211. Looking forward to 2014

3rd January 2014. I hope you all had a great Christmas and I'd like to wish you health and happiness in 2014.

Here's something not to be tried after eating a Christmas pudding..! Yes, it's Course Landaise - an ancient form of bullfighting that doesn't involve any bloodshed (no bandilleros or swords). The president of the association I belong to is heavily involved in this sport and has threatened to take me along to one of his events this year. Apparently the dinners afterwards are something special..☺

Previously, we've seen a few Courses de Vachettes.. which is something of a misnomer as these cows bear zero resemblance to anything you might have seen on a farm, placidly chewing the cud..   

No, these "vachettes" come from the same stock as Spanish fighting bulls and are lightning quick on their feet and will charge anything at the drop of a hat. They weigh between 250-300kg (about half that of a fighting bull) and they don't produce milk. 

When all goes well:

And then there are days like this!

This is what I like to see..!☺ No sympathies at all for the ones in white.

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I think I've mentioned the pilgrimage walk to Santiago de Compostela here before but perhaps only in passing. The full story is here.

For anyone contemplating walking the "El Camino" to Santiago de Compostela, it strikes me that these lines from The Golden Journey To Samarkand are very appropriate:

We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go

Always a little further: it may be

Beyond the last blue mountain barred with snow,

Across that angry or that glimmering sea..

A curious ritual takes places within the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela - the swinging of a large container - or Botafumeiro - of incense.. (go to 0:25 to see the start)   

From Wiki:

A dome above the crossing contains the pulley mechanism to swing the "Botafumeiro", which is a famous thurible found in this church. This thurible was created by the goldsmith José Losada in 1851. The Santiago de Compostela Botafumeiro is the largest censer in the world, weighing 80 kg and measuring 1.60 m in height. It is normally on exhibition in the library of the cathedral, but during certain important religious high days it is attached to the pulley mechanism, filled with 40 kg of charcoal and incense. In the Jubilee Years, whenever St James's Day falls on a Sunday, the Botafumeiro is also attached in all the Pilgrims' Masses. Eight red-robed tiraboleiros pull the ropes and bring it into a swinging motion almost to the roof of the transept, reaching speeds of 80 km/h and dispensing thick clouds of incense. One explanation of this custom, which originated more than 700 years ago—although incense has been used in Catholic ritual from the earliest times—is that it assisted in masking the stench emanating from hundreds of unwashed pilgrims.

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If you've been fortunate enough to have visited the Pays Basque (and if not - why not!), you will surely remember that tuna is a popular dish here. If you've ever wondered how they are caught, wonder no more!

This is fishing as you've never seen it before!

Sunday, 5th January. I came across these lines of W.H. Auden (from "Good-Bye to the Mezzogiorno") this morning..

Out of a gothic North, the pallid children of a potato, beer-or-whisky Guilt culture..

Think there's something in this.. certainly as far as the pleasures of the table are concerned.

Monday 6th January. Sometimes it appears that people can't be saved from themselves. This clip shows the mindlessness of a young man in the face of major waves on Saturday 4th..

This was the scene a day later after two people were swept away by an unusually large wave near the lighthouse at Biarritz. They'd disregarded barriers and warning notices and were watching the spectacular seascape from a closed off vantage point when a rogue wave came along.. I believe the man managed to escape after 20 minutes in the water but his female companion was not so lucky - her body was found a few days later.

I forgot to mention that I went down to the river on Saturday morning for the first outing of the New Year. We took an VIII out that was missing (for reasons unknown) stroke's riggers.. so we went out as a VII.. As the boat was rigged for sculling (ie, with 2 sculls each) it was no problem. However, once out on the water we faced the strongest current I can remember and a significant headwind. The upshot of all this was that we progressed upstream at little more than walking pace. Instead of the usual chatter in the boat (which was streng verboten when I was at school!) we all fell strangely silent as we bent to our task (made all the more difficult by the thousands of extra calories that had been freely ingested during the preceding 2 weeks!) What's that expression? No pain, no gain..? It was never truer than on this morning in early January.

Friday 10th January. The giant wave at Belharra has been active these last few days..

In the following clip, watch the sequence from 02:45...!

One wave around midday had the power to break 6 (yes, six!) surfboards.. (Dirty Harry's famous quote springs to mind here: "You've got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?")

Freddy Verdoux (right)

We went to Biarritz yesterday for a retail experience (please - not therapy, never!) and as lunchtime approached, I remembered a new bistrot I'd spotted the other day conveniently located in the Avenue de Verdun (2 mins from the Place Clémenceau in the centre of town). It's Aux 3 B (the former bistrot Ahizpak) and it's run by the genial Freddy Verdoux. It appears that it has only been open for a few days - these small places come and go - but we tried their 15€ lunchtime menu. A garlicky salade aux pleurotes with some parmesan shavings, then a faux filet and frites maison - this really hit the spot! - and then a crumble (v fashionable!).. As they say here - an excellent rapport qualité prix. Despite it only having been open for a few days, it was well patronised by locals and it filled up rapidly. A useful and friendly address to remember.  

210. Countdown to Christmas..

11th December 2013. On the northern side of the Adour there's an unfortunately-named shop that I spotted a few weeks ago.. Wouldn't you think that, given that we're in the era of "Frankenstein foods" as the UK tabloids insist on calling GM food products, someone somewhere might have roused himself from his post-lunch torpor with a start - and suddenly realised that, "Hey, perhaps Le Mutant isn't the greatest name we could have picked for our supermarket..."

Classic moment of marital bliss this morning.. I can laugh about it now.. (almost) We were walking around Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Madame drew my attention to a shop that had been one of her favourites - but which is now empty.. As I looked to my right, I felt an indescribably sharp pain across the front of my legs and I went down as if pole-axed, heading straight for the pavement - as though someone had cracked me across the knees and shins with a solid steel baseball bat. Some bright spark in the council had had the brilliant idea of positioning a great knee-high stone block squarely across the pavement to deny cars access to the pedestrian-only area. This block of pavement-coloured stone – the original immoveable object - was about 6 feet long and almost 2ft by 2ft..

After I’d gone a**e over breakfast, Madame uttered those immortal words – words to which no answer is possible.. (while I still felt as though I’d been knee-capped).. she said, “Didn’t you see it?”  

(“Aaaarrgghh!”)

In the interests of domestic harmony I thought it best to say nothing.. (but my knuckles got a good clenching!☺)

17th December 2013. A quick raid across the border to Irun this morning for some retail therapy.. A loudspeakers outside one shop there was pumping out "Jingle bells" in Spanish.. which had me doing a double take..

I'm in two minds whether or not to mention what follows but - what the heck! Coming back from Spain we did a dogleg to Ascain intending to drop in at the racily-named Hotel du Parc Trinquet Larralde for a dose of their fixed price lunch (highly recommended by the way) - but we'd forgotten that many restaurants are closed on Tuesdays, including this one.

Xoko Ona

Undaunted, we looked around the village until we came across Xoko Ona, a small bar/restaurant in the Rue Zerbitzari-Ren Karrika (must remember this for the next time we play Scrabble!). We just made it there before the boom came down.. home made vegetable soup complete with chunks of duck in it, then chicken cordon bleu (ie, stuffed with ham and cheese) served with (shock horror!) chips (frites) fried in duck fat... eased down with a half litre carafe of an excellent red, then a slice of apple tart and coffee.. 24€ for two! Try it - that's all I'm saying! A very friendly place.. 

21st December. Very crisp morning (code for freezing!) down at the riverside this morning - at most 1 or 2°C - with a layer of what looked like steam rising off the water.. There were enough of us to put out 2 VIIIs - and so we set off. I was in an VIII set up for ramer-en-pointe while the other boat was set up for ramer-en-couple. (explanation here) The other major difference was that my boat was largely mecs and the other boat was, with one exception, all nanas! You can guess the rest can't you..! Sure enough, it wasn't long before we were racing side-by-side (briefly!) with the inevitable result.. Still, it kept us warm and it enabled the customary banter to be exchanged between the boats!☺

Madame has worked her customary magic with the house - it really looks like Christmas.. and an intriguing collection of beautifully wrapped presents has materialised beneath the twinkling tree - the end result of many mysterious solo trips into town - there's even one for the dog! I've been warned not to go "'investigating" - as if!☺

Best wishes to you all for a Happy Christmas with friends and family!

This story made me laugh! It was the night of the golf club Christmas dinner and one of the older members (he was 70) turned up with a mid-twenties blonde who was definitely bimbo material.

His playing partner took him to one side during the evening and said, "Bill, you old devil..! How did you ever manage to get her! Did you tell her that you were 50..?"

Bill raised one eyebrow and replied with a cunning smile, "No - I told her I was 90!" ☺ 

Monday 23rd. This was the scene off the coast just to the south of Saint-Jean-de-Luz yesterday when the conditions were just right (don't ask me what they are!) for the wave known as "Belharra" to form.. 

It doesn't matter how many times I see this wave, I still take my hat off to anyone who dares to surf it.. 

Saturday, 28th December. Sad news today.. First of all, no rowing for me because it's a wild, wet and windy start to the day down here. Surprising - because it was a very welcome 20°C yesterday! The other piece of sad news is the report in this morning's Independent of the imminent demise of the much-loved VW Campervan.. 

After a lifetime spanning over half a century, Volkswagen plans to stop the production of perhaps its best-loved vehicle, the Campervan. 

The end of the line comes after Brazil, the last remaining producer of the iconic campervan, introduced tougher safety regulations on production. Talking to Autocar, the head of product development for VW in Brazil said that to comply with the new legislation, the van would have to become “a new car”. With deviation from the classic design not being a viable option, the Brazilian factory will cease its campervan operations on the 31 December this year.

Introduced in 1950, the Volkswagen Type 2 has enjoyed pretty much continuous production, and has endeared itself to owners across the generations. Jason Jones, a campervan dealer, said that the car “has been ingrained into British people’s hearts” and that the end of the year will mark “the end of an iconic era”. 

I've wanted one of these ever since I saw my first one (in the 60s I think) but somehow I never got around to buying one.

If you're a rugby fan and you're trapped indoors by bad weather, visiting relatives, domestic duties - or all three! - then find yourself a quiet corner and watch this next video (it lasts about 1¼ hr).. It's a very personal insiders view of tackling and "big hits" by my favourite practitioner of the art - former England flanker Mickey "The Munch" Skinner - and it's just about the most enjoyable rugby video I've seen. Why we don't see and hear more of the very entertaining "The Munch" I'll never know. One of the game's true characters.

Mickey Skinner and Eric Champ embark on

a Hegelian dialectic during the 1991 World Cup

quarter final in Paris with Skinner proposing thesis,

Champ stating antithesis, the pair hoping the 

tension will be resolved by means of a synthesis

(according to the Guardian!☺)

The video starts with what is perhaps the greatest try-saving and game-changing hit of all time.. It happened during the infamous France-Angleterre clash that took place in Paris during the quarter finals of the 1991 Rugby World Cup. This was an ill-tempered affair that was, as far as both teams were concerned, a "must win" match. The traditional pre-match rendition of the "Marseillaise" seemed to unnerve many of the French, especially as President Mitterand was in the stands. Emotions were already running high and the clattering of Serge Blanco by the English pack served only to add fuel to the flames. Brian Moore in particular had a magnificent match and he caused havoc in the front row battle. Never one to back down, here's "The Munch" going eyeball-to-eyeball with Eric Champ (right) in that same match in his typically uncompromising fashion..

In a match-defining moment, Marc Cecillon (no slouch he) came bursting around the base of the scrum 5 metres out from the English line only to meet "The Munch" - who stopped him dead in his tracks with a colossal hit.. before driving him back 5 metres.. Mickey talks us through the match and that tackle at 20:40 for which he will be long remembered by English fans. Watch and enjoy..

209. Rinse cycle in the Pays Basque

20th November 2013. It's been a wet month so far in the Pays Basque.. and the Nive has had more than its fair share of assorted lumber of all sizes floating down it during the past few weeks. Last Saturday I was out in the club's beautiful Filippi wooden shell VIII (sadly, they only seem to make boats in carbon these days) and we had to be pretty nimble in avoiding some of the larger pieces floating out there as it would have been all too easy to have irreparably damaged its fragile honey-coloured wooden skin. Higher up the river there was a whole tree lodged against the river bank that will present someone with a problem before too long (it's too big to pass under the bridges in town) as it slowly drifts its way downstream. I remember an outing in a coxless IV about 2 years ago (grisly details here) when we had an unscheduled coming together with a floating tree that launched us all - in slow motion - into a very cold river (in January!)..

It's difficult in words (for me) to capture the appeal of rowing on the river on a calm summer's evening. This image explains it waay better than I ever could: 

And for those of us who've often wondered what it must be like to soar like an eagle (and who can honestly say they haven't?☺), well, here's the answer. Someone has fitted an eagle with a lightweight camera.. The scene is the Mer de Glace outside Chamonix:

 
When I was there in the mid-60s, the glacier looked like this (below) - not the dirt track that it now appears to have become (above).

Mer de Glace

I was clearing the garage out of a few centuries-worth of muck and bullets when this haunting song by Enya came up on the radio:

I found myself humming it all day as I cleared the countless cobwebs that festooned the garage walls and swept up plaster dust, old rusty bolts and other delights. There was an assortment of ancient brackets and other ironmongery bolted to the walls - connected to the tale our neighbour told us that one previous owner of the house had been a butcher (who used the garage for slaughtering pigs). These fittings were attached with massively over-engineered fixings that hadn't been touched for years and which were mostly rusted up. Fortunately I have a set of sockets and a ratchet that made removing all the fittings easier than it might otherwise have been.

But - remembering the First Rule of Home DIY: If you have to remove twelve rusty nuts that have been untouched since the Spanish Civil War, eleven of them will unscrew more or less easily. That's all I'm sayin'.. (I did manage later to pop that vein back in my forehead!)

And 10 litres of white paint later, the garage walls are looking presentable again.. (the things you do when it's raining!☺)

Sunday, 24th November. I've mentioned the name of Andrée Dumon (aka "Nadine") several times here before - she was a guide for the Comète network during WWII. Here she is in Perth, Australia recounting parts of her extraordinary story.

When reading and listening to these accounts of wartime courage, I suspect I'm not alone in asking myself the unanswerable question: "What would I have done?". People like "Nadine" stepped forward and chose the path of greatest resistance.

Tuesday, 26th November. Cold day today - a bracing 2°C this morning.. We went over to Spain to do some shopping and ended up staying for lunch. Found a place that was offering a 3 course lunch (that included magret de canard) including 2 glasses of the red infuriator each and coffee.. (If you must know - it came to a wallet-busting 27.60€ for two!☺)

Most of the trees still had their leaves.. What normally happens next is that a storm will blow through and all the leaves will disappear overnight.

I guarantee you'll be unable to watch this next clip without your mouth watering! I like it all - except for the presentation at the end.. the artfully arranged plate.. the few drops of sauce.. Down here in the south west, a magret de canard would never be served like this..

Is it me - or does anyone else feel uncomfortable with this modern practice of using fingers to arrange and prod into position the ingredients on a plate as it's "assembled" (as he calls it)..?? I don't want my meal to be arranged into a 'pleasing' display, poked and prodded by the chef's fat fingers.. 

Amazon's tasting notes on Talisker 10 year old Single Malt whisky have this to say:

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Powerful peat-smoke with seawater saltiness, the liquor of fresh oysters and a citrus sweetness.

Palate: Rich dried-fruit sweetness with clouds of smoke and strong barley-malt flavours: warming and intense. At the back of the mouth.

Finish: Sweet malty flavours that blend into a smoky climax.

Sounds as though I'll have to close the shutters while I drink this one! The 18 year old Talisker is apparently the one that wins all the awards.

Errenteria

Thursday 28th November. Went to Errenteria (just outside San Sebastian) yesterday morning for a committee meeting of the local Comète association with the Spanish representatives. Afterwards we were led around a few bars as it was too early for lunch (1pm!). Very reasonable.. for 4 glasses of  Rioja, I handed over a 10€ note and received a 5€ note back and a handful of shrapnel..! We had an excellent lunch – starting at 3pm – at Zuketz, a stylish bar/restaurant. I had marmitako to start with - almost a meal in itself. It's a rich and very satisfying tuna soup/stew.. For 3 courses, including 2 bottles of wine (I'd better add that there were 6 of us), coffee and a brandy, it worked out at just 17€ each..! Definitely somewhere to revisit.☺

I may be off-line for a while as another piece of translation work has just landed in my in-tray with an ominously heavy thud this afternoon.

TipiTapa

The rowing club is having another "apéro" evening at TipiTapa (right) again in a few days time. If the present weather is anything to go by it will only be the hardened smokers among us who will be standing outside. We've had some really cold weather down here over the last few days with clear night-time skies and temperatures hovering just above 0°C. TipiTapa is a peña that has been set up in an old casemate in the fortifications and ramparts that encircle Bayonne (designed by Vauban in the 17th century) that were intended to keep the Brits (& others) at arm's length!  

A quiet night in at TipiTapa!

This was Bayonne in former times..

The eternal Maria Callas would have been 90 today. I'm ashamed to say it took me far too long to appreciate her voice. 

Here she is singing two of perhaps her greatest recordings:

   

Tuesday, 3rd December. After some bitingly cold days here (stop sniggering in Nebraska!☺) it was a pleasure to be out and about this afternoon in Saint-Jean-de-Luz (below) under a burning blue sky in the dazzlingly bright sunshine.. 

The bay was virtually flat calm, the distant Pyrenees were shrouded in a silvery haze and there was this 2 masted ketch swinging lazily at anchor (that set me thinking - always dangerous!)..  

The car indicated 16.5°C (62°F) on the way down to St-J-de-L but sitting over a coffee outside the Bar de la Marine (below) in the Place Louis XIV in the sun, I'm sure the temp was 20°+.. Is there a better place anywhere to enjoy a day like that..?

After my recent 3 week stint in the garage, I started making a list of the "10 Commandments for the Home DIY enthusiast":

1.There’s no such thing as a simple job.

2. If it isn’t broken, fix it until it is.

3. If the screw isn’t going in, use a bigger hammer.
4. The drill bit you want is the one that’s missing from the box.
5. Never be tempted to change the drill bit with the power on. <(I'll tell you the story one day!)
6. Measure twice. Cut once. (Never the other way around!☺)
7. The best tool is a mug of coffee. Look at the job often - thinking time is never wasted.
8. One from Lesley: Things thrown away will be required within the week. (So true!)
9. If you are in desperate need of one item to finish a job, the shops will be closed.
Two more from Lesley:
10. A dropped Allen tool, nut, bolt or screw will always travel to the most inaccessible place.
11. As soon as you get your hands greasy you will develop an itchy nose or want to use the lavatory.
12. When the shop is finally open, the single item you want comes in a pack of six.
13. If it's your lucky day, and the shop sells the item you need in a single pack, they will have it in two sizes: too large and too small.
14. You've been saving something for 20 years knowing that one day you'll need it. When that day finally arrives, you can't remember where you left it. (happened to me yesterday!)

 Let me know yours and I'll include them!

It's been a while since we've heard from Gordon Lightfoot - so to put that right, here's a topical song from him:

Friday, 6th December. By now, most of you will have figured out how I work..

And finally: I'd not intended to add any more to this post but I've just read something that resonated with me - something that I hope you will nod your head to as well.

I'd been reading about Brad Pitt who reportedly has just bought himself a Spitfire for ~US$3m..(as you do) and it turns out that you can learn to fly one at the only flying school in the world that will let you grip the control column of a Spitfire with your hot sticky hands. 

A Singaporean pilot, Paul Jansen, describes his experience here and I was reading through his well-written account of his close encounter with a Spitfire when I came across the few words in question. 

He writes: "A few days ago, Nora Ephron, a brilliant screenwriter and director who first came to my attention with her romantic comedies "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless In Seattle", died of leukemia aged 71."

In an interview with Reuters, she said: "At some point, your luck is going to run out... You are very aware with friends getting sick that it can end in a second."

"You should eat delicious things while you can still eat them, go to wonderful places while you still can... and not have evenings where you say to yourself, "What am I doing here? Why am I here? I am bored witless!"

Exactamundo! As someone once said, "Life is not a practice.. You don't go around again.."

I had a thorough medical examination a couple of months ago (a standard annual requirement at the rowing club). My heart was thumping away like a single cylinder marine diesel at 54bpm, my blood pressure at 120/80 was that of a 20 year old (a 20 year old what though!) and I was booked in for an effort test on an exercise bike. This came up a week or two ago - following which I was declared to be in excellent shape. But - as Nora Ephron rightly observed - all that can change in a second. So while I am eternally grateful for the present, one of these days my luck will run out. Until then though, I'm going to try and enjoy life. And where better to enjoy it than the Pays Basque. Tuesday afternoon's trip was a timely reminder of just how lucky we are.

Final, final word: If you're ever in the area, and you feel a pressing need to severely lighten your wallet one lunchtime, I can be made available for lunchtime appointments here at very short notice!☺

(It's the Hotel du Palais, Biarritz..) If you'd like to slaver over more of the best restaurants in the Basque country, look no further than here..

11th December. News just in: “Yesterday, hundreds of dyslexic mourners laid flowers outside Nissan main dealers across the UK..”