Patricia Sands

Author

France

I have a confession to make …

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Okay, here are my excuses for not having a post organized for today:

1. Our wifi was down for five days.

2. Every time I went to an internet cafe I was distracted by all the cool stuff going on around me. Even in the quietest location it was all just happening … um, maybe my timing was off … happy hour is always happy, isn’t it …

3. I’m packing and organizing to return to Toronto after our four and a half months in Antibes.

4. Our French friends keep organizing “au revoir” moments (Seriously, my hairdresser is even closing her shop so a few of us can share lunch there tomorrow, how sweet is that? It will be my last opportunity to stumble through a social engagement entirely in French with three women whose laughter is contagious and who patiently explain until I get it too.)

5. With the internet unavailable at home the “distraction quotient”, a common writer’s issue, was greatly reduced. I got on a roll with my manuscript and made great headway this past week. A few unexpected characters  found their way into the story and I’ve been having a fine time developing them. I like it when that happens. I feel energized about the story and hopefully will be able to stay on track and complete it by December.

Now that I’ve shared my list of excuses, I hope it explains why this video has nothing to do with anything except entertainment. One of our kids sent it to me a few months ago and I watch it from time to time (did I mention the “distraction quotient”?) because it is just so much fun. It’s been around, so whether you are viewing it for the first time or the umpteenth, enjoy!  Then send it on to someone you know who will smile just as much when they watch it. Tillman rocks!

This week helped remind me that I need to spend less time on internet demands and more time on actual writing. I’ve got to keep Kristen Lamb’s words ringing in my ear!  If you are a writer or a blogger and haven’t taken her awesome blogging and social media online course, click here and sign up now. She puts it all in perspective.

Enjoy these last few days of September!

Gentillesse Gratuité – Free Kindness

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If It’s Friday, It Must Be France …

My friend author Naomi Bulger (don’t miss her Messages In A Bottle blog) is in France and Italy right now on a wonderful holiday with her family. I know they are having an awesome trip making memories that will last a lifetime.  Naomi has such a quirky, creative eye and the ability to discover beauty in the most unusual places, I can’t wait to hear about her adventures and see her photos.

I was delighted when she asked if I would contribute to her blog in her absence! Since it’s Friday and she’s in France and so am I (although we will miss each other by days) and  I always write about France on Friday, here it is!

Last week I wrote on my blog about random acts of kindness and it was awesome to hear from so many of you. Thanks for the e-mails! There’s a lot of good stuff going on out there in this big wide world of ours and your stories are inspiring. Keep spreading them! In France the term translates as Gentillesse Gratuité – Free Kindness. I like that, don’t you?

On November 13, they celebrate La Journée de la Gentillesse in France and the number of people participating each year is growing.

Apparently November 13, 2011, is now officially World Kindness Day,  a day that encourages individuals to overlook boundaries, race and religion. According to modern psychology, altruistic acts increase our own happiness in a profound way.

The mission of The World Kindness Movement, introduced in 1988,  is to inspire individuals towards greater kindness and connect nations to create a kinder world. The WKM encourages individuals of all nations to set up their own kindness movements and join the WKM. Currently, membership includes representation from France as well as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Dubai, England, India, Italy, Japan, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, South Korea, Thailand and the USA.

This post isn’t as much about France as other Fridays and I’ll make it up to you next week, I promise! But I did find this video which has that je ne sais quoi flavour to it.

Why can’t we make every day a kindness day? I mean, wouldn’t we all be a lot better off?  Let’s each start our own personal movement right now and see where it takes us! Let me know how it’s working for you and pass the message on.

If you go to www.giftofkindness.com you can order these cool cards.

Be the change you wish to see! La gentillesse a toujours du bon!

Request Free Cards Via Mail | Send Your Name and Mailing Address to Cards@GiftofKindness.com

Kindness Card (2 sided – back image of card below)

Request Free Cards Via Mail | Send Your Name and Mailing Address to Cards@GiftofKindness.com

Thank You Card (1 sided)

Request Free Cards Via Mail | Send Your Name and Mailing Address to Cards@GiftofKindness.com


Les Amis – ours and Saint-Bernardin’s

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If It’s Friday, It Must Be France …

Mon Dieu! It’s a good thing there’s a time difference so I’ll get this post on my blog on Friday somewhere! We had six very special friends – 5 adults and one absolutely adorable two-month old Alice –  for lunch (le déjeuner) today and it did go on, in a very good way, until well into this afternoon!

This morning I dashed off to the market to pick up a few items and to have a fromage (cheese) consultation with my friend Jacques (who has now asked me to use “tu” with him, which means we’re tight … we’re friends … I’m so pleased ). Did I mention he is the model for one of the main characters in the novel I’m currently writing? But I digress …

I  just want to share this one comment of his with you because it demonstrates something that I love about the French and their traditions. He asked if our friends were French or English. When I said they were French, he replied, “Le Brie, c’est obligatoire!” In other words, when serving cheese (always after the meal, NEVER before in France except for little cocktail chunks of cheese which I’ll explain some other time) to your French friends you  MUST include some Brie. Then he chose a Bleue and a Beaufort to go along with that. I’m having quite an education in the art of cheese.

But I have a confession to make (and I don’t intend to tell my good friend Jacques, I hope he doesn’t read this … he did ask for my website … ok, I might have to confess …). We were having such a good time and our friends brought this amazing dessert and I forgot to serve the cheese. I can’t believe it!  After all that! I know Jacques would be as disappointed as I am. Never mind, some dear friends of ours are arriving tomorrow for a week and I’ll serve it to them. They aren’t French but I know they will enjoy it almost as much!

Speaking of friends, last evening my DH and I had tickets to a Bach violin oncert in the 16thC, La Chapelle De St.-Bernardin in the old town of Antibes (where we are living for just two more weeks … wiping tears so I can continue to type …). After all the amazing jazz we heard in July with the Nice Jazz Festival and then our own Jazz À Juan, this would be quite a change.

I often pop into this small church which is built on the site of Roman ruins, as are many buildings here. It’s on my way to the market and I’m in love with the doors. I like to touch them (you’re allowed to)  and think about the people connected to them. They’re 500 years old and the wood is simply beautiful with a colour so intensely rich and warm they almost feel alive. The date, 1581, is carved into them.

If I don’t go into the church, I look at the doors at the end of the narrow alley leading to them every single time I walk by. Did I mention, I love them? I’ve posted about these doors before but will just remind you of the story. In the 1500’s there was a terrible plague in the area. The survivors arranged for these doors to be carved and donated to the church in thanks. Beautiful.

Part of the wonderful story of this little chapel is that it almost didn’t survive the passing of centuries and the change in society’s approach to religion. Like many churches during the French Revolution (1789-1799), the church was taken over and it’s riches plundered. After that the building fell into disrepair and abandonment. In the late 1970’s there was a fire in the building after which a group of local people founded Les Amis de Saint-Bernardin. Through their dedicated efforts the chapel has been restored to it’s former glory. Every detail was carefully researched and returned to it’s original appearance. They were able to uncover and clean one fresco in such condition that it has been left in it’s original state. It’s very moving to view.

The before and after photos of the work accomplished in this project are incredible. When the doors of the church are open anyone may go in at no cost and in fact there is no place to even leave a donation. It was declared an historical monument in 1985.

The concert, performed by renowned Olivier Charlier, was beautiful and the setting simply intensified the experience. Click here to visit his site and actually hear him playing.

I’m certain Les Amis de Saint-Bernardin feel proud and satisfied by their efforts. We stand in awe. It’s wonderful what friends can do.

Have you worked on any special projects with friends of yours? It would be great to hear your experiences.

Have you forgotten to serve something special to your friends when they were over for a meal? Please leave a comment below and tell me I’m not alone!

Windows, wandering and wondering …

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If it’s Friday, It Must Be France …

One of my favourite buildings in Nice is where the artist Henri Matisse lived for many years beginning in the 1920’s. There is no plaque marking this history  of the building and the space is not open for viewing. It was after a number of years of visiting this fabulous city that I learned about it. But I had always loved the building. It’s right at the end of Cours Saleya, the market street in the old town, and can’t be missed. Most tourists probably have a photo of it in their vacation collection because it literally hollers at you to take it’s picture.

I spent today wandering around Nice with a BFF who is visiting us for a week from the States. If you’ve read my novel, The Bridge Club, she’s the character Cass and we were in Nice together 44 (yikes!) years ago when we were 21. We shared a lot of memories today and laughed way too much! It was so much fun.

She’s a photographer too and we took a lot of window shots as we wandered. You can’t help yourself!

 

The colour combinations of buildings and shutters are striking. Old, restored, peeling, pristine.  Don’t ask how many photos I have of  them … it’s crazy …

These shots fall in the restored and pristine category. I’m saving the old and peeling for another day.

 

 

I often wonder who looks out the windows I photograph.

 

Sometimes I see faces in the windows as my shutter clicks away and I hope they don’t mind.

But as we wandered and reminisced and laughed and photographed and appreciated the beauty around us, we became increasingly aware of a very strong police presence throughout the city.  Unusual.

We speculated as to the cause and realized that Sunday is September 11. Everything that day symbolizes remains strong and clear ten years later and we wondered if that was the reason for the seeming increase in security visibility. We thought about the windows in the Twin Towers. How life can change in a fraction of a second.

We reminded each other that none of the horror or heroism of that day will ever be forgotten. We wondered if the world will ever truly be at peace. Everyone, every day, must work towards that goal.