There and back again

Just returned from a lovely weekend in Paris. Wowed by the atmosphere of the Opera House, exhausted by the vastness and variety of the Pompidou Centre and dazzled by the opulence and extravagance of Saint Chapelle. Lots of lovely food and wine too.

By a spooky coincidence I chose to take along Wild Boy by Jill Dawson to read. I only realised as we set off that it was set in Paris (I was recommended the book by a friend and hadn’t read the blurb). Couldn’t believe that it was actually set in and around the exact bit of Paris where we were staying - the Latin Quarter, just off Boulevard St Germain. It really added to the trip and my reading of the book to be walking along the same streets and seeing the same buildings that she mentions, especially as the book is set two hundred years ago. I really loved the book and would defintiely recommend it whether read in Paris or anywhere else.

Back home to cold and rain but cheered myself up today, while waiting for my usual Monday morning café to open, by reading the noticeboard outside:

Enjoy Piano! 4 Sale 4 Pressure Barrels - 4 Must Go. Mobile Tattoo Artist. Sing Your Self to Life. Practical Shamanism. Celebration Concert for St Cecelia. Introduction to Open Fidelity Evening. Friendly Accounting. Concert for Tibet. Treesculptor - Figurative Chainsaw Carver. Cabaret Heaven. Calabrian Roast Fig Balls - Order Now for Christmas. Steiner Advent Fair. Do You Play Bass? Do You Want to Play Sax? We Need a Gas Person, A Rayburn Stove Person and A Welder to Do Some Jobs. Female Plumber - Girls Plumb 2. Nine Miles: 2 Winters of Road Protest. ‘Turn Your Kitchen into a Microplastic Recycling Factory’ Workshop. Holistic Reflexology. Alternative B&B. Ethical Business Chinwag. Low Impact Eco-Boating. Do you Speak Italian? Heart Shrine Relics Tour. Indoor Market Bazaar. Land Wanted for Tree Planting. Horse Drawn Festival Carriages. Shaggy Dog Stories. Sewing Machines Serviced. Plant Pots Recycled. Woodland Courses in Old Wives Wood. Electric Eclectic Psychedelic Trance and Chill. Hire Your Aquabirthing Pool Now!

It’s good to be home

Poetry, Paris and parrots

One of the spin-off benefits of the Your Messages project (yup I'm still doing it) is following links to the blogs and web sites of other writers. I have been really enjoying Oz Hardwick's postings. Visit his website to discover his poetry, if you haven't found it already.

I've got a trip to Paris planned for a couple of weeks time and a friend has loaned me her copy of The Guide to the Architecture of Paris by Norval White. The architectural delights that Mr White has promised me so far include “a bejeweled and bedecked dowager on the way to a fancy dress ball” and “vegetative soffits and cubistic capitals … bedecked in attic finery.” Great stuff, I’m looking forward to spotting the buildings from his luscious descriptions.

I’ve been working in that London this week, hence the brief absence from blogging and messaging. I had access to a computer but not much head space, although I did manage some scribbling on the train on the way down. Journey back was totally devoted to Ali Smith’s ‘Hotel World’ - stunning stuff especially when read in one sitting - the luxury of train travel.

Had to watch lots of Monty Python for research purposes last week (sometimes I really love my job). I'd forgotten just how funny this sketch is (a bit like hearing 'Stairway to Heaven' for the first time in ages and realising that it's actually jolly good).