Les lumières brillaient, plus ou moins

La Fête des Lumières, version 2007, was a rather average millésime, a bit of a mixed bag. The organisers this year tried to make it a more accessible, personal event. Some of the big, set-piece displays in recent years have led to pedestrian bouchons - traffic jams - in some places, most notably around Place des Terreaux. A couple of years ago we had to give up trying to get in to watch what was a rather impressive show one evening because the crush of people trying to get into and out of the square was too great.

Thus this year, instead we had a giant disco ball in Place des Terreaux instead, which proved somewhat less of a draw, and a sea of illuminated blue ballons in Place St-Jean instead of the usual projected show on the façade of the cathedral. But there were still impressive displays here, and quirky ones there, including a giant mechanical caterpillar inhabited by deep-sea divers and welders. And in the final analysis, more people than ever were out on the streets to watch it all...

Winter is here

Rather chilly in Lyon at the moment, which, added to the heaviest snowfall in the Alps for 11 years, persuaded us to book an overnight stay in the mountains this weekend. The excuse is to celebrate l'anniversaire de la bienheureuse. First time we'll have been skiing before Christmas & led to me spending a not-so happy hour in the car yesterday, taking the skis to be serviced. Part of my campaign to avoid doing any Christmas shopping, but I almost regretted it. The Lyon streets yesterday were full of daft drivers (in addition to me), road works and double-parked cars. Then had to spend more than 60 euros filling up. Next time I'll get the bus...

The Lights of Lyon

So, after 3 evenings spent trudging the streets of Lyon with la bienheureuse et la belle-mère, La Fête des Lumières is over once more. Impressions? Mixed, I'd say, an average year. Fewer big set-pieces, but perhaps a more varied selection. For instance, on the main day, the 8th we went to watch a wierd & wonderful mechanical caterpillar inhabited by what appeared to be deep sea divers making its way along one of the main roads. Short video below.


Another short video of part of the show projected onto the façade of the Préfecture du Rhone, perhaps the most impressive display:



Still photos of some of the other displays here on Noonadek.com, including the popular phone box fish tank. The weather was mostly somewhat less unkind than forecast. Thursday we stayed more or less dry, Friday we would have done apart from an abrupt and violent squall, which lasted about 10 minutes but managed to completely blow away everything on the food stall we were sheltering near. Saturday night there was light, intermittent rain, inconvenient but not unduly unpleasant.

La Fête begins

Today marks the start of the annual Fête des Lumières and therefore also the start of the annual visite de la belle-mère. Drove out to the airport to collect her at lunch-time in glorious, almost spring-like weather. Unfortunately the forecast for the rest of the weekend is threatening a repeat of last year's weather conditions which gave us driving rain and wind for most of the 4-day event.

I retrieved la voiture from our friendly local mechanic before heading off to the airport, swooning at the size of the bill for the service. Not, I hasten to add, because garages here overcharge any more than their counterparts across La Manche. In fact I'd say our jolly garage owner is a particularly friendly, helpful and honest example of his breed. The size of the bill owed rather more to the age of the car. As we're driving to the UK for les vacances de Noël we decided we'd better get it serviced first.

Bad decision. Or good decision, depending on how you look at it. Clutch on the point of failure, bald front tyres, leaking radiator. All needed replacing. Total bill: erm, rather a lot. Let's hope it lasts another few years while we console ourselves that, having been given the chance to buy the garage we currently rent, we still have a car to put in it.

Que La Fête commence

That annual light and sound extravaganza that is La Fête des Lumières de Lyon starts today and continues until Sunday. Impressions of this year's event in the next few days...

Meanwhile I was given a small insight into the French way of doing business today. Not that's it's a method restricted only to France, but anyway, I was taking the car back to the garage we rent after a painfully expensive service this morning, when I bumped into the owner of the garage. He has previously asked us if we'd be interested in buying it, but having taken the decision to do so, he's been remarkably difficult to get hold of since. Probably something to do with the fact that he appears to spend most of his time in Costa Rica.

I thus grasped the opportunity and asked him about the garage. Yes, he was still interested in selling, but not in any hurry. Then he asked how we would finance the purchase. Not sure, I said, probably get a mortgage.

"Ah, you couldn't pay cash?".
Maybe for part of it.
"Ah, because you see, I don't want to pay capital gains tax."
Ah, I think I see. In that case, the price would be a bit lower, perhaps?
"Ah, no. It's a very good price. Garages round here are highly sought after."

Hmm, quite why he thinks we'd do him a favour by pretending the garage cost less than it really did without any gain to ourselves I don't know. His price, by the way, had mysteriously gone up by 1000 euros. Perhaps a demonstration of why he's a good businessman. I wonder if Costa Rica is one of those tax havens...?

Tiring business, eating and entertaining...

We seem to have spent most of the weekend eating. Dinner out on Friday evening at Le Cazenove, courtesy of our guest, the lovely Ms M. Champagne & wine, five courses, someone else paying: what better way to spend an evening? Well, perhaps Saturday evening topped it. Dinner in, cooked by la divine bienheureuse, naturally even more delicious, champagne, wine, and six courses, depending on how you counted. With enough left over to save me cooking for a couple of days...

Sunday was recovery day. We left our guest to walk around Lyon on her own, saying her goodbyes. Gracious hosts to the last we were too lazy to even accompany her to the bus station. I summoned the energy to go and watch OL last night, but la bienheureuse, with another two day trip to Germany starting today, chose an early bedtime instead. I did dither for a moment myself, but was glad I went. 5 goals and a bit of a pre-match birthday party for the Bad Gones supporters all contributed to a very enjoyable match.

Joyeux anniversaire Bad Gones

An otherwise routine 5-0 win for OL against Racing Club de Strasbourg yesterday was distinguished by the pre-match celebrations in the Virage Nord, and the appearance of fan's hero Sonny Anderson in the midst of les vrais supporters.

Football fans and stadium atmospheres in France are often denigrated in comparison to the so-called passion amongst fans in the UK, but while that may be true for a certain proportion of spectators here, it's certainly not true of the fanatical groups who tend to populate the virages ('ends') of French stadia. At Gerland, for instance, the lower tiers in the virages nord et sud keep the chants and songs going for pretty much the entire match, led by a cheerleader who stands on a raised platform at the front of the stands, back to the pitch, conducting the fans' choir with the aid of a microphone and loudspeakers.

Another difference between the France and the UK is that the most committed supporters over here are usually members of official supporters groups who are given strong backing by the clubs, to the extent that they often organize pre-match displays in the tribunes - banners, coordinated card displays, etc. The oldest supporters' group in Lyon is the Bad Gones who populate the middle blocks of the Virage Nord inferieur (indeed membership is compulsory to obtain season tickets (discounted) in that section), and have this season been celebrating their 20th birthday.

A rather impressive display was organized before the Marseille match last month, and last night's game was preceded by a group of Bad Gones parading round the pitch with a banner, and then by an enormous banner being unfurled over the entire Virage Nord. Can't tell you what it said because I was underneath it all.

Helped by being 2 goals to the good, excitement amongst les Bad Gones was at fever pitch in the first half because amongst their number was none other than Sonny Anderson, the Brazilian goal machine from OL's first two championship winning seasons at the turn of the century. Towards the end of the first half he even climbed up on the cheerleader's podium and led the singing of a song, words to which roughly translate as "This is OL, if this team gets up your nose, to really p*ss you off we'll make them win."

I tried hard to imagine Thierry Henry doing the same thing in the North Bank at Highbury, but failed. Perhaps Ian Wright, at a stretch...

A gourmand weekend, the patter of tiny feet

Feels like the festive season has already started, the over-eating side anyway. We currently have a house guest (actually probably two, but more of that later). Ms M is back in Lyon to finalize the sale of her flat, and is taking us out to a rather nice restaurant tonight to say thanks for the minor chore of occasionally going over to check it was ok during the year it has lain empty. And also for selling a couple of appliances on ebay for her. Then Saturday will be dinner chez nous with her and perhaps a couple of others. Pre-christmas dietary regime starts on Sunday. Maybe.

Last week while la bienheureuse was in allemagne, I spent an entertaining evening with another guest. An uninvited one. There I was sitting watching the football when out of the corner of my eye I saw something whiz across the floor. The shadow of the grim reaper? Nope, much smaller than that. Closer investigation eventually revealed a mouse. Un tout petit souris, about the size of my thumb.

Elusive little pest. I spent the next two hours moving furniture, on hands and knees trying to find and corner him. Sans succès. I only managed to set eyes on him twice more, once when I found him behind the settee, and once more after giving up on catching him, when he scooted under the table. I swear the little b*gger gave a little skip as he ran.
"Nyah, catch me if you can!"
Thought I had him cornered then, but could I find any trace of him again? Nope. Nor have I seen any sign of him since. Disappeared from whence he came? Or still cocking a snook at me from his hideout? I know what I think...

Meanwhile, elsewhere in France people fret about social unrest, the state of the economy, low purchasing power, etc, etc. And Monsieur Le Président is making an effort to be seen to be taking things in hand...

Sarko fait sa réapparition

Knew it wouldn't be long before le hyperprésident took over the headlines. In the last couple of weeks La France has faced strikes on the railways, strikes among state employees, protests in schools & universities, two nights of rioting in a Parisian banlieue, the list keeps growing and Sarkozy's approval rating keeps falling. Yesterday morning he got back from a trip to China, went straight to visit injured gendarmes in hospital, received the families of the two jeunes whose deaths had sparked the riots, convened emergency cabinet meeting, then had breakfast.

Yesterday evening he gave an hour-long television interview on the two main terrestrial channels, addressing in particular the social unrest and "low purchasing power" (read pay) which is being portrayed as the main preoccupation of ordinary French people. The unions and the left have pointed out that he offered nothing concrete to help increase le pouvoir d'achat, the employers and the right have applauded him for "breaking the lock" on the 35 hour week. Plus ça change...

The blockades and unrest in the universities (and a few schools) continues. In Lyon yesterday there was a strange incident when students occupying a building in part of a university campus on the outskirts of Lyon were alleged to have gone to a nearby supermarket, filled 6 trolleys with food & supplies and barged out without paying. The university principal called in the police who arrested a dozen students. Randomly according to the students, who accused the principal of using the supermarket 'raid' as an excuse to end the occupation...

OL clinging on

A chilly night but a match to warm the blood at Gerland last night. The much anticipated visit of Barcelona brought out the crowds and at times delivered a lesson in possession football, but at the end, thanks to Rangers' defeat in Germany, OL remain in the hunt for a place in the last 16.

For the first five minutes it looked as though les lyonnais were going to suffer a repeat of the 3-0 defeat in Catalonia. The only time they had possession for more than a few seconds ended with Barcelona breaking and scoring a simple goal. However, not long afterwards Lyon were gifted a goal and hope when a free kick was missed by everyone in the area and ended up in the back of the net. A penalty apiece in the 2nd half, a sending off for Rijkaard and the result from Stuttgart sent everybody home more or less happy.

La bienheureuse is on a day trip to Germany today, getting an early flight this morning instead of going yesterday evening so that she could go to the match. I helpfully offered to set the alarm on my phone as backup to make sure she didn't sleep through her own 5am alarm. Alas I forgot that the time was still on summer time, so the rude awakening was an hour early. Must see if I can get a new brain from somewhere...

A traveller's tale (reprise)

The flying weekend visit to Blighty went fairly well - beer & curry with the rhyming couple Friday night, comfortable win (in the end) for les cannoniers Saturday, venison dinner chez J&C in the evening, flight home on Sunday. Only problem was with the latter. Arrived at the airport and was slightly bemused to not find my flight listed on the boards. Checked my booking and discovered it was two hours later than I thought. Stansted for once was virtually empty and I had 3 and a half hours to waste. Not even a check-in or security queue to lose half an hour in.

And of course that wasn't the end of the story. Flight boarded on time, but more than an hour later the aircraft still hadn't moved. Breakdown in air traffic control radio apparently. Eventually we were airborne nearly five hours after I'd arrived at the airport. I'll get the hang of travelling one day...

We had a very enjoyable evening last night, courtesy of free tickets offered by la bienheureuse's company who were sponsoring the event, which took place in the brand spanking new Salle 3000, the amphitheatre at the Cité Internationale. "Do you speak Djembé?" was a musical melange of west African and classical western music. With audience participation. Every spectator had their own 'Djembé' drum. Great fun it was bashing away too, even if following the rythmn occasionally proved a problem. And we got free wine and nibbles afterwards too.

Coming and going

Had an interesting afternoon (and evening) yesterday with our friendly plumber, proving that plumbers are the same the world over. We'd decided our toilet needed replacing, so Mr Plombier was due to arrive 1pm yesterday to carry out the deed.

Quarter to two I get a phone call:
"I'm on an emergency call to fix a boiler, and it's taking a long time. Okay if I come tomorrow morning?"
No problem, as long as you're finished by lunchtime.
Five minutes later, another phone call.
"I've finished, I'll come over now."
An hour later, another phone call.
"I'm stuck in traffic."

Half an hour later, the door bell finally rings. Four hours of feeding him coffee, the new throne is finally installed and he leaves. At quarter to eight in the evening. He is quite a friendly, jolly chap, mind you. Oh, and he's back this morning ("be there at nine", turned up at ten), removing the bidet from the bathroom. Only ever used it to wash my feet...

Hopefully he'll be gone in time for me to catch the bus to the airport. Off over on a flying visit. Flight this afternoon, game tomorrow, flight back Sunday morning, finally reunited with la bienheureuse Sun afternoon.

Encore de la grève, encore une grève

Today looks like being le mardi noir for the French government. The transport strike continues, though support is gradually eroding. Still causing plenty of chaos, mainly in Paris, though even in Lyon, where the only transport not running normally is mainline trains, 70km of traffic jams were reported yesterday.

And now 5 million public sector workers have been called out on strike against low pouvoir d'achat (purchasing power, the euphemism that tends to get used here for pay), poor working conditions and job cuts. That means teachers, hospital, postal, tax office and various other workers. It's estimated that half of all primary schools are closed today.

Then there's the university students' protest, which has now spread to a handful of secondary schools, and there are few national newspapers in the kiosks today because of a strike amongst distribution workers.

One surprising thing amongst all this had been the surprising and deafening silence from Monsieur le Président. Sarko is never out of the headlines for long though, and there has apparently a bit of noise on the net in the last day or two, following a report which alleged that he'd indulged in a 20 minute anti-Muslim diatribe to the Irish Prime Minister a couple of weeks ago. This after a speech he made in Senegal a month or two ago, questioning whether "l'homme africain" had made enough of a mark on history...

La grève, l'antigrève

The strike against the pension reforms continues and is likely to run into its seventh consecutive day tomorrow, despite the rail companies claiming that support has more than halved since last Wedsnesday. There seems to be an end in sight though, with most of the transport unions and employers agreeing to meet for three-way negotiations (to include the government) on Weds.

Meanwhile, several thousand people marched through central Paris yesterday in an 'anti-strike' demonstration. Apparently, the majority were rather well-dressed, middle-aged residents from the 'beaux quartiers'...

A quiet weekend

Another fairly relaxed weekend. Indeed, apart from a brief shopping excursion for la bienheureuse on Sat morning, we only ventured out for a brisk stroll on Sat and Sun evenings. Brisk being the relevant word, because it has been very chilly in Lyon and much of the rest of France in the last few days. Some of the ski resorts even opened early this weekend to take advantage of the snowy conditions in the mountains, a stark contrast to last year when there was barely any snow before Christmas. It's turned somewhat milder today, mind you...

The rest of the week seems likely to be quiet for me as well. Not so for the sainted one, as she is off to Germany this evening and not back till Friday. Which is when I'm off on another pilgrimage to London N5, leaving before she arrives. Bad timing...

Wine and football, what else?

Yesterday was Beaujolais Nouveau day, in Lyon and elsewhere. The ceremonial opening of the first barrels in Place Bellecour at midnight on Weds/Thurs is an event we've long intended to go along to at some point, but never quite got round to.

We were out on Weds evening, watching the Arsenal ladies take on their Lyon counterparts in the female version of the Champions league. Well, the former are the reigning European champions. And a friend and fellow Gooner once teased me with tongue firmly in cheek about never having watched a women's match. "Can't call yourself a fan unless you've been to youth, reserve, women's and first team games..."
So now I have...

It was a bitterly cold night (and has got colder since), but the 0-0 draw was reasonably entertaining, if mainly for comments coming from a bellowing, partisan OL fan not far behind us.

If the above sounds somewhat rambling and disjointed, it's because I've been partaking of the nectar of the gods somewhat earlier in the day than is my normal wont. Three or four years ago la bienheureuse filled in some flyer offering the chance to win wine & other prizes, so a few weeks later we duly received a phone call. "You've won a gift and the chance to have a wine-tasting at home."
Hmm...

Well, unfortunately for la bienheureuse and fortunately for me, it's her who goes out to work and me that is able to receive visitors at home during working hours. If you see what I mean...
Thus it was that I found myself having a wine-tasting in the comfort of my own home one morning about 3 years ago. And thus it was that I found myself ordering 3 or 4 cases of wine. Fairly foolproof method of carrying out door-to-door sales. Get the customer drunk first...

Anyway, since then, every so often I get a phone call saying the salesmen is in the area, and somehow I've never been able to refuse a visit. Nor turn down the chance to buy more wine. Well, we do get a gift of some sort each time, albeit probably worth less than half the cost of carriage for the wine. And this morning (despite forgetting the appointment & thus indulging in a bit of degustation in my dressing gown) I also got left with a glass of the 30 euro Bourgogne that I'd managed to resist buying. Very nice it was with lunch too...

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!

Can't let the 3rd Thursday in November pass without mention of a firmly established tradition in the Lyon area. Wags say that there are three rivers flowing through the city - le Rhône, la Saône et le Beaujolais. The first barrels of Beajolais Nouveau are floated down the Saône on the Wednesday evening to make a much fêted arrival in Place Bellecour on the stroke of midnight. Have to admit we have yet to sample this 30 year-old tradition. Perhaps one year, but this time will have to make do with a bottle purchased in the supermarket...

There has been some concern that the event is losing its appeal, due mainly to a decrease in the amount exported this year. However, as the two main importers are Japan (by far the biggest - 11 million bottles) and the US, the strength of the Euro against the yen and dollar would seem to be the principal reason...

Meanwhile, les grèves in France continue. Despite hints that some sort of resolution might be in view, rail, electricity & gas workers, and Parisian transport workers are all into their 3rd day of strikes, and half the university campuses in the country are being blockaded as students continue their protest against new laws giving universities more autonomy.

La grève se poursuit, l'hiver arrive

Freezing cold in Lyon this morning, snow in the mountains, sleet as we were leaving the Lyon-Arsenal match last night - winter is on the way. The visit of the reigning European club champions attracted a crowd of 7000+ to Gerland yesterday evening to watch an entertaining scoreless draw. I'm talking of course about ladies football, not that I'm obsessed by the game...

Meanwhile, back in real life, the strike (in protest at the reform of the special pension regimes) amongst railway and power company workers continues. Started yesterday, continuing today, and likely to carry on into Friday at least, while negotiations continue apparently with an end to the crisis in sight ("sortie de crise en vue"). In Lyon however, the metros, buses and trams are running normally...

Footnote (and footmark) to a renovation

Today marked the final bit of renovation work following the famous flood of 2006. Or should have done.

Earlier this year we began to notice that a small area of the parquet was starting to warp & deform. Gradually it deteriorated to the extent that we contacted our insurance expert who told us it was down to the company that carried out the work to make good the repairs. Monsieur le patron wasn't best pleased at being told it was down to him to cover the cost, but he agreed it needed doing, so today the parqueteur arrived to do the job. I'm still not entirely convinced le patron won't try to charge us, but on verra...

Anyway, le parqueteur has been sanding, varnishing and screwing (with a screwdriver rather than any other tool that may have sprung to mind, I hasten to say) away most of the day. All to the continual accompaniment of his own, occasionally tuneful, whistling and singing. He finally gave me a tour of completed works in the middle of the afternoon, carefully pointing out that we mustn't walk on the final coat of varnish for 2 days. So of course, what does muggins here do? Yup, immediately plant one great footprint in the middle of it all...

In fact, he decided to leave plugging up the gaps that have opened between some of the parquet 'lames' till the new year, just in case there is still a bit of humidity left underneath that needs to escape. So final tidying up (including owner's footprint) to follow...

Le duel des Olympiques

As predicted, an unpredictable match at Gerland last night between the two Olympiques. Lyon, unbeaten in 10 league games, against Marseille, 11 points from 13 games - should have only been one winner, but of course, it was OM not OL who came out on top. Can't really say it was undeserved either - les Marseillais were lively and well organised, while for a large part of the match the passing of les Lyonnais was too slow and predictable. When they did finally threaten to score in the second half, they came up against a keeper in top form.

It's against the 'big' French teams that the fans at Gerland really get into the mood. Matches against St Etienne, Marseille and PSG usually feature highly organised and coordinated displays in the stands of banners, flags, streamers and improvised confetti. Last night the virage sud unveiled huge banners stretching from the top to the bottom of the lower tier spelling out LYON, with another featuring the OL logo hung from the roof of the top tier. At our end, the virage nord, another display which we obviously couldn't see - as the teams came out a banner was unrolled over the spectators' heads, so from then until just before kick-off all we could see was the underside of the black nylon canvas...

Dinner chez des amis, a mademoiselle in distress

A relatively rare event for us this week, a weekend at home, albeit punctuated by dinner chez a friend & colleague of la bienheureuse last night, and another OL home game later this evening. The autumn weather seemed to have really set in last night as we set off for the drive up Mont d'Or, the sort of chilly drizzle that suggests winter isn't far away. The rest of the evening however was very pleasant, even if the sainted one's offer to drive enticed me into indulging to excess in the hospitality on offer. Roaring fire, a champagne and home-made raspberry liqueur aperitif, fantastic four course meal, superb wines and a 30 year-old Armagnac digestif - how could I resist...?

Finally, a little story to warm the heart, amuse or elicit cynical comments, depending on your mood. A couple of weeks ago I was returning from the nuptials of big M and lady K in the company of Ms H. When we got to Stansted to find the usual lengthy queue at the Lyon check-in desk I decided to demonstrate my travel-wiseness by attempting to check in at the Nice desk where there was no queue and one young lady, trying to check in.

Trying turned out to be the operative word however, because she eventually turned round, a hint of tears in her eyes and asked me if I spoke French. Mug that I am, and as economical with the truth as ever, I said yes, and was thus sucked into acting as translator between the young French girl and English lass manning the check-in desk. It eventually transpired that her luggage was overweight and she was being stung for £54 excess baggage charges. Worse than that, all she had in the way of money was two £10 notes. The stern-faced female behind the desk insisted that she pay up or throw out enough belongings to get below the £20 charge. No doubt you've already guessed what was coming next...

"Don't you have a bank card?"
Sob. "Non".
"No Euros?"
Sob. "Non. Svp Monsieur, aidez-moi!"

Well, what else was I supposed to do? Tearful, young, blonde, French female pleading for help? Of course I offered to pay the excess charge for her. She tapped my name, address & phone number into her mobile and promised to send a cheque in repayment as soon as she got home, and having no pen, I attempted to do the same with her details. However I couldn't figure out the address bit on my phone, so that was how I ended up lending thirty-odd quid to a complete stranger without a sure way of finding her afterwards. A certain cynical friend, who shall remain nameless, claimed I must have had 'sucker' written all over me, but I am pleased to report that the promised cheque eventually turned up yesterday. Which I found gratifying, even if it was two weeks late...

Oh, and final footnote: after all the fun & games at the Nice check-in desk, the miserable girl behind the counter wouldn't let me check in to Lyon. So, either the orange budget airline have changed their check-in queue policy recently or she was just being bolshy. Fortunately, Ms H had dutifully queued at the Lyon desk so I was able to jump in at the last moment and avoid queueing all over again when my knight in shining armour impersonation was finally over...

Le hyperprésident, les marins-pecheurs et les etudiants

Sarkozy continues to hog the headlines in France and still enjoys good popularity ratings, which seems a little paradoxical to me because the various rumblings of social discontent continue unabated. Fishermen have been blockading ports and vandalising Customs boats in protest at the cost of marine diesel (which is already untaxed), and a student rebellion over new laws to give universities greater autonomy (which they view as a short cut to privatisation and two-tier higher education) is gaining pace. Makes me feel all nostalgic for the late seventies/early eighties in Britain, when people cared about things other than their own personal well-being...

An example of Le Président's style of government occurred earlier this week. Hours before he flew off to meet Bush in Washington he charged down to Bretagne, indulged in a shouting match with a crowd of angry fishermen, caved in to most of their demands, then had time to put foot in mouth and upset the entire Tchad nation while commenting on the 'Arche de Zoe' affair before jetting off to the US. This after he'd flown to Tchad a couple days earlier to secure the conditional release of the journalists and cabin crew caught up in the affair.

His energetic omnipresence has led to him being characterised as the 'hyperpresident' - he appears on the front line of everything that falls under the media spotlight, with his ministers left to trail in his wake looking like mere poodles. There was an amusing item on the main news on TF1 (the tv channel owned & run by a close pal of Sarkozy's which rarely shows any critical coverage of the government) last night, following the (youngish, attractive, blonde, female) Education Minister during the day as she met with university and student leaders in response to the student protests. It was a fairly obvious attempt to counteract the impression that Sarko takes charge of everything and that the rest of the government aren't just sitting on their backsides watching...

OL peut y croire encore

A trip to Gerland last night for the 4th Champions league group game, one which OL absolutely had to win. And they did, just. All seemed set fair after 15 minutes, 2-0 up against Stuttgart with a couple of well-worked goals, but then the keeper failed to hold a 30 yard shot & les allemands pulled goal back, and suddenly OL were all at sea. A 3rd goal before half time might have settled nerves, but Stuttgart pulled another one back just after the break, then won a dubious penalty which seemed likely to do ruin the whole evening. But Vercoutre (1st choice Coupet has a long term injury) redeemed himself with a fine save, and OL just about managed to hold out till the final whistle. A 4th goal in injury time was just icing on the cake.

Until this week, France's two Champion's League clubs had been experiencing bizarrely contrasting fortunes. After a poor start, Lyon have returned to normal service in the domestic league and now sit comfortably on top of the table, though this year it might be said that this is due to the lack of opposition rather than OL being in great form. In la ligue des champions, on the other hand, disaster seemed to beckon, a 3-0 loss at Barcelone being followed by a 3-0 home defeat against Rangers. Not at all what les lyonnais are used to. However, the two wins against Stuttgart have kept them in with a chance.

In contrast, Marseille, feted as being likely contenders at the beginning of the season, have been in dire form in Ligue 1, currently languishing 3rd from bottom, manager sacked a few weeks ago. Strangely though, in the Champion's League, after the win at Anfield a couple of weeks ago, they were sitting pretty at the top of their group. Defeat at Porto on Tuesday has dented hopes somewhat but they are still in with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.

And on Sunday, the two clubs meet at Gerland in the league. No predicting the result there...

An evening at Gerland

Champions League night yesterday, which meant another trip to Stade Gerland to watch Olympique Lyonnais attempt to maintain an interest in the competition. It was a must-win match against Stuttgart and the 4-2 result might suggest that they did so comfortably, but that was far from the case. It started off well enough, 2-0 up after 15 minutes and comfortably in control, but despite going in 3-1 up at half time, the second half was a taut, nervous affair. Les allemagnes pulled a goal back and then won a penalty (undeserved, the TV replay apparently showed), and OL were all over the place. Fortunately reserve keeper Vercoutre pulled off a great save, Lyon got another goal injury time and the battle for 2nd place in the group is still on. All OL have to do now is beat Barcelona at Gerland in the next match and then beat Rangers in Glasgow. Aucuns problèmes...

The nice thing about going to the football here is that we can be at the ground in less than half an hour, and likewise home barely half an hour after the final whistle. The metro station is right outside our end of the stadium and with seats on the aisle, if we leave as soon as the match ends, we usually beat the crowds to the metro and rarely have to queue longer than a couple of minutes to get on a train. A 10 minute ride and 10 minute walk later we're back home. Nice on a chilly autumn evening...

A weekend across the Channel

Another blog entry that's more break-back-in-Blighty than life-in-Lyon. November 1 being Toussaint and a jour ferié in France, and falling on a Thursday meant an opportunity to faire le pont and take a long weekend. Despite having both spent almost more time away than at home recently, we decided to have another 4 day break across the Channel.

A mid afternoon flight got us to Stansted, where we purchased exorbitantly expensive return train tickets, got on a delapidated 'express' and reached Liverpool St in time to experience the joys of the London Underground as rush hour approached. Met up with La Strat at Waterloo, eventually boarded a rush hour train and stood for most of the hour-long journey to Ascot, suffering a nasal assault along the way due to a mishap with a toilet. Well, they shouldn't make doors with open/close buttons which function in the former sense when you lean on them but refuse to shut unless brute force is applied, should they?

Get the impression we might have been spoilt by the subsidised and efficient public transport in France? You might be right. Apart of course from the strikes...

Anyway, our destination eventually attained, we spent an evening enjoying the cooking and wine-plying talents of Le Rugbyfan. Enjoying rather too much in my case, because several bottles and hours later I woke up with a real gueule de bois. The morning & afternoon were thus spent doing as little as possible. A Thai lunch in Windsor was followed by another train trip back into London (even more exorbitant, though we have only ourselves to blame for that because we both forgot we had return tickets. I blame the hangover, not sure what la bienheureuse's excuse was), and a gentle stroll along the South Bank.

We then endured another rush hour Tube trip out to Ealing, where another UKC alumni reunion took place chez C&N. Another lovely meal, cooked by Monsieur B, and a distinctly more circumspect consumption of vin ensured a rather more healthy awakening on Saturday morning.

La bienheureuse maintained the healthy living theme with a morning in the gym (or swimming pool, sauna and spa thereof to be more accurate) while I wandered off to catch the Tube into town again and maintain the personal theme of UK public transport operational inefficiency. Spent a frustrating 20 minutes at Ealing Broadway going nowhere except from one train to another while a points failure was sorted out and a decision made on which train would be the lucky one to test it out.

At last however, I managed to reach hallowed ground, meet up with J&C and get to the home of football in time to enjoy (in certain senses) the game between the best two teams in English football. Afterwards la bienheureuse eventually found us, with a bit of guidance by phone, and we all made it back to Cambridge. The evening was spent enjoying yet another lovely meal cooked by the man of the house, a somewhat less moderate consumption of alcohol and a consequently rather drunken impromptu fireworks party.

Fortunately, improved levels of tolerance meant only a minor gueule de bois the following day, a typical lazy Sunday punctuated by a delicious late lunch and a lift to the airport, where a 7am Monday morning flight had persuaded us to choose the expensive option of a hotel room to ensure an extra couple of hours in bed.

A slightly delayed flight, the unusual necessity of a bus from plane to terminal in Lyon, only one open immigration booth, and an overfull navette from airport to town centre meant we didn't get home till late morning. An enjoyable trip overall. If only they would get on with inventing teleporting...

Introduction

Here begins the Noonadek blog. Descriptions of life in Lyon in general, and the personal experiences of an English couple abroad.