A dark and stormy night (this time)

This is a quick countdown to Halloween post. Recently, there was a dark and stormy afternoon, the day after I got back from Montreal. I said then that it was a rare sight, a storm in October, an autumnal storm. Well, there is another one now, in the night. It stopped for now, but they are forecasting thunderstorms all night. So it is now, literally, a dark and stormy night. The cliché atmosphere for horror stories, if there ever is one. I hope it brings me inspiration for the one I want to write. If not, then at least I will enjoy the atmosphere.

Une feuille dans le cou

Anecdote sans importance, mais qui m'a frappé aujourd'hui, comme c'est le cas de bien des anecdotes sans importance. Alors que je marchais lors de ma pause de dîner, près des érables qui longent les rues près de mon lieu de travail, une feuille d'érable est tombée dans mon col de gilet. Il faisait un temps doux, alors j'avais mon manteau ouvert. C'est une toute petite feuille toute jaune, je l'ai gardée et ramenée à la maison. Je ne sais pas encore pourquoi. Est-ce que ça porte chance?

A friendly ghost

Once upon a time, I do show softer, friendlier aspects of Halloween, even though I usually prefer the darker, sinister aspect of the holiday. That said, it is a dreary autumnal Monday today and I am a bit short of energy and inspiration, so I thought I would put this picture on the blog to cheer people up. I bought it in a charity shop. A small decoration, with an interesting background of dry crop and pumpkins. You see the harvest and autumnal side of Halloween, with a smiling ghost bearing apple-red cheeks. The ghost is a bit of a scarecrow in this environment, although I don't think he can scare even birds. For my thoughts about ghosts, from the mischievous ones to the nasty, even malevolent ones, please read this post. I hope you don't mind this friendlier incarnation for now.

Notre Sentier (Félix Leclerc)

J'ai pris cette photo de ce monument à Félix Leclerc au Parc Lafontaine, bien entendu, lors de mon récent séjour au Québec. Il faisait beau et chaud, mais on voit aux feuilles à ses pieds que c'est l'automne. Je l'aime Comme c'est un temps d'automne gris dehors, j'ai pensé télécharger... Enfin oui, Notre Sentier, que j'ai déjà téléchargé il y a trois ans environ. Comme je le disais alors, on n'écoute jamais assez de Félix. Incidemment, c'est aussi la chanson automnale par excellence, touchante de mélancolie. Je re-télécharge l'interprétation d'il y a 2010. Vous pouvez en écouter une version avec orchestre ici, mais je préfère quand les instruments ne font pas d'ombre à sa voix.

Halloween and D&Dr

I did not blog about Dungeons & Dragons for a little while and thought it was time to blog about it in relation with Halloween. This picture is of course from Larry Elmore and is aptly titled Eyes of Autumn. You can see what is probably a witch guarding her domain, holding menacingly a staff, her black cat (familiar spirit?) walking rather indifferently on the side. Beside her, a pumpkin, behind her, a menacingly looking scarecrow, whose head is reminiscent of a Jack O'Lantern. You ca see the eyes are shining, which would indicate that it is magically animated and could be an adversary itself. In a way, this image is reminiscent of Early Snow. In any case, Eyes of Autumn is fitting for this time of year, as it is not only heavily influenced by autumn, but also by Halloween.

Which leads me to the relation my favourite holiday and my favourite game have, at least in my personal experience. Back in the days when my brothers and I could play at D&Dr all year round, Halloween was a special time to enjoy the game. Of course, when one plays Dungeons & Dragons, the time of the year on the calendar does not necessarily fit the game's calendar, which is susceptible to change much faster. Nevertheless, in the early years we often managed to fit at least some of our gaming session with the time of year. The atmosphere, the monsters we fought, they were modeled after eerie themes and often belonged as much to the horror genre than medieval fantasy. We even had an equivalent of Halloween in our game, the Day of the Dead, celebrated on October 31st. In more recent year, in our current epic campaign, we managed to take hold of the artifact the villains wanted to invade the world on the 31st of October. Ironically we played this game during Christmastime. It was a great game, but I do miss the time when we were lower levels and could travel in woodlands, to find in the middle of nowhere a small cottage, inhabited by a sinister lady.

Le Fantôme de l'Opéra (en bd)

Ah, les trésors que l'on retrouve dans les librairies de seconde main. Lors de ma visite à Montréal, je suis allé dans un nombre de bouquineries, dont L'Échange. J'y ai trouvé le premier tome de cette adaptation du Fantôme de l'Opéra de Gaston Leroux, l'un des premiers romans d'horreurs que j'aie lu. J'ai désespéré cherché le deuxième tome, mais ils ne l'avaient pas, je me suis donc contenté d'acheter le premier livre pour le moment. Plus tard, j'ai découvert que le tome 2 a été publié tout récemment, en septembre 2013.

Je l'ai laissé à Montréal, mais j'ai pris le temps de le lire, pour me mettre dans l'ambiance de l'Halloween qui approche à grands pas. L'adaptation est plutôt bien faite, bien que je trouve les dessins à l'intérieur de la bédé plutôt simplistes. La couverture est de loin plus léchée et plus impressionnante que le contenu. Christophe Gaultier a également pris une décision inexplicable et inutile: changer les noms de Christine et Raoul en Ingrid et en Pierre. C'est d'autant plus étrange que l'adaptation est très fidèle au roman original. La lecture est somme toute plaisante, justement parce que c'est une adaptation passablement fidèle, mais ce détail agace beaucoup. Cela dit, ne serait-ce que par curiosité, je vais me procurer le deuxième tome.

A dark and stormy day (?)

Sometimes, circumstances create the topic of your countdown to Halloween post. Which is the case now: it has been raining, sometimes pouring, and there have been thunderstorms going on since this morning at least. Thunderstorms. In October. You know the famous incipit "It was a dark and stormy night", which could be used as a cliché opening line for many scary stories, good or bad. Well, today is a dark and stormy day, and it reminds me that even clichés can be sometimes real.

Tard levé...

Je me suis réveillé à une heure de l'après-midi. Maudit décalage-horaire. D'habitude, je me couche vers minuit et je me réveille vers sept heures ou un truc du genre, très tôt. Là j'ai perdu presque tout mon dimanche.

Halloween bags

I am very jet lagged and missing Montreal already. That said, I wanted to write a countdown to Halloween post today (at least one). So I decided to upload another picture I took on the Plateau Mont-Royal of something I have not seen here: Halloween bags. They are basically rubbish bags with the colours and features of Jack O'Lanterns, ghosts, witches' hats or monsters. You fill them with autumn leaves and this makes them both useful and decorative. And you can start decorating your garden for Halloween as soon as the leaves start falling.

Sain (?) et sauf

Un petit mot comme billet pour dire que je suis sain et sauf et que je suis de retour en Angleterre. Je dis sain et sauf, mais je suis dans le coton pour cause de décalage-horaire. Alors je ne me sens pas particulièrement sain. Pas malade, loin s'en faut, mais pas exactement en pleine forme. Si par hasard vous avez des idées pour survivre au décalage, donnez-les moi. Je sais que j'écris ça à chaque retour.

Islands of pumpkins

I am about to leave Montreal, it is going to be the end of my stay in a few mintues. Well, I will go to the airport soon, but this is not the same. I am writing here a quick countdown to Halloween post, before I call the taxi. It is a sort of version to this post in French and an excuse to upload a picture form my stay. This picture is, in a nutshell, what October, autumn and Halloween is to me in Montreal, or at least on the Plateau. I took it at the outdoor market by the Mont-Royal subway station. A box full of big pumpkins, huge by UK's standards, for only $3,95. I nearly bought one, then I remembered I would not carve a Jack O'Lantern here. But this what I will keep in my mind for the weeks to come: not only the decorations everywhere (which I will show in future posts), but the islands of pumpkins in boxes like this one, of all shapes and sizes, as well as already featured, still uncarved, on people's home entrances and balconies.

Les dernières heures à Montréal

J'ai encore quelques heures à passer à Montréal. Mes bagages sont tous prêts. Je vais passer mon temps libre à marcher sur les feuilles et faire des achats de dernière minute. Je sais que c,est l,automne partout ailleurs sur l'hémisphère nord et pas seulement ici sur le Plateau Mont-Royal et au Parc Lafontaine où cette photo a été prise. Mais quand c'est chez soi, c'est différent. Ah oui, et je sais que je réponds peu/pas aux commentaires ces temps-ci, mais je compte corriger ça dès que je suis de retour et que je suis un peu remis du décalage. Sachez que je les lis tous.

A scary scarecrow

Today, I was not certain what to publish for my countdown to Halloween post. So I have decided to upload a picture of a Jack O'Lantern in scarecrow form, half hidden underneath dry crop (I think), on the same display at l'Inter-Marché on Mont-Royal Avenue I blogged about before. You see less of this scarecrow/Jack, but it makes him more menacing I think, he's hiding, surveying potential human preys. There are many Halloween displays around here, but I think this one is so far my favourite.

Dernier jour à Montréal

C'est aujourd'hui mon dernier jour à Montréal. Enfin non, ce n'est pas tout à fait exact, demain sera mon dernier jour. Aujourd'hui, c'est mon dernier jour complet. Ce sera ma dernière nuit à Montréal. Ma dernière journée d'automne à Montréal. Et il n'y a pas à dire, si la température n'est pas toujours celle à laquelle je m'attendais, les couleurs sont là, bien automnales. Ça me manquait et ça va me manquer. Alors voilà, j'ai et je vais passer beaucoup de temps à marcher dans les rues du Plateau.

Little tea shop of horrors

Boy do I feel stupid today. I mean really stupid. As you know, I bought The Perfect Tea Mug recently, from David's Tea. I was enthusiastic about it: I had been dreaming about an autumnal looking tea mug and autumnal tea, which I had found in the pumpkin chai. In fact, I was so enthusiastic about it that I bought it for my brother's birthday. And then, no later than today, I discover on their Facebook page (where I downloaded this picture) that they now have a spooky collection. With a new perfect tea mug, in beautiful orange and black, with a pumpkin that turns into a Jack O'Lantern when you pour hot water in it. And of course since this is The Perfect Tea Mug, meant to drink tea, you will pour hot water in it. So now they are selling a spooky perfect tea mug and I only have a perfect tea mug. I am very tempted to buy it, but for a third time, I think I would be pushing it. All the same, I feel really, really stupid. That said, what lovely collection, for Halloween afficionadi and tea drinkers.

Citrouilles montréalaises

C'est une des choses que j'aime du temps menant à l'Halloween à Montréal, c'est le choix de citrouilles. Il y en a des cabas pleins dans les épiceries et les marchés ouverts. De toutes les tailles et de tous les prix, enfin en général c'est très abordable, surtout comparé aux prix en Angleterre. On en a deux fois plus ici, pour deux fois moins, grosso modo.Quand on se promène dans Montréal et sur le Plateau en particulier, les citrouilles abondent. On sent vraiment l'Halloween arriver.

The Detective Tales cover for October

This is the time of the traditional upload of a cover from Detective Tales magazine. As it is October and Halloween is coming, I wanted something that would look as much as something from a horror story as crime fiction. Sometimes the genres were mixed and there were elements of adventures. It was going to be difficult to do as well as last year. Have a thorough research, I found the cover from October 1937, which seems to fit. You see the hero and the beautiful heroine going against what appears to be an evil cultist. There are skulls in the background. There are two villains: one henchman holding a bone as a club, the other one in a green robe and green mask, shooting at the hero. Maybe there is no supernatural in the story, yet the villain is more than your usual mobster or megalomaniac.

Question existentielle (206)

Une question existentielle sur Montréal, mais elle pourrait s'appliquer à bien des villes:

-Quelle est la différence fondamentale entre un expatrié de retour à Montréal pour les vacances et un touriste ordinaire?

A bird in the house

This is my countdown to Halloween post, which is completely anecdotal. A small event happened this morning and I did not even witness it. Basically, a bird, a starling to be precise, what we call étourneau in Québec, got lost in the chimney of my parents' fireplace in Chicoutimi. It happened before, but usually it was the basement's fireplace, this time it was the upstairs one. My dad managed to get a hold of him and release him in nature. So he saved a bird's life.

This isHalloween related for two reasons: 1)in folklore, a bird showing up in a house is considered a bad omen. 2)It reminds me of a scene in The Birds. I have seen the movie fairly often, it is not on my usual Halloween list of horror movies, but I do watch it form time to time. I even bought the original novel by Daphne Du Maurier. I haven't read it yet. Just for kicks, I have uploaded the famous scene form the movie.

Victoire (la photo du mois)

Ça a été d'une simplicité désarmante ce mois-ci: j'ai trouvé Chez Victoire au hasard de mes promenades sur le Plateau Mont-Royal. Pour faire un mauvais jeu de mots, j'ai alors crié victoire. Encore heureux que je ne me sois pas désisté pour cause de vacances. Il paraît que c'est bien bon. Si j'y mange d'ici à l mon départ, je bloguerai bien évidemment là dessus.

Allez-voir les autres victoires aux liens suivants:

A'icha, Agathe, Agnès, Akaieric, Alban, Alexinparis, Angélique, Ann, Anne, Anne Laure T, Arwen, AurélieM, Ava, Béa, Bestofava, BiGBuGS, Blogoth67, Calamonique, Cara, Caro from London, Caterine, Cathy, Cécile - Une quadra, Cekoline, Céline in Paris, CetO, Champagne, Chat bleu, Cherrybee, Chloé, Christelle, Christophe, Claire's Blog, Coco, Cocosophie, Cricriyom from Paris, Dame Skarlette, DelphineF, Djoul, Dr. CaSo, dreamtravelshoot, E, El Padawan, Elodie, Eurydice, Fanfan Raccoon, Filamots, François le Niçois, Frédéric, Galinette, Gilsoub, Giselle 43, Gizeh, Guillaume, Happy Us, Hibiscus, Homeos-tasie, Hypeandcie, InGrenoble, Isa de fromSide2Side, Isa ToutSimplement, Isaquarel, J'adore j'adhère, Joane, Josiane, Julie, KK-huète En Bretannie, Krn, La Dum, La Messine, La voyageuse comtoise, Lau* des montagnes, Laulinea, Laurent Nicolas, Lavandine, Lavandine83, Les bonheurs d'Anne & Alex, Les voyages de Lucy, Leviacarmina, LisaDeParis, Louisianne, Lucile et Rod, Lyonelk, magda627, Mamysoren, Maria Graphia, Marie, Marie-Charlotte, Marmotte, Mathilde, MauriceMonAmour, Mes ptits plats, Meyilo, Mimireliton, MissCarole, Morgane Byloos Photography, Nicky, Nora, Ori, Oscara, Photo Tuto, Pilisi, Piolo, Pixeline, Pomme d'Happy, Renepaulhenry, SecretAiko, Sephiraph, Shoesforgirls, Sinuaisons, Sophie Rififi, Stephane08, Tambour Major, Testinaute, Thalie, The Parisienne, The Singapore Miminews, Thib, Tuxana, Un jour, une vie, Une niçoise, Violette, Viviane, Wolverine, Xoliv', Zaza