SHARING WITH ME

Have you seen Mike Leigh’s film « Mr Turner »? I was invited to the special viewing at the Louvre and Mike Leigh was there to talk about it. As I was about to visit London to see Pierrette and the Turner, I thought the film would give me some insight into his work. 
Frankly it was the man I got to « know ». A grumpy, grouchy person with a strong cockney accent. A man of the street who throughout his life invented « other names » so he could stay incognito. The film is fascinating and I would certainly recommend it, but I didn’t come out liking the man. (Turner: Baptized in May 1775-1851) The exhibition,(Late Turner, "Painting set Free") at the Tate was on the last 15 years of his life. Created between 1835 and his death in 1851.His work has always stirred passions, especially in the later years when many of this paintings were met with derision by the conservative critics of the time. Even to the extent of being described as « slapdash, evidence of...

It goes without saying that I was looking forward to our little escapade with Laurent and Jerome. We were off to the Hague for 48 hours. The trip had been booked months ago. I have to admit that I put the pressure on about taking a return train mid afternoon on the Sunday.  Four years ago when Marielle and I returned from Rotterdam, a late afternoon in November, we were blocked by snow. The wait at the station was horrific and even more so as no one seemed to know what was happening. This time we arrived in blazing sunlight and 16c. Climate change? The first glimpses of the Hague were fascinating. An old city capped by a little Shanghai! There seems to be no relation between the buildings. Some very modern and others not so, yet the relationship between them was harmonious. I couldn't help thinking as we wandered down through the centre of the city to our hotel, that this is a rich environment. Sophisticated shops, the restaurants were chock a block and no one begging in the s...