Patricia Sands

Author

the power of friendship

Everything you could wish for in a bookstore!

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If It’s Friday, It Must Be France …

Heidi’s English Bookshop, located in my home away from home this summer, Antibes, France, has been a mainstay here for 21 years. It can’t claim to be built upon Roman ruins as can many other buildings in the town, but it most definitely can claim to offer the largest selection of English-language books on the French Riviera.

Even so, the property has quite a history. The foundations in the cellar have been traced to medieval times and were part of the original fortifications erected to protect the village during that period. The vaults were used to store munitions and armaments during the Napoleonic Wars of the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. The building itself has been a green grocer’s, a wine store,  as well as an antique shop, and, since 1992, its walls have been lined with hand-built bookshelves that are filled to overflowing with an amazing selection of literature, new and used.

An inventory of 15,000 titles is standard and any English-language book in print can be ordered, accompanied by a smile at all times.

The owner Heidi Lee, a former actress and an author, arrived here 26 years ago via England and Australia and has never looked back. The “book business” is not easy and to keep an independent bookstore running successfully for so long is most admirable. Ably assisted by Suzie Dean and Louise Vaughan-Arbuckle, the shop is warm and welcoming from the moment you enter. The door is always open unless a winter’s mistral is blowing through. Open 364 days a year,  Suzie’s adorable Norwich Terrier, Tiggy,  acts as the “official greeter” when on duty.

Along with the most recent modern fiction, there are large sections for Provencal guide books, Cookery, Craft, New Age, Travel and Language books. I was delighted when Heidi agreed to stock some copies of The Bridge Club in the store and was even more honoured when she included it in a special display of “local authors”. I wish!

Antibes has an illustrious literary history. Jacques Audiberti was born into the artistic community here, and is just one name on a cosmopolitan list of writers and painters which, apart from Picasso and Graham Greene, includes Guy de Maupassant, Jules Verne, Scott Fitzgerald, Nicolas de Staël and Nikos Kazantzakis. The latter wrote Zorba The Greek while he lived in Antibes. On my morning walks I often pass a bench where he liked to relax and which is marked by a plaque. Graham Greene lived here for most of the last 25 years of his life until his death in 1991. (Check my blog next Friday for some buzz on the literary history of Antibes!)

Literature by all of these authors is of course available from Heidi’s English Bookshop. Browsing is encouraged. There are no questions either Heidi, Susan, or Louise can’t answer, even if they have to do some investigation and get back to you.

Heidi’s store is situated in one of the best locations in the old town. Once you make your purchases, simply step out the door to find just the right choice of restaurants, cafés and bars to suit you. Pick a spot, place your order … café, rosé, pastis, un bon vin? Enjoy a good read in an ambiance that is hard to duplicate. (Click here to see a map and other important information about the store’s location.)

Thank you and merci bien to Heidi, Suzie,  & Louise for  the warm welcome to their community. It’s such a pleasure getting to know you.

Where is your favourite bookshop? Is it at home or in some exotic location like Heidi’s? I would love to hear about it and share the info with other readers!

This beats my finger-tapping …

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It’s raining here this morning for about the fifth time in two months so I really can’t complain. In fact, it’s very refreshing.

My problem is this. The always inspiring view I normally lock into when I’m at my trusty Mac writing is completely covered in cloud. As I was sitting here, chin in hand, fingers tapping aimlessly, awaiting some sort of profound or even just kind of … hopefully … um, interesting thought to break through my momentary block, I remembered this clip a friend sent me a while ago.

Time for a break. I poured  myself a big glass of Orangina and watched the video three times. Click here to watch it and prepare to smile. How do they do that? And not laugh? I sure couldn’t, could you?

But then I had a thought … and I’m ready to get back to my writing. Maybe it was the Orangina.

What works for you when you need to take a short break from whatever you are doing?

Take a break …

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Who doesn’t like to laugh, smile, or just feel good? This short video always does it for me. Whether you are a reader or a writer, I hope you get a chuckle from this clever bit. Don’t try to adjust the focus, it’s made the way you see it, but do get up and boogie around if the spirit moves you! Click here and enjoy!

If it’s Friday it must be France …

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Ooops – it is Friday and I haven’t written a post. I’ve written tweets, Facebook messages, e-mails, information and bio as requested by another website, and 3000 words on my manuscript (I was on a roll!) but I haven’t written my Friday post. I made a commitment to write something about my four-month stay in the south of France every Friday and I intend to stick to that. I’m taking a blogging course that the awesome Kristen Lamb is running so I’ve had to make some firm decisions about my blog and better stick to them … or else! She’s made that very clear!

So this Friday, I’ll tell you a bit more about my temporary home in Antibes on the beautiful Cote D’Azur (French Riviera) and also encourage you to follow your dreams and make them come true. There are definitely benefits to getting older and being retired and being able to run away for a few months is one of them. No question, in these tough economic times, it requires saving and planning. But I’m here to tell you it can be done. More about that another time. In the meantime if you have any questions, fire away.

 Antibes-Juan Les Pins, as it is officially known is about half-way between Nice and Cannes. Fast and efficient bus or train service takes us to both and all sorts of beautiful places in between. But for today, it’s just about Antibes. Given the chance I could go on ad nauseum. Don’t worry, I’m going to brief  and show you some of what I see when my camera and I go for our morning walk.

The recorded history of the town goes back 2400 years beginning with the Greeks who were followed by the Romans. There is an impressive collection of artifacts and ruins in the town and at the excellent Musée Archéologique D’Antibes. Some of this history can also be seen here and there throughout the village.

For example, the column in the middle of this fountain dates from Roman times between the first and third century A.D. I think it’s cool that this piece of history is still very much a part of the everyday life of the town. There are cafes in the square all around the fountain and the street is one that leads to the daily provençal market. I realize it doesn’t exactly compare to the Forum in Rome or other places that have extensive ruins but somehow it’s a small detail that adds charm to this and many other small towns throughout the country.

The ancient communal washing area is still a gathering place for special activities.

Water troughs and fountains hundreds of years old continue to be used. Dotted throughout the village, one can refill a water bottle during a stroll on a hot day as the quality of the drinking water is excellent.

There are many ways to enter the old part of Antibes and one of them is through an original gate that is part of the walls that surrounded Antibes 500 years ago. I love this sort of history and the blending of old and new so I hope you find it interesting too. Inside the gate area, you can still see the beam and places where bolts held hinges to activate the drawbridge. The walls were very thick (20 feet) and originally inside housed military battalions. Today there are art galleries inside but the town has been very careful to preserve the fittings and finishes as they were. France really is to be commended for the way they have preserved the past. The cost is HUGE and sometimes communities step in to help. Such is the case with the beautiful Chapelle Saint-Bernardin, erected on the former site of a Roman temple in the 16th Century. Inside there are frescoes dating back to that time but the most beautiful part to me are these carved doors dated 1581. Apparently there had been a terrible plague in the countryside and the villagers gave these doors to the church in thanks for being spared. Every time I walk by them I get a little thrill to think of the history they hold. Magnifique.  (I have no idea why these last few lines are underlined and it’s too late to try and figure it out. I’ve got to go to bed as it is almost midnight here. Got to make my Friday deadline! Bonsoir!)