ever visit South Africa, which I hope to do one day, I swear I will not commit that faux pas.

Spies in The Compleat Angler

Today is an interesting date for amateurs of spy thrillers, especially fans John Le Carré. In Call for the Dead, George Smiley receives this letter on the 3rd of January: 

"Dear George, 

    It is essential that I lunch with you tomorrow at The Compleat Angler at Marlow. Please do your best to meet me there at one o'clock. There is something I have to tell you.

Yours,

Samuel Fennan"

So it is on this date that was supposed to take place the meeting, but Samuel Fennan died before. The Compleat Angler is still in business and both the hotel and the town of Marlow are perfectly atmospheric places for a spy thriller. I can't be there today (don't think I could afford lunch there anyway), but I always wondered if something might happen there.

Tarowean

 "Je suis l'océan Pacifique et je suis le plus grand. On m'appelle ainsi depuis très longtemps, mais ce n'est pas vrai que je suis toujours pacifique. Je me fâche parfois, et alors je donne une raclée à tous et à tout. Aujourd'hui par exemple, je viens de me calmer mais hier, je dois avoir tout raflé sur trois ou quatre îles et autant de coquilles de noix que les hommes appellent bateaux... Celle-ci... Oui, celle que vous voyez ici, je ne sais pas comment elle a pu s'en sortir. C'est peut-être parce que le capitaine Raspoutine connaît son métier et que ses marins viennent des îles Fidji. Ou bien parce qu'ils ont fait un pacte avec le Diable. Mais cela n'a pas d'importance, aujourd'hui c'est "Tarowean", le jour des surprises, le jour de tous les Saints, le 1er novemvre 1913."

Nous sommes la Toussaint, par conséquent je cite le début de La ballade de la mer salée d'Hugo Pratt. C'est une tradition sur ce blogue. Il faudrait d'ailleurs que je relise le bouquin.

"The dirty golden mustard of September"

And I stop by a gateway
To smoke a cigarette
And stares across the fields and remember
The gypsy fairs of August
And early evening haze
The dirty golden mustard of September

Martin Newell, Black Shuck
 

I quote this poem every year or so, but not this specific stanza. I do the previous one, but rereading it yesterday as I often do during my reading ritual in preparation for Halloween, the last line struck me. This is what it has started to look like now outside, the trees have dirty golden mustard spots in their branches. Dirty golden mustard is the colour of September. Oh and you can most definitely feel (and enjoy!) the early evening haze too.

"There comes an autumn sickle..."

 And as the daylight's fading
When Lammas has come in
And gleamers go to work among the stubble
There comes an autumn sickle
To cut the summer's throat
Before the season knows it is in trouble

Martin Newell, Black Shuck

 We are Lammas Day, and as it is a tradition here, I quote this poem. The first day of August and this lovely evocative quote about it are a reminder of two things: 1)autumn is on its way, closer than before, 2)so is Halloween. So I am getting in an autumnal mood, and I have already started reading horror stories.

The (mysterious, iconic) Compleat Angler

I took this picture a few months ago, when one of our visit in the little town of Marlow. You can easily recognise The Compleat Angler, a posh hotel on the bank of the Thames. I have developed an obsession for it since I seen it briefly mentioned in John Le Carré's debut novel Call for the Dead. You can read the quote here, among other places in this blog. What got me obsessed about it is that I had visited the hotel a few times before I read the book. I have been wanting to revisit it since. I have seen it a couple of times, but I haven't been inside. At least I could take one snapshot. No sign of any spy, unfortunately. Maybe next time.

Return to Isola

I mentioned it back in February: I had not read a book from Ed McBain's 87th Precinct serie for a while. And that was a shame, given that it's a great crime fiction series which made me discover the police procedural subgenre. And it's also almost a family tradition on my wife's side. So I decided to buy be The Mugger, the second novel. I will try to read the books in order of publication. Everytime I read the foreword, which you can see here, I have a shiver of pleasure. I'm glad to return to Isola. It's been a long time.

"Beware the Ides of March"

 Today is the 15th of March, the Ides of March. People who are into history will of course know that this is the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar. That's how the Ides of March are most (in)famous for. The expression "Beware the Ides of March" is taken from Julius Caesar. Which I haven't seen, to my great shame. But anyway, every year, I go full on Roman and I blog about it. And I try to remember the lesson of that fateful date. I mentioned them in 2022 and again in 2024. I am sharing them again: "1)even the most powerful man in the world is vulnerable, especially when he made himself enemies, however subservient they may appear to be. 2)we must be wary of the power vacuum created after a coup d'état." So yeah, enjoy your 15th of March.

"Restless pillow"

I think I might start reading Charlotte Brontë. I never did, I only read one book from the Brontë sisters and it wasn't Charlotte's. So yes, I just learned that she once said (or wrote): "A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow". In a nuthsell, this is the very essence of insomnia. She was a wise woman indeed.

Take the Cannoli

 "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

You know where this quote comes from. Recently, WOlfie was asked in a homework to try Italian food. Could be anything: pasta, goat cheese, figs, olives, artichokes, etc. There was a list of suggestions, but I decided to be original and I bought two packs of cannoli. Because why the heck not. After all, it was an educational project. I had cannoli in the past, very rarely. Funny how the dessert is now associated with a classic movie.

Spy Meeting at the Compleat Angler

 Today marks a special kind of anniversary, which I mention it every year as a sort of tradition. January is kind of an uneventful month, so this is a good excuse as any to give it a bit of atmosphere and mystery. Anyway, he following quote is from a letter you can read in John Le Carré's Call for the Dead and is addressed to George Smiley. It is dated on the 3rd of January:

"Dear George, 

    It is essential that I lunch with you tomorrow at The Compleat Angler at Marlow. Please do your best to meet me there at one o'clock. There is something I have to tell you.

Yours,

Samuel Fennan" 

I have been a few times to The Compleat Angler in the past, as we live fairly close to Marlow. I don't think I can be there tomorrow, but I so wish to make a pilgrimage of sorts there on that very date, at one o'clock sharp. I'm sure nobody else would think of doing this. But maybe, just maybe, there might be spies around.

Dark and Stormy Times

 You know the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night". It is a phrase often mocked as silly, that said this is what we have been having recently. These last weekend, day and night, to be precise. Rain, sometimes heavy rain, and very windy wind. They even gave us some weather warnings. And I must say, as long as we experienced it from the comfort of our home, I found it extremely enjoyable. My wife does not like it one bit, but I find it relaxing. Anyway, we had typical November weather and I am not complaining.

Tarowean (Toussaint)

 "

"Je suis l'océan Pacifique et je suis le plus grand. On m'appelle ainsi depuis très longtemps, mais ce n'est pas vrai que je suis toujours pacifique. Je me fâche parfois, et alors je donne une raclée à tous et à tout. Aujourd'hui par exemple, je viens de me calmer mais hier, je dois avoir tout raflé sur trois ou quatre îles et autant de coquilles de noix que les hommes appellent bateaux... Celle-ci... Oui, celle que vous voyez ici, je ne sais pas comment elle a pu s'en sortir. C'est peut-être parce que le capitaine Raspoutine connaît son métier et que ses marins viennent des îles Fidji. Ou bien parce qu'ils ont fait un pacte avec le Diable. Mais cela n'a pas d'importance, aujourd'hui c'est "Tarowean", le jour des surprises, le jour de tous les Saints, le 1er novemvre 1913."

Parce que c'est la Toussaint, je cite le début de La ballade de la mer salée d'Hugo Pratt. Une tradition sur ce blogue depuis quelques années déjà.

An autumn sickle...

 And as the daylight's fading
When Lammas has come in
And gleamers go to work among the stubble
There comes an autumn sickle
To cut the summer's throat
Before the season knows it is in trouble

Martin Newell, Black Shuck

We are Lammas Day, the first day of August. To commemorate, I am renewing a tradition on this blog, abandoned after 2017: I am quoting Newell's epic (and spooky) poem. As a reminder that some harvests have already started, that autumn is coming and that, yes, Halloween is coming too. Time to read scary stories and get into a chilling mood.