144. Add James Salter to your Must Read list

16th May 2011. I've been reading James Salter lately, an American author whose prose is capable of stopping you dead in your tracks. He's a former F-86 Sabre pilot who flew combat in the Korean War and this was the subject of his first book - "The Hunters". The book I've currently got on the go is his autobiographical "Burning the Days". I read it far too quickly the first time around but I'm taking my time with it now. I was pulled up short by one sentence in particular - he was describing a friend who'd died during WWII and he wrote, "His death was one of many and sped away quickly, like an oar swirl."  The image of that oar swirl receding in the wake of life was one that struck me forcibly. I found it such a powerful simile* and I struggle to imagine how he came up with it. His books repay slow careful reading - I can't read them in my usual headlong rush. Here's an interview with the great man (from 1992). His books are well worth searching out.

* just realised it's not a metaphor.

Here's something you don't see every day.. It was the 100th anniversary last year of the birth of Django Reinhardt, the legendary gypsy guitarist. If three guitars are good - then surely a hundred would be fantastic.. non? Just as well Django didn't play the banjo then! Make your own mind up - listen here if the YouTube clip below doesn't work.

17th May 2011. Another perfect evening out on the river. This time it was an outing in an VIII sculler. Good outing in a well-balanced boat. Going up-river we had a warm breeze behind us that matched our speed so with the temperature at 26° (79°F), it was warm work. Coming back, it turned into a welcome headwind but despite that we romped home at a fine pace. Did 12km (Running total: 686km) Think I'll be just shy of the 1,000km mark (which is 621 miles - it sounds better in kilometres!) for the year which ends on 5th August.

18th May 2011. Quick trip over the border this morning to stock up the cellar with sangria et al ready for the summer. I passed through Ainhoa and already the first tourists to this honeypot Basque village were in evidence.

I haven't provided an update to the Chibby situation. If you've just joined us, Chibby is our cocker spaniel. Some friends here have a cocker spaniel bitch that's en chaleur at the moment and for the past 3 days Chibby has been extremely active in attempting to extend his lineage. So far he's had at least 50 attempts by my reckoning..! What do they say about a picture being worth a thousand words..?

20th May 2011. Pleased to see P & M yesterday - some friends who came down from Lacanau for the day. Madame excelled herself for lunch and so it was afterwards that we thought we'd add to the number of confused pensioners ambling around Biarritz in the late afternoon. We finished up at the Bleu Café, which is ideally situated on the sea front overlooking the Grande Plage. It must have been 28° at least and it was very pleasant watching and listening to the crash of the surf close by - think it was high tide. Here's a web cam view of the Grande Plage that may or may not work. 

Well spotted.. no rowing for me yesterday! Oh yes - and Chibby had a day off too!

Now that the warmer weather's here, the lizards are back! Walking around the neighbourhood you'll often hear the scurry and the rustle of quick little feet as you pass a sunlit garden wall. Lizards lie on warm stones soaking up the warmth of the morning sunshine and they disappear as quick as a flash when they sense someone approaching.

I was in the garden a few minutes ago when I heard a deep rumbling sound in the sky to the south. Not the usual Ryanair 737 or an Air France twin jet taking off from Biarritz airport.. No, this was an Airbus A380 - the new behemoth of the skies. I spotted it in the distance heading out to sea - and with the illusion of moving incredibly slowly. 

Very impressive.. first time I've seen one of these puppies.. I have to say that Boeing's mighty 747 is the runaway winner as far as looks are concerned. But looks aren't everything - especially if you're running an international airline and you're looking to squeeze those last fractions of a per cent out into the 'profit' column.

Update on Chibby - Day 4. I think we have a result! In contrast to his previous 60 or so attempts over the last 4 days, this happened this afternoon. I'd not seen this before ever and the two dogs just stood there looking a bit bemused during what apparently is called a 'tie'. If all goes well, the litter should appear towards the end of July. Then the fun will really start!

143. Grey Saturday

14th May 2011. It was a dreich day out on the river this morning.. grey, cold and with a constant fine drizzle.. We went out in a coxless quad sculler but there was some kind of problem with the steering because we seemed to have a magnetic attraction to one of the banks! In the end, I suggested disconnecting the steering as I suspected it wasn't set up correctly and once we'd done that there was a marked improvement. Arriving back at the clubhouse, we were pretty much all wet through and cold and G (le responsable) suggested an impromptu apéro - he was going to get no argument from me! If the difference a little whisky makes to the world surprises you, then how much more surprised would you be at the difference a large one would make! Did 12km (Running total: 674km)

The pooch - unhappy at being told to sit still!

This afternoon should see Chibby, our cocker spaniel, in action for the first time. Some friends of ours have a black cocker spaniel bitch - Cerise - and yesterday they phoned us to say that she's come into heat.. Between us, we decided some time ago that the next time she came into heat, Chibby would be given the opportunity to do his best (lie back and think of England) to spread his genes. We'll be getting one of the pups if everything works out fine. Poor lad - he has no idea what's in store for him!

And just in case you were wondering:

I heard this 60s song on the radio earlier today and it brought back lots of memories.. it's full of that Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" excess - it has every instrument you can think of in it - including the kitchen sink - and a few you can't. I looked it up on Wiki and there it was in black and white - it was released in shhhh -  1963. This goes back to an earlier comment I made that we're scarred by the music that was popular when we were 17. It's still a classic though after all those years (especially after an hour or so wasted watching the latest Eurovision Song Contest this evening - don't ask!!) Crank up the volume, listen to it and then tell me that's not a great pop song.. 

I mentioned the Eurovision Song Contest - this is the entry from Moldova - complete with girl on unicycle - that drove me to despair:

15th May 2011. Went for a windy walk along the sea front at Biarritz this morning. Ended up in Dodin's café having one of their hot chocolates and watching the surfers. Chibby is still on alert in case the doorbell rings with his date..! He's not yet showing any signs of big match tension.. 

Today's special offer: there are various sites that play non-stop music for all tastes.. for example, there are links that play non-stop ABBA hits. Or non-stop 60s hits. But maybe you'd prefer to browse the blog with some classic French hits in the background.. Zut alors! In that case, look no further! Or if it's that time of day, here are the non-stop smoochy ones.. (what have I started!!?) Think you need Google Chrome set as your browser to access these links.. 

You'll find that links on the blog will open in a new window from now on - I found the code that allows that to happen - so you can click on the music channels above and carry on reading - that is, if there's no paint drying in the vicinity that needs watching!

16th May 2011. I must admit to being puzzled by the allegations levelled against Dominique Strauss-Kahn (or DSK as he's known here in France), the managing director of the IMF. He'd been positioning himself as a strong Socialist candidate for the 2012 Presidential campaign here in France - and, according to many political commentators here, he would have been very electable versus the unpopular incumbent. He had a lot to lose. I'm not alone in finding the situation that unravelled over the weekend in New York a little bizarre. Without going into details, the claim is that a man staying at a major New York hotel allegedly forced his attentions on a chambermaid - in his hotel room! He's hardly an anonymous figure and hence he stood no chance of the incident passing unnoticed or that he could escape identification.

I started wondering if it might have been a case of entrapment.. Perhaps the chambermaid thought, "This guy's loaded.. I could squeeze him for a few bucks or I'll tell the cops he assaulted me." It wouldn't be the first time. I'm never a great believer in conspiracy theories such as Elvis is alive and living in Essex, or Hitler's U-boat was found on the dark side of the moon, etc etc but DSK is/was probably the only credible candidate the Left could have fielded with a chance of beating Sarko.. (Martine Aubry? No chance. Ségolène Royale? Likewise..) By the time these allegations have been proved/disproved, months will have passed and even if DSK is found to be innocent, the smear will linger. And, in case you're wondering, I don't share DSK's political views.

The Telegraph has more on this unhappy saga. It appears that DSK has an Achilles d--k. (fill in the blanks yourself!) Maybe he was so jaded by everyday life that he needed the rush that an adventure like this could provide.  

In the context of DSK's trousers, I'm reminded of Spike Milligan's alternative version of the traditional nursery rhyme about the Grand Old Duke of York : 

Oh, the grand old Duke of York,

He had ten thousand men;

He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.
And when they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only half way up,
He was arrested.

Anyway, that's enough of that.. here's a web site to browse when you have a spare moment. It looks suitably dull, as befits a product of the EU (sponsors of the world's dullest looking currency below). I hadn't thought it possible to reduce half a millennia of European cultural heritage to something akin to base metal but with this site they've managed the impossible - and in spades (I'm not mentioning that mindless disco beat..). I'm not a euro-sceptic by the way. This clip may throw some light on what they're about:

On the other hand..

142. Remembering

9th May 2011. As I walked into town early yesterday morning to the bakers I noticed activity around the huge War Memorial that's set into one of the old ramparts that encircle Bayonne.

There was someone setting up loudspeakers and microphones - I asked him what was happening and he reminded me that it was 8th May - ".. la fin de la guerre." - I'm ashamed to say I'd forgotten. Waiting in the shade across the road, there were a few old soldiers in their kepis and berets in their be-medalled blazers proudly holding their old standards. Those old links and bonds with the tragic history of Europe are still evident - 66 years on. 

Long time (or long suffering) readers of this blog may recall I once wrote a post about the sound of the cimbalom.. Well, it started off as a post about the cimbalom but it ended up as a homage to Le Grand Mayeur, a fabled and unique institution in Brussels that's sadly now closed (more details at the above link). I was browsing on YouTube earlier and I came across this great interpretation of Vivaldi´s Concerto in C for cimbalom, 1st movement - I hadn't realised up until now that anyone had tried to play the cimbalom with more traditional instruments. I think it shows that the cimbalom can stand comparison with classical instruments as it's accompanied here by a harpsichord, double bass, cello and violins (all being played pizzicato):

Here's the 2nd movement - apparently, this concerto was originally written for mandolin, strings & continuo. I've read the link for continuo ( a new word to me) and I'm none the wiser..! The absence of a non-musical education shines through yet again!

10th May 2011. Just back from letting the dog take me for a walk around town. Looks as though the summer season has started. There was a group of Spanish pensioners receiving a guided tour of the old ramparts; couples with street maps, back packs and cameras; obvious tourists wandering slowly looking all around them and, of course, the street people. There was one this morning who caught my eye - she was standing on a street corner in the centre twirling a long scarf as if she was trying to shake a knot out of it. Then I saw the bowl on the ground with a few coins in. A bit of a minimalist act I thought.. 

The walk took us through the well-maintained gardens that have been laid out in the spaces between the ramparts.  

Here's a view of Grande Bayonne that shows how compressed all the building in the old town centre had to be due to the surrounding ramparts. The confluence of the Adour and the Nive can be seen at the top:

Much remains of the old fortifications - here's one of the entrances into the town, still in daily use:

Bayonne is justifiably proud of its "green" credentials and the town operates a free transport system known as the Navette (shuttle) - these electrically-powered buses circulate continuously at 10 minute intervals in and around town and are a great boon to elderly shoppers - and for tourists (stay aboard for the circular tour). 

Another free mode of transport provided by the town are these bikes - known as Vélibs (the French love abbreviating words!) and this comes from Vélo Libre (free bike):

There are a great many cycle lanes around town and it's possible to ride along the banks of the Adour and the Nive - which is something we like to do.

Another lovely warm sunny evening out on the river tonight. Had an outing in a beautiful Swiss-built coxed quad sculler and the slanting sunshine made the most of its honey-coloured varnished wood. I derive more pleasure of rowing in a boat like this compared to a carbon fibre boat - OK, a carbon boat is lighter, stiffer etc etc but next to a fine shell four like the one we were in tonight, a carbon boat looks like something for holidaymakers.. Did 11km (Running total: 662km).    

11th May 2011. Most mornings when I walk into town I pass the same café that has a few tables on the pavement. More often than not, there are 3 well-upholstered gents of retirement age sitting outside wearing leather jackets covered in badges, each with a small cup of coffee (in the French style - small, strong and guaranteed to inhibit the blinking reflex for up to 3 days).

Their motorsickles are parked on the pavement opposite - or perhaps moored would be the better word - as all three are monster-sized, lavishly chromed and highly polished Harley-Davidsons. No biting the heads off chickens or general purpose hell raising for the owners - nope, they just sit there talking quietly with their coffees until it's time to be respectable again and go home for lunch. It must be hard being a head-bangin', hard drinkin' rebel-without-your-teeth when you've just picked up your pension and your wife wants you to take her to the supermarket in the afternoon.

A column in today's Telegraph claims that three years is all it takes before expats start to tire of life abroad. Yawn..! (was that me?) We'll have been here 4 years in September and neither Madame nor I have yet to experience a "tiring of life here" moment. Ye gods..! I'll keep an eye open for one though and if one comes along you'll be the first to know. Expect they all come in threes.

14th May 2011. Noticed this morning that a few recent comments that were posted to the blog have disappeared - for example, 'Lesley' commented on the above paragraph. In case you're wondering, I've not been tidying up - there must have been a problem with the server somewhere. Feel free to keep 'em coming..!