Bucket was just the kind of brindle-coated, shaggy-matted mongrel, complete with a servile smile on its chops, that genteel Frinton-on-Sea cats like Spade detested. (more…)
May 29, 2007
May 20, 2007
Bonjour Starbucks, Adieu la France
A decade ago the neighbourhood bistros that were an integral part of French life were one by one bought out by McDonalds as the country entered the fast-food age. McDo, as we call the chain over here in France, was quickly followed by several others and now your average Frenchman under 25 doesn’t know the difference between an entrecôte and a faux-filet. Now it is the turn of the traditional French café to bite the dust. (more…)
How Hen lost his Head for Helen
Clocking in at the depot that penultimate morning in July 1968, Hen rubbed his thumb ruefully to ease the rheumatism, wondering why it always started in that spot. He knew it would soon spread up his arm and grip his neck like the hangman’s noose. ‘Weather’s changing,’ he thought, ‘and I’m getting past it.’ (more…)
