Moments in Love

Today I should be going to have my 'submission package' critiqued, by my critique group but because it's THAT day of the year, the bubba and I will be supping on jacket potatoes and beans. It's not just because the Frog is on a business trip this year that I'm a tad moany, it's that actually I'm just not a big fan of Valentine's Day. I've never bought it. As a teenager it was a popularity contest and the one and only time I got an anonymous card, I knew who it was from and my feelings were not reciprocal. To me it is yet another excuse to give money to hallmark and chocolate companies, but is that love? Not in my book.

But you know, that doesn't stop me from being a big soppy romantic. I believe in those special moments.  

Gustav Klimt's The Kiss - Those snuggly moments on the sofa on friday night, as you doze in each other's arms while there is some tosh on TV. 

Art of Noise Moments in love - There's just something about that moment when you take out a record and hold it carefully, ensuring no fingerprints are transferred onto the vinyl. Then you slip it onto the turntable. I had a 12" of Moments in Love and this amazing record player that would clunk and then brrrbuzzclunkchunk to the other side of the record. You could stick it on repeat and listen for hours and hours and hours. 

(I never ever saw the video, but I have to say my teenage fantasies did not include tortoises)

Alain de Botton On Love - I don't agree with all of it, but the part on falling in love is classic. 

Pablo Neruda Twenty love poems and a song of despair - erotic love poetry, not really to be read on the bus. 

And coming in at number one for me Julian Barnes A History of the World in 10 1/2 chapters. The half chapter is called Parenthesis. I once wrote a poem about it. And here are some quotes from Parenthesis to whet your appetite: 

[I love you] We must keep these words in their box behind glass. And when we take them out we must be careful with them.  pg. 277

And so it is with love. We must believe in it, or we're lost...If we don't then we merely surrender to the history of the world and someone else's truth. pg 296 

A Memory: Outside

A Memory: Inside

A Memory: Perspective

Every year the Grand Palais is given over to an artist whose task is to fill it. The yearly exhibition goes under the name of Monumenta and has been home to artists such as Anselm Keifer, Richard Serra and Christian Boltanski. This year was the turn of British/Indian Artist Anish Kapoor. I was a bit worried about going as the Frog really didn't get the point of Promenade by Richard Serra and didn't see how I could spend so much time fascinated by slabs of bronze. Well as you can see Leviathan was not a slab of bronze and I loved it so much that the next few week's memories will be made up of pictures of the Leviathan. Hope Anish doesn't mind.