Quelques choses je voyais quand j'allais au Mans*

(Some things I saw when I went to Le Mans)

The house my boy grew up in

Apples left forgotten for the birds (partridges, blue tits, and robins)

Deliciously clean air.

 Caves where the villagers hide their wine (the teacher has been to parties in these- how cool is that?!)

Next door's kitten keen to play (of course I obliged)

That's pretty much it unless you count all the fields. So, so many fields.

*I'm actually very surprised I managed to conjugate that by myself i.e. don't expect much more.

Hiya 2011

Happy new year lovelies! 

I brought in the bells with the teacher and my very best friend on a rooftop in the capital. None of us had a reliable source of time so we watched bemused and confused as fireworks sporadically began to light up different areas of the city. We all fell silent as suddenly a huge golden shower lit up the castle in front of us. 2011 had arrived.

It was stunning. I can't believe how lucky we were that the boys next door were at the party and had access to such a perfect spot to see the spectacles with the ones you love. (Not 80 000 other people like me and my girl did last year. Fighting off horny teenage Italians get old very quickly.)

Photos are by me with my best girl's camera.

Escape

There's a place I go to escape. It's only a few minutes walk away from my parents' house and surrounded by busy suburbs but feels completely cut off from the world.

 

I climb the same tree, which is like an old friend, having shared the emotions of my teenage years and supported me through the trauma of growing up.

 

Most of the time I sit there listening to the birds and the beasties and allow myself the thought that the Big Life Things I want to run away from are actually not that big at all, in the grand scheme of things and that maybe, just maybe, things will end up ok. It's medicinal to be around things that aren't affected by you and the decisions you make.

 

I'd give a lot to be able to take myself there right now.