30.12.01

Merde. Did not get my orange-chocolate muffin at the Victoria Sainsbury's.
In London in the middle of pre-new year's eve day tornado. Camden Town was busy as hell. I fled to Harrods to spend my christmas present from my parents. Harrods was a) busy as hell and b) closed. I fled (again) to Leicester Square, wich was a) windy and cold and b) busy as hell. I hurried to the National Gallery and found it a) busy as hell and b) big - too big even for me. So I had a look at Van Gogh' Sunflowers, Monet' Water-lilies, got my mind blown up by the middle-age paintings (it's all about colours man) but couldn't stand any longer the mad crowd in there and ended up in the internet cafe on the Strand. London during the festive season? Is there any place peaceful in this world?

But no matter pretending about it all : I really badly like it and wouldn't want to be anywhere else (exept home...)

Christmas....Christmas was both bad and good. Christmas Eve was a terrible evening, quite sad, spent at Loli's house in Oxford. At least we were 10 people gathering their sadness and their champagne. Then on Christmas Day - after a day at work that I would really much like to forget - I had a family dinner at my place, wich was nice and remind me, in a good way, of home.

I would presently kill for an orange-chocolate muffin from the Sainsbury's. To satisfy this irrepresible desire, go the the Sainsbury's Store Locator!

New Year's Eve will be joyfully spent at the Monarch in Camden Town. Just hope that Karine ( my dear other-quebecer-in-Britain), this goth-cannibal-killer-devoted-to-Eric-Lapointe will like this indie venue. Happy New Year to everyone! Felice Annon Nuevo! Bonne Annee!

21.12.01

Yesterday, finally, after almost three years of [im]patient waiting, The Lord Of The Rings!

I considered the beginning with mixed feelings; the teletubbies-like hobbits in their teletubbies-land The Shire, the first book resumed to 30 minuts in the movie, the skipping of the Old Forest (though I won't complain about the disapeareance of Tom Bombadil, who I've always considered pretty annoying) and the Barrow-Downs...After that, the movie slipped in great and well-done entertainment : the Orcs, Isengard, Moria as the most impressive part of it all, the balrog, the Elves (somehow a bit too much new-age-gardener...but still great) and Aragorn, and Gandalf, and Gimli...Am I getting too much excited? Gandalf was the best acted (but it is also the best role...hum) but Aragorn deserves respect as well, mostly with that last fight with the Uruk-Hai...I went out of the movie with altogether bad and good impressions, but I think that I finally like this movie...anyway, that does not change anything at all ....

Today was a peaceful day : traditionnally grey and cold in good old english fashion. I packed some food, put a couple of shirts on and went on walking in the hills between Wheatley and Oxford, what I have not done since the last two months. As usual, I got quite lost, met a lot of people walking their dogs, a strange small black animal (are there any bears in Britain??....) two bike riders who almost crashed in me while going down Shotover Hill and finally I ended dashing on the Ringroad between Cowley and Headington. Great. I walked to Oxford to finish it all properly.

A nice story about these hills where I passed the day : once upon a time, centuries ago, an Oxfordian was walking there when he met a wild boar. Having nothing else at hand exept an Aristote book, he apparently killed the beast with it and brought it back to his college for supper. Never underestimate the power of philosophy.

17.12.01

The Christmas Oratorio in 30 minuts - for the moment, I'm doing time in the internet cafe on High Street. I finally got a ticket for The Lord of the Rings, but only on thursday afternoon, since everything for wednesday has been sold out for a week. It's been a long time since I have been so excited about something. I must even admit that I expect this movie more than, eg my depart for Britain in last september...that's somekind of weird...

15.12.01

Christmas melancoly - Part II

My mum has sent me a christmas CD. I put it in my CD player yesterday, and cried during three songs, then decided to do something else. What a shame. First time since I have left that I cried.

The Stereolab concert is cancelled tonight : I decided to go instead to see the Bach Christmas Oratorio in the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford - a good reason to finally enter this building. hummm...I'm about to miss my bus!!

13.12.01

Hum....feeling awright. It's just that christmas time is coming - is already there, I should say. I am pretty excited - it's fuckin CHRISTMAS guys! - but also, a bit, well, sad and melancolic and happy and sad and delightened and....

Christmas in itself, I do not care to much, but I know I will miss the gathering....the family dinners, the laughs, the songs...

C.D.U.T.D-D. {Count Down Until The D-Day}: 6

This week concert : Stereolab on Saturday night at the Oxford Zodiac - quite the only good venue in Oxford, actually, considering this sleepy-dreaming spires city...

4.12.01

Let's start where we last finished last week : the Pulp concert. I got a ticket. I got inside the Brixton Academy. I got the first row - how lucky I am sometimes...It was just like as if I had come back to 16, when seeing Pulp live would probably have killed with delightment. Jarvis is such a performer, the music was so good, the atmosphere so bad! (this is it : I now speak like a 16 years-old). Though I thought their last album so-so, the new songs played live sounded pretty good, and the old ones sounded, well, great. Ican't think of anything else to describe it.

So until now, I've seen the two concerts that I intended to see in Britain (being Hefner and Pulp). What's next?