Tag Archives: writing
Season Lag
What kind of person says she misses the Norwich winter when she lives in Nice? Yes, Nice. That place on the Côte d’Azur, with the perennially cyan sky and soft, golden haze that sets the ochre and terracotta buildings aglow … Continue reading
Twelfth Night
After the formal New Year celebrations are over, the Old Year creeps back into our flat. There are loose ends to tie up, plans to draw up with the New Year, work to do for a smooth handover, without all … Continue reading
Postcards from Nice: the Feast Day of the Patron Saint
(Sunday 6th October 2024) A few people have already gathered outside the mairie in the old town. The statue of Saint Réparate stands ready in a white boat filled with lilies and red roses, eyes downcast, holding a silver olive … Continue reading
Saint George’s Day @ Chocolate Notes
(23 April 2024) One of the local pubs is displaying white flags with the red cross of Saint George. I suddenly feel the need to be in an international environment and can’t think of a better place than Chocolate Notes, … Continue reading
FEASTS & FANCIES @ CHOCOLATE NOTES
Of Writers and Rice I push open the door of Chocolate Notes and do a double take. Two well-known, award-winning writers – one of whom I’ve met before – are sitting at one of the large corner tables. After a moment … Continue reading
Feasts & Fancies: New Year’s Eve @ Chocolate Notes
The weather is true to this time of year in Norwich: undecided between rain and tentative sunshine, and temperature with mood swings. A gust of warmth and coffee greets me as I open the glass door to Chocolate Notes. And … Continue reading
FEASTS & FANCIES @ CHOCOLATE NOTES: EARLY WINTER TEA LOAF
I have always felt comfortable writing in cafés. I have never been able to focus on any kind of work in libraries, not even when I was a student. I find something distracting about the silence, perhaps because libraries aren’t … Continue reading
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
FEASTS & FANCIES: HALLOWE’EN @ CHOCOLATE NOTES
At Chocolate Notes, there are no polystyrene cobwebs on the glass front door, no hairy spiders climbing the walls, no plastic bats swinging from the ceiling and no pumpkins with macabre grimaces. Unlike in many other shops and cafés, the … Continue reading
FEASTS & FANCIES: BAROQUE PORRIDGE at CHOCOLATE NOTES
My body and mind are having some difficulty adjusting to Norwich after a few days in the south-east of France. My muscles stiffen against the North Sea wind blowing ruthlessly across the Fens and Broads, my skin feels uncomfortably cold … Continue reading