Oxford, Paris, and other things

That's it. I have arrived safely. The fire was impressive to look at from the plane. Luckily the house and the whole district here did not go to flames. Same good old house and pool but ash, a lot of ashes. Forgot how quickly the night comes. No sunset - not in downtown LA pollution and all that. There's light and then it is switched off! At LAX I had some conversation partly in Spanish, partly in French, partly in English with a Portuguese student who is at a liberal arts college called St Thomas. It is there where the fire started apparently, hence the name of Thomas fire. Day 2 drove down to Ojai. Air hot and wind. We didn't stay outdoors for too long! Day 3 started the Stephen King book on writing - definitely better than the horror I was currently reading, though it is good to read crap books too! King, like Truffaut for cinema, thinks it's a good thing. Not sure I'll be able to finish that horrible book though. Bon fromage ici Et Dianne est toujours u

I used to go to work early, and even then, I was not ready. So I would pop in Taylor's on St Giles and get an espresso. Then, I would go to my place – I wish I'd say my favourite place but it's a graveyard and I'm no Goth – under that fig tree, just outside the graveyard, against the small wall. I would enjoy my strong coffee with a cigarette, the taste of each other mingling nicely together and progressively waking me up. And almost every morning, by the dot of 8 am, Mrs Dalloway would appear. I did call her Mrs Dalloway because she would walk fast, as if she'd "get the flowers" herself, like in the begining of that novel by Virginia Woolf. And yes, immanquablement, invariablement, Mrs Dalloway would appear ; a long, tall woman with fair hair, vaguely looking like a prettier Virginia Woolf with a rucksack on her back, wearing a shirt but with sport shoes, à la New Yorkaise. And yes of course, I had to quote an English author, perhaps the most En

вино - как дверь нельзя открывать в Синей Бороде замке в комнате, где вы находитесь моя любовь моя любовь мой Любовная тоска