The family had met up for lunch at a city farm restaurant. While the seating arrangements were being finalised, I found myself staring through a window at two scruffy goats. Suddenly my gaze was distracted by a flash of scarlet through the window to my right. The sun had caught the scarlet of a ribbon tied in…
In search of humble pie
In general, my French lessons follow a fairly standard format. After a session in which we catch up on the French news and on any important student news, our teacher goes round the table asking each of us in turn if we have a presentation to offer. Most of us will have prepared something and,…
Sister in arms
Despite an early start, dawdling had put me at risk of missing my train. Then things got worse when I broke the habit of a lifetime and got involved in a discussion with a street vendor - this one 'selling' ideas. A tall, snappily-dressed, woman stepped out in front of me as I entered the station, pushing a…
Tweet of the day
Just recently two of our clocks have been causing concern. The concern is over the noises they do or don't make; or more honestly, to the noises that I can or can't hear. Sensitive readers may wish to skip the rest of this paragraph which describes a critical but personal component of this saga. For many years my…
Come all ye faithful
Remembering our histories is part of the human condition. In a week or so, on 5th of November to be precise, people all over Britain will light bonfires, let off fireworks and burn effigies. As a nation we will once again commemorate the night in 1605 when the attempt by Guy Fawkes to burn down…
A man of letters
We often eat at a Persian restaurant close by in Richmond. The food is good, the service quick and aspects of the decor very special. On the walls are a series of framed examples of Persian calligraphy. What is extraordinary is how each letter, with its gracefully sweeping lines and elegantly balanced proportions, can be seen…
An artisan and a gentleman
For a year now I have been dreaming of working once again with wood. A twenty-year carpentry gap is quite enough. In June the perfect excuse arrived and it has shaped my summer. My wife's birthday was at the end of the summer, and it was an important one too - her seventieth. In June…
Being there
This is the story of a piano concert that caused a family debate that still rumbles on. The seeds of the debate had been sown earlier at a classical music concert in the fifteenth century chapel in Pont-Croix, a village a few miles from our Brittany home. After the concert, my wife and I talked…
No sex please, we’re gerbils
After a poor night's sleep in an hotel in St Malo it was time to catch the ferry home. I had just settled the bill when the young man behind the counter stood up, pointed to a wine glass full of straws and suggested that I serve myself one. I asked him to repeat this remark, which to…
Double trouble
Both Mr B and Mr F are unusual. Not for what they do, but for what they don't do. I have known them as neighbours for well over fifteen years but whenever I see them walking towards me in the street I know they will walk straight by. They will make no attempt to say…
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