STUPID STUFF - EARLY JUNE, 2019: CHICKENS, SPEED LIMIT, BAD WRITING, MORE

The world's most common vertebrate is the broiler chicken, created by humans to be eaten by humans. 23 billion are alive at any one time. If they had opposable thumbs...

Just when I got used to driving at the between-gears speed limit of 80kph on many of the local roads here in France, our department has voted to return to 90kph. Apparently, the French can't make up their minds about important legal matters any better than the Brits.

So I'm reading a trashy novel on my Kindle to pass the time. It's the first of a series of several books. Apparently, the writer thinks that he's got something to say. The protagonists have just been chased south from Virginia to North Carolina. They are holed up in what is described as a cheesy motel in a forgotten town in the hills off the Blue Ridge Parkway. They're hungry, so they go to a takeout place and pick up some sushi. Sushi. In a forgotten town in the hill country of the Carolinas. The definition of Stupid Stuff...

Trump, the man who has led 'Lock Her Up" chants at every campaign rally for the past three or four years, calls Pelosi a terrible person for wanting to see him in jail. He called Meghan Markle 'nasty' in a taped interview, then denied having done so the very next day. He claimed credit for giving veterans healthcare choices outside of the VA, something that he said that John McCain couldn't accomplish, when the truth is that the first veterans healthcare choice bill was signed by Obama and McCain was a co-sponsor. What's stupid in all of this is that about 40% of Americans still believe the shit coming out of his mouth when he lies about everything. Every. Thing.

An American internet provider is holding a lottery. The winner will be paid $1,000 to ditch their smart phone for a week and use a flip phone. They'll be provided with a paper map - no GPS - and have to keep a diary. I don't qualify. I've been using a flip phone for the past 20 years and still do. Being connected all of the time may be your idea of a good time. Not mine. If a $20 flip phone is good enough for multi-billionaire Warren Buffett, it's good enough for me. 

Have you ever felt as though you would die while waiting in a line? People do. On Mount Everest. No, that picture has not been photo shopped. Un-freaking-believable.These people paid $40,000 to look at the backs of other people who paid $40,000 while they stand on the graves of an estimated 300 people who have died trying to climb the mountain while leaving 24,000 pounds of garbage behind. Un- freaking-believable.

SAPORI, LEE-ON-THE-SOLENT, HAMPSHIRE: RESTAURANT REVIEW

Restaurants in seaside towns can be a bit tricky. They cater to captive audiences, often providing limited choices. The norm is to serve basic fare at slightly inflated prices, take the money, and count on turnover rather than repeat customers to keep the till full. When our friend Sharon took us to the seaside town of Lee-On-The-Solent not far from her home in Fareham and suggested an Italian restaurant, we were not certain what to expect. We needn't have worried.

Sapori has created a nice space, brick and wood and not too crowded. Service was pleasant and timely. I chose a plate of fried cheese with pesto for a start with a calzone to follow - cheesy with spicy salami and fresh chilis. Enough to share. (I didn't.) Cathey and Sharon chose from the lunch menu of the day, two courses for about 10€. Cathey started with a plate of deep-fried whitebait with a side salad and went on to the fish cakes. Sharon had a plate full of prosciutto and mozzarella followed by pasta with mushrooms. All as advertised. All well prepared. All proper portions. All with a bit of flair but not too fussy. Solid. And with a bottle of wine and coffee at the finish, under 50€ total. Worth a return.

You can check out Sapori's website HERE. For an index of my restaurant reviews, click HERE.

Isle of Wight in the distance...

We're told that this train station was built because Victoria thought that the folks in Portsmouth didn't cheer sufficiently for her when she came to the seaside.

BEZIERS PLAGE OR GUINGUETTE DU ROY OR BAR BOEUF AND COW OR CHATEAU VAISSERIE: RESTAURANT REVIEW

Yeah. I know. It's a strange title. Well, it's a strange place.

We were traveling north of Beziers along the ring road, took a wrong turn, and came across a sign for Beziers Plage. Given that we were on the wrong side of Beziers for any plage that we knew of, and given that I love nothing better than getting lost in order to find my way back to where I'm supposed to be going in new and different ways, I followed the sign. A barely maintained paved lane led to an unpaved parking lot and a sign for Guinguette du Roy. We didn't go in but we noted the name and. upon returning home, checked out the website. I suggest that you do the same HERE. But beware. The tapas bar is apparently only open evenings. We never saw a plage. I think that there may be a restaurant in the Chateau Vaisserie but I'm not certain.

But Bar Boeuf and Cow came complete with a confetti cannon, not operating but apparently fully functional the previous evening given the amount of colored paper scattered about, with a squawking peacock and mate who enjoyed bits of bread and olive as though by right, and with a mid priced and tasty lunch. Who knew?

Mike had the entrecote from the barbecue grill, a bit pricey but a fine cut of beef. Properly cooked hot and fast, crusty outside and red inside, the cut was more than he could finish. The ladies had seche from the grill as well, one with veggies, one with rice, more carefully prepared over lower heat. Both very happy with tasty, full portions. I had an undistinguished burger. Entrecote next time. One of the ladies had the molten chocolate cake with chantilly, a fine specimen, and I had two scoops of good French chocolate ice cream. With coffees and lots of wine and a beer or two and enough bread for us and the peacocks as well, the bill came to about 28€ apiece

There's no sense trying to describe the place. If you like quirky, you'll like it. Give it a try.

CONGRATULATIONS, DUNCAN AND FIONA: JUNE 1, 2019

We've known Duncan since he was about 5 and were honored to be invited to all of the festivities surrounding his wedding to Fiona. The wedding was held in a magazine converted to a military museum in Gosport. Duncan's dream...a wedding in a place where they used to blow things up. I've never been around so many uniforms.

Live Long and Prosper!

A kiss was the price to continue...

That's Duncan's sister Clair arriving on the right.

Grandparents...headed for 100 and sharp as tacks.

Reception in an old magazine/museum.

Mom baked the cake and made the ducks to order.

Not from the wedding but seemed appropriate.