Being British

As an add-on to my rant about the Oscars, I am pleased to display the logo for the Golden Raspberry Awards. Please support this very worthy cause.

***

I quite often talk about insular French attitudes to 'things foreign' and laughed when I received this today.

"Being British is about speaking on a Finnish mobile phone whilst driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer and trying to pick up a Scandinavian girl, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. And the most British thing of all? Suspicion of anything foreign ".

***

Driving into Nîmes today we saw yet another instance of the French police standing at the side of the road and pulling cars over. This wasn't as scary as the other night when one of the flics was standing with his rifle ready to shoot somebody, which reminds me of a time when we lived in Windsor. One night we saw several police cars, having rammed a car into the barriers, at a roundabout near where we lived. What was really scary, was to see a man, handcuffed and face down on the road and an armed policeman standing over him pointing a rifle at his head. His 'moll' was screaming and having to be restrained and a police dog was barking at her. If you'd seen it in a film you'd have thought that it was a gross exaggeration of reality. (No jokes please about how you paid his parking ticket - Ed.)

***

We headed off for a pizza tonight in Quissac, but found that our target was closed for a private function. The next choice, recommended by William, was busy but if we wanted to eat there we would have had to eat outside. Mnnnnn, it was warm but not that warm. So La Baraka it was. As you enter Quissac from the south, this place is just before the traffic lights on the right. Thank goodness we ended up there. It was one of the best meals (at the 19.90 euros price) that we have had for ages. We both had the terrine de cèpes et poireaux, Jan then had fish and I had magret de canard gratiné au pelardon. I wasn't bothered about the cheese but it was interesting. This was washed down with an excellent Domaine de Baubiac, Coteaux de Languedoc, 2000. One of the best reds at the price that we have ever had. We have previously tried to visit this domaine but it was shut. It's now high on the list for a visit because I've got to see if he's got any of the red left.