Git News

Archive for June, 2010

While the title might be in two languages that is where it ends.  I used to come here lots when I lived in Holland as we could drive here for a decent meal which was not available in Holland.  Holland, like the UK has changed a lot since the 70’s and good food (as well as bad) is much more widely available.

We used to come in winter, arrive late on a Saturday and depart early on Sunday so I never got to see the town – it really is quite spectacular and there are not too many tourists here yet.  I will come back here again, perhaps with Bill (already suggested it to him) for a Boys weekend beer tasting – that is the main task here – to taste them all using the correct glass of course.  I was in a restaurant earlier where the beer list was twice the size of the menu and wine list combined.  And I discovered the Beer Wall which purports to display an example of every bottled beer currently available in Belgium with an example of the glass used to drink the beer.

This is also the last days of the season of the New Herrings – the first of the season which are a delicacy here.  I used to eat these raw just with chopped onion – they melt like butter in your mouth.  Tastes change of course and they are served as above but also with wasabi – we didn’t know about such things 40 years ago!

The Nuts Museum has gone all modern – OK when I visited 40 years ago it was a little amateurish but it was in a nice square with lime trees cafes and a Sherman tank.  The square is now a car park with a Sherman tank, a vast info centre and the museum is modern and out of town – we moved on pretty sharpish but I am glad the story of the Nuts Declaration lives on.

On to Brussel which is vast, modern but I did recognise the Grand Place, looking a bit tawdry amongst all the tat but the Gazpatcho was soo good I had a second bowl for my main course.

Brugge – this has not changed apart from two huge red buildings on the outskirts by a bus station – the rest is OK – booked into Crowne Plaza because I am getting lazy, it was cheap and in 32c I did not want to traipse around town searching for something twee by the canal.

In the cold light of day the sad truth of the matter is that England’s players, with few exceptions, are an arrogant, ignorant and unpleasant lot. They are paid far too much by their Premier League clubs, where their true allegiance lies, and their ability individually and collectively in an England shirt does not match their swagger.

We saw the match in Luxembourg with Linsey & Craig and very good company they were – I gave Linsey our England flag which I got in Cape Town when at the test match last year.  Craig also invited me to try out his beer machine which I did whenever invited.

I liked this from Paul Mason, BBC Panorama economics commentator:

England’s outstanding badness in World Cup 2010 must be a symptom of something bigger: the fact that we’ve got the most expensive, highest leveraged club system – and that none of our players play outside it – must have contributed to the weakening of commitment to the national colours, the evisceration of upcoming talent, the creation of an unmanageable team of frightened individuals, each of whom will now be dictating a valedictory ghost-written column to their chosen tabloid newspaper before getting on with life as a millionaire.

Like failed bankers they will pay no penalty for failure other than public oprobium and, as everybody in high finance knows, you can live with that as long as you own a Lamborghini.

Basically, we’ve just seen the Lehman Brothers of football and it was not pretty.

If you travel in France and you have to order such things as tea with cold milk and boiling water, or espresso with a dash of milk you will, I know be in despair.  I am all for when in Rome…. but my wife is not – so I soldier on.

Over the years getting tea bags, boiling water and cold milk has got easier.

Machiato seemed to solve the espresso with milk and then the French invented the name Noisette so it was Francais.  But, oh but – this afternoon in Pont a Mousson a head waiter asked me What is a Noisette? – I had to control myself and I did not say “I have been ordering this for my wife from Calais to the Camargue and from Marseille to Macon but are you seriously saying that in your very detailed training you have never heard of a Noisette or a Machiato – Bien sure – fucking bullshit.  The French can be real twats at times.

Me I just have a cafe!

The French are revolting and this week it has been the national strike – Sarko wants to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 and increase the working week from 35 hours – needless to say the unions are not impressed and have been calling for demonstrations nationwide a few of which we got caught up in.  But Sacre` Bleu – It is Saturday night and I have not yet seen the Guardian for today or yesterday – this is a bit much.

We are going to see my 2nd cousin Craig and Linsy in Luxembourg for the match on Sunday – he is laying on a sacrificial German for the occasion.

So we stopped short on the river at Pont a Mousson – it is hot now 35c.

Changing our plumbing every night or two is a pain – every shower head works differently – some effective and some brilliant but this variety few and far between.  My grand idea, as an old Euro warrior, is to hold a pan-european competition to find the best shower head under such categories as ease of use, prevention of scalding, good temperature mixing, good power etc.  Shower heads that are associated with baths would be banned completely.  While all european countries (excluding UK who are not european and do not doff their hats to Brussels would be excluded from entry – tough I know but so be it.

The two top designs would have to be French and German and the German design would have to win – no this is fair as thet make good bathroom fittings and shower heads.

When Villeroy & Bosch win the competition (as they surely would) all hotels in greater Europe would have to install this equipment within two years or face closure.

Now we come to shower cubicles – all shower cubicles should be no less than 1.5 metre square net ie after measuring from the extremity of the mixer to the extremity of the cubicle.

Jacuzzi’s – these should be inspected monthly and if found not fit the hotel should be closed until made fit.

When these rules have been enforced they should slowly be introduced into UK but there should be special dispensation for Tenby – poor Tenby is having a hard time.

We travelled up from Avignon via Lyon (ruined by roads years ago) and Macon (Macon has been ruined by roads much more recently and it is a great shame) then got off the auto route and we are now travelling up the N6 (a road I have hitched in my youth many times) – we were looking for a nice riverside hotel restaurant and came across Hotel Restaurant de la Paix in Tournus.  It is bloody hot now so we drive mornings and relax from noon onwards.

We are just preparing for dinner and the restaurant looks sublime.  More later after a few drinks.  A lot of drinks later I can report on dinner – I had a salad with lardon and croutons which was magnificent followed by cuisse de grenoulle (frogs legs) which were great but from Viet Nam – la grenouille en France is now a protected species so any frogs legs you get now are from outside France or are illegals – all washed down with a lot of Macon Rouge.

Frogs are illegal in France – kind of bitter sweet or is that just moi.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rolf Harris at Glastonbury 2010

 
Where and when: Pyramid stage, 11am Friday. The opening act of Glastonbury 2010.

Dress code: Man from del Monte chic. Rolf is turned out in chinos, a light white linen shirt and a panama hat. His beard is trimmed and his skin glowing with health. This is one well-preserved 80-year-old.

What happened: Tens of thousands of people thronged to the Pyramid stage to see Australia’s greatest living polymath. He responded by giving them what they wanted: singalong standards, corny jokes and a judicious dose of didgeridoo. Each was delivered with aplomb.

Who’s watching: Harris has been famous for 40 years so it’s not surprising to find the field packed with punters of all ages. There were the kids who grew up to Two Little Boys, those who joined Rolf’s Cartoon Club and the afficionados of Animal Hospital. They were all in a very good mood.

High point: Was it Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport? Or a reprise that set the fair dinkum lyrics to the tune of Land of Hope and Glory? Was it his beatboxing duet with a member of his Jools Holland-ish backing band? Or was it simply the cocky sense of humour that led Rolf to instruct the crowd in how best to invite him back for an encore? Take your pick.

Low point: Stairway to Heaven ain’t quite as good on wobbleboard as it is on guitar. Harris turned out his kitsch cover version as part of the encore, but it all sounded just a little bit weedy.

In a tweet: Nation’s favourite Aussie export brings the sunshine and asserts superiority of didgeridoo over vuvuzela.

Yes we are now in Avignon and now it really is hot 33c+.  Had a bit of an upset yesterday in Aix en Provence so stayed in bed most of the day – a touch of the old buggers catching up with me I have to admit.  Fighting fit now (90% anyway) and ready to get at the Palais de Papes.

We don’t have to face the frogs now – only the old enemy to beat on Sunday!

I also hear Kev and Julia are not getting on at the moment – I expect a bulletin from down-under very soon and BP continues to tumble.  News overtaken me as I read Julia really stuck the knife in and became Australia’s first woman PM – fair dinkum – if you are going to lose at the next election get a new leader – something that did not occur to Gord!  And Barack sacks McChrystal – tough but right call.

I also see Lib Dems have shaped George’s Budget.  Apart from the price of papers no news gets past me!

When in Aix en Provence we stayed at La Petite Maison de Carla in Manuelas room which had a roof terrace, jacuzzi and a monster TV – the bad news was the jacuzzi bubble machine did not work and we had to go out to see any football as no football channels of the TV – but for all that it was a very quirky room in a B&B run by a delightful Spanish lady.

What a wonder – we had a rustic room with a balcony overlooking a wooded valley,  Dinner was`al fresco – I had a pannier de crudite et charcuterie with 15 dishes including sardine, anchovie (unfilletted a first), black pudding, cous cous, onion marmalade, saffron rice, local sausage, too much to remember.  After this I had rabbit which tasted and looked like jugged hare – to die for.  I also remember Jean’s souffle.  After that we went to a music event featuring Carnaby Street (100% Beatles & Stones).  A few doubles later I awoke and the sun is hot, hot, hot.

Last night I met a Dutchman who has a flat to let – I will contact him in the cool light of day.