Missed Harvest Fair

 Is it too early to think of autumn? Is it? I hope not, because I am always in an autumnal mood, even in June. And I'm not the only one, according to what I gleamon social media. Anyway, I discovered yesterday, through my Facebook memories, that last year, the Finnings Wood Community Group (never heard of them before) were advertising a Harvest Fair and Treasure Hunt for the 15th of September 2024 in the village of Lane End. Not sure if their advertisement has been featured a lot since June 2024, because I did not remember it one bit when September came. Maybe we had other engagements, maybe I did not see the advertisement closer to that time, be that as it may, we did not go. And that is very sad, because I love all things harvest and Wolfie loves all things treasure hunts. And such event done in a quaint and pretty English village in the middle of September, well, it just adds to the charm. I hope the Harvest Fair was a success and that they will organise another one this year.

Les matins matinaux

 Bon, la semaine dernière, j'ai survécu à ma première semaine dans mon nouvel emploi. J'avoue que même si j'apprends tranquillement le métier, j'ai trouvé ça assez épuisant. Pour une simple raison: je dois me lever très tôt, même si je travaille de la maison. Comme je couvre surtout le marché français, mon horaire est calqué sur celui de la France, lequel est a une heure d'avance sur le nôtre. Alors je mets le réveil de bonne heure. Une collègue française m'a dit que je devrais m'y habituer assez rapidement. Je l'espère, parce que je ne suis pas atinal de nature, je suis plutôt un oiseau de nuit. Cela dit, tout le monde est très sympathique et accueillant.

What was the Beast of Gévaudan? | Monstrum

Monstrum recently made a video about the Beast of Gévaudan and I wanted to share it here. You cannot beat a real, historical horror story, that has been fascinating me since I watched a TV program about it, some thirty years ago. For your early countdown to Halloween, I hope you enjoy.

Deux fêtes

 C'est aujourd'hui la fête de mon plus jeune frère, Andrew. Le bébé de la famille, comme mes parents l'appellent encore, puisque c'est le plus jeune des trois frères, même si maintenant il est père de deux enfants et a 44 ans. Ce qui ne rajeunit personne. C'est aussi la fête de mon filleul, le fils de deux amis du cégep, qui a aujourd'hui.. 20 ans. Je me rappelle encore de son baptême. Morale de l'histoire: ça ne rajeunit vraiment personne et le temps passe vite.

The Book Lover's Bucket List

 I ahve been wanting to blog about this for a while: a few months ago, during our Christmas session, we had a gifts exchange. I received The Book Lover's Bucket List. Picture here. It's the kind of book you didn't know existed and you didn't know you needed, with a list of places in the UK associated to classic authors and/or their work. Perfect if you are planning a literary pilgrimage somewhere in the UK, or a more cultured holiday. It should come in handy, as I love to visit places featured in fiction.

La pluie, presque l'orage

Bon, la BBC l'annonçait, nous avertissait à son sujet avec une alerte jaune, nous le promettait presque: un orage s'en venait. Il a plu, des cordes, mais il n'a guère tonné. Je le dis sans aucune ironie, je préfère cette température à la canicule.

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.

Pâté chinois

Bon, ça faisait des mois que je n'en avais pas cuisiné, mais je me suis dit, il fallait bien que l'on mange du pâté chinois un de ces quatre. Pas de betteraves pour l'accompagner cette fois-ci, pas de maïs en crème (introuvable depuis des années), mais du maïs en grains parce que bon, faut bien faire avec. Outre cela, c'était pas mal réussi.

Reichenbach Falls

My recent posts (this one and that one, more specifically) about Sherlock Holmes reminded me that there is one place of pilgrimage every Holmes fan, or indeed every crime fiction fan should visit. I am talking of course of the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, the place where the greatest detectivemet his"death" during the events of The Final Problem. It happened on the 4th of May 1891. Switzerland is in my list of countries to visit or, in this case, revisit, for many, many reasons. Maybe when or if it happens, we should make a stop there. It could be fun. Sometimes I find the association of places with legendary or fictitious events to be more interesting than historical ones. And if you have even been there, please tell me in the comments. I'd like to know about your experience.

Québécois, (nous sommes...)

Comme ce sera la Fête nationale du Québec bientôt, j'ai pensé mettre une chanson patriotique ici.

A Perfect Cup of Tea (according to Anthony Burgess)

If you have been following Vraie Fiction for a while, you probably know that Anthony Burgess is my favourite writer. I recently read a post from the Anthony Burgess Foundation about his opinions on how to make a perfect cup of tea. For any tea drinker, tea making is serious business. And I was shocked to say that this is one area where Burgess and I have different opinions. Because not only does he think one should add milk (jfrom what I understand just a bit of it, as he had his tea very strong), but he also thinks one should add sugar. That is borderline heresy for me. Nevertheless, I do agree that loose leaf tea is far better than teabags. And it is always interesting to read Burgess' talk about cultural staples such as tea, because of his wide knowledge on the subject (or, it seems, any subject he talks about). Anyway, my idea of a perfect cup of tea is the following: pour bpiling water into loose leaf tea, let it infuse for two or three minutes, according to your taste, let it cool down a bit, but not too much, the drink by itself or with something sweet (that's all the sugar you will need). What's your idea on the perfect cuppa?

Guille siempre!

 Photo prise sur la page Facebook officielle de Mafalda, qui célébrait le 2 juin l'anniversaire de son petit frère Guille. De toute la bande, il a toujours été mon préféré.

My Idea of Fun

 I found this meme a few days ago, at total and I wanted to share it. I think I never shared it before, I hope I didn't. In any case, here it is. A good book (sometimes even a bad one would do), a warm blanket (or two, or three), some tea, that's indeed my idea of fun. Chocolate is optional, I can do with or without.

Un temps pour les cerf-volants?

Ces temps-ci, il ne fait pas très estival (ce dont je ne plains pas): il ne fait pas très chaud et il vente. Pas tant que ça, mais ça m'a fait penser au temps où mon père nous amenait faire du cerf-volant sur le terrain de l'université (l'UQAC, pour être plus précis, dans le temps son terrain était immense et pas défiguré par un stationnement). Il ne vente sans doute pas assez fort pour que l'on puisse faire voler un cerf-volant, mais j'espère que l'on aura quelques jours plus venteux dans les prochaines semaines. Petit loup et moi avons essayé de faire voler des cerfs-volants en 2020, avec des résultats mitigés. Cette année, peut-être, on remettra ça...

First day at the "office"

 When you will be reading these lines, I will have started my first day at my new job. First day at the "office", although this is only technical: I work from home again. Which is one of the good sides of the new job. It has some drawbacks, however: mainly, long working hours and a ghastly early starting time. But it's an interesting company providing an interesting service (completely new to me), the team seems really nice and I will be required to use my French on a daily basis. In fact, I will be using French most of my working day, both with my colleagues and my clients. I think I might be able to get some flexibility regarding the starting time. In any case, I am employed again.

Mafalda contre la cigarette

Image prise sur la page Facebook officielle de Mafalda, lors de la Journée mondiale sans fumée Je savais qu'elle était contre le tabac, voir ce gag partagé l'année dernière, mais je ne me rappelais plus de celui-ci. Il est à la fois drôle et prophétique.

I missed Sherlock Holmes Day!

 I learned recently, but too late, that the 22nd of May was Sherlock Holmes Day. Which corresponds to the birthday of his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is kind of ironic, given how much he ended up loathing Sherlock Holmes. And now his birthday has been hijacked by his most famous creation. I feel sorry for him, to be honest. I guess if he'd known he'd... cry all his way to the bank. Anyway, I first thought it was the 30th, because the Facebook page of the British Museum made me aware of the Day on the 30th. I thought it had something to do with the anniversary of Holmes' "death" in The Final Problem. Anyway, I should blog some more in the upcoming days about this short story. And, while I did not observe Sherlock Holmes Day, there is one Holmes novel I hope to read before the end of summertime. And I have now put it as a special yearly event in my calendar.

Une réflexion sur les asperges (!)

 Ma mère m'a envoyé une photo d'un feuilleté aux asperges, qu'elle n'a pas trouvé foudroyant. Et ça m'a amené à avoir une pensée à propos des asperges. Ma femme n'aime pas beaucoup, moi j'aime bien, mais pour des occasions spéciales. Cela dit, je crois que je préfère les asperges en version en boîte, comme celles que l'on mangeait toujours pour accompagner le roast beef. Elles sont molasses, objectivement moins bonnes, leur valeur nutritive sérieusement diminuée (voire nulle), mais ce sont mes préférées. Tant qu'elles sont mangées pour accompagner un roast beef en tout cas. Je pourrais manger la boîte au complet.

Farewell to the local Greggs

Last Friday, I learned some ver sad news regarding the local Greggs, mainly that it doesn't exist anymore. I say it's the local greggs, but truly it was only a counter in one of the petrol stations here. So it got replaced a few weeks, maybe days ago, by another sandwich shop. I hope it is as good as Greggs was. I wonder where I will go when I am in the mood for a big chicken sandwich baguette with an insane amount of mayonnaise.

Le mois de la Fête nationale

 Nous sommes le premier juin, le mois qui, pour moi, est d'abord et avant tout le mois de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, notre Fête nationale à nous les Québécois. Que je fête depuis presque vingt ans en expatrié. Mais ça s'améliore: je l'ai fêtée avec d'autres expatrié à Londres l'an dernier et je devrais faire la même chose cette année.