“What would happen to the boulanger?” I mused

Quite a nice day, not least weather wise – cold but gloriously bright, the sort of weather I like in the winter. Actually, the only sort of weather I like in the winter. Dirk here – always good to see him, he’s a mine of positive energy and common sense. I have so little of either that I like to surround myself with people like that!
 
Drove Mrs. Ottawacker into work for 7.30 – she has a series of database meetings that she doesn’t need – and then home. As I was leaving, Ottawacker Jr. had shouted out a request for croissants from Ichiban, our local bakery. So, at 8:15, I went to Ichiban, only to find it bereft of products.
 
“No baguettes?” I asked.
“No, thirty minutes,” said the woman behind the counter.
“Any croissants?” I asked.
“Five minutes,” she said.
“Pain au chocolat?”
“Not yet.”
“What time do you open?” I asked.
“8 o’clock,” came the answer.
“And you have already sold everything?” I said, looking at my phone to see it was 8.16am.
“No.”
“So, why are you open?”
“…”
 
I mentioned this to Dirk later on that morning, and we sat over coffee trying to imagine what would happen in France if the boulangerie had opened before it had made its daily bread, pastries, and croissants. There’d be blood in the streets. The baker would have been extracted from the boulangerie, beaten badly, attached to a cart (upside down), taken to the main square, and ritually disembowelled. They’d have probably shoved a stale baguette into the place formerly occupied by his intestines as a final insult. All my baker got from me was a “oh”.
 
Drove Dirk down to the German consul (a very nice building in a great location) for his passport meeting, then we hooked up for lunch at Beijing Legend. I do know other restaurants, thanks for asking.
 
Then back home to watch Liverpool ritually dispose of Real Madrid, with Conor Bradley doing figuratively to Kylian Mbappé what the baying French mob would literally have done to the baker had he dared open the boulangerie before having made his bread. A 2-0 win was the least we deserved, and it is always nice to get a result against the preening Galacticos.
 
Dinner of stew, before Dirk drove back to Québec City – he’d had alerts about an incoming snow storm and wasn’t sure he could make it in the morning as he’d originally planned.
 
Bed at 8:45. Slept till 11.30. Looked at the clock, thought “oh FFS”, then went straight back to sleep until 6.45. Another result!!