Holidays in Antarctica?

 I recently watched Where'd You Go, Bernadette? Because it stars Cate Blanchett. Well, of course. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, which I had wanted to watch since its release five years ago, but that's not what I wanted to blog about today. I discovered, thanks to it, that you can travel as a tourist in Antarctica. Call me silly or uneducated, but I had no idea. You can a bit of info in this Wikipedia entry, but a quick Google search online should show you many companies offering trips to the continent. In the film, it was a ship, but I understand there are other means of transport. I don't think I would dare to go, I am far too much of a wuss, and I love far too much my comfort. Beside, a certain graphic novel scared me of Antarctica for good. That said, I find the concept of traveling to the most remote and cold part of our planet, just for the pleasure of being there, fascinating. It must be quite an experience. And you, would you consider it? Tell me in the comments.

Les breuvages froids du Café Cambio

J'ai trouvé cette image sur la page Facebook du Café Cambio. Ils font un appel à tous à l'arrivée de l'été. Arrivée hypothétique au Saguenay, on s'entend. Non, je plaisante: l'été de là d'où je viens peut être aussi chaud et étouffant que partout ailleurs. Dans tous les cas, ils se demandent quoi servir comme breuvage froid à leurs clients. Je vais poser la question à ma femme, qui depuis son premier séjour à Chicoutimi adore le Cambio. Mais sinon, c'est quoi, votre breuvage froid préféré? À part les alcools, on s'entend.

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.

Les truites (et un souvenir)

Comme je le bloguais hier, mon père est allé sur le lot de ses frères pour pêcher la truite. Je n'ai pas la patience pour la pêche, mais j'aime la truite comme repas. J'aime les poissons en général, en fait. Mais enfin bref, mon père m'envoie des photos de ses prises de temps à autre, rien que pour le fun, un peu par fierté aussi j'imagine, quand il fait une pêche respectable, comme c'est le cas. Enfant, j'ai pêché la truite deux ou trois fois, mais la dernière fois, c'était dans un paivllon chasse et pêche. La chair des truites était beige et c'était dégueulasse. Je fus dégoûté des truites pour quelques années à cause de cela.

The crocodile of Cholesbury

A little bit of creepy local news which caught my attention today: the police was asked to capture a crocodile that had been sighted in the village of Cholesbury. Fortunately, or disappointingly, the crocodile turned out to be a plastic toy. So it was an hoax. All the same, this is the stuff that urban legend are made of. Or village legends. I did not dare to hope that someone had brought illegally a crocodile in this country (it happens), kept it as a pet, then released him. Oh well. I think I might come off with some interesting story out of it. On a side note, my remembers might remember that I blogged about Cholesbury before, in August 2023. It's the second time this village catches my attention. I think fate is telling me to visit it.

3 et 4

Nous sommes aujourd'hui un jour férié ici en Angleterre. L'un des deux jours fériés du mois de mai. Je ne bouderai pas mon plaisir, mais j'aimerais en avoir un autre en été: le prochain sera le dernier lundi du mois d'août. Nous sommes un lundi férié, donc, et ça veut dire que nous avons eu une fin de semaine de trois jours. ce qui veut dire aussi que nous aurons une semaine de travail de quatre jours seulement. Je ne m'en plaindrai pas non plus. Quand mardi est notre lundi, c'est comme plus endurable.

The Wombat of Happiness

The silly things one finds over the internet. What do you know about wombats? I know very little, except that it is an Australian animal. Wolfie has a book about wombats, he was quite fond of it, otherwise I know diddly squat. But I found this meme, which I thought was hilarious. And very cute too. And furthermore, I think there is a nice ring to it. So I am sharing it here today for you. The Wombat of Happiness.

Truite au filet

 Mon père est allé pêcher la truite hier. Il a envoyé des photos pour son petit-fils, dont celle-ci. Ma femme, végétarienne, risque de trouver ça cruel. Moi je trouve l'image impressionnante.

Jaguar Versus Caiman

 Oh the excitement one can find when one watches animal documentaries. Wolfie and I are really into the Netflix docu series Our Living World, narrated by Cate Blanchett. My favourite actress. I blogged about it already, see this post. Well, in one episode, we saw a jaguar (the animal, not the car) trying to hunt a caiman (the reptile, not the islands), on the caiman's own environment. I don't want to spoil it for those who have not seen the episode, but it was one epic fight. A short but gripping action scene. Hollywood has nothing on mother nature. I mean, you have in the South American jungle a young jaguar going after another apex predator, earth and water colliding, an unstoppable force against and immovable object, blood in water, the lot. Oh, and Cate Blanchett telling the tale, like she did when she was Galadriel. The series is worth watching just for that brief encounter. On a side note, the animal Wolfie and I were rooting for won. So we were very happy.

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.

Orignaux suédois

 Petite nouvelle suédoise animalière et bien sympathique: ils ont une émission de télévision sur ma migration des orignaux. Parce que pourquoi pas? Vous pouvez en voir un extrait dans l'article de la grosse presse. Ce n'est pas de la télé enlevante, mais c'est encore mieux, parce que c'est immersif. J'aime bien regarder des émissions sur la nature et j'aime les trucs relaxants comme ça. Je crois comprendre que ce n'est pas un concept facile à importer, notamment au Québec (question de densité et de proximité avec les orignaux), mais quand même, je crois qu'il faudrait y avoir plus de télévision comme celle-là.

More on the new Amadeus

 I blogged last month about a new adaptation of Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, this time as a TV series. For someone like me who is a fan of the film, the play and, well, of Mozart as well, that's great news. I am cautiously optimistic about the project. Casting seems to be going well and they found their Constanze Mozart. Or Stanzie, as she is often called in the play. Welsh actress Gabrielle Creevy will play the part. I don't know her, at least I don't remember seeing her in anything, but I think she looks the part. I really cannot wait to watch it. Patience, patience.

Ixe-13 (encore)

Tiens, ça faisait un bail que je n'avais pas blogué sur IXE-13 et j'y reviens aujourd'hui. Parce que je veux vraiment regarder la série et je me demande quand (et si, surtout si) elle sera disponible ici en Angleterre. J'espère que Netflix ou un autre service la saisira pour les expatriés comme je suis. Je ne désespère pas: j'ai pu trouver le film Mafia Inc sur une plateforme un an après sa sortie au cinéma. C'était le fruit d'un pur hasard, mais quand même, je sais que je peux avoir la main heureuse. Mais si vous avez des conseils pour la trouver. donnez-les moi. Quant aux romans, je devrai sans doute attendre mon retour au Québec.

Navaja

I thoughtI would write a post about a new word of the day, which for this occasion is navaja. The navaja is a Spanish knife that can be used both as a utility knife and a fighting knife. I first discovered it years ago through Carmen and I have been fascinated by it ever since. It's a nasty, sinister sort of tool, yet it has been romanticised in fiction (and in music, no less) and in one of the most famous operas in the world. It is not as widely popular as it used to be, from what I understand (thankfully, I may add), that said, I think it needs to reappear in more modern fiction. A month ago, I mentioned signature weapons for certain characters in crime fiction, I think the navaja should reappear as such. Not for a hero, but for a villain. Maybe it is the case, if you know of any character in a crime book using a navaja, let me know. Otherwise, I just might invent one.

Sandwich poulet, mangue, curry

 Mes parents ont fait des sandwiches il y a quelques jours. Poulet au curry avec mangue. Un joli mélange d'exotique et de familier. Le sandwich m'a fait un peu penser au club des îles que j'ai mangé il y a des années au défunt Cornichon. Je pense que je vais l'essayer quand je serai de retour à la maison, ou alors je le ferai ici. L'ennui, c'est que je suis le seul dans cette maison qui mange du poulet.

Never too much cheese

I found this meme recently and I wanted to share it. It's funny because it's true. And it is also wise: there's never too much cheese in a recipe. And yes, I always do this and again yes, it is always the right call. I don't know much about cooking, but that I know.

Silhouette d'escoufle

Hier matin, j'ai pris la photo d'un escoufle qui était perché dans un arbre pas loin du jardin. Je dis escoufle, c'est son nom ancien, bien entendu, le vrai nom c'est "milan royal". Mais je préfère escoufle. Je les vois au quotidien ici, mais je ne m'en lasse jamais. Je ne suis pas un très bon photographe, cela dit je crois que ce n'est pas si mal comme cliché, avec le clair obscur et l'escoufle vu en silhouette. Et puis je voulais le partager aujourd'hui.

May Day

 We are the first of May today, so this is May Day. And to celebrate and kickstart the month, I am sharing the page on this topic in What to Look For in Spring, one of the four from this Ladybird collection. One of our seasonal go-to books, to Wolfie and I. I hope you can read the text, otherwise, you have the image.

Marie-Claire (merci, monsieur Ferland)

Je suis en retard dans les commémorations et les hommages, mais Jean-Pierre Ferland étant décédé, je partage une chanson de lui aujourd'hui. Je connais assez peu son oeuvre, je compte me rattraper. Un peu tard sans doute.