No.5
When we began the Porte Walks, I understood there were 21. Now there are 39. More Portes have been discovered by studying the maps. I fear there may be even … Continue reading
Sculptresse of Saint-Sulpice
We met Muriel P. Englehart ten years ago, in Florence. We were eating lunch in a small restaurant on a bitterly cold day. A tiny elderly woman was sitting alone … Continue reading
Sunday Van Painters
This is the excuse for Porte Walks No.3 and No.4, and it is clearly what they do in Rue d’Aubervilliers of a Sunday, when those in suburban Meudon would merely … Continue reading
The Shoe Sole
Another thing missing from our lives is the detached shoe sole, severed and broken off from the body of the shoe, and found in the park grass, wasteland, or on … Continue reading
Small things
Some cinemas sell food and drinks, but many do not. In those cinemas which are not selling edibles, I have been interested to read the notice on the screen before … Continue reading
The Wall Phone
The telephone as household object has been taken from our lives. There are no more telephone boxes on the street. All connection is now articulated and monitored by smart-phone, Skype … Continue reading
2. Porte de la Chapelle
Porte de la Chapelle is done by implication in these listings and the corrective entry on the overall Portes. It really reverses the route of the 65 bus which goes … Continue reading
1.Porte de Clignancourt
We started about 10.30 taking the metro out to the Porte, and began walking down Rue Letort, discovering the shop of Edition Tirésias, and their crop of very specific publishing, … Continue reading
Miss Bag
This neighbourhood has traditionally been full of wholesale shops. Many of the shops are now moving out and being replaced by little specialty shops. Maybe the rents are going up. … Continue reading
A thin glass
I continue to look for a tall, thin, probably ever-so-slightly conical glass to drink my alcohol-free beer from. Not long ago the whole area around the bottom of Rue Montmartre … Continue reading
notes from an urban hibernation 