133. Plancha time again!

26th March 2011. Watching the news over the last few days reminded me of my previous life. When long-simmering tensions in the Balkans finally erupted into what turned out to be a very nasty little civil war in the 90s, various governments around the world decided that enough was enough and your correspondent was despatched to foreign climes to convert jet fuel into noise - come rain or shine, night & day, 7 days a week, month after excruciating month and year upon year. Watching a similar scenario unfolding today, I ask myself - do I miss it? (I might have given you a clue there!) 

Once again, we seem to be heading for another full-blown 37 carat tangled mess. Having started the No Fly Zone, I ask myself what event(s) will cause the politicians to decide that an "end state" has been reached. What is the end state? If it's hoped that operating a No Fly Zone will cause Col. Gaddafi to up sticks and head for foreign parts without there being any need for boots on the ground, then I think that those who decide such weighty matters are sadly mistaken. Let's hope I'm to be proved wrong.

Back to happier thoughts - the temperatures are on the upward march.. it's forecast to be around 20°C this weekend. The plancha is sitting there in the garage winking at me each time I walk past it..

Here's an idea..

Now for all those out there who swear by their BBQs... let's see you try this!

Or even this bijou snackette.. (a far cry from burnt sausages!)

Bon app!

With the death of Elizabeth Taylor, I wonder how many real stars are left?

132. Rowing

24th March 2011. If rowing 'floats your boat', then don't forget to switch on your TV on Saturday in time for the annual Oxford - Cambridge University boat race on the Thames. It starts at 5pm (British Summer Time); 6pm (French time) but check the times for wherever you are. This first clip will give you a flavour of what it's all about..

Hard to believe now but I once raced in an VIII over the same 4¼ mile (6.8km) course (but run in the opposite direction) on the river Thames during the London Head of the River Race in the 60s.. (and you're right, that's a worryingly long time ago!) This picture (with around 30 VIIIs in view) only hints at what 400+ VIIIs look like out on the river - you need a sharp cox at moments like this:

When I did the event, I think we started 147th and finished somewhere around 120th out of 200-odd VIIIs. Looking at the link above, it appears that 405 VIIIs are entered for this year's race.  Here's a view of the London 'Head' as seen by a French club and yes, the river can get quite choppy..

Just some of the VIIIs on the water at the London Head of the River Race

Who will I be supporting this year? The same as I've always done ever since I can remember - Oxford. Why? No idea!

While we're on sporting matters, Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone says there is growing support for using sprinkler systems to wet F1 tracks in order to make races more entertaining. I think he's completely off his head and retirement to a bus shelter on the sea front in Eastbourne surely beckons for him. Sat there with his Thermos flask of tea he could shout at passing traffic to his heart's content.

Finally, a very pleasant outing this evening in a double sculler with Y, one of the nenettes at the club! She's been rowing since last July and has made astonishing progress. She stroked the boat this evening with metronomic regularity leaving me to look after the steering..! We had one or two close shaves with the greenery but all in all, a very enjoyable outing. Did 12km. (Running total: 522km)

The inspirational figure of Perle Bouge was out on the river too in her single sculling boat this evening. She's a sculler in the Handicapped class and she won a Silver Medal in the Mixed Double Sculls at the recent World Championships in New Zealand. I heard this evening that she's only been rowing for a year! (Edited to add: Perle became World Champion in 2018! Well done Perle!)

25th March 2011. Tomorrow sees the big - no, let's make that the h-u-g-e local derby between Biarritz and Bayonne. It's taking place on "the other side" (ie, in Spain) at the 30,000 seater Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian. San Sebastian will be lively tomorrow evening! (Part 1 & Part 2)

131. The Basque beret

22nd March 2011. Another potent symbol of the Basque identity - perhaps second only to the Basque language - is the Basque beret. Totally different to the snug fitting military berets seen elsewhere, the Basque beret has an 'overhang' all the way around which provides a measure of protection against the sun and the rain - both of which are common in these parts. And for what is a simple item of headgear, it has many ways of being worn:

No two the same..!

Madame has been fighting a losing battle trying to persuade me to have one.. In my opinion, the Basque beret is for Basques - and Basques only. Here's a nice clip that explains much about the Basque beret - who wore them, how they are worn, how they are made etc..

And they get everywhere too - that chap on the right (below) looks like he's wearing one (hold on tight before clicking on the image!):  

This Citroën advert always makes me smile..! But - swipez-moi - is this how we sound to those of the Gallic persuasion?

Down to the river this evening under threatening skies.. there were some very dark clouds over the mountains but I thought we might escape the rain. Went out in a coxless quad sculler (no names, no pack drill!) and we set off. It was also the stroke's first outing in the stroke seat which, in that boat, was the one that coupled up to the rudder for steering. 

We decided it would be a good idea to steer via the oars - using simple commands like "Force Tribord" or "Force Babord" to be called by the person sitting in the bow seat. I won't go into the detail of what happened except to say that the person calling out for more effort on one side or the other did not understand the mechanics of how a boat is steered (despite the three of us explaining how it works in words of one syllable or less) with the result that, due to the wrong call being made, we spent quite a bit of time inspecting various trees and bushes at very close quarters! In fact, we gave up using such esoteric terms as Tribord (starboard) or Babord (port) and reverted to simpler commands like Force Rouge (red being the coloured bands painted on the port riggers) or Force Vert (green for starboard). 

In the end, we even gave that up and just used Force Gauche (left) or Force Droit (right) but amazingly that proved too complicated as well. And while all this was going on, the rain was coming down in sheets. I kept telling myself I was enjoying it! So I think, given that background, we can be proud of the fact that we managed to row 10kms (after a fashion). Running total: 510km.

That whisky and water tasted so good after my shower!