Category Archives: Odds & Ends
A Niçard Scrapbook: The Blue, Blue Sea.
It was one thing I was determined to do in Nice, even more than to see the Dufy collection at the Musée des Beaux-Arts. For weeks, I pictured myself slipping off my sandals and standing in the sea up to … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends
Tagged blue, côte d'azur, katia gregor, la baie des anges, nice, scribe doll, travel, writing
4 Comments
The Sorrows and Joys of Translating Italian Dialects
When you translate Italian literature you will, more often than not, come across expressions in one of many dialects or vernaculars. It’s the difficulty and – even more – the joy of being a It>En translator. Here is an article I … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends
Tagged Italian dialects, katherine gregor, katia gregor, literary translation, Romanesco
6 Comments
Sinatra and Bennett – soundtracks to a childhood
I was very sad to hear of Tony Bennett’s passing, a couple of weeks ago. The last of the great crooners, I thought. Crosby, Como, Bennett and, of course, Sinatra. I was in Venice when I heard an American tourist … Continue reading
The End of a Blog – and the Beginning of a New One
I started writing this blog, first entitled Londoner’s Musings, then Scribe Doll’s Musings, back in February 2011 because blogs were all the rage, it was Valentine’s Day and I was single with nothing to do, and in order to vent a … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends, Uncategorized
Tagged blog, katherine gregor, katia gregor, scribe doll, writing
11 Comments
Christmas Eve
The treble has sung. Christmas has begun. Once in Royal David’s city… A voice like gold shimmering in the firelight. The light is draining from the sky. The sun has withdrawn without pomp. This is not an evening for … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends
Tagged christmas eve, katherine gregor, katia gregor, magic, scribe doll, writing
6 Comments
The Feast of Saint Catherine
The elderly mother of a close friend sends me nameday good wishes every 25th November, and I thank her for her attentiveness. My mother once told me which Saint Catherine I had been dedicated to at birth, but I have … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends
Tagged katherine gregor, katia gregor, Pinturicchio, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, scribe doll
4 Comments
The Polish Woman on the Bus
The emotional memory of that day is much stronger than the memory of the event’s details. It was 1981 and I was coming home from school on the bus. I was sixteen. Without a word, she presented a card … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends
Tagged Eastern bloc, katherine gregor, Poland, Russian language, scribe doll, writing
8 Comments
Just a Five-Pound Teapot
I bought the teapot in Boots. White with blue and yellow flowers. Back when there was a Boots in Sidney Street. When they still sold a few household goods and stationery. I paid about five pounds for it. I … Continue reading
New Year’s Eve
A tower of books is rising in the corridor, taller, wonkier by the minute, until it comes tumbling down. I scoop the books into several plastic bags. They’re going to Oxfam. Books I no longer like. Books I don’t care … Continue reading
Yuletide
There are things you can’t tell other people – or only just a few people, perhaps: that you love the time of year when nights are long. That you long for the moment, at around four o’clock, when you watch the … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends, Uncategorized
Tagged christmas, katherine gregor, scribe doll, Winter solstice, yuletide
2 Comments
Scribe Doll 