Concert in Nottingham

I had a small recital at home. I had invted quite a few friends but at the end we were only 5 including my teacher (who was playing the piano) and her husband (who was turning the pages). Afterwards we had a nice conversation around tea, coffee and Greta's cakes.
Sorry I forgot to ask anybody to take pictures !

A Single Man by Tom Ford

Certainly quite a moving film about beeing a mature single gay man in the 60's in L.A. For more info see :http://www.broadway.org.uk/film_programme.php

Between the assassinations by Aravind Adiga

Aravind Adiga won the 2008 Man Booker prize for his 1st novel "The White Tiger". This 2d book is set in an imaginary city of India. It is composed around several characters who are all in quite different circumstances. And it is very interesting and fascinating in its own way. Great stuff.

Journal Mood

I came across tis ad : http://community.vivastreet.co.uk/charity+nottingham-ng1/male-volunteers-needed-research/21148234 ; and decides to be part of this research. So I have started to write down every day a "journal mood".

Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger

We heard quite a lot those days about J. D. Salinger. On Radio 4 some critics were saying that he didn't really wrote anything worth of since The Catcher in the Rye.
On my way to Montpellier last Monday I was short of reading so I rushed in a book shop at London St Pancras. I got Franny and Zooey. Two separate stories but with Franny in both. I think it's a remarkable book. The writing is astonishing and the characters are larger than life.

Orléans, Place du Chatelet

Orléans, Place de la Loire

Orléans, café-restaurant barge "L'Inexplosible"

Orléans, Cathédrale from Pont George V ("Le Vieux Pont")

Akvavit : Danish Restaurant in Nice

I forgot to mention where we had lunch in Nice. It was at Akvavit a Danish restaurant. See : http://rivierapebbles.com/cuisine_akvavit.php . Once a year the chef goes to cook for the Danish Queen on her yatch.

G's blanket. Thanks to : C. for the coaching and J. for the sewing.

Half Term : going round

Being half term holiday in England it's a good excuse to be off for a week. I arrived Monday night in Montpellier and stopped there just long enough to have a look at the mail, have a piano lesson, arrange the proxy vote for the 1st round of the Elections Régionales on 14th March and spend an evening with a friend. Then off again to go to visit my friend P. in Antibes.
The weather forecast was pretty bad for yesterday so we had decided to go to see a film in Nice. It turned out that it was an exceptionaly sunny and mild day - they had a very cold and wet winter so far - and as it happened we missed the film because of communication issues. We went to see the Wim Delvoye's exhibition (see : http://images.google.com/images?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&q=wim+delvoye&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=mUR-S4erB82TjAf8ycXMDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCEQsAQwAw) at the MOMAC. Afterwards we had lengthy discussions about his stuffed tattooed pigs.

Nice : Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain (2)

Nice : Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain (1)

Nice : Place Garibaldi

Nice : Av Jean Médecin

Theater again

Back in Nottingham on Saturday I went to see an other play at the Playhouse : Forever Young. See : http://www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/index.cfm/page/events.details.cfm/id/552/navid/3/parentid/39. Well ! It had been a while I hadn't laugh so hard at the theater ! Very smart play with great actors.

Day out in York

We had a nice walk on the City Walls and then we had an early diner at the French Restaurant "Le Rustique" (see : http://www.rustique-york.com/). I do recommend it. And then we went to the Theater Royal to see a play called Men on the Road. A comedy about the coach trips. Three coach drivers tell the stories of their journeys. And they play the senior tourists as well.Very funny and in colloquial yorkshire.
It reminded me when I went on such holidays on the English Riviera and in Scotland.

York (2)

York (1)

West Yorkshire : Wakefield

I went to visit E & J who I met in Montpellier through French Help Services. They live in a small city 9 miles off Leeds.

Wakefield, St John

Wakefield, Cathedral

Wakefield, Grammar School

Nottingham, Big Wheel on Old Market Square

Lying on the Couch by Irvin D. Yalom

How often can we get into psychoanalysts' minds ? This book - far from boring - follows the stories of several psychoanalysts and their patients. Really good.

Brasserie Moulin d'Or used to be a "bonneterie"

See : http://wikitravel.org/en/Lille

Lille : café-brasserie le Moulin d'Or

Nottingham Playhouse (2)

Nottingham Playhouse (1)

National Grid and Eastenders

Simon is paid to watch Eastenders at the National Grid to make sure everybody across Britain can get some comfort after each episode of the long running soap opera. Have a look at the full story : http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/people/teatimebritain.shtml
I can just imagine what's happening in households right at the end of this TV program :
"Oh dear ! Oh well, let's put the kettle on."

Precious by Lee Daniels (USA)

It's a very moving film, well done and with good acting. Precious is a 16 year African-American girl in Harlem who has been raped and made pregnant for the 2d time by her father. She got the opportunity to change her life and she grasps it.

CRB check for the Alzheimer Society

CRB stands for " Criminal Records Bureau". It is requested by most NGOs or employers if you are going to get involved with children or vulnerable adults. Eventually it will come into law. It takes 4 weeks to get it.

G. is born !

Great News : my brother & his partner had a baby girl last night. G. (this is not actually only for confidentiality, the parents have not made up their mind up yet but it will be a G's name). She weights 2.7 kgs (5.4 lb). I bought a suitcase today and it said "only 2.5 kgs" ! Anyway everybody is fine, the mother will go back home on Wednesday.
I'm going to France as planned on Thursday until Monday. Smart girl ! She arrived a week ahead so I would be able to see her sooner than later !