Author Archives: Scribe Doll
A Necklace of Words
1. Sfumatura (Italian): a shade, a nuance, but I love the sound of the word fumo (smoke) that forms it. A graduation in colour that’s as subtle as smoke; its very sound evokes a swirl of gossamer. Close your eyes … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends, Uncategorized
Tagged katherine gregor, languages, scribe doll, words
15 Comments
I Want to Live Among People with Salt
Grey outside; on my improvised worktop, red, green, white and gold. Murky, rainy, chilly, gloomy. An early autumn. But not with the wistful charm of Johnny Mercer’s lyrics. Not like the entrance of a Jerry Herman heroine, who swoops down … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends
Tagged Cooking, katherine gregor, San Marzano tomatoes, scribe doll
4 Comments
Last Night of the Proms
I caught the end of the Last Night of the Proms on television last night. The Royal Albert Hall was once again filled with people, many wearing blue berets with yellow European Union stars, but most waving small Union Jacks … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged katherine gregor, Last night of the proms, scribe doll, writing
9 Comments
The High-Brow Author and the Best-Selling Writer*
I head straight for the bar as soon as we come in. “Buona sera,” I say to the barman: hair slicked back, not one crease in his black cotton shirt. I tell him I very much hope he’ll be able … Continue reading
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6 Comments
A Book Review by me for the European Literature Network: Teffi, ‘Other Worlds’
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2 Comments
Learning about Mink
There was a black-and-white photograph of Anna Sergeyevna* in Spanish dress, standing on one of the many cluttered, dusty surfaces in her Cimiez flat. It stood out amid numerous pictures of family members scattered around the world and assorted knick-knacks … Continue reading
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Searching for LouLou
I’ve always prided myself on not being influenced by commercials. As a girl, I made many of my own clothes, summer dresses and skirts especially, and would tweak the model, so it would be slightly different from the pictures in … Continue reading
My Work Space
I spend my days at a 60 x 60 cm table with a laminated beech surface and folding steel legs. It’s an exam desk, really, the kind I sat my school exams at, with a groove for pens. I couldn’t … Continue reading
After the Solstice
A sound. I become aware of a sound. It finds its way to me through the whirring of my laptop, the hissing of the electrical devices, the faint but constant buzzing of wattage adaptors in the ceiling, the dull, oppressive … Continue reading
Brownie & Sentinel
“It’s like when you’re happy that two people you really like get together,” H. announced, smiling, after witnessing Brownie and Sentinel engaged in an intimate act on our kitchen balcony. I understand it was a blink-and-you-miss-it, straight-to-the-point performance, but long … Continue reading
