296. Into the unknown..

14th November. Chet Baker's voice was made for this song..

       

13th November. I lit the woodburner this evening for the first time this autumn. In previous years I've finished my C*******s shopping by now. Oops! I'd better get a move on. 

William Congreve hit the nail on the head 327 years ago when he opined that ‘‘Music has Charms to soothe a savage Breast’’. This phrase dates back to 1697 as part of his play entitled "The mourning bride". If further proof is needed, play this next piece - it's Schubert's Impromptu No. 3 in G-Flat Major, Op. 90, D. 899:

    

5th November. I opened the kitchen door to the terrace at just before 5am this morning to a chorus of raucous squawking from above.. yes, another 1,000 bomber raid by migrating common cranes en route to winter in the south.   

4th November. Despite the temperature being in the low twenties (°C), there are definitely a few hints that cooler/colder weather is waiting just around the corner. I had the step ladder out again over the weekend - pruning a tree back to its bare bones - ready for another explosive growth spurt from it next year. We inherited it from the previous owner - it throws out long branches with pink blossom. Don't ask me what it's called..

This next piece is - in my opinion - Luciano Pavarotti's greatest-ever recording - "E lucevan le stelle" ("And the stars were shining") from Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera, New York in 1978. (More here) If this doesn't shiver your timbers, there's no hope for you! 

         

1st November. I was listening to RNE Radio Clásica (a Spanish radio station roughly equivalent to Classic FM) in the car this morning and I gathered the presenter was talking about English music because he referred to John Eck-less.. I realised he meant John Eccles.. 

Here's Reason No 17 why I stopped listening to the BBC..

29th October. Another sign that winter's on its way - we roasted the first of the season's chestnuts at lunchtime.

    

Another straw in the wind - a few nights ago I found myself outside on the terrace in the garden at some ridiculously early hour (around 3am) while the dog took his time doing what dogs do - and I heard a raucous squawking overhead as a large formation of common cranes flapped their way towards sunnier climes.       

Although Sinatra belonged to the generations that preceded mine, I have occasionally featured the odd one or two of his over the years. His rendition of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns" is here on merit. (and just for a comparison, here's Judy Collins with her version) Enjoy:

26th October. Today, Mother Nature is showing us how many different types of rain she can conjure up.. This morning, we had what the weather girls on UK TV would call 'spits and spots' of rain (I even heard it described once as bits and pieces of rain). Since then, we've moved steadily up the scale and now at 4pm we're into heavy downpour. And just as I wrote that, it cranked up to another level - we're now into car wash territory! 

23rd October. Another afternoon spent cutting back in the garden. Time to unwind with a great Paul Simon track:

    

And to follow that - what better than what is probably Paul Simon's greatest solo song:

  

21st October. I've been meaning to post the following for quite some time now - it's something I see on most days when out walking the dog in the neighbourhood - it's a short phrase painted neatly in 4"/10cm white letters high up on a garden wall nearby: "Le ciel commence ici bas" - which translates as 'The sky starts down here'. 

(For those with long memories; it looks exactly like the wall that Maigret used to strike his match on) 

Each time I see it, I always end up thinking that, among other things, it would make a good motto for a flying school. Of course, it would sound better in Latin: Caelum incipit hic - or Coelum hic incipit. Are there any Latin scholars out there who could tell me which would be the better translation? 

I suspect though that the original meaning was meant to be that 'Heaven starts here' - and I must admit that that same thought had occurred to me more than once.. that we're actually living in 'heaven on earth' (despite the likes of man-made hells such as Gaza for example). We've been given a planet that's impossibly rich in beauty of all kinds - especially when compared to the countless billions of lifeless planets and stars that populate the unfathomable reaches of the solar system. In the few short centuries since the Industrial Revolution, we've been doing our level best to convert our birthright into a poisoned wasteland - and we seem incapable of controlling our self-destructive tendencies. 

19th October. Just come in from the garden where I've been cutting back the late season growth.. (it never stops!) and, in the distance, there was the unmistakeable sound of a 'manif' (a demo).. discordant air horns etc. What this one's about is anyone's guess - but one thing's for sure, the French are not apathetic when it comes to politics - they will get out on the streets to support their cause.   

I caught the tail end of this beautiful piece for piano (Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C minor, Opus 28, No 20) on the radio this morning and it brought to mind a distant memory of a record it had once inspired..

 

I had to google it in the end - and of all things the mystery record turned out to be a Barry Manilow release from the mid-70s.. I always thought that a little Barry Manilow went a long way* - but the recording below is quite well done (given that it sounds as though he's playing with his gardening gloves on compared to the one above):

* especially if thrown hard enough!

9th October. I'm sure it must have been the latest crop of black-shirted 20-something 'creatives' at Citroën's advertising agency who had opted for targeting the 'low-hanging fruit' with their latest embarrassing ad for electric cars. I'd not previously noticed that electric cars are the preserve of the rich here in France (but I clearly know nothing). Don't take my word for it - see what you think:

       

20th September. If you like word play, this video is for you.. (the one about tinnitus caught my eye!🙂)

I was musing over the eternal mystery of human consciousness here in mid-August - and the fact that, uniquely of all living creatures, we have been blessed with the ability to think deeply and creatively. What is it about us that has given us the ability to expand our consciousness beyond the 'here and now'?

One possible explanation comes from Michael Pravica, a Physics professor from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It's worth a read.

31st August. This is a collection of photos from Flickr that shows many aspects of the High Pyrenees where we were a few weeks ago..   

30th August. We have something resembling a tropical jungle in our back garden with palm trees, bamboo, cacti, bougainvillea, rampant wisteria and much other nameless exotica  - and keeping on top of it all is giving us pause for thought. We have the ideal weather here for plant growth - warm days and regular rainfall. What's the problem I hear you ask? Keeping it all under control - that's what. As fast as we both cut back new growth in the back garden, the front garden develops a mind of its own etc etc. (At one side there was a hedge that was threatening to out-grow my efforts to keep it manageable - so I had to lop a foot (30cm) off the top of it..) This is a cartoon I posted a good few years ago - and it's just about right on the money!

What other options are there? Higher management is considering the removal of much of the 'green stuff' in the borders - to be replaced by cacti and other slow-growing things. My vote? I'd much prefer to see if we could find someone in the local area to come in and keep things tidy for a few days each month. 

Trimming all the bushes and keeping it all under control is pretty arduous in the heat - but when it's been done, it does look good with a glass of cold rosé in hand. The jury's still out.    

24th August. I went for a ride on my ebike after lunch - I followed the Adour to the coast before turning left and heading south for Biarritz. Mixing it with traffic though is not a good idea - and in future I'll go out first thing in the morning.  

23rd August. It was one of those bright, sunlit, cloudless starts to the day earlier that somehow reminded of when I lived in Greece a loong time ago. I suddenly felt the need for a Greek coffee - a few minutes later I was sitting outside on the terrace with a cup of Greek-Cypriot coffee (Charalambous Mocha Gold) in front of me.. Aaah.. mmm.

Mm-mmm! I found some grapes in the fridge (that took me back) and that whooosh was the sound of 58 years flashing past.

      

21st August. Christmas has come early for you this year! Everything you wanted to know about the Subjunctive - but were afraid to ask.. (I'll understand this if it kills me - or die trying..) 

 

For the subtitles, click on the button above that says Subtitles/closed captions.

  

16th August. I just realised that I'd forgotten to mark the passing of Françoise Hardy, a very special French singer from the sixties. She was poles apart from the instantly forgettable girl singers that we had foisted on us in England back then - her songs were reflective, personal, occasionally melancholic but always sincere. She was 2½years older than me and looked like no-one in my church youth club..! A young lad can dream..

  

13th August. Thought for tomorrow: many a good tune can still be played on an old 78!

I'd been watching a video entitled "Titanic: the nightmare and the dream" when, during its closing moments (at 46:03) I heard a few bars of Mozart that I recognised instantly. The choir I used to sing with (pre-Covid) had rehearsed this sublime piece - "Ave Verum Corpus" - and even our interpretation of it had the power to make me shiver. It was no "happy accident" when Mozart wrote it in 48 hours. 

Scientists would have us believe that Humanity evolved from creatures that climbed out of the mud millions of years ago - and that may well be true. However, when you hear such great art as the piece below, it's hard to escape the conclusion that our human spirits must have been touched by some kind of magic alchemy that made us, and us alone, uniquely capable of deeply creative thought - that somehow bypassed all the other species. 

Here's the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra with the Radio France choir as they interpret one of Mozart's finest compositions - written 6 months before his death - and conducted by Myung-Whun Chung:

    

10th August. One of the abiding memories of these Olympics (for me at least) will be the sight of innumerable medal winners biting down on their medals for the cameras. When did this start? It's been done before I know - but never on the industrial scale that we've seen in the last few weeks. 

8th August. This is where we were a few short weeks ago.. a beautiful part of France that needs to be at the top of your "to do" list:

 

PS No points for spelling here (Pyrenees) - one n.

We left the autoroute (A64) just after Pau and headed for Lourdes and as we neared it, the massive bulk of the Pyrenees started to emerge out of a blue haze. 

First, it was just as a series of pale blue outlines before they separated out into individual bulging mountains that jutted out one behind the other. Our size seemed insignificant by comparison and I felt that they possessed a nobility that the hills at our end of the Pyrenees didn't have.

  

6th August. I used to have this (above) on a record back when I had LPs and a record player.. a long time ago! It turned up by chance in my YouTube selection.

  

Scenes from a Retirement in France: This afternoon, I decided to take the car through a local car wash - one of those with a hundred water jets and the giant flailing rollers that sweep up and over your Pride and Joy. Not so fast though - a woman in the queue ahead of me was in a Twingo (about the size of a domestic fridge) and she had clearly paid for the "Super Presidential Everything Included" option as the great machines pulverised her P & J backwards and forwards ad nauseam - at one point the overhead display lit up to inform us that she was on a Massage cycle.

I was starting to lose the will to live when suddenly I heard the throaty roar of something very special indeed. Not five yards away from me, and edging along in the early rush hour traffic there was a concours-quality Ferrari 375 MM from 1954-ish with 4 exhausts jutting out from underneath the curvaceous bodywork - looking like the back end of a WW2 bomber. Powering this timelessly elegant beauty is a 4½ litre V12. No 70 year old car should look this good. 

 

To save you wondering, you would need a sum north of US$7m to own one of these legendary cars. More here on this beast. 

Ferrari 375 MM Pinin Farina Spyder 

Then, as I tangled with those leaving work early, I was held up in two lines of traffic crawling along - with a bike's width separating us all. Then came the enraged sound of a scooter on a charge - and seconds later a young girl weaved her way at speed through the miniscule gaps between the lines of cars as though she was on a mogul ski run. If ever there was an accident waiting to happen, she was it.   

30th July. A week or so ago, we had a short break in the High Pyrenees.. and we ticked off a trip that we'd been meaning to do for some years - and that was to take the cable car ride up to the summit of the Pic du Midi (9438ft). However, unlike in the video below, when we went up, the cabin was loaded to the max (which was 45 + 1 according to a sign on the wall). As you can see, the trip up is in two parts.. and there was little to set the imagination spinning up out of control until we switched to the second cable car.. when I made the mistake of looking forward and up. (this part starts at 4:00 in the video) Between us and the distant peak of our destination, there was just a slack cable that led - uninterrupted - all the way up to the top. Below us yawned oblivion. I felt a strong sense of vertigo and in an attempt to control it I forced myself to stare straight ahead. As a cable car approached heading downwards, I did briefly contemplate emulating Richard Burton's leap from one cable car to another in "Where Eagles Dare"..  

Suddenly, I could think of a thousand  - no, make that two thousand other things I'd rather being doing than trusting my life (never mind the 45 others) to a cable that looked to be no thicker than an inch. I could not bring myself to look sideways or down. I just wanted to get the hell outa there! The problem was - having made it up there we had to go back down again.   

   

We made up our minds to return before long to this stunningly beautiful area as it's only 2 hours from home. The sheer scale of the mountains made us realise that what we have at the western end of the Pyrenees are not mountains - but hills.  

27th July. When all the dust has settled, when all the record-breaking athletic performances have been analysed many times over - and when all the thousands of broadcasters, commentators and spectators have returned home after the Paris 2024 Olympics, what will be your abiding memory? What will remain to remind you in years to come of the Paris Olympics? 

It might be seen as heresy in some quarters for me to admit this but after enduring about two of the four hours of the bloated and sometimes incomprehensible opening ceremony, I called it a night.

The next morning I saw that the evening had been redeemed by Céline Dion's stunning rendition of Edith Piaf's immortal ballad - "Hymne à l'Amour" - sung on an unseasonably wild and wet July evening surrounded by the latticework of the old Iron Lady of Paris herself - the 135 year old Eiffel Tower:

 

(Original French lyrics by Edith Piaf, music by Marguerite Monnot. Click here for the lyrics in English)  

15th July. The Fêtes de Bayonne 2024 concluded with a midnight firework display that went on and on - to the point that I finally got up to watch the last few minutes of it. The hordes of raiding Visigoths left town this morning.. leaving the streets around us littered with empty litre bottles of Ricard - and other unmentionable detritus! I'm including a selection of videos to choose from here.   

Fortunately, we had the perfect weather for the "morning after" - a light shower that washed down the pavements and most of the toxic fumes away. 

10th July. This afternoon saw the opening of the Fêtes de Bayonne, brought forward by two weeks so as to deconflict with the Paris Olympics. This morning, the town was already awash with the first wave of white-clad fêtards (as Fête-goers are known). For security reasons, the opening ceremony had been brought forward to 5pm (it's normally 10pm) and it was followed by the usual window-rattling firework display. Normally, I can see the fireworks from Pipérade Towers - but today we had the noise-only variety as it was still bright sunshine.

This is a stunning advert for the upcoming Olympics by French TV  - they do these things very well here - see what you think:     

 

In searching for the one above, I came across this longer version - that has more of everything in it. Best in full screen:

 

4th July. Happy birthday America.. 248 years young!

Meanwhile, the UK is about to enter a strange period in its history - led by someone who has a number of different policies, enough it would seem for a different one for every day of the year. And as he keeps reminding us, his father was a toolmaker. 

 

2nd June. I discovered the forest of Pignada at nearby Anglet a good few years ago and even on the hottest of days it was always a real pleasure to walk with the dog through its shady sylvan glades. The trees were mainly mature maritime pines and the canopy of foliage must have been at least 20-25 metres/60-80 feet above ground level. The sandy trails that criss-crossed the woods were carpeted with pine needles and lined with lush ferns and the distant sounds of traffic etc were muffled by the vegetation. There was room for all there - dog walkers, joggers, families, horseriders and cyclists. (here it is as it was)

Then, in July 2020, a 16 year old disaffected youth set fire to the tinder-dry forest and the flames raced through the woods under the influence of a strong southerly wind. Over 165 hectares/400 acres of beautiful woodland were consumed in the inferno. Since then I've not been back to my usual spot to see the damage until today when I took Nutty (our cocker) for a leg stretch in what remains of the woods.

    

I'd been avoiding returning to this site as I couldn't face seeing what had become of it - all because of the actions of a mindless adolescent. 

Before - avant

Now, look at the photo of the woods (above) as they were - and compare it to the devastated landscape that it's now become (below). It's hard to believe that we're looking at exactly the same location. One or two small trees somehow survived the conflagration but all those lofty mature pines had had to go. In their place, the municipality planted thousands of small bushes (now about 3-4 feet in height) to avoid any further erosion of the top soil. Some replanting of trees has taken place as well but I estimate it will take decades for them to regain their former splendour.  

After - après

The trees in the distance above (approx ½mile away) are what remains of the old forest. Four years on, and evidence of the fire still remains - as evidenced by partially consumed branches and fire-blackened trunks - and it was heart-breaking to take in the loss of a once-superb natural environment. I would happily contribute towards a tree-planting scheme if one's available. 

23rd May. This morning I listened to a podcast of yesterday's BBC radio news and heard that Rishi Sunak (Britain's Prime Minister) had announced that a General Election will be held on 4th July - to which Keir Starmer (Labour's leader) responded with a pithy 'Churchillian' phrase (ahem) - "Time for change"*. And this from the man who is widely being touted as a Prime Minister-in-waiting. Starmer has been a barrister and therefore his training allows him to be able to represent the case for either the prosecution or the defence with equal felicity. However, as a PM, he would have to lead a government, implement his policies and inspire an electorate. From what I've seen and heard from him thus far, he doesn't convince me that any of these challenges are within his skillset. What are his core beliefs (beyond "I want to be PM") - I hope Sunak will be able to penetrate the blancmange that is Starmer during the one-on-one debates and reveal his hidden shallows.     

* Sadly, I jest. If ever there was a moment that cried out for a Shakespearean blast it was then - but I should have known better than to expect anything more memorable from him. He reminds me of John Major - but minus the charisma. 

The trouble is - who to vote for? I can't believe that the two principal contenders are the best that the UK has to offer. The choice reminds me of two bald men fighting over a comb..  

I spent yesterday in the garden wobbling about at the top of a stepladder cutting back some of the phenomenal growth that had taken place here in the last few weeks as a result of the early season warmth and rain. I practised my topiary skills (such as they are) on half a dozen bushes that looked as though they were thinking about making a break for it over the garden wall. In England, it's said that if it rains on St Swithins Day (15th July) then 40 days of rain will follow. Here in France, the spectre of St Médard (translation here) is invoked instead - although here the date that matters is 8th June. I'm starting to think that St Médard celebrated his Saints day at the beginning of the May.  

Mentioning St Swithins Day brings me on to David Nicholls 2009 novel "One Day". The story follows a couple who spend the night together on 15 July 1988, knowing they must go their separate ways the next day. The novel then visits their lives on 15 July every year for the next 20 years. I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed this book. 

22nd May. Are you dissatisfied with your mainstream news provider? If so, have a browse around this site - it pulls together news feeds from many countries aound the world - and provides them all in one handy place - either in their original language or in English. It's always a good idea to seek out a different perspective from your usual source of news. 

21st May. In something of a 'first' for me, next month will see me in prison! (who said "About time too.."?) The association I'm involved with had a BD published last year and it's attracted attention from people we seldom have the opportunity to meet. Last Thursday, the president of the association and I were invited to present the story of the WWII Comète Line to an audience of retirees at the Université du Temps Libre at nearby Anglet. 

Next month will see us behind bars at the Villa Chagrin (as the local prison is known) presenting Comète to a genuinely captive selected audience!😃 A couple of days later, we'll be taking an even more select group of inmates outside to walk over a part of the actual route taken by the Comète guides and the evading pilots during WWII. I hope it doesn't give them any ideas!  

The Olympic flame passed through a wet Bayonne yesterday.. Having once been soaked in the morning while taking the dog out, I was disinclined to walk into town for a second soaking to see the 'spectacle'..

 

14th May. Remember Cat Stevens? He made some very listenable-to music in the early '70s - this is one of his:

  

11th May. Just noticed that the hit counter for the blog is approaching the quarter of a million mark. I remember being excited when it hit 100! Who'd a thunk it?!

10th May. This turned up in my inbox the other day and it gave me a most welcome laugh. 

Apologies are due to my faithful reader(s) who might have been excused for thinking that the complete absence of posts since January was perhaps due to your Basque correspondent being forcibly restrained in a canvas jacket somewhere.. If only!😉 All I'll say is that we (the Royal 'we') have had a recurrence of health problems.. plus an unexpected surge in activity linked to the association I'm involved with.  

Here's a little video that I've not featured before that focuses on the line that runs between here (Bayonne) and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We've driven along the road that parallels the railway line many times and each time we comment on how picturesque that particular part of the Nive valley is. The first stop on this line is at Villefranque where those with long memories might remember is where we spent 5 happy months in a gîte when we first arrived in this beautiful and verdant corner of France waay back in 2007. (Almost 17 years ago.. ouch!)

  

And before you ask, here's one that looks at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port: 

31st January. Walking into town this afternoon I was surprised to see Avenue Foch (the main thoroughfare into the centre of Bayonne from Pipérade Towers) completely blocked by maybe 20 huge 4x4 tractors each towing a trailer filled with old tyres although some appeared to be full of some organic vegetable matter (aka fumier). At the head of this line of farm vehicles, four policemen were standing there looking a little lost as all the tractor drivers had cunningly disappeared. As I walked by the lead tractor there was a deafening explosion from its trailer that came very close to causing me to have a wardrobe malfunction in the Trouser Department..! I have no idea what was causing these explosions but they continued at 15-20 second intervals. 

What was all this about you may ask? The recent inflationary price rises caused by higher energy costs among other things and the fact that farmers now have to pay the full retail price for diesel has meant than many farmers are working in the red. They claim that the supermarkets are buying in their produce from worldwide low cost suppliers. Madame saw some asparagus from Peru in the shops the other day. This is far too complex a subject to be dealt with here but it was reported recently that young farmers are killing themselves at the rate of two per day - and the farming community has decided that they have nothing more to lose and so they've taken to direct action - largely with the support of the French public. Yes, farmers may be land-rich but they are cash-poor. What hopes can a young farmer entertain for finding a wife and raising a family?      

On my return home, I was surprised to see Avenue Foch was open to traffic again. This was clearly just a token 'lightning' protest to demonstrate that they could easily close down the town if they so wished. France's new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has taken some measures to address the farmers' concerns - but will they be enough to satisfy the aggrieved farmers? Agriculture is a key component of French life as it feeds into markets and restaurants - and what would France be without these? We've not heard the end of this. I support the farmers.           

14th January. Watching ARTE this evening we were privileged to see Bruce Liu playing Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2 in C Minor at the magnificent Kurhaus, Wiesbaden, from the Rheingau Music Festival 2023. His is a new name to me and I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more from him in years to come. Unfortunately, the original video I posted was taken down (for copyright issues or some such) so I'm replacing it with the III. Allegro Scherzando movement: 

    

11th January. We made a flying visit to Grand Frais (noted for the freshness of its produce) this afternoon (just next to Biarritz airport). I was dispatched to examine the cheese department and in doing so I had to pass through the dramatically-lit displays of fruit and veg. 

Clouds of water vapour were drifting over the spot-lit displays of greenery and it occurred to me that all it needed was for Sherlock Holmes (played by Basil Rathbone naturally) to step out of the swirling mists. I shouldn't be allowed out on my own really!   

6th January. I was reminded by 50% of my global readership that The Shadows hit "Apache" deserves a mention - not too many records from 1960 have aged as well as this one. 

    

Original version here.

4th January 2024. With the news that last year (reportedly) saw the earth's hottest temperatures in 125,000 years, I can't help thinking that we - on board Planet Earth - have entered uncharted waters - but minus a steady hand or two on the tiller to guide us. And to make matters worse, wherever you look, the political landscape is populated with pygmies. The great Western democracies have become more factionalised than ever before - they are riven with bickering and power struggles. Governments  generally have 5 year terms, and even if they had long term policies and goals, these invariably are sacrificed on the altar of short term expediency as our political masters devote much/all of their time and effort in seeking and maintaining electoral popularity. And whether we like it or not, our politicians have to get themselves elected (and re-elected) if they are to function. Churchill famously once said that “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” Maybe the answer is a benign dictatorship - except that history has rightly taught us to reject anything with 'dictatorship' in the small print. Maybe it's the time for the UK to consider a National coalition government again.. it worked during WWII. The search continues.

I was searching through a number of stations on our internet radio the other day when I came across this minor classic tune by Duane Eddy - one that I hadn't heard for decades. When it first appeared in 1960 (I believe), it seemed to be ushering in a whole new optimistic decade.. With its distinctive electric guitar sound it became the signature tune for countless radio and TV programmes aimed at the youth market.

      

Meanwhile, across the English channel, artists such as France's Françoise Hardy and others initially flourished as they relied more on words than the amplified jangle of a Fender or a Rickenbacker. I heard just before Christmas that her life is sadly drawing to a close after a long brave struggle with illness. 

295. Bird-chirping weather

31st December. Sorry to have been so quiet lately but we had an unwelcome visitor  - a certain Mr Montezuma - and he outstayed his welcome. I think I've had no more than 4 glasses of wine in the last hour oops, week.. 

16th December. We made a visit to Grand Frais (near the airport at Biarritz) on Friday morning.. and they were fully stocked with 1001 delights, ready for the festive season (or Christmas as I like to call it!). The link above doesn't do justice to the mouth-watering displays of fresh produce there..   

Last Saturday should have seen another mass release of Chinese (or should that be Japanese?) lanterns from the centre of Bayonne. Here's a reminder of this event from last year:

 

Thousands of people crossed the border to come here and take part in another mass release, but we had a period of continuous heavy rain and the event was cancelled. Apparently many people then decided to visit Bayonne's indoor food market and the local TV news later reported that there had been an outbreak of mass shoplifting.. It is hoped that there will be another attempt to launch the thousands of lanterns this evening. The weather looks good so far. The Prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantiques has since decreed that tonight's event will be the last one ever due to "security reasons" and the "risk of fire posed by these lanterns".        

4th December. Earlier this afternoon we suddenly had a swirling strong wind that blew sheets of rain every which way. It was difficult to see across the road. All quiet now. 

3rd December. Beautiful crisp winter's day here today - a cloudless blue sky and 6°C - and ideal for a walk through the woods or down on the beach with Nutty (our cocker spaniel).  

2nd December. Walking by Mr Montauzer's shop in town (aka the Temple to the Pig) the other day, I spotted some boudins blancs (with truffles) in his chilled cabinet. Whooosh - I was in like Flynn.. For reasons known only to Mr Montauzer, his truffled boudins blancs only appear at the end of the year (and occasionally at Easter). And they never appear on his website. (How to make boudins blancs) Served with sauté'd apples (below), there's very little better on God's green earth: 

The other day I heard, and then saw, for the first time this year a great straggling vee-shaped formation of grues cendrées (common cranes) making their way towards the south west. Their raucous squawking is the first indication of their presence and then suddenly there they are - great wings flapping, the formation rippling in and out as they head towards warmer climes. It appears that they've been on the move for the last week or two (see here).  

1st December. Hard to believe that we're back in December again. It was raining on and off this morning and I eventually took the dog out for a much needed ease springs.. Just as we reached the gate, someone 'up there' cranked up the water pressure to max and we both got a drenching. 

30th November. It's become the norm to lavish praise on artists and performers these days but this recording of the 1st Movement of Elgar's Cello Concerto performed by cellist Jacqueline Du Pré with Daniel Barenboim conducting the London Philharmonic in 1967 fully justifies its description as 'the recording of the century'. I was lucky enough to hear French cellist Gautier Capuçon a year or two ago and I, being more accustomed to listening to music recorded on CDs - was transfixed by the richness and the breadth of sound that emerged from his 300+ year old instrument. 

(Goose pimple alert!) Prepare yourself to be amazed by the lyricism, the intensity and the colour of her playing:

         

NB If your goose remains unpimpled after listening to the above video, I strongly suggest that you make an appointment with your medical practitioner asap!

14th November. Here's Eddie Zheng, a talented 22 year old, and I'm sure his is a name that we'll be hearing plenty of in future. This video shows him playing Charles-Marie Widor's Toccata on the Cavaillé-Coll organ at nearby Saint-Palais. If this was boxing, it would have finished as a win on points for Eddie after 15 rounds. The Toccata hardly gave him a moment's respite as he produced an inspired and mature performance that was entirely fault-free. A name to watch..

          

8th November. To Saint-Jean-de-Luz this morning for a quick visit to our bank, and in walking back to the car, my eye was caught by the gleam of gold in a shop window. The shop specialised in the buying and selling of gold and I found myself looking at a one kilo gold bar. I looked up what the current value is and I must admit to being way off in my estimate. I'll stick to my day job!

(7 Aug 24. Edited to add: when I posted this comment, I remember that a 1kg gold bar was valued at something like 57,000 euros. Today sees it valued at 70,500 euros.)  

(24 Oct 24. Edited to add: Today that same 1kg gold bar is for sale at 83,500 euros..)     

There's a phrase I've heard once or twice that had me confused initially - bourrée de pognon. To my ear, it sounds like something I could easily be tempted into ordering in a restaurant without knowing what exactly it is. It actually means someone who is very comfortably off, full of money, loaded etc.   

7th November. As 45 year old songs go, 'Baker Street' still sounds remarkably fresh. Sadly, Gerry Rafferty (Fr translation) was unable to come to terms with the lifestyle that his fame had brought him and he died a lonely death at the age of 63.. This song, with its soaring alto sax (Raphael Ravenscroft) and equally good solo guitar (Hugh Burns), will serve as a lasting reminder of his talent: 

       

3rd November. Heavy rain was drumming on the roof all night - and it was still pouring down this morning. Looking out to the west, I could see patches of blue - and so during a break between showers, I got myself and the dog ready for a quick burst 'round the houses' and off we shot. The westerly wind was blowing hard - and the tall chestnuts and other arboreal entities (aka trees - not very good on names!) were swaying as the wind moaned and roared through the topmost branches. Of course, at the furthest point from home - by the bull ring - it started raining again.. and we arrived home like two drowned rats. This weather looks set for the day. We lit the woodburner last night as the temp had dropped to 11-12°C - and I've reset it for another cosy evening tonight. 

The Nive could well burst its banks in the centre of town this evening.   

2nd November. Reports about tempête Ciaran in the media this morning are saying that a peak wind speed of 207km/h (128mph) was reported at Pointe du Raz overnight with waves of 21m (68ft) high. I was downstairs at 4am to let Nutty out - he stepped out into the downpour, did a smart about turn and shot back indoors.  

1st November. This is getting serious now - yesterday I dismantled our plancha and I wrapped the cast iron cooking surface in an old sheet before lugging it downstairs into the cellar where it will stay dry until Spring. The rest of it I put away in the garage. I secured the all-weather cover over our outdoor table and just now I took down our garden umbrella, rolled it up and put that away in the garage too.

The heavy solid wooden shutters at the back of the house take a real pounding here - they bear the brunt of the winter storms and in summer they have the heat to contend with. I've painted them a few times but we've finally decided to replace them with some new ones - pre-finished in Basque rouge and of a composite construction - aluminium with (I believe) a polystyrene foam interior. They're due here any day now and once they've been fitted, I think we'll be in good shape for the winter.       

Those in northern France are being warned to brace themselves for the imminent arrival of storm Ciaran during this evening and tomorrow. The forecast for Brest in Finisterre is for winds of 170km/h (105mph). We had some strong warm winds from the south a few days ago and walking past the bull ring, the wind seemed to be coming from all directions as it whipped up leaves into rustling swirls.  

Sign of the times! I've just set the fire in the wood burner ready for lighting on that first cold winter evening (yes, we do have them here). Already, I see the first telltale signs of the approaching festive season (can't bring myself to type the word!) appearing in the streets. For some reason I find these preparations depressing. It only seems 6 months or so since last C*******s.         

31st October. I was down in the kitchen at early o'clock this morning after having let Nutty out for an unscripted 'wazz' - and I was wondering whether it was the 31st of October - or the 1st of November today. I found myself silently mouthing a fragment of a chant that had been embedded in my skull a loong time ago - 30 days hath September, April, June and November - all the rest have 31 except for February alone... and that's where my memory faded away. I can still just about recall my class chanting this and our "times tables". We learned - by rote - up to 12 x 12. Not sure what age I'd've been. I believe learning by rote has become unfashionable of late. 

Some years ago, educators in the US* determined to prove the old adage 'If it ain't broken, fix it until it is."      

* I believe that educators in the UK have followed similar paths.   

20th October. For the past few months, my attention has been drawn to the increasing number of people here who have adopted modes of transport on the roads more appropriate to a circus. For decades, the following vehicles could be found on roads here in western Europe: buses, trams, lorries, vans, cars, motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and bicycles. So far - so good. You could be excused for thinking that one or more of these categories would cater for the overwhelming majority of us. 

The introduction of 4x4s threw a rock in the pond.. Women liked them because of the commanding view that they offered - and the notion that their sheer size conferred improved safety on the occupants - and these were normally children being driven to school. It didn't take long for the environmentalists to decide that alone of all other vehicles that 4x4s (known as Chelsea tractors in the UK) were uniquely responsible for global warning - and this was enough to trigger the development of electric vehicles to satisfy those of the hair shirt persuasion. There's now a constant barrage of advertising trying to foist electric vehicles on us all. 

The humble bicycle has not been left out of this race to madness - we now have electric cargo bikes like these for transporting the little darlings to school - ridden by virtue-signalling parents.

There's also been an exponential increase in the number of these slightly bizarre ebikes (below) - again, for transporting kids to school. Strangely, they're all finished in matt grey or matt pale blue. It's as though the owners feel that they have to apologise for owning such an expensive bike: 

Then there are these:

Not forgetting these:

Or these:

All of the above means of transport can be seen on roads around here. 

I think the world's gone mad!        

Decided not to have a post-lunch snooze today - and tell you something of what's been happening here. I heard the piece below on the radio earlier and it's long been on my list of favourites - set it running and enjoy:

    

I think it's now been 6 weeks since I caught Covid and the after-effects (mainly fatigue) have been slow to dissipate. What's been happening in the Pays Basque I hear you ask? Up until today, we've been enjoying the most prolonged Indian summer since we've been here - with temps in the mid to late 20s and beyond (think we saw 34° one day). Today though - it's been 'Hello Autumn' - with grey skies and sudden showers blowing in from the Bay of Biscay every few minutes. 

Events in the news are dominated by the happenings in Israel. I don't care what political cause was behind these atrocities - but the deliberate slaughter of babies, infants and toddlers by extremists in the Palestine community was beyond the pale and it brought the human race to an all-time low. I hope that those responsible will soon be be squashed like the vermin they are. No cause can ever justify those attacks. 

29th September. Went for a post-lunch snooze yesterday and woke up at 6pm. (it's called "Living the Dream - pensioner style!") It was only the telephone ringing at 6.30pm that woke up Madame..!

When walking into town, I pass a café that seems very popular with the local retired community.. They put about 3 tables together and there must about about 10-12 of them - all talking, no-one listening in the classic French style. I call it the Pensioners' Parliament..     

28th September. We've both had Covid during the last few weeks and it's left us very short of energy.. and I'm afraid that writing the blog just fell off the edge. By way of an apology, here are a few videos of some of our favourite places.. (never heard so many seagulls at Biarritz! It sounds to me as though they're an addition to the soundtrack)

 

 

 

27th August. Another sport I would gladly see the back of is handball.. There's an indefinable something about it that I find intensely irritating - and it could easily find a home with rap, skate-boarding, graffiti and la trottinette électrique.  

23rd August. A blanket of 40° heat has Pipérade Towers firmly in its warm embrace. We're reduced to lurking behind closed shutters. The dog is spread-eagled on the tiles somewhere and, in the interests of energy conservation, even his tail has stopped wagging. I might be joining him shortly.    

18th August. I've just realised that I haven't posted anything here for a while - sometimes 'Life' has a habit of getting in the way. It's been one of those months. However, something caught my eye yesterday in a newsletter for the neighbouring town of Tarnos that hit (& demolished) my funny bone. It was an advert for a forthcoming attraction that managed to combine in a single event many of the mindless elements of modern life that make me want to emulate Edvard Munch's "The Scream". 

Thè event is called "Rap 'n Skate" (Eng translation here) - which is fairly self-explanatory - that offers "other experiences combining sporting and cultural discoveries", one of which is a graffiti workshop. If there's one activity in the modern world that needs a 'workshop' like a hole in the head - it's graffiti. It would be hard to imagine three other activities that possess a comparable ability to annoy, irritate & frustrate more than rap, skate-boarding and graffiti. 

There's one more element of modern life that could and should be added to the list above - and it's the e-scooter or, as they're known here: la trottinette électrique. There's something instantly annoying about these toys and the eejits who ride them in and out of traffic on public roads where they really don't belong. I must confess that the urge to nudge one is compelling* - just as a way of driving home to the hapless individual riding the thing just how inherently unstable and vulnerable they are.  

* but of course I don't.   

Of course, you could probably put down the above three paragraphs as the rant of of an old person - and you'd be right. It's just that this nihilistic event lays bare the emptiness of the imagination of those benighted individuals behind it.  

If, having become enraged at the story above, you need to purge these negative thoughts from your brain - what better than this piece by Sergei Rachmaninoff that, although it's been played to death by the likes of Classic FM, still has the power to calm the troubled waters and sooth the savage breast (according to William Congreve). It's Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: II. Adagio sostenuto, played by Klára Würtz, with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine, conducted by Vladimir Sirenko:

26th July. Just managed to redress the balance slightly - the score now stands at Mosquitoes 16 Me 1 (one). The Fêtes de Bayonne starts this evening (10pm French time).. you can follow the action here on a number of webcams.

19th July. No apologies for posting this video of a 1968 Porsche 912 with that timeless styling (yes, it's a 55 year old car!). To me, it's one of those cars that looks perfect from any angle. This particular model is not a fast car but for me it's just that it looks so right with that clean, understated elegance. The problem is other people have realised this too - with the result that the asking prices have soared in recent years. If I'm honest, there's never been a time when I could have afforded one. They've always been out of my reach. This is the closest I'm ever likely to get to one:

   

3rd July. The Tour de France whizzed in and out of town yesterday. I was talking to some neighbours as they returned from watching. They said they'd been in place since 3pm.. and they had to wait until 6pm to see the riders arrive - then whoooooosh! Each to their own I guess.      

This time of the year always provides the first hint of the arrival of the summer crowd.. after which parking in such hotspots as Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz requires either local knowledge or the skills of a Neapolitan taxi driver. I generally allow myself ½ hour of cruising the streets in ever-increasing circles before calling it a day and returning home. From memory, I've only had to do that on a couple of occasions though. Finding a parking space in the same post code as your desired destination in the summer months is the Holy Grail. Sometimes it seems as though you're in danger of straying into a different time zone.  

   

Latest scores: Mosquitoes 3 Me 0. 

I'm a little late with bringing out the plancha from its winter storage this year - so today's the day! 

The west-facing wooden shutters at the rear of the house are looking a bit weary as they bear the brunt of the winter gales. We've decided to have them replaced with ones of a similar style - but made of aluminium with a foam interior. I can't think of any other jobs that remain after this (he wrote hopefully!).