I have a dog with dreadful claws,
With bloodshot eyes and savage jaws,
Her teeth are long and pointed,
Her legs are double jointed,
She has some nasty habits,
Like chewing bunny rabbits,
And she often has a pussy cat for tea.
Bonnie the Wonder Dog has been to the vet for her routine rabies vaccine booster. This means that she is […]
Continue reading 'Doggie Maintenance' »
My earlier comments about his airline notwithstanding, I’m quite a fan of Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary. Not that he (I hope) would give a stuff what I think one way or another. And such is his charm.
I admire greatly the way in which he takes the book of conventional business thinking (“if you don’t look […]
Continue reading 'So, When Will Ryanair Start Charging Passengers to Breath?' »
The mercury (I am a traditionalist in these matters and regard alcohol and electrical thermometers as being poor substitutes, which, indeed, for all but a few specialist applications they are) passed 36°C today, the second day on the trot. Normally our temperature recordings accord well with those of the boffins at Meteoconsult, but for some […]
Continue reading 'The Heat….the Damned Heat… The Flies… the Damned Flies…' »
Actually, the title of the article by Michael Steinberger was: “Le Big Mac Conquers La Belle France” and it appeared in the Daily Telegraph a couple of days ago. You can read the story here, but to summarise, it discusses (in faintly gloating tones) the decline & fall of French cuisine as illustrated by the […]
Continue reading 'Est-ce que le Big Mac en train de conquérir la Belle France ?' »
A letter dropped on the doormat a couple of days ago (not literally: like everyone else in France we have a mailbox outside) from Our Phil. Readers might recall that Phil (known more formally as Viscount Philippe Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon) is a busy sort of bloke who is leader of […]
Continue reading 'Realpolitik and the Rural Idyll' »
I was obliged to travel to the UK last week, not a joyful trip as it was to attend my brother’s inquest, but that is not the subject of this post.
This is about two sandwiches. Sandwiches from different parts of Europe, but having many ingredients in common (bread, for example, or at least something advertised […]
Continue reading 'A Tale of Two Sandwiches' »
The great yellow dustcart rumbled through the stormy Vendéen night.
At the wheel, and steering with his knees as he simultaneously lit a Gitane and spread an inch-thick layer of foie gras on a length of baguette, Gaston Lacroix peered through the swishing windscreen wipers and tried to spot the bins left outside the isolated households […]
Continue reading 'Shock, Horror & Disaster on Bin Day' »
I’ve been rather half-heartedly looking through my late brother’s record and CD collection, sorting it for storage. It belongs now (as does everything) to his daughter, but she won’t be able to take ownership for a few years just yet, so at some point it needs to get put away safely.
Martyn was far better at […]
Continue reading 'What the Redskins Did Next' »
…passed. Its contrôle technique, that is. This is the French MOT, but it lasts for two years rather than one and is consequently more exacting. In fact the CT is one reason why second hand cars are more expensive in France and Old Bangers (a term of which my late motherdisapproved as it sounded like […]
Continue reading 'And the car has…' »
Following their runaway success in cultivating hundreds of acres of opium poppies without anyone much noticing (see this post from 2008), drugs barons in the South Vendée are now trying their hand at growing marijuana.
These photographs were taken this afternoon at a field some way off the beaten track. I have an unmarked white van, […]
Continue reading 'Diversifying Agricultural Activities…' »
