PHILINFRANCE

Anybody who has visited France, especially rural areas, will know that we are blessed with a large number of fresh food markets, especially fruit and vegetables. I live in a small town a few kilometres west of Paris, and my twice weekly market has eight (8!) fruit and vegetable stalls, a few cheese stalls and various fresh meat and fish stalls, and there are always queues at each stall. I also have three , high quality butchers within a two minute walk, together with a wet fishmonger. The produce is cheaper than the nearby supermarkets, and certainly of a far higher quality, so why would I contemplate buying ready made meals or ordering a takeaway, when I can buy fresh food and prepare a meal myself? If you were to walk down the Champs-Élysées, not my favourite French street, you would be amazed and disgusted by the number of fast food 'restaurants' and the large queues outside - mainly tourists looking for a reasonably priced meal as opposed to the horrendous fare served in the tourist trap restaurants, but quand même. Unfortunately, most city centres and railway stations have a large number of SDFs (people with no fixed abode), who gather there and drink their cheap bottles of rosé and cans of high alcohol beer, but town centres in the evening are not as full of alcohol filled drunk and violent young men and women - certainly not women. When the local media show pictures of hopelessly drunk young women in UK town centres at Christmas time and New Years Eve, they invite responses of mirth, ridicule and scorn. I can honestly say that I have never seen a woman hopelessly drunk on a French street.

This made me smile. If you ate confit de canard in Sarlat, the chances are it was served with 'pommes de terre salardaises', a wonderful dish of sautéed potatoes. Here is an English version of the recipe, although it is frequently prepared with far more duck fat! https://thegoodlifefrance.com/sarlat-potatoes-pommes-de-terres-sarladaises/ I am not sure, but I suspect a proper Cassoulet de Toulouse or Castelnaudry is less harmful for your arteries.

Ah, so my earlier post should be ignored ?.

I doubt it, but it would be an awfully long way to travel if it is.

I remember that advert and also a comedy spoof, probably Benny Hill or The Two Ronnies, where a voluptuous young lady, obviously braless, walks seductively towards the camera....

He was an unused substitute this evening in Cork's 1-0 victory against Wexford, in Ireland's Second Division. I wish the young man well, but I think it is clear he is not yet ready for English Championship football.

Merguez sausages are actually Maghrebian (North African) and far too spicy for me in hot weather, which Toulouse will be enjoying at this time of the year. Toulouse sausages are certainly nice, especially on a barbecue, but duck is my go to meal when I go to Toulouse, or, in Winter, a Cassoulet de Toulouse or de Castelnaudry; made with white beans, goose or duck thighs, pork belly, lamb and Toulouse sausages - absolutely delicious, but far too heavy for summer.

I have eaten some very nice meals in Barcelona, but I have no idea where. I do second the positive comments about La Boqueria, though. We never actually sat down for a 'proper' meal there, but snacked there on several occasions - very nice and reasonably priced. I can also confirm that the food is good in Toulouse, but more so in the winter months with their stews, casseroles and numerous duck dishes.

Ooh. The covers are coming off at Taunton, and play is due to start at 14H35. Presumably a declaration and fingers crossed the conditions, both overhead and on the pitch, prove favourable.

I was going to post earlier that Glos look like getting a draw, but that Abbott hat trick has left them in a very precarious position.

Any rain at Edgbaston will now prove academic, as Kent have just won. Not that it really affects us, but there looks to be an interesting afternoon in store at Lords. The covers are still very firmly in place at Taunton, although it seems the rain may have finally stopped.

They have just started removing the covers at Taunton. Sorry, they have now replaced the cover and are adding a further one!

Oh, Yes Please.

Thanks for that. As I posted earlier, she was an interesting commentator/pundit, and was joining in with the (Peter Trego especially) banter. A welcome addition to the already excellent commentary team.

Fingers crossed for Lancs to help us out tomorrow.

Ah, you may be correct. He was chatting with the female commentator, and I wasn’t really paying attention as I was writing something and only listening in the background. Who is she, by the way. Knowledgeable and seems good fun.

If I heard correctly, he is also playing occasionally for Devon Dumplings!

Of course, although it would seem academic now as he suggested in one of his commentary sessions that he would be staying - ´Im a one club man’. I really hope so, as he does seem to be a nice young man and, of course, is a very good one day batsman. In addition, I think it is admirable that he has turned his back on the lucrative overseas thrashes to concentrate and try and improve his First Class game.

Saved the following on by two runs, although I doubt whether Somerset would have enforced it. 50 overs left in the day, so a lead of 300ish by close and a quick thrash for an hour tomorrow morning?

QUORDLE completed, as well. Daily Quordle 178 quordle.com ??? ? ? ??? ? ? ? ????? ????? ? ? ? ?? ?? ? ???? ? ????? ? ?? ????? I don't know why, but I seem to find QUORDLE far easier than WORDLE.

Not in two, but at least it was a reasonable challenge. Wordle 397 5/6 ? ??? ??? ? ?????

Sure, but if they are all in the same (Atyeo) Stand, from whom do they need to be segregated? Wouldn't it be more to do with netting at the front to keep them off the pitch?

A very good point, and Good Luck to NP, RG and the rest of the management team.

I saw this earlier, especially how happy Tom Banton looked. I also read how he spent a long time signing autographs for the numerous schoolchildren present today. Surely, that doesn't look or sound like a young man who wants to leave, and to Warwickshire?

This is what I love (??) about WORDLE. I have yet to fail a QUORDLE, but frequently fail WORDLE and thought today was going to be another failure. Wordle 396 5/6 ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????