Tag Archives: scribe doll

Translator or Writer?

I used to write.  A lot. I never set time aside to write but grabbed it as and when I came across it.  At home on a Sunday afternoon, when I had a twenty-minute Tube journey and could get a … Continue reading

Posted in Odds & Ends | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Summer Night in Trastevere

Streets bustling with tourists who walk slowly, looking up, right and left, mouths half open, stopping abruptly to take a photo, holding up the locals, those whose footsteps have a specific destination, who no longer look at the sights because … Continue reading

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Santa Sabina

When we were in Rome, a couple of weeks ago, I insisted we go and see “my favourite church in Rome”.  The first church I ever liked, to which I owe my introduction to, and love for, early sacred music. … Continue reading

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Wine and Politics

We were in something of a celebratory mood, so, being in London for the day, went for lunch at one of our favourite Italian restaurants, in Bloomsbury. “Let’s go there,” I said to H. “Last time we were there, the … Continue reading

Posted in Odds & Ends, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

What Exactly is Your Job?

Last weekend, I had the joy of seeing members of the Norwich Stonemasons‘ Guild perform a Mystery Play outside the doors of the Cathedral.  It was a warm, sunny afternoon, a brief summer interlude before putting our coats, scarves and … Continue reading

Posted in Odds & Ends, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on What Exactly is Your Job?

Adventures with Chicken Soup

My acupuncturist takes a quick look at my tongue. “You’ve got a low blood count,” she says. I smile and roll my eyes, thinking of how my GP had to draw blood and process it for a whole week before … Continue reading

Posted in Odds & Ends, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Luxembourg Wine

In Anglo-Viking-Flemish Norwich, a Londoner and a Roman invited a Venetian for dinner at their home.  The Venetian had some Austrian, Spanish, and Moroccan blood, the Londoner originally came from a Polish-Jewish family, and the Roman was of Armenian-Welsh-Cornish descent.  … Continue reading

Posted in Odds & Ends | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Just a Bit of Fun at the Expense of One English Social Stereotype*

We went to London last week, and stayed in Fulham, where I lived for several very happy years.  For the information of non-Londoners, it’s an area in the South-West of the capital, a twenty-minute Tube ride from the West End … Continue reading

Posted in Half-English Observations | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Books: Challenges, Traumas and Pure Pleasure

I remember a stormy night when I was about eleven.  We were living in Nice.  I don’t remember what prompted me.  I stood on a chair to reach the top shelf of my mother’s bookcase where she kept – along with … Continue reading

Posted in Odds & Ends, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

London Night Sounds

The rumbling of the occasional car, speeding past our house.  A murky grey sound. Snippets of human voices.  A woman’s giggle.  A crimson sound. The arrhythmic clicking of stiletto heels on the pavement.  A copper sound. The roar of the … Continue reading

Posted in Odds & Ends | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments