From Mornington Crescent to Lucien L'Allier

A lazy walk home yesterday on my mid-week night off (no French lesson, language exchange or social commitments to be concerned with). Just time to do my homework, make a few trans-Atlantic phone calls (to the same person... we just got cut off a few times mid-sentence) and to brush even more hair off Cucu. I've had the luxury of an extra day off this week, because all my colleagues escaped the office for two days for a financial planning meeting. Without them to drip feed me work, I was surplus to requirements and was able to a pleasant lie-in the morning after Ulli's rather fluid wine and cheese party... lucky, really, because I don't think Ulli and co. appreciate just how difficult it is for us office workers to attend such trendy weekday soirées.

A bit of browsing around Wikipedia and some flicking through Stromvold's seminal work (I found a rare paperback copy in Westmount last weekend) has lead me to the discovery of a Montréal version of the famous game called Mornington Crescent. It's hard to discern when the game emigrated and integrated into Québecois society, but it seems to have been around for quite some time. Despite some suggestions to the contrary, the game uses Lucien L'Allier as the target, and if played correctly employs a fearsomely complex local adaptation of the rules. I shan't bore you with the details, but needless to say there are no doubles, no shuffles, no nid, and highway forty can be used as a counter-play. Additionally a double bind applies to all AMT suburban rail stations.

You may not be familiar with the Montréal version, but if in doubt you can refer to the map above (click to enlarge). Perhaps I could get the ball rolling with:

Acadie

Please leave your next move (and a clear description of the technique employed) by clicking on the comments link below, and don't be tempted to drop yourself in spoon straight away with Radisson, because that would be most unfortunate.

*j*