Europe’s Celtic Fringe is very important to me and now, through photos of its coast and hinterland, its richness is being celebrated in an exhibition in Paris. It is my visit to the exhibition and the effect that seeing the exhibits had on me, which inspired this blog It was a cold and wet November…
“It’s Much Better in German »
Opinions of others can change in a moment and several years ago this happened to my wife, Rohan. In our family, her account of that day’s events has become legendary and recently she retold the tale to friends over tea. It is that retelling which prompted this blog. The story was several years in the…
“You’re too old to do that”
When it comes to beaches, my favourites have miles of fine sand and the occasional rock pool. On a recent trip to the seaside the view down to the water’s edge could not have been more disappointing. For the next hour or so I would be ‘playing’ on a short stretch of a narrow, steeply banked, pebble beach with nowhere…
“Not Odd, Just English »
When Rohan woke that morning she told me how her night had been broken by bursts of unusual and worrying sounds. Volleys of coughs, snorts and whimpers came in through the window from the garden below. Both of us hear less well these days but our losses are complementary. So whereas she is good on…
A Song at Tea Time
Our tea that day was very special. It was a warm and sunny afternoon and we decided to eat in the garden. When Rohan’s Russian teacher arrived the table was already set with a spread that included home-made biscuits and an apple tart baked for the occasion. Masha, once a teacher of Russian in Novosibirsk, emigrated to France over…
When Henri Came to Stay
One of the great pleasures of being in Brittany is living where there is a pervading sense of silence. There are, of course, some noises such as birds singing in the garden or the sea rumbling in the distance but these don’t intrude. This blog is about the cock-a-doodle-dooing of Henri, a visiting rooster, that…
“I Want to be a Doctor”
Ultimately it would be for Victoire to decide. If she felt that a chat with me about being a doctor might help, her parents and I had pencilled in a possible time and place for us to meet. I was a few minutes late and Victoire’s father, Mathieu, greeted me saying that she was indeed…
Bernard and His Briefcase
Although it might seem harsh, people see their friends as either ‘close’ or ‘very close’. Until recently I could count seven who were ‘very close’, then earlier this year the number fell by one - on 5th March my Brittany friend Bernard died. For several years he had suffered from a series of life-threatening illnesses and before returning home from France…
Flagpoles, Paradigms and Anti-Vaxxers
Rohan’s coffee with a friend was not a success. They had not seen each other for almost a year, but afterwards Rohan came home upset and angry. Their conversation had turned to the pandemic and to one issue in particular - vaccination. Rohan was fully vaccinated months ago while Sylvie has resisted, and in their discussion…
Can’t Hug Me Now, I’m Out Of Reach
On most mornings I wake Rohan with a cup of tea. She drinks sitting up in bed, I sit on a comfy chair and soon there is the inevitable question “.. and how did you sleep?” When dreams occur they take pride of place and after careful retelling we puzzle together over what might have inspired the…
The Joe Collier Blog 