Peter Mayle

On Sunday night, I finally managed to get in touch with Mr.Mayle who kindly agreed to be interviewed by me two days later - today. Yesterday was a long day... I had less than 24 hours to find his book A Good Year, read it, make sure with the radio station that I could interview him over the phone (something I had never done before... silly but true) and finally find a cinema showing Ridley Scott's adaptation of the book that was released last Friday, and eventually see it... Back at home at 11pm, in bed at 1, questions written for the next day.

9.30 I'm in the studio. Tim, the helpman, is in hurry and I barely understand which buttons I have to push, press, turn. I somehow manage to get Peter Mayle over the phone, pleasant and ready to speak. Of course, I hang up on him while pressing, pushing, turning the buttons. Fortunately he is a comprehensive person...

The interview was sweet and I discovered a very sensitive person remembering his first days in Provence and his wife with emotion. How old is he? I don't know but he talked as if moving to the South of France made him a new man. Modest and well educated, as English people can be, he gave me 30 minutes of his time, and shared with me his passion for Provence, his gratefulness (to whom?) for having succeeded in leading such a quiet and peaceful way of life. Happiness we did not mention, as you cannot joke with it, but I could guess in his words. Thank you Mr. Mayle...

When we hung up, I cannot describe feeling of relief that overwhelmed me. A piece of Lavender might have traveled over the phone and got me drunk. It felt good after those 2 stressful days, to finally get something concrete, a product of my work. It isn't finished though. 30minutes of interview to be turned into a 2min30 package... How silly!

My Veil, Your imbroglio

It reminds the French of good old times where the government decided girls were not to go to school with material covering their face. We talked about it for weeks and suddenly... the story died and evrything became normal.

The veil ban was one of the top debates in Britain last week. It is now moving to extremism.

What if a part of the British media, not scared that the public gets confused between those two COMPLETELY different issues, turn out to be a group of narrow-minded, fake intellectuals and journalists. Not diplomatic. Racism risen in Britain... I won't be surprised if that's where we are going.

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6053992.stm]

Friendship

Yesterday, G. said that when she starts to like someone, she begins to feel more and more insecure.

Mother Bar, Old Street, London.

Symbols and broken objects

For more clarity and a better understanding of this blog project...

D'après l'éthymologie grecque le symbole, sumbolon, était constitué des deux morceaux d'un objet brisé, de sorte que leur réunion, par un assemblage parfait, constituait une preuve de leur origine commune et donc un sens de reconnaissance très sûr.

According to Greek ethymology, symbol, sumbolon, was made of two pieces of a broken object and their jointure, like a perfect reunion, was a proof of their common origins therefore an obvious sign of recognition.

Here is a blog made of all those little representations that make life so full of meanings: mine, yours, ours... To avoid misunderstandings.

Este blog es para hablar sin mentir, para que desaparezcan las confusiones y los malentendidos.

Blog, Internet, Outernet, Journalism, SUMBOLON

Yesterday, he told us journalism was soon going to be about outernet. No interface. He said "have a blog". He meant "belong to that new generation of journalists" who will be judged through the number of hits on their blogs. In my course, people are from Australia, China, Taiwan, India, Vietnam, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, Italy, Spain, France, Brazil, USA, South Africa and Nigeria. Before coming to London to do this course, most of them were journalists already. Some of them in a country where you can't simply write what you think. And he told us, show, write, go beyond yourselves. Use internet, use youtube and be advertised. It was all about presentation. No substance. It wasn't "you have the choice to" but "you have to.. or you'll be left out". As the Rital says, "he's just being provocative".

Yesterday night, we all went out to listen to Matan's guitar going loca. It was perfectly beautiful. Substance. That was where we, journalists, ought to go. Go get the essence of...L*I*F*E ?

So new born blog will be about that rich year I'm gonna spend here in London. I will follow his advice, I will have a (new) blog to be part of the alternative world, life, spirit... whatever, what the hell, just normal!

Sumbolon.