Explosion? What explosion?

Funny how a headline-making event can happen just down the road from here and I only learn about it when I switch on the TV at lunch. Particularly an event that goes off with a bang. I heard nothing even though it seems the explosion occurred at roughly the same time as I was arriving home from a shopping trip. Since, sirens have been coming and going all afternoon.

Uncomfortably close to home mind you. Less than half a mile away, and right opposite a small supermarket I was contemplating going to for my shopping trip. Good thing I chose to go in the opposite direction. And they've been digging up pavements and roads, replacing pipes round here for the past few months...

Lyon, ville de l'extrême centre

Les municipales (town council elections) are now only 10 days away, and campaigns are getting into full swing. In Lyon, however, the mayoral election appears to be a foregone conclusion. Polls predict sitting Socialist mayor, Gerard Collomb, to be returned in the first round. ie with more than 50% of the vote. His policies over the last 7 years, notably the renovations of the Berges du Rhône & the park, are popular (83% of lyonnais have a 'favourable opinion'), the real centre in Lyon is in disarray, and the right wing (led by Dominique Perben, former justice minister, seen as being 'parachuted' into Lyon by the UMP) has messed up its campaign, principally by forming an alliance with a couple of the more extreme right wing parties.

Les Berges du Rhône

Not that Collomb is what I would really call a socialist. Head of the list for the Partie Socialiste, true, but politically pretty centrist. The media characterise Lyon as a town of the 'extreme centre'. Sarkozy gained a slim majority of votes in Lyon in the presidential elections, but only just.

Monsieur le Président, meanwhile is as hyperactive as ever, but has supposedly been trying to soften his image somewhat over the last couple of days, following a bit of a faux pas at the annual agricultural show in Paris when he was caught on camera calling someone who refused to shake his hand a 'pauvre con' - nearest translation, bloody bastard.

A finished floor

Yesterday, 1 year, 7 months and 12 days after the great flood of 2006, and 15 months after they began, the renovations finally reached an end. Well almost. In fact it was just the finishing touches to the parquet that remained to be done - essentially filling in gaps between strips of parquet. Regular phone calls since Christmas to the parqueteurs finally produced a result, and Eric le parqueteur arrived yesterday morning, spent 90 mins whistling and working, and finally left for the last time. I shall miss him...

I say almost, because there is still a bit of tidying up to be done before it all looks absolutely nickel, as they say here. But my friend Eric left me with a full tube of special parquet mastic and a lesson on how to apply it. Might be finished in another 6 months then...

Mixed emotions...

For the 3rd weekend in a row, we were both at home, something of a rarity during the football season at least. And in some ways, this weekend was a carbon copy of the previous two. In other ways it certainly was not.

A minor celebration was called for on Friday evening. La bienheureuse was indeed bien heureuse, having had her school report during the day. Due to her exceptional hard and diligent work during the past year, she was awarded 3 gold stars, the only person in her group to be so honoured. Cause enough on its own for une coupe de champagne, but of course it also means bigger bonus...

Saturday afternoon we dutifully trundled down to the pub and wished we hadn't. If conceding a last minute equaliser to a penalty that should never have been was bad enough, the feeling was magnified ten fold by the sickening injury suffered by Arsenal's number 9. Le professeur may have tempered his heat of the moment comments later, but having (unwisely) looked at the photos circulating on the web,, I think Le Boss was justified. Ban the thug for as long as his victim is out of the game. And that might mean life...

In the evening, despite not really feeling like facing more football, we dutifully trundled down to Gerland, to witness a fairly woeful OL struggle to overcome the team languishing 12 points behind everyone else at the bottom of Ligue 1. Let's hope they buck up before a week on Tuesday...

Sunday was a bit more cheering. We had a lovely walk along the river and through the park in springlike sunshine. 18C, and it's still February. Think I must have blinked and missed winter.

Frustrating stalemates

Faced with an agonizing decision prior to yesterday, I plumped for the less costly one & gave up my upholstered seat at the home of good football in favour of the bone-hard plastic shell at Gerland. A disappointing result in both matches, though all is not lost. Yet...

The evil red money-grubbing empire was somewhat fortunate to escape with a draw last night. While I wouldn't claim it was undeserved, the lucky bounce that gifted them the late equaliser was. Rather galling, coming so late on. And then we had to endure sharing a metro carriage home with a boorish group of archetypal neanderthal 'fans', characteristic of the ilk their particular team seems to attract.

Admittedly one of them appeared to have an IQ in double figures as he knew which stop to get off at, but the rest were more interested in the somewhat hypocritical taunting of a rotund home supporter who got off at the stop before them. Meant we kept our mouths shut for fear of being associated with them. Then again, the infamous laser carrier appeared to be on the same train as well. Crass stupidity knows no national boundaries.

This morning a strange thing is happening outside. The sun isn't shining. There is even a light drizzle. Last time I saw clouds was more than 2 weeks ago...

An eminently forgettable weekend

The least said about Saturday the better. Went to the pub for a simulcast of OL's game at Le Mans and that FA cup tie at Old Twafford, then went out for a meal afterwards and did our best to anaesthatise the pain, emotional and physical. The latter in the case of la bienheureuse, who somehow damaged her back on Thursday/Friday and spent the whole weekend barely able to walk. Though today she's flown off to Germany again, so it's slowly improving...

The evening did at least have the benefit of allowing us to discover a new restaurant, Le Baronn, next door to a favourite, La Table de ma Grande Mère, which we couldn't get in because it was fully booked, as ever.

St Valentin

An unremarkable couple of days. The weather remains sunny, albeit somewhat hazy at times, and seems to be slowly getting colder. Yesterday, I got heckled on the street again. Seems to be a favourite French feminine pastime on Valentine's day. Group of women spot man carrying flowers. Cue the comments and catcalls.
"Are they for me?"
"That's very kind."
"You should buy her flowers all year round, not just today."
And so on. All in good fun. I think...

And finally, proof in the evening that white asparagus has the same effect on wee as the green variety. Possibly exacerbated by the presence of champagne...

Grèves, grondements et une disparition

Two strikes of note in France at the moment. The air traffic controllers in and around Paris are protesting against plans to merge the 3 Parisien centres into one. Fortunately it is affecting flights to & from Orly at the moment, so apart from an outbound delay, my own cross-channel trip on Monday was unaffected.

And today, another protest strike. Staff at state-owned television & radio stations are demanding assurances that plans to do away with adverts from next year will not affect funding. The government wants a system 'more like the BBC'. Hmm, peu de chance...

Meanwhile Sarkozy still dominates the headlines. However, temporarily at least, Monsieur is being overshadowed by Madame and junior. Mme Sarkozy III gave an interview to a weekly magazine yesterday, in which she railed against the web site that published the alleged text message, and wondered whether "if such internet site had existed during the war, would there have been denunciations of Jews?"
She has now issued a swift apology...

Sarkozy fils is also much in the news at the moment, showing every sign that he is following closely in Papa's footsteps, following a party revolt in Dad's old constituency of Neuilly-sur-Seine. The UMP party hierarchy wanted to 'parachute' one of Monsieur le Président's key advisors into the party list in Neuilly for the forthcoming municipal elections, but the local party wasn't happy. And Jean Sarkozy was one of the leaders of the rebellion, by inference, against his father. A successful rebellion, at that...

And finally, RIP, Henri Salvador, France's most venerable and much loved singer. Still performing and recording at the age of 90, and remembered for his velvet voice and indefatiguable good humour, accompanied always by a cackling laugh.

A routine jaunt

My overnight trip to the home of football passed off fairly unexceptionally. The injury-hit but still glorious gunners won without exerting themselves unduly, I made it across the channel despite the French air traffic controllers' strike, and arrived home to find a tartiflette and wine welcome. The outward flight eventually arrived over an hour late, possibly due to the above mentioned strike which is only seriously affecting flights out of Orly, but as I had a couple of hours to waste before J&C picked me up from the airport en route to London N5, the only problem was boredom due to forgetting to take any reading material.

It was crisp, sunny winter weather all the way, from Lyon to Stansted, & back. And there appears to be no end in sight...

Sunshine and somnolence

Almost spring in Lyon at the moment, though the mornings are somewhat chilly. After the physical exertions of the previous week, we took the opportunity this weekend to do not much at all. We did drag ourselves out on Saturday evening to go & watch OL struggle to maintain their lead at the top of Ligue 1 but eventually score twice in injury time to give a somewhat flattering 4-1 scoreline. One can only hope their form improves before their next home game. Then again, their opponents in 10 days didn't do too well yesterday either, ho-ho. Talking of which I'm off on an overnight trip in an hour to see if mon équipe fétiche can take advantage...

We also ventured out yesterday to take advantage of the sunshine, only to discover that the rest of Lyon had done the same. Never seen les berges du Rhone so crowded in winter and the park was almost as bad. It was a lovely day though.

Le mariage, les sondages, les municipales...

So Sarko and Bruni finally did get married, last Saturday, his 3rd wedding, her nth relationship with a famous bloke. Fortunately, being away skiing, I missed the media coverage of the event. It doesn't seem to have done Monsieur le Président much good though. His approval ratings dropped by more than 10% in January, and the weekly magazine Nouvel Observateur carried a story yesterday that he had sent an SMS to ex-wife no. 2, saying he would cancel everything if she came back. He received no reply. Allegedly.

Meanwhile, those parts of the media he doesn't influence are sticking the boot in. There's an article in Le Monde today suggesting that, under pressure from 'scared MPs, worried ministers and disoriented advisors', he is already backtracking on election promises. eg following a taxi drivers' go-slow yesterday the government has dropped proposed reforms, Sarkozy also announced a 200 Euro bonus for retired people on the minimum pension having announced a month ago that government coffers were empty.

The writer suggests that the caving in to public opinion might just be connected to the forthcoming municipal elections on the 2nd & 3rd Sundays in March. He may be right...

Making Merry in Meribel

A short diary of a long week's skiing:

Friday
Collect le frère ainé from the airport. Quiet evening in, simple English fare for dinner, wine consumption restrained, a single bottle.
Saturday
Provisions shopping - fromages & saucisses de Toulouse. Le frère et moi go to the pub to watch the mighty cannoniers comfortably put a dampener on KK's second Tyneside coming, gallantly leaving la bienheureuse to attend complicated rendezvous at the airport - transfer of viticultural supplies to the minibus crew (story of optimum use of transport space), and collection of the two boys, JonE & DenE from the airport. Quiet evening in, roast lamb for dinner, wine consumption rising...
Sunday
Manage with some difficulty to squeeze 5 adults, 3 pairs of skis, 4 pairs of ski boots, and a week's worth of winter luggage into one compact car & roof box. Our overloaded petite voiture heroically labours up the mountain to reach Meribel village in time for an afternoon's skiing. The Tourterelle dix are reunited on the slopes and become onze in the evening. The week's feasting gets off to an excellent start with a delicious lamb casserole by le grand chef JW, and the week's wining gets off to an ominous start with a 9 bottle binge.
Monday
Hangover forced into the background as we set off for the first full day's skiing in stunningly sunny & warm weather. Les 3 filles set off for morning lessons with Super Suzy, while the rest of us attack Meribel's western slopes and discover the joys and lovely snow of the princely Pramint red towards St Martin. The hardcore finish the day with a rendezvous atop Saulire for vin chaud and the long dusk run home on gloriously empty pistes. Le chef excels again at dinner with palate-tickling pork in milk & lemon. Wine consumption moderates slightly.
Tuesday
All 10 skiers set off ensemble in the morning before scattering to all 4 corners of the 3 vallées, girls to lessons, JW & H le rouge et vert to la Masse, and the BJ 5 (JeB & the DeB honorary BJs for the week) exploring the Les Menuires itinéraire du soleil in glorious springlike sunshine. A remix provides another 6 person rendezvous for the final Saulire run of the day, and culinary standards are maintained in the evening by S, la reine sereine, with a mouth-watering chicken tajine. Wine quality & quantity remains high.
Wednesday
The sun disappears but the lessons continue in the morning again for the technique-thirsty threesome, while the rest of us spurn the pedagogic for pure pleasure-seeking, splintering into smaller groups. La bienheureuse, JeB & le frère finish early, leaving the DeB & me to join JW et les filles for lunch and an afternoon attack on La Face. JeB joins the ranks of the master chefs in the evening with a richly tasty cassoulet. Wine consumption controlled, evening rounded off with a weakest link special, with surprise quizmaster Ms Robinson.
Thursday
The sun reappears for the group outing to the 4th valley. We wend our way across Meribel, Les Menuires and Val Thorens to reach Oribel by early afternoon. After the ski down from le sommet des pistes, JW, la petite Beaucoup & H return home to start dinner preparations while the rest of us have lunch and meander homeward at a more leisurely pace, stopping off for refuelling at le Rond Point. Alcohol affects already suspect skiing technique, almost take out la petite skieuse while attempting to video the run back into Meribel, which is accompanied by running, self-chastising commentary by la prime J. A banquet of venison and wine awaits, and a marathon trivial pursuit question & answer session follows. Eventually even H's eyelids grow heavy.
Friday
La bienheureuse decides to rest her unblessed genou blessé for the day while the super Suzy trio have their all day lesson, leaving the remaining male members to play with themselves. In the evening the French residents, ably assisted by JeB, produce the traditional local dish, followed by colonels all round. The lemon sorbet & vodka dessert is designed to cleanse & cut through the stodge of the tartiflette. Works very well, but dangerously leaves a full bottle of iced vodka on the table. The evening rapidly degenerates as a bizarre game evolves, involving assigning character traits to teams of two with much shrieking and laughing. The double J team continues downing double Vs late into the night and incoherence becomes their defining characteristic. The team of vieux hommes eventually wins the marathon game near 2am, shortly after the snow begins to fall outside.
Saturday
More than 10cm of fresh snow awaits but after the previous night's revelries La Tourterelle is slow to rise. First out is the DeB, eager to get his teeth into all that powder. The BJs follow, then le chef and his harem. H injures himself before getting his skis on but soldiers on through most of the day. The soft snow wins the battle of the wounded knee and la bienheureuse only does one run before retiring to accompany la sereine on the gentler pursuit of a walk around Lac de Tueda. JeB conquers his hangover long enough to venture out for a single run too. The survivors enjoy the soft snow pistes and occasional foray into the hors-piste powder, vice versa in the case of the DeB, before les gooners take a break to watch their heroes in the 2nd half of the stroll in the City of Manchester stadium. Our final evening in Meribel village is a more restrained affair, polishing off venison, tartiflette and wine leftovers. Never have leftovers tasted so good.
Sunday
The minibus six are up before the crack of dawn, packing for the 9 hour drive back to Calais. The Lyon five have a day's skiing left and, after goodbyes are waved, venture towards Courchevel, surprisingly sans super keen, super skier DeB who has a sore back. Must have been all those bumps. The sun has returned but brought with it a violent east wind, which howls over the ridges and summits and drives us back to the shelter of the Meribel valley. We finally sardine back into the car and head for home. A great week overall. We will be back next year...

A Merry Skiing Week

Back to the realities of life in Lyon today, after a week's skiing in Meribel. An excellent week, as usual. Plenty of fantastic food (too much), plenty of drink (too much, particularly on one lemon sorbet & vodka fuelled evening), and plenty of skiing (perhaps too much on the part of la bienheureuse, whose knee suffered even more than usual).

The latter was perhaps better this year than last, with the existing snow holding up surprisingly well until a decent dump overnight on Friday led to lovely conditions for the last two days. The weather was pretty good overall too. A more detailed review of the week's events perhaps to follow tomorrow...