Bob and Heather's Paris Newsletter, Saturday December 29th, 2007

Well, we're feeling guilty because so many of you have written to say you've enjoyed our Paris newsletters, and we haven't done one since last Christmas. So we're sitting down to send our greetings after an eventful year.

I'm not sure how much detail to get into for a whole year of life in Paris and Europe. In addition to everything in and around Paris, we've also been lucky enough to visit Florence, Tuscany and Rome in Italy, Lisbon and Amsterdam, as well as Provins, La Rochelle and the Alps in France, in addition to receiving 6-7 visitors from Canada, having our apartment broken into on Easter Sunday and two trips to Canada separately (Heather to Ottawa and Orlando in July and Bob to Calgary in August). Paris is still fascinating: the "standard" wonderful world of art, architecture, literature and romanticism, as well as the reality of a globalized African, Asian and Latin American city - with all of the problems of an urban conglomeration of 12 million people: racism, strikes, unbelievably self-centred drivers and a new President that seems determined to turn many long-standing things taken for granted by the French on their ears.

Let me start with a brief description of a recent weekend.

A musical outing in Paris

After the death in November of Maurice Bejart, a French choreographer, we watched a TV documentary that included an amazing video of his ballet set to Ravel's Bolero. I was mesmerized. On November 28th, Heather's Ile de France walk group went through the little town of Montfort - L'Amaury, 40 minutes by train west of Paris, where Ravel lived from 1921 until his death in 1937. She was impressed, and so we went back together on Saturday December 22nd, partly inspired by the SNCF's (French National Rail) free weekend rides within Ile de France (the Metropolitan Paris region) as recompense for all the trauma of the October and November transportation strikes.

Since the station is 3 km. from the town and there are only 2-3 buses a day, we hitchhiked and were surprised to be picked up by the very first car. After a pleasant walk around the 16th century cathedral and the town, the middle-ages seat of the Counts and Seigneurs of Montfort, loyal supporters of the Kings and Crusades of France, we had a picnic lunch of local cheese, salami and baguette (with a glass of wine of course) on the castle hill overlooking the town. Then the coup de grace, a tour of Ravel's home, now a museum, Le Belvedere, where we held the pen he composed Bolero with, and, had we played the piano, could have played his piano. The house is full of eccentric bric-a-brac and much as he left it when he died, bringing his life and the influences on his music to light in a way most museums just can't. A quick look on the internet turns up a Guardian article which outlines a sad story of artists' rights and a lawyer's greed, and the fact that none of the £1.5m per year earned from the rights to Bolero alone for the past 30 years is available to maintain the house. At the end of the day, a generous woman from the tourist bureau drove us to the train station because there is only one taxi in the town and no one knew where it was. The icing on the cake - at the end of the high speed walkway across Montparnasse station back in Paris, we were whisked back into the globalized world that is Paris, into the middle of a 9 person Andean busker "orchestra" playing authentic Huaynos right out my memories of Peru in 1968-70, complete with kenas, charangos, drums and Quechua lyrics. In the modern world of tourism as a commodity consumed by millions, we discovered that you can still have an amazing day, enjoying a direct experience of history, music, good food and genuine hospitality, while spending only a few Euros a few kilometres from home.

I was in Calgary for two nieces' weddings at the end of August and beginning of September, and managed to squeeze in two days of hiking with Pam and Boyd in the Rockies. It was nice to spend some time with my family, however briefly. Mom and Dad are comfortable in their one bedroom apartment in a retirement home. My nieces and nephews are gradually acquiring partners, and another generation will likely start to appear in the next few years.

Heather was away two weeks at the end of July, including 4 days in Orlando visiting James and Zaheela and her grand-daughter Alexis. She got to see her second grand-daughter Addison too, but only in an ultra-sound. She was born on October 2nd.

As you can see from the account of our day outing to Montfort - L'Amaury, we take advantage of the many places to see just outside Paris, as well as all the things there are to see and do in Paris itself. With our many visitors this Fall, we discovered new cafes and pubs, galleries and the relaxing, romantic side of Paris.

In October, I took on a contract to lead an evaluation of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, a think-tank producing research and policy alternatives for social movements and networks looking to create a democratic, equitable and environmentally sustainable world. I'm meeting and talking to a lot of very interesting people, and juggling this with a slightly reduced ECA Watch workload.

We had a Christmas turkey drumstick for dinner, our little convection oven won't hold much more, along with squash, mashed potatoes and the cranberry sauce which Heather had the foresight to bring from Ottawa in July. Then we went for a walk to see the lights of the City of Lights. Along Rue Victor Hugo, we saw a €530 cashmere sweater with Che's image in a shop window, not far from a homeless person sleeping over a "warm" sewer grate on Christmas Eve!

Heather had been having a lot of pain in her left shoulder and at the beginning of December had an MRI scan which apparently shows a severed subscrapularis muscle. I say apparently, because the doctors all took off on holidays at the time the results were given to us and we haven't been able to find out what this means exactly. Apparently an operation may not  be successful because of the difficulties of finding both ends and sewing them back together again adequately. No one has been able to tell us whether the physiotherapy sessions she is now taking or surgery will allow her to eventually play tennis again, a big issue for her as you know.  A special targeted cortisone injection at the time of the MRI scan seems to have helped to moderate the pain somewhat. She revisits the surgeon in January.

She continues to enjoy her classes on art and architectural history and has added early french film history to her growing knowledge.

My contract is coming to an end in the next month or two and we are looking to be back in Ottawa at the end of April or in May 2008. I'm still hoping to take a few months of self-financed "sabbatical" to catch up on reading and interview some of the leading thinkers of the "decroissance" movement. Decroissance (degrowth) is the idea of negative growth as a means of coping with the upcoming environmental Armageddon, and I'd like to translate some of their materials to promote more discussion in English. Most serious debate about the theory and practice of a transition away from unsustainable growth seems to be in other languages, while a few authors such as Weissman, Kötke, Gore, Homer-Dixon and others writing in English do a good job of describing the problem, they haven't really gotten far into the radical alternatives we need.

All the best for 2008. We look forward to seeing many of you later in the year.

Bob

Bonjour tout le monde, now it's my turn

Bob has done a good job of summarizing our past year in Paris.

I've decided to edit and add updates to an email I sent to a few friends back in October after I returned from Ottawa.

My Mom is settling in very well at Robertson House and made the second page of their monthly newsletter with a picture of her on one of their outings in the Thousand Islands.  The very next month there was a photo of her on the cover.  

My multi-connection flights to Orlando and back in July were horrendous, but the reward of being with James, Zaheela and Alexis for a few days was worth it.  

Settling back into Paris life is never difficult.   The Paris Plage  opened a branch for the first time in the 19th Arrondissement, on the St. Martin - Ourq Canal (5 minutes from home).  It was great fun and a real boon to the community.  

I am a new grandmother again.  Addison was born on October 2nd and everyone is fine.   Mom's birthday (86) was on November 4th and I talked to her at Peter's and all is well on that front.

We had a number of visitors in August, September and October, staying both here and at a small hotel around the corner.  I love being a tour guide and host and I loved Rome, where Jean Howell and I went for 5 days while Bob was in Canada - but it sure was hot.

 My fall classes have included "Romanesque and Gothic Art and Architecture in France", and "Revolutionary and Napoleonic Paris Art and Architecture 1789-1814".  In addition the Wednesday Ile de France walks group and visits to a lot of new exhibits in museums and galleries keeps me busy.  I volunteer at the Resto du Cour, a Paris food bank, on Tuesday mornings.

In November, I had front row seats at the Paris Masters Tennis tournament courtesy of Daniel Nestor (Canada's No.1 doubles player) and his wife Natasha.  It was a real treat to have lunch in the players lounge and be so up close and personal with the players and the tournament.

As Bob has already mentioned my shoulder, all I can add now is that I will wait and see what to do next.  I will be revisiting the surgeon in early January. Bob continues to do all the heavy carrying (like wine, potatoes, onions, etc.) but I can still lift up my fork and a wine glass. [Update 8 Jan 08: Finally spoke to a doctor willing to tell us what's going on! The severed muscle isn't a recent thing and may have happened as long ago as 3 years. If I'd been playing tennis, it would have become "noticeable" a lot sooner I guess. Anyway, no operation required at least until we're back in Canada and I'm having physiotherapy twice a week now, although that doesn't seem to be helping that much.]

It has been nice just lulling around the last few days knowing that January will be filled up with lots of activities with my continuing education and life in Paris.  I have made a number of friends that I can share these day to day experiences with, and I cherish them dearly.

It is nice that Bob's work has been winding down and he appears more relaxed and is anxious to plan a few vacations before returning to Canada.

See you in 2008 and it's great to know I have family and friends who will help me re-enter Ottawa life.

Bonne année

lv heather