Sharon Kendrick's Blog, page 21

ON A HIGH IN FRANCE

7 JULY 2010I'd been weekending in Paris - a wild and wonderful time which involved partying in a garage, getting lost while out jogging by the Seine and having to be rescued by a kindly woman who took me into her home (merci, Laurence!) and visiting Normandy to explore an exquisite Cathedral in Evreux.
I didn't just visit it - but climbed up scaffolding, slithered...

ON A HIGH IN PARIS

Sometimes things happen which soar above even the boundless realms of the imagination - and Monday was one such day.
I had been weekending in Paris - a wild and wonderful time which involved partying in a garage, getting lost while out jogging by the Seine and having to be rescued by a kindly woman who took me into her home so that I could use the phone (merci, Laurence!) and visiting Normandy to explore an exquisite Cathedral in Evreux.
I didn't just visit it - but climbed scaffolding...

PASSION

After the appalling disappointment of England's performance in the World Cup against "arch-rivals Germany" (as the tabloids can't resist saying) - there is only one sporting hope which keeps our hearts aflame with hope. And here he is:

Yes, it's ANDY MURRAY (and looking like a little bit of a heart-throb!). Go Andy!Sport arouses such strong and frustrating passion....maybe I should just channel it all into my current hero, who is a cold-hearted Russian oligarch.Who are you rooting for at...

SHAMELESSLY PARTISAN

National excitement was in the air today as England prepared for their crucial match against Slovenia. Pubs were packed. Some skivved off work. Football-related discussions could be overheard in shops among the most unlikely of people. Everyone had an opinion. Mostly it went along the lines of "Rooney-is-rubbish-and-why-doesn't-Capello-play-Joe-Cole?"

I'd even decorated my car (and that's my Dad in the background!).
Well, it was a tense and nail-biting ninety-three minutes and Slovenia...

STAR-SPRINKLED

To historic Syon Park last night to see Carmen, performed by an enchanting opera company called Diva . Diva is a chamber opera - their only musical accompaniment is a grand piano, played exquisitely by Anna Tilbrook. With passionate voices and raw emotion soaring up to the glass ceiling - opera doesn't get much better than this.


Here I am, feeling inspired by the whirling shawls of Carmen, Frasquita and Mercedes!
And here is the incredible conservatory, where the opera is held and where...

A PLAY UPON WORDS

It's been a week of culture so far.On Tuesday, I went to Winchester's own magnificent little theatre to see Harold Pinter's The Caretaker . Not the cheeriest play in the world, true - but a "classic" nonetheless. If only his wife hadn't penned those dreary diaries about her life with the late playwright and turned him into tabloid fodder...
Here I am, posing beside one of the city's many dappled green waterways, on my way to eat pizza before curtain-up.

The following day, I headed up West (as...

HELPING THE PLANET

Italians (though playing a surprisingly under-achieving game of football against Paraguay in the World Cup last night) are model citizens when it comes to preserving the earth's resources. They eat locally-produced food (much of it grown themselves whenever possible) and they don't tolerate waste.
Here I am in the exquisite town of Lucca - refilling my water bottle from a fountain. Cool, clean water - which is free. No need for hot tourists or workers to buy yet another un-recyclable...

THEY SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY....

Well, actually - mine was on Thursday and I had a wonderful day.Here I am, eating oysters (yum!)

at one of my favourite restaurants which is in Tate Britain. If you look closely you'll be able to see the wonderful Rex Whistler murals which make the room feel like such an Arcadian paradise. I had lunch with an eminent historian (with whom I share a birthday) and a newly ennobled Lord, who has a keen interest in animal welfare.
Later, I was the recipient of this magnificent bouquet - which...

STANDS THE CLOCK....

Visiting Chester recently, I was enchanted by the intricate clock which looks down on this pretty city.



It probably sounds geeky, but I love public clocks. Traditionally a meeting place, their significance is huge. I wonder what human intrigue they have witnessed. I think about the chiming away of the years and the importance of seizing the moment. And of course, I love the poem which has (possibly) the world's most famous line about clocks - the heartbreakingly beautiful poem by Rupert ...

MORE IMAGES OF FRANCE

This is the kind of image I like to keep in my memory-bank.....sitting in a flower-filled restaurant in Aix en Provence, and just about to eat a delicious goat's cheese salad.



And this was the scene which greeted me on the morning of my (delayed!) departure.



The French on strike (a national strike) because they were objecting to plans to raise the retirement age because of the national debt.

Someone carried a placard declaring their protest to be "Like the Greeks". Hmm.In an ideal world, I...