La pluie, presque l'orage

Bon, la BBC l'annonçait, nous avertissait à son sujet avec une alerte jaune, nous le promettait presque: un orage s'en venait. Il a plu, des cordes, mais il n'a guère tonné. Je le dis sans aucune ironie, je préfère cette température à la canicule.

L'orage perdu

Je bloguais lundi sur un orage annoncé par la BBC (et d'autres) sur notre coin du pays. Nous avons entendu le tonnerre, nous avons vu au loin les nuages gris foncé, quasiment noirs, mais ils ne se sont pas rendus jusqu'à nous. Le premier orage de l'été (même si officiellement, ce n'est pas encore l'été) est passé à côté. Et j'avoue que ça me fait suer (au sens figuré, peut-être au sens propre): j'aime les orages, maintenant c'est l'un des rares aspects de l'été que j'aime. Alors voilà, un orage de perdu.

First Thunderstorm Today?

They are forecasting thunderstorms today on BBC Weather. An actual yellow warning of thunderstorms, from midday until 22:00. If it happens, we would have our first thunderstorm of the year. Recently, it has been feeling like the weather is getting ready to provide storms. It's been properly hot, and we've had no rain in a long while. So we are due to one. It feels like summertime, which I don't really care about. Thunderstorms are the one thing I still love about summer. So I am looking forward to this one.

Crime Routes

 The articles I read on my news feed. So I recently found this BBC article about the routes of cocaine smugggling from Ecuador into Europe. Smuggling which is growing, by the way. Oh and the Albanian mafia is heavily involved. I have a macabre fascination for these kinds of stories and find them interesting for many reasons. First, it shows that organised crime is not merely an Italian thing. Second, because it gives insight to how the drug trade works at an international level. As you probably have guessed, when I read this, I think there's a couple of crime fiction stories to write from such source material. I will check if something has been written about it already, otherwise I just might have to write something myself.

A Warning to the Curious

Okay, here is another post for the countdown to Halloween, just because something struck me: I don't blog about and read enough of M.R. James these days. A few years ago, he was synonymous with Halloween: I had to read at least one of his ghost stories in the weeks leading to Halloween. Sometimes months: I discovered him during a dark and stormy night of May in Liverpool. But I digress. Anyway, if I may suggest some classic terror for you tonight, try A Warning to the Curious. There is no gore, no monster jumping out of the shadow, but a solid, subtle, "corner of the eye" type of ghost story, where tension and fear are slowly and meticulously built. It's absolutely terrifying. There is a BBC adaptation available on YouTube, but the original is still the best. You can read it here, among other places online. I don't want to give anything away, but in a nutshell this is an archeologist's worst nightmare, especially if he happens to be a medievalist.

Mozart: Rise of a Genius

An annoucement for people, like me, who love Mozart: there is a documentary series on BBC 2, aptly titles Mozart: Rise of a Genius. It's in three parts and, while you might not learn anything new about his life, you will most definitely find some interesting analysis that will give you new perspectives on his work. Various people talk, musicians, actors, all Mozart lovers, among them South African soprano Golda Schultz. And Schultz just gets Mozart. These commentators are both instructive and moving. I don't know if it is accessible outside the UK, but do check it out if you can.

On annonce de l'orage

 Bon, la dernière fois, on l'avait annoncé, mais il n'y avait pas eu d'orage, même pas une bonne averse. J'en avais été fort attristé. Parce qu'n été sans orage, surtout s'il fait chaud, c'est un été encore plus triste que d'habitude. Mais pour demain soir, la BBC annonce un gros, gros orage, qui devrait nous rafraîchir et être bien dramatique. J'espère en tout cas que c'est ce qui va se passer.

Olympic Games: the BBC Way

Okay, so it is the Olympic Games. I had almost forgotten. Yesterday, we watched a few moments of the opening ceremony, which I found (little I saw of it anyway) excruciatingly dull. I'm not sure I will watch any of it. That said, there is one thing I always love of the Olympics: the BBC trailer for it. Not their coverage of the event, just the promo trailer. It's always so inventive. And this year, they didn't go half way. Seriously, after watching it, I suspect the whole thing will feel like an anticlimax. Anyway, here it is. I can't get tired of it.

Almost a heatwave

 So far this summer, we've been lucky: we didn't have many hot days, the temperatures weremostly in the lower 20s and it has been overall cool. Well, today in the South East it is meant to be reaching 30 in some places. Here, the maximum will be 28 degrees. Almost a heatwave. I get uncomfortable when it reaches 25 and above. Therefore, I am bracing myself. Thankfully, it should not last very long and the temperatures should drop by tomorrow. I hope it will be over soon, in any case.

Listening to Cosi fan tutte

 You may remember that I blogged back in 2023 about South African soprano Golda Schultz (my favourite soprano and Mozartian opera singer) making her debut at Royal Opera House in the role of Fiordiligi in  Cosi fan tutte by Mozart. Sadly, I could not attend it in London. However, it is currently playing on BBC Radio 3. I cannot watch it, but I can listen to it. I am listening to it, in fact.I suggest you do the same.

Bracing Myself

 Well, I guess it could not stay like this forever. Up until this point, summer had been fairly cool, or at least reasonably warm. Nothing to cry home about, everything very bearble. Well, not anymore. Yesterday was hot, today will be hotter, in fact, they are forecasting a heatwave. I checked on the BBC and the region we are in will not be spared. Thankfully, there is no amber warning... for now. We should stay just below 30 degrees. Then if we are lucky, it will go a few degrees down and be tolerable again this weekend. I hope so... Until then I am bracing myself for the next few days and the heat from the pit of hell we will have to live through.

Heart of the Hunter

Some good news for the crime fiction addict that I am: one of Deon Meyer's novels, Heart of the Hunter, has been adapted into a movie. Well, it's not the first time that it happened, in fact a lot of his novels have been adapted, faithfully or not, in a film or a tv series. And that is not counting the original screenplays he wrote himself. But the difference here is that it will be available on Netflix in March. So I will be able to watch it. Unless there is some kind of stupid regional restrictions, which might happen, who knows. I hope this will not be the case. I have a lot of screen time to catch on when it comes to Deon Meyer's work, but at least it means I will have the pleasure to rediscover it.

Stormy Winds

Since yesterday, it has been ridiculously windy. It is Storm Isha's doing, apparently. BBC Weather even gave a yellow warning of wind, ending today at noon. So far, we've been all right, touch wood. I love windy days, so I am not complaining. As long as I can stay in the comfort of home, I actually enjoy stormy weather. For me, it's like Mother Nature is giving a free show and it is the best excuse to not go out without feeling guilty about it. Please feel free to give me your own take on it in the comments section. In any case, if it is windy where you are, or stormy, or both, stay home, stay safe and try to enjoy it. I know I will.

Hovercraft

 I just read an article on the BBC about the potential return of the hovercraft. It never disappeared as a mean of transport, but let's face, it's far from the most popular. This apparently might change. It will make Wolfie very happy: he loves hovercrafts. He, like his mother and father, only used it twice: when we went to the Isle of Wight and then back from there. And it was a very short journey. But he loved it all the same, as if it was the coolest thing. Maybe hovercraft is the coolest vehicle ever, come to think of it. And I have to say, I was impressed by its speed. So I would love if it was a more widespread mean of transport. And you, ever been on an hovercraft? If so, what did you think of it?

To see Count Magnus

For today's countdown to Halloween's post, I am going to dwell into a horror story classic by M.R. James. You know how much I love M.R. James and I cannot have my spooky season without at least some of his ghost stories, either by rereading them or by watching some of his many adaptations. One of my favourite of his is Count Magnus, a ghost (or maybe a vampire) story set in Sweden and which is perfect for the weeks leading to Halloween. I plugged it back in 2015. Recently, I found on BBC iplayer an adaptation of the short story done in 2022 for Christmas. I don't know why I skipped my attention then, but in any case, I find James' stories more suitable for Halloween. So I watched it. And I must say I quite enjoyed it. I was worried as it was adapted by Mark Gatiss, who made a massacre and a joke of Dracula. He obviously has more respect for James than Stoker. Okay, so the story was flawed and Gatiss made a few questionable creative decisions, but overall pretty faithful and it had a few genuinely scary moments. If you wish to read the original, you can find it online here. Fair warning: it is a scary read.

Devil's Peak: from page to screen

I am getting very excited: as I mentioned last year, there is an adaptation of South African crime writer Deon Meyer's Devil's Peak in the making. In fact,the TV series (miniserie?) is pretty much wrapped up at this point and there is even a teaser trailer. It will premier in South Africa, but as from what I understand the BBC funded it in part, therefore it should be available here at some point. I can barely wait, I loved the novel. So I hope I can watch it and that there will be more adaptations of Meyer's work in the future.

Will it storm?

Sign that I might be getting British: I check daily on BBC Weather what temperature we are meant to have. And today, it is supposed to be cool (yay!) and they are forecasting a storm. Betterthan that: there is a yellow warning of thunderstorms from 09:00 to 19:00. We will stay indoors all day, so that is no problem. I just hope we will have a proper thunderstorms, because I love them. That is the single thing I genuinely love about summertime.

Why Sharks Attack

I watched recently a BBC documentary, called Why Sharks Attack. I love sharks, or rather, they fascinate me. I used to binge on sharks documentaries when I was a child, I never missed one on television. So I watched this one eagerly and really enjoyed it. I learned a lot about different species of sharks and their interaction, so to speak, with humans. It didn't make sharks less scary, but it did make them less monstrous. I also found out quite a few documentaries about sharks on BBC iPlayer, including some that are designed for a younger audience, so I can watch them with Wolfie. Cool. In any case, I heartily recommend Why Sharks Attack, if you can watch it. I mean if you can access it because you are in the UK, or find it from another source. And if you are not scared of sharks, of course.

Pâques à York

Photo prise par mon père à York, lors de la visite de mes parents à York Minster. Je l'ai retrouvée il y a peu de temps et comme Pâques arrive bientôt, je me suis dit que ce serait une excuse comme une autre pour la partager. La messe (protestante) de Pâques à York Minster est souvent présentée par la BBC.

Komodo Dragons

I recently found on BBC iPlayer an old documentary series, in black and white, with David Attenborough. When I say old, it dated back from 1956. A piece of anthology. I only watched one episode, the one about Komodo dragons. When I was a child, my brother PJ had a book about dragons in general, and the Komodo dragon was mentioned in passing. It got me fascinated. The idea of a gigantic lizard with a venomour bite living in a remote part of the world seemed both thrilling and exotic. Like a mythical creature that turned out to be real. Seeing Komodo dragons in a black and white video, they seemed even more mysterious and strange. It reminded me of my old childhood fascination for them.