By the time we get back from our morning walk the courier has been to the gate and delivered more wine. This should see us through into the summer. Having a local courier is good news. He loads up his van at the depot in the big market town every night, then drives home with his deliveries for the next day. We have become the first port of call on his daily round. That is just fine by us.
Half an hour later a second courier arrives. 'The Font' loves dark chocolate. The more bitter it is the better. The local chocolatier sells 100% strength bars made from Ghanaian beans. These are tart bordering on astringent. Angus consumes chocolate by the bar. 'The Font' has one square, and one square only, after lunch.
Some milk chocolate has also been ordered but I haven't studied the website carefully enough and the package contains 'blond' chocolate which is that toffee coloured variety that used to be sold, many years ago, as Caramac.
A book on skyscraper design and construction in Stalin era Moscow is finished. It was a surprisingly jaunty read although it's a topic that is unlikely to arise even in the most esoteric dinner conversations. Despite the authors best efforts to sprinkle a little magic over her subject the Russian Foreign Ministry remains one of the most depressing high rise buildings on the planet. In the 1980's Angus once stayed in the Hotel Ukrainia - another Moscow high rise. A stay memorable for a ferocious blizzard, a room with a grand piano full of used champagne bottles and a bed that was still being used by the previous occupant. Nothing in life could prepare you for the gentle bordering on somnambulant pace of the hotel elevator or the alarming noises it emitted.
5 comments:
My eye is caught by the bottle of white wine labelled 'Bouzeron'. Please tell me it's pronounced Boozer-on!
I too love dark chocolate but 100% is too much. I find at that strength feels dry in the mouth so one doesn't get the agreeable chocolate feel on the tongue. Give me 85% max.
And a book on Stalinist architecture? Thanks for the review, but just a bit too niche for my tastes I fear.
Cheers! Gail.
Hari OM
OOOhhhh Caramac, that condensed milk bar of childhood delight... Still available if Angus is keen?! YAM xx
Not a great chocolate fan, but when I very occasionally binge on a bar, I prefer dark, but think 100% would be a tad too bitter for me. I prefer somewhere in the 80's - which seems to be the strongest sold here. Of course I could probably indulge in 100% if, like 'The Font', I could restrict myself to one square a day!
We were out early this morning, only to remember as we saw the unlit Post Office and supermarkets that everywhere, apart from cafés, is closed up as it's another Saint's day. However we enjoyed a bracing walk along the almost deserted promenade. Yesterday it rained non-stop with everywhere awash and we didn't set foot out of doors until it stopped in the early evening, so this morning's fresh air was most welcome.
"The Font" is truly superhuman. While I wouldn't choose very dark chocolate, if that's all there is, I can better limit consumption than in the face of, say, chocolats praliné. My personal favorite, having lived in Brussels and diligently tested all the Belgian chocolates, is Corné for their very creamy varieties, without bad surprises of fruits or other stuff.
Totally in agreement with the WorldCrunch article. Meanwhile, the latest take by French TV is whether Macron is ignoring the scientists, who want AZ to continue and also a complete lockdown. I appreciate that he has to thread the needle between public safety, public mental health and the economy (which also is important to public mental health and safety). I wish the government would do more of a campaign around seeing family/friends outdoors with masks on and not indoors at dinners. People want to get together, and they're doing it in secret and spreading the virus. Also a campaign about wearing masks at work. How many offices have I walked into where nobody was masked?!? Something like, the end is in sight; make it come faster by always wearing a mask.
Chocolate is clearly your take of the day.
I discovered the blonde chocolates at Les Flocons Pyrereneens, near our place, and I LOVE the Caramac flavour.
If you get south of tte A64, you should check them out. The smell in the shop is divine.
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