Week 38

Hey guys!
So Sunday has rolled over again and it's still raining so rather than taking a stroll round Regents Park or checking out one of Francois Truffaut's films at the BFI Ginny and I have spent the last hour gazing out of the window troll hunting. It's a game we've just come up with and involves spotting particularly ugly fat women and making up complex scenarios about their lives. Extra points are awarded if they have a walking stick, a gamy looking dog or are sporting a fleecy. We don't expect anyone to emulate this sort of behaviour so won't be offering any advice this week, only that bleach makes cut roses live for longer and lemon juice stops banana slices going brown. That is all



Clever Miss Pinny made this bad boy, copied from the Bright Eyes album I'm Wide Awake It's Morning. More embroidered delights to come in the following weeks.



We realise that this will be the second week in the row where we haven't actually spoken to our featured person, but to be fair this guy is just about the most anti social man about town. Could be because he doesn't speak French but any question is answered with a lewd smile and leaning forward with his massive accordion. You can find him pretty much every day of the week busting out tunes on the Cours Mirabeau in Aix en Provence. Just in case you're around.


A Larum- Johnny Flynn

This debut album, recorded in a barn outside Seattle by London based folk band Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit is filled with butter sweet sounds and story like lyrics. The frontman Mr Johnny Flynn contributes with some guitar, mandolin, violin, organ, accordion and even a bit of trumpet and if that wasn't enough his pretty boy looks have also made him the face of nu-folk since the album's release in 2008. While a lot of the songs have some sort of poetic deeper meaning to them (Hong Kong cemetery for example was written after his father's death), they are pretty ideal for a whimsical drive in the country. Personal favourites are 'The Wrote and the Writ' which Laura Marling also rendered as a pretty neat cover version, 'Tickle Me Pink' and 'Leftovers'.


Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain- Jean Pierre Jeunet

We know you've probably all seen this before and a few of you may even pride yourself on being able to play the soundtrack on piano but some things are always good, like cellotape or pasta, so we thought it deserved a mention. For those of you who haven't seen it yet it's about a young Parisian waitress called Amelie whose loneliness and imagination cause her to devise secret plans to make the people around her happy. Whether it's the widowed concierge, the dumb green grocer or her old neighbour with the brittle bones she has an idea for them all, but while it's all very romantic saving humanity through tiny anonymous actions, it does make you wonder who's going to return her love in the end. I won't spoil it all for you but the whole thing is quite enchanting and might just make you want to stop rushing around pretending you're super busy and important and just enjoy the little things.



Rue des Bouquinistes Obscurs- 2 Rue Boulegon, Aix en Provence

Ginny found this place when she was there earlier this week but she's gone for a cat nap so I'm going to have to blag it. As I understand it's one of the few second hand book shops in Aix and looks like a lot of the stock has been raided from French genteel ladies. The shop operates an exchange system where you can swap your old book for a new one so the stock is constantly changing while also making it handy for travellers to pick up a new tome without wasting money or luggage space. Bookshelves up to the ceiling and a helpful sales assistant make for a good retail experience, not a given thing in a bourgeois town of tiny boutiques and haughty shop keepers. Oh they also stock books in lots of different languages including English so don't be put off if your French is limited to 'j'amerais faire de l'escalade'.

Also...


Probably a little bit sad to get excited about soaps but there you go. Everything about these is perfect: their weight, the packaging, the shape, the smell, the fact that the wrapper can be turned into an origami animal. Favourite has to be the figue one, it makes washing your hands such a ceremony.