The Grenadier

It is a strange kind of summer.

 

What with teaching Ollie to drive before he goes off to Uni – yeah Luffbra (Loughborough) or as Mr. Jules quaintly says Luff Borrow – Sophie and her trip to Ecuador, Paleo and the usual UK visitors, then Mr. Jules’ sister and the baby twins dropping in for a week at the end of August, our holidays were a week at the Locarno film festival, enjoying the languid pace of european films, swimming in the lake and er…eating. 

Being at home for most of the summer has also meant an  addiction to Top Chef  the American cooking series where professional chefs compete against one another – I’ve started to  go all tingly when I see really good knife skills performed.  I put it on in the kitchen when I’m spending an afternoon perfecting my chocolate moelleux.  As you do.

Now I don’t want to boast or anything but although my dream of  producing a gay ballet dancer was scuppered when Ollie was born (think of all those great conversations I could have had) I have managed to produce a son who loves to cook and is into food.  His nickname amongst his Swiss friends is Tonton – uncle in French – as he is always feeding them. 

He is as far away from a gay ballet dancer as can possibly be imagined having fullfilled his ambition of being accepted into the Swiss Grenadiers (see Telegraph article) by coming in the top ten at the recent three day selection procedure in Lausanne. (Update he now plans to do this after his degree).

How Mr. Jules, who spent his military service getting lost delivering traffic instructions, and I could have sporned such a rambo is beyond us.  Couple this with the astonishment that someone who sits on his bum all day (with the occasional rugby game to offset rigor mortis) shouting into a headset,

“Hot Dude 93 where are you?  They’re shooting me, they’re shooting me!!!   I need back up now.  Martin get in here!  Mint Boy where are YOU?!   Where’s those grenades? I’m  gonna die, it’s all your fault.  Too late, I’m dead. ”

can come in at 7 out of 200 in the fitness challenge.   You read it here, the couch potato virus has now officially infiltrated the great outdoors nation known as Switzerland or they were all deliberately failing…leaving the places to over-keen cyber soldiers.