January 1 - Alone

Day one - and an atypically bright, sunny (if freezing) day on the French coast. It was tonight that made it clear that I would need guests to make my time in Pontage enjoyable. The dinner conversation at the P'tit Bleu was limited to say the least.

The meal, I'm glad to say, was rather better. a rich, earthy paté with a salad that was worth eating, rather than feeding to rabbits, kidneys in creamy brandy sauce with the inevitable frites and green beans on the side and a tarte tatin. (I was seriously tempted by the creme caramel.) Rather than the more typical wine I went for a large glass of Leffe Brune - a dark, caramely Belgian beer that worked brilliantly with the kidneys. After a café crème, but as I intend to have one every night I won't include it on the menus.

Excuse the variants on Franglais I
intend to use in the menus

I might not have had much conversation, but the resolve set in that the best way to make my year in Pontage Coronarien sur Mer truly enjoyable was to visit a different restaurant every night (the luxury of staying in the only French seaside town with 365 restaurants), with a guest to make the evening more effective.

Other than that, there will be few restrictions. The guest will direct the conversation and the menu will also be the choice of the guest, hopefully giving me a varied and interesting diet for the year. Inevitably there will be an evening or two when I can't get someone along, even with everything PCsM can offer, in which case I shall indulge myself with an imaginary guest, to avoid having another night like tonight.

The game, as Mr Holmes would have it, is afoot.