En Provence ...

6-7-2008



I returned to Mormoiron after many years and it is was idyllic as I remembered. Red and ochre buildings contrasting yet in harmony with dark green columns of the cypress trees - ringed by hills, with Mont Ventoux, giant of Provence, standing sentinel over all.

Last time I was here it was spring - the cherry blossom was in bloom and Ventoux was capped with snow. This time it is July, the air is warm and scented with that special Provencale mix of lavender, wild thyme and rosemary. Indeed the terrace where I sit to write is fringed with lavender and pink roses, and an apricot tree proudly bears its fruit at one corner.

Today began warm and sunny but a late morning swim was cut a little short as a summer storm rolled in across the mountains. Rain is precious though and to be enjoyed - besides it was a good excuse for lunch and a nap!

From Vaucluse - Fr...

Early evening found me exploring the hillside behind the house. A rocky track leads up and away from the house and affords glorious views over the village and surrounding countryside. Ten minutes later I was at the top of the hill looking across the next valley, cork oak, pine, thyme and rosemary thronged the hillside, butterflies flitted lazily in the evening sunshine ... perfect.

7-7-2008

French Hypermarkets never cease to amaze me - and traumatize me it has to be said. After the first twenty aisles of anything-you-could-ever-want which is not food and definitely not what you came in for, I can feel myself spiraling into a sense of confusion. Can I live without a pool skimmer, a sun shade for the car, two T-shirts for the price of one, a new frying pan, mobile phone, TV, clothes dryer, giant inflatable dolphin - probably - but where is the bread? Three aisles of yoghurt, four aisles of cheese - ah, this is more like it.

13-7-2008

The jewel of the Vaucluse is the fortified riverside city of Avignon, home to the popes during their "Babylonian exile" from 1309 - 77, and now host to one of the great music and theatre festivals of France. The popes' castle at Chateauneuf-du-Pape is now a ruin, but well worth a visit for the stupendous wines it produces. The Cotes-du-Rhone region is justly re-knowned, and its vineyards spread as far northeast as the slopes of Mont Ventoux.

From Vaucluse - Fr...

The Roman legacy in Vaulcuse is also remarkable. It is glimpsed in the great theatre and triumphal arch in Orange, and in the ruins of Vaison-la-Romaine which, unusually, were not built over by successive civilisations. Carpentras, which is about 10miles from Mormoiron, was also a Roman town, but its claim to fame is its possession of France's oldest synagogue. The story of the Jews, who were given papal protection in Vaucluse, is one of many religious histories which can be traced through the region. Another is the Baron of Oppede's brutal crusade against the Vaudois heretics in 1545, when many villages were destroyed.

Near Oppede, at Lacoste, a poppy-lined path leads to the chateau of France's notorious deviant, the Marquis de Sade. A more elevated writer was Petrarch, who lived in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, where the Sorgue river emerges from a mysterious source.

It's Midnight .....

.... what could possibly go wrong?

With The Doctor trapped, alone, powerless and terrified, on the planet Midnight, anything and everything probably! Russell T Davies's Bafta Award-winning time-travelling drama continues on BBC 1 at 7:00pm this evening. Soon, the knocking on the wall begins. Only a woman called Sky seems to know the truth – but as paranoia turns into a witch-hunt, Sky turns the Doctor's greatest strengths against him, and a sacrifice must be made...


And ..... the long awaited title of episode 12 (to be shown on the 28th June) has been revealed.

The Stolen Earth ...

... written by Russell T Davies, will be the twelfth episode in this series of Doctor Who.

Earth's greatest heroes assemble in a time of dire need. But can the Doctor's secret army defeat the might of the new Dalek Empire?

With battles on the streets and in the skies, the Doctor and Donna must brave the Shadow Proclamation to find out the truth. However, a fearsome old enemy waits in the shadows...

(Source BBC - Dr Who - News)

How much do I love Doctor Who .... oh, if only I had all of time and space to begin to tell you!

AMx

Wedding Wishes ....

Well, I know of one lovely couple that are getting married very, very soon. So for them and anyone else who is taking that walk down the aisle ... or maybe pledging their lives to each other on a beach, in a garden, a forest, a castle ... or even on twin bungie cords, who knows ... may the sun shine on your day and the rest of your lives together.

This goes out to all of you:

A Wedding Wish

Now shines the sun on this our pleasant land
And field and hedgerow clothed in green and white,
Now to this perfect setting, hand in hand,
Come two, so dear to us, their troth to plight.

Now gather kith and kin from every part
To witness vows exchanged betwixt these two.
True meeting 'tis of mind and soul and heart.
Their love shall grow as each day dawns anew.

Now wish we all, for you, upon this day,
A life of love, of harmony, of bliss.
To have, to hold, to honour and obey,
A heartfelt promise made, sealed with a kiss.

From all of us who cannot be there too,
Warm wishes, hopes and fondest love to you.

Amararti

AMx

Sisters ...

I am dedicating this short blog entry to my sister. My beautiful, clever, funny, courageous and lovely sister. Fate has dictated that we have spent the last twenty years living in different countries having little to do with each other's lives save for (often belated) birthday and Christmas cards - and a handful of phone calls. Why? Pressures of life, work, etc. distance, apathy - who knows ...

The fact is that she existed in my mind as a 14 or 15 year old (the age she was when I left home). The reality of her as a grown-up contemporary, with a life-time of experiences, hopes, dreams and disappointments that have shaped her into the person she is today, had not really dawned on me.

But wake up calls come - and sadly sometimes in the cruelest form possible, as it was with the death of our mother earlier this year. Once again we found ourselves together but with 20 years worth of separate lives lying between us. She was still my sister but in many ways a stranger and so, I suppose I was to her. But as we spent time together picking over the remains of our parents lives together, of our childhood, we drew closer once again, tears were shed, apologies made and once again we felt like sisters. It was a sad time however ...

Then I went to visit her in Spain and on a beach at midnight, in the middle of the Festival of San Juan, I hugged her, held her close and told her how much I loved her ... that was a beautiful, enlightening and overwhelming moment ...


They say that chance makes us family but choice make us friends ... well, chance may have given me my sister, but now I have re-discovered her I choose her as a beloved friend ...

Cherish your family ...

AMx

Building Castles in Spain ....

It is strange where the mind can take you as you idly sift through your experiences with a view to writing them down. I have just returned to the UK from a trip to Spain - a much needed break, a chance to unwind and catch up with my sister and visit with friends in Gibraltar. Sitting here now, alone, on one of the coldest, wettest, most depressing days of an English summer I have ever known, I long for the warm touch of the Spanish sun on my skin and the embrace of family and friends.

Day dreaming is a great escape of course and I am reminded of a phrase that I came across in French class at grammar school when I was in my teens - "Châteaux en Espagne" - building castles in Spain the equivalent of building castles in the air, day-dreaming about about visionary projects and achieving the unattainable. But more than that, Spain was seen as the region of romance in French literature of the 13th century. The phrase embodied a burning hope for, and desire of lovers to have a place of retreat, a secluded spot, a stronghold - isolated from the prying eyes of the curious and all the irritating forces of the world, where love could be freely expressed and carried to its blissful conclusion.

Spain is indeed a land of dramatic scenery, vibrant colour, passionate people and proud traditions. More of this in coming days - but for now I admit that I have fallen in love with Spain and what I discovered there - yes I have lost my heart and I just hope that someone finds it and keeps it safe until I return ...

Más a venir
AMx

Rocking at Glastonbury ...

No, sadly not me ... but David Hewlett's movie A Dog's Breakfast which will be shown to thousands of festival-goers at Glastonbury 2007 this weekend. Poor David couldn't make it to join in the fun in the mud because of filming for Stargate Atlantis back in Vancouver - but he recorded this outrageous intro for the movie screening- take a look:

Here's hoping everyone enjoys the film and the rain and the mud and has a fantastic time -- me - I am lucky enough to be on holiday in Spain where it is hot, sunny, dry and gorgeous and the wettest thing I have to worry about is where my next glass of wine is coming from!!
For those of you who haven't seen the movie yet or who have and want to watch it again and again, well you can now pre-order A Dog's Breakfast at Amazon.com - woohoo!! It isn't released until September but, hey that's not so far away!

Enjoy the mud at Glastonbury, or turn the music up loud and the sprinklers on and make love not war in your own back yard - it's all good .....
Peace AMx

Friendship ...

Did you know that there is a drink called "Three Stages of Friendship" ? Found this on drinknation.com:

Combine the following in a shot glass:

1 part Jack Daniel's
1 part overproof Rum (151 proof)
1 part white Tequila

it gets a 9/10 rating - mind you, only 2 votes so far - presumably the rest are still passed out in a gutter somewhere .... lol. Mind you - further research turned up a different recipe for friendship on drinkswap.com. They recommend the following - again combined in a shot glass:

1 oz Vodka
1/3 oz Tequila
1/3 oz Bourbon

Mmm - oh well - I guess you can have more that one friend - at any stage.

The most important ingredient (apart from a bottle of Tequila!) would seem to be a good friend to catch you as you fall off the barstool, to pick you up out of the gutter and to support as you stagger home. Maybe those are the three stages of friendship.

Or maybe - after the introductions, the getting to know you stage, the steady growth of regard and trust - a good friend, a close and lasting friend, is someone who will not judge you for your shortcomings, someone who understands you enough to know when to pick you up when you are down and when to leave you where you fell, to lie on your back and contemplate the stars (although they might check you for head injuries and throw a blanket over you before leaving you to your contemplation). Above all a friend is someone who you can trust to be there to take care of you when you need it. After all - you would do the same for them ...

Good friends are few and far between, in a world full of billions of people how many do we truly connect with at anything more than a superficial level? While many would argue that they are happy with their own company the reality is that your own company can be an emotional wasteland. Of course friends can hurt you, and who could hurt you more than someone who knows you inside and out? But to deny yourself friendship because of the risk of getting hurt is really to commit emotional suicide and condemn yourself to your own lonely wasteland.

On that note:

Beneath The Shell

A curtain of hostility I wove
between myself and you to save me pain.
Resolved to live my life bereft of love,
sure that my work would always keep me sane.

I had no need for friends, called no man brother.
Stepped back from friendship well before the start.
No time for sister, family or lover,
Let quest for new discoveries shield my heart.

But I must reassess my self control.
I see now how our lives are intertwined
and I myself must play a leading role
to safeguard all the fragile ties that bind.

From friendship and from love I will not flee.
No man can be an island now I see.

by Amararti

Treasure your friends,
AMx