All Saints' Day Survivor

In the Christian calendar, November 1st is a celebration of the dead, All Saints' Day, a bank holiday in France. Traditionally families purchase chrysanthemums, heather or cyclamens (usually impressive potted displays) and take them down to cemeteries in order to fleurir les tombes, flower their (loved ones) graves. Needless to say, florists and garden centres make a tidy profit that gears them up into the festive season, by then less than 8 weeks away!

Mum's the word! (June 2017)

You guessed it, All Saints' Day has been co-opted into a consumerist feat, with a sea of floral displays that pours out of the flower shops onto the pavements and inflates in volume by the day, in the run-up to November 1st. Then plants migrate from flower shops to car boots and from car boots to the tombs, and before Christmas most will have migrated from the tombs to the cemetery bins - in heaps! Incredibly wasteful and downright ridiculous but this is the way it has been programmed into the French.

Because sadly family values in France are not as sacred as they once were and catholic religion has taken a nosedive, graves are rarely visited, although All Saints' Day remains the one and only yearly reminder still anchored in the collective psyche that encourages the modern busy Christian to pay graves a visit - and leave a proof of their visit behind, in the shape of a big fat chrysanthemum that battles it out for space with other relatives' mums! Don't you bother watering your offering because par une opération du Saint-Esprit, by the Holy Spirit intervention, pots will somewhat self-water or at least absorb little morning dew they can in order to survive the run-up to Winter if they don't get knocked off the tomb by the competition and the elements and roll down the alleyway like a poor cosplay version of Jackie Chan to end up wedged between the tool shed and a bench.

Chrysanthemum to the left, nasturtium to the right, under the watchful eye of Némo! (Sept. 2017)

Life as an All Saints' Day chrysanthemum is all about survival: it's mean out there. Tampered with genetically in order to yield all sorts of crazy colours and patterns, chemically fattened up in order to grow fat and fast like a Christmas turkey of the floral kind, produce blooms ten a zillion that will magically burst open in time for the Day of the Dead. Showtime in the graveyard but by November 2nd there is no-one left around to admire the flowers! Then the draughty unforgiving graveyards take a toll on their petals into a crumpled-up, dried-out worn-out affair. Lack of care its toll, and the trip to the bin is a short, disdainful and unceremonious whack and go.

Through this tale of doom and gloom interspersed by a brief showtime stint and casting couch moment on the florist's shelf, one of those mums I saved from the basket of deplorables. Now it takes pride of place on my south-facing terrace, pampered and watered and whispered to! I saved it from my village's overflowing cemetery bin last December as I was gingerly walking past with Tickle, casting a sideways glance in search of a discarded, unloved, unrequited empty flower pot container (or filled with a dead plant) which I could save from trash and call my own and take home to repurpose into a pot for my Winter seedlings.

Pride of place! (Nov. 2017)

The mum was totally dried out, a browned-out crispy sorry sight! I took it home, disposed of the dead twigs and stored the pot with the soil in it in the cellar for a good month, almost forgetting about it. Then one day I noticed a shoot on the surface of the soil and then another one! I took the pot out onto the terrace, took a long hard look at those incredible green shoots battling for survival. I watered them and witnessed the gradual resurrection of the mum! It has since rewarded me with several flowerings. It is currently a feast of multicoloured blooms of white, canary yellow, orange and magenta red, a rainbow of delight! Let me tell you: I am the proud mum of one proud mum!

The moral of the story: when everything looks dead and done, give it another go, it might surprise you!

Autumn Menu with a Hint of Halloween

Delved into my bookmarks and consulted good old oracle Pinterest in order to compile an Autumn menu with recipes slightly out of the ordinary, without obsessing about it - and a hint of the unexpected. It had to be a poetic menu to spell out loud, with each dish almost akin to a verse by Edgar Allan Poe...

Think velvety monochrome textures, smoked flavours, dark syrupy fruit, gooey sauces, messy blends, unusual colours and rare alcohols, to keep you warm inside and chill you out at the same time! Red splatters to keep you on your toes... All in all, a grown-up Autumn menu without the hearty pumpkin chowders, versatile enough to celebrate not only Halloween but also All Saints' Day (Catholic calendar, 1st November) and Guy Fawkes Night (Great Britain, 5th November) without stating the obvious!

So let's get those taste buds into overdrive and that kitchen ready to sizzle!

A P É R I T I F 

The Black Heart by Julep

Cranberry & Pomegranate Spritz by Donna Hay

Pitaya (Dragon Fruit) Margarita by Muy Bueno

Cocktail Snow Cones by HonestlyYUM

Palomitas de Curcúma by La Baguette Magique

E N T R É E

Beet-Pickled Curry Deviled Eggs by Viktoria's Table

Fig and Goat's Cheese Tart by Donna Hay

Spicy Corn Bisque by Bakers Royale

Roasted Red Pepper Tortilla Soup by Cookie & Kate

M A I N     C O U R S E

Vegan Winter Harvest Hummus Bowl by Heather Christo

S I D E S

Roasted Carrots Cooked in a Pomegranate Syrup by Un Déjeuner de Soleil

E N T R E M E T S

Blood Orange Granita by Cook Republic

Pomegranate and Greek Yoghurt Panna Cotta, via Cooked

D E S S E R T

Beer-Laced Sticky Toffee and Ginger Pudding by Delicious

S W E E T     A F T E R S

Raspberry Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches by The Bojon Gourmet

Juniper + Smoke Marshmallows by Local Milk

Further Resources:

• For a little otherwordliness that remains firmly on the safe side, visit my K ° Mystique Pinterest board.
• Ideas to ease you into the Halloween spirit with a little chill and none of the tack.
• Robert Doisneau photography: black and white, atmospheric and - if you are looking for it - spooky.
• Cocktails that are odd beyond the odds, The Gibson's Cocktail Menu has it by the muddler! Their cocktail list flirts with the quirk and the bizarre in equal doses, if not the borderline bootleg (Scandal in Bohemia, a mixology 'high' of Sweet Grass Steeped Woodford Rye Absinthe + Hemp Cannabis Poppy 'Opium' Oil + Preserved Oriental Lemon Brine + French Confetti Candy Syrup + Forbidden Jelly Ice + Smoking Wood Mushroom)! You couldn't make this one up if you wanted to! For a cocktail slightly less far fetched in terms of ingredients, the Way of the Dragon might persuade an enlightened Classic D&D gamer to give it a try, if only for the rambunctious dragon that is served with the drink: 8 years old Bacardi + Gibson's Seabuckthorn Liqueur + Madeira Wine + Lime + Fresh Rambutan & Mangosteen + Butternut Squash & Walnut Conserve + Galia Melon. Good grief! I'll have a simple G&T anytime!

Way of the Dragon cocktail by The Gibson Bar, Shoreditch, London

Your Own Personal Jesus (Part 2)

Likewise the All Saints' Day tradition is particularly followed by Corsican families, with strong visual displays of colourful potted chrysanthemum sprouting across cemeteries. Subject to debate, this may reflect the historically-extravagant, almost ostentatious, side of latino spirit, showing others how much you care for your dead by lavishly decorating graves with flowers, in other words, a case of 'showmanship' over religious/ private introspection and remembrance. I do personally know some villagers who make sure they are seen walking down the cemetery with the biggest floral arrangements on All Saints' Day, in some unspoken competition with other locals.

Sobriety in design for this beautiful Amsterdam church

This is the 'look-at-me' side of religion I have a problem with. Likewise I am somewhat irked by those who go to mass purely to score elusive points with the local Joneses, while being deaf to the church's call to behave as a good - altruistic - christian who carries out acts of goodness within that very community. I have been outraged while attending mass to overhear some individuals overtly putting down other parishioners and then go for communion. This sort of hypocritical behaviour has negatively impacted on any religious inclination I might have felt at the time.

The commercialisation of religion is another bone of contention for me, and Christmas is a fitting example. Banking on what is a religious day to turn it into a shameless shopping extravaganza, there again exacerbated by peer and media pressure and that all-consuming consumerist aspiration to keep up with the Joneses is short of hypocritical in my book. The attiude is just as pointlessly beside the point as those Christmas cards you get by the dozen from people who don't even manage to mumble a hello to you the rest of the year!

A touch of gold for Manchester cathedral

On wedding days, religion is once again shaken to the core, taken for a ride even, by those couples who choose to get married in church (a specifically pretty sought-after country church for some!), not so much for the religious blessing than for the aesthetic qualities the church setting will deliver on photo. You and I have countless examples of the sort, where religion takes a back seat and is only used as a setting - a backdrop - for a party. I attended a communion once where the priest had to interrupt mass to tell off parents who were disrespectfully talking, laughing, greeting relatives, moving about and snapping away from all sorts of angles like this was some fashion shoot, without much consideration for the religious ceremony.

I think religion is serious stuff and if someone is going to treat it casually, as an obligatory pre-party prelude, maybe they should for once give it some thought and decide whether atheism might not be a more appropriate option in keeping with their aspirations. Just a thought.

Haunted by a troubled past: St-Quentin basilica

My mum once said that you should go to mass for yourself and not think of others around you. This confuses me too, when religion invites us to be selfless by welcoming/ helping others, and promote good. Maybe I am being too demanding of us, and we should just approach faith as best we can and be forgiving/ tolerant of those who 'haven't seen the light yet' and don't understand the consequences of their selfish/ hypocritical conduct when involved with religion.

You see, I wasn't kidding when I let out yesterday that my relationship with faith was complicated. Everyone's perception and reaction to religion is their own (and in most cases, like here, without a clear-cut opinion on the matter). To close this post on religion, there is nothing more appropriate for me right now than refer you to the aptly-titled 'Personal Jesus' song. These two words together indicate what religion is down to: a personal relationship (or absence of it), be it human or of the sacred order, that resonates throughout our lives, or hits a high note at a certain point of it. Our cultural heritage, personal knowledge, level of awareness, our willingness or capacity to question our actions, all these elements shape up and shake up that concept of faith and the personal Jesus within, alter it, or simply disintegrate it.

P.S: 'Personal Jesus' was originally written by Depeche Mode, then reinterpreted 15 years later by king of controversy Manson. Yet the song's dimension never came out more meaningful than when his predecessor, Johnny Cash, made it his own. The lyrics had come into their own like a rich mature wine, to deliver wisdom with a resonance.

Your Own Personal Jesus (Part 1)

I never once imagined as a blogger that I would one day contemplate to dedicate a post to All Saints' Day (celebration of the dead, 1st November), and then from there dig into the religious theme further... You see, life is full of surprises and it's amazing how you can surprise yourself sometimes!

I am a christian by birth and family tradition, only not a practicing one and my faith has had its share of ups and downs in tune with the critical moments of life stages. My relationship with faith is complicated, and not one I understand enough to attempt to discuss openly here. My belief in God and what it encompasses, from our purpose on earth to redemption, good vs. evil, and the afterlife, is still a collision of contradicting ideas, and I have to confess on this that I am not passionate enough by the subject to spend time on it, question it, research it and forge an enduring opinion. I admit that my understanding of the christian faith is limited, but I have been to mass enough times to go through the basic prayers by heart, yet the évangiles, the apostles, and Jesus's detailed chronological life events still flirt with confusion and mystery in my head.

However the one constant that I have remained loyal to since reaching adulthood is over the non-practicing christian's relationship with religious faith, from a sociological perspective: the (increasingly loose) interaction (interference?) of the religious element within personal obligations in the name of society tradition. Here I will attempt to shed some of my views on the subject.

Our increasingly secular society still maintains a loose christian connection to life events, although some of the ceremony aspects may be masqueraded as a 'second-hand' approach to religious faith, with hypocritical undertones in the name of through-the-motions tradition. The major moments which punctuate the life of the modern day christian and, in the same breath the only times when they will be likely to step inside a church and engage remotely with their faith are 'traditionally' down to: christening day, communion day, wedding day, funerals, and possibly Christmas mass and Easter Sunday mass.

Corsica, like other South European regions (namely Italy or Portugal), still displays a more pronounced religious ardour/ fervour than other parts of Europe, although parishioners and priests numbers alike continue to decline. In an interesting parallel, Corsica is also reputed for traditionally maintaining stronger family values and ties than elsewhere in France, although those values are now being put to the test by a more urban and individualistic lifestyle.

St-Antoine

Besides Corsica and its Southern counterparts have maintained the ceremonial/ visual aspect of catholicism through the traditional street processions. One not to miss is the Catenaciu, a Corsican re-enactment of a hooded 'Christ' carrying the cross down the village streets on Good Friday night, where the cross bearer is a local man in effect hiding his identity from the parishioners by wearing a hood, while seeking pardon from the church for a sin he has committed.

Other processions punctuate the religious calendar to celebrate a particular saint usually associated with a local church and/ or trade (ex: the fishermen's patron saint). Those processions gel religion and community spirit together by coming down the streets into the community. (to be continued)

The Fall of the House of Summer (Part 2)

Back to Autumn as a busy time of year, we have many celebratory reasons to justify it. Although it would be easy to get carried away and dedicate a thousand words per celebration, La Baguette Magique has chosen to stay short and sweet for the purpose of the exposé, hence condense the facts. But if I have missed out on important dates that you are aware of, please do bring them to my attention.

Interestingly our research has unveiled some overlapping in dates and symbolic figures, with a strong activity centered around 6th December.

Chronologically speaking, I would venture that the first event in the Autumn diary begins on the Eve of All Saints' Day, i.e. 31st October with Halloween. Already many bloggers (especially American) are gearing up for it big time with a multitude of creative ideas in the pipeline, and I cannot help but include this slightly tongue-in-cheek yet incredibly grown-up revisit of the iconic pumpkin, pimped up and tight up in black lace by lifestyle blog Daisy Pink Cupcake. Just forget about spooky carvings and drippy candle wax, this was so last Halloween! 

The following day, All Saints' Day, is when Catholics remember their dead. Usually in France families pay a visit to their graves and tidy/ flower them, typically with heather, chrysanthemum or cyclamen. It is a (subdued) time for remembrance and nostalgia, not the gleeful Autumn vibe that I am promoting elsewhere in this article.  

Remembrance Day a.k.a. Poppy Day (11th November) is also a time for that reflective, solemn mood. This year, for the first time in 15 years, I will not be able to physically purchase my poppy from one of the street poppy collectors and wear it with pride. Instead I might consider an online donation to the Royal British Legion, but still I will miss this very British symbolic way of commemorating Armistice Day.

Prior to that, another date I will miss out from the British calendar this year is Bonfire Night (5th November), based around the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when conspiracist Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament, and has been immortalised by popular culture ever since, probably as a deterrent to any would-be traitor to the nation. The night is an excuse for a good old bonfire (either held privately or by local councils - the latter deemed a safer option) where Guy's effigy is burnt. In the week leading to Bonfire Night, kids will take to the streets with their Guy effigy and ask adults for 'a penny for the guy'.

It is always damp/ rainy on Bonfire Night (especially in North West England), not ideal conditions for the many crackers, bangers and firework displays that accompany the event (and the run-up to it) to mimic the gunpowder explosions. Either private or public fireworks illuminate the skies of Britain throughout most of the night, adding to the ambient dampness to create a light temporary smog. In true party mood, many Brits will take advantage of Bonfire Night to hold a barbecue (their last of the year for most!) in their back-garden. You won't have truly experienced the spirit of Bonfire Night until you have sampled treacle toffees, toffee apple or parkin cake (a North of England treacle gingerbread speciality).

The official bonfires which I've attended previously always came with a funfair to prolong the fun into the night. Getting spooked on one of those old-fashioned ghost trains was my cherry on the cake! (to be continued)