12-SEP-2008
No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap...
One of the privileges of getting older is allowing oneself to fall asleep at any hour one feels like.
I will not share with you too many intimate details of my private life, so I will not reveal if I still share my nights with anyone.
Nevertheless I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about the aspects of sleep.
Have you ever noticed that people who snore always fall asleep first?
Yesterday I received an email letter from a kind anonymous lady, who seems to enjoy reading my diary.
She obviously loves literature, although she "reads" books on tape, while I'm terribly old fashioned in that regard and still read old paper books.
I send my greetings to this lady, who will probably read this page of my diary as well.
You see one of the advantages of paper books is that they're not too heavy on your belly and if they make you feel sleepy and they slip away from your paws (sorry, I meant to say "hands") and fall down on the floor, they don't risk too much damage....
11-SEP-2008
Itinerant meditations
Sometimes, when I have to go to the village, I prefer to walk, rather than drive my car.
Of course at my age it takes a little bit of effort, but it’s also a good opportunity to meditate.
It’s not so appropriate meditating too deeply when one is driving.
Once I found myself and my car in the back garden of Professor McLivet’s home, while I was supposed to be along the country road...
But walking across the fields is safe for thinking things over.
I consider the action of thinking the highest activity we can practise and I dream utopianly that the world could be run by wise philosophers who put the value of logic and search for knowledge before the importance of showing off and the greed for power.
What I appreciate in the concept of philosophy is that one doesn’t receive the supposed absolute truth as an already packed up item, like the vegetables we buy in supermarket, but one gets the tools to use one’s own brain and to find the direction by themselves, without any guarantee of finding the absolute truth either.
Also in speculation, I think, what is worthy is the trip not the final goal.
In my rural walks nevertheless I try hard to keep a little elegance, I would never go around if I were not properly dressed.
Oh, I have to leave you...I've almost arrived.
08-SEP-2008
My little personal collection of paintings...
I had loaned a picture from my private collection to a French museum and today got it back.
It was painted by one of my grandmother’s friends; I think his name was Henri.
My grandmother, Suzanne Bear, had spent many years in Paris and I remember she used to tell me about “le petit Henri” the small Henri who had asked her to pose for his paintings many times.
They got on very well with each other, since they were more or less the same size, but not only for this reason, of course.
Henri – Granny Suzanne said – was a real gentleman, an aristocrat, a count, I think, but he was very unhappy. He felt very lonely and became an alcoholic.
I like this painting in a very special way. It shows my grandmother Suzanne in a café music-hall in Paris, where she invented a dance, which became very famous at that time, the "Bear Can-Can".
12-JUL-2008
A forgotten Polaroid photo of young Frimpong and his girlfriend Amy - A sad story
Someone asked me why my dear nephew Frimpong Bear hasn't started a family.
Actually he’s not looking for a steady relationship either...
If he were to be asked directly, he surely would answer that his life as a travelling bear is not suitable for any steady family relationship.
I can reveal to you that in reality some years ago when he was still very young, my dear nephew was deeply in love with a girl called Amy and he wanted to marry her immediately after taking his university degree.
At that time Frimpong was a passionate rock musician and, even though I have always preferred more traditional kinds of music, I can assure you that he was really a really skilled guitarist.
He played in a pub with some friends in a group called “Bears’ Dire Straits” and was the group leader.
Amy went to listen to them every night and if she was not there, Frimpong refused to play.
Another member of the group, a certain Mark, had a liking for Amy too, so just to make a - sad - long story shorter one night neither Amy nor Mark came to the pub.
Frimpong played guitar as never before and composed a song called “The Bear Sultan of Swing”, then left the group and started his life as a travelling bear.
Amy had broken his bear heart....
He tore up all his photos of Amy, but I just found one inside a drawer and you can see it here.
So now you know why Frimpong became a travelling bear instead of keeping on his rocker career and why he has never had a steady girlfriend since.
05-SEP-2008
" My dear Violet, sometimes I envy you a little for having neither children, nor husband...
As I wrote in the yesterday page of my diary,
I went to visit my old friend’s daughter.
She’s a bit formal, but it’s because of her life habits,
basically she would be very easy going, if she could.
I cannot reveal the subjects of our private conversation, of course.
I’m very reserved about my friends and acquaintances’ private lives,
even though they are all very open and trust me largely enough to open their hearts to me.
Nevertheless, since someone kindly asked me for that,
I can satisfy your curiosity about the present I had bought for Lizzie.
I offered her a DVD of a good movie called “ The Queen” directed by Stephen Frears (one of my favourite directors) and a little book by Alan Bennett called “The Uncommon Reader”.
By the way, and I beg you to believe it’s not a joke, I have a double copy of this book and I’d be happy to send it as gift to one of my few, but faithful readers.
Let’s consider it as the unpretentious prize for a little quiz.
I mention often some of my past and present friends, several of them were writers. The first person who will write to my personal email
Aunt.VioletBear@gmail.com
mentioning exactly, by their name and surname, at least two of the writers I could count among my personal friends, will receive the promised copy of the book (of course if they give me a postal address).
It will be a real pleasure for this old lady to be sharing a clever,
humorous and wise little book with someone loving fancy and reading.
05-SEP-2008
I went shopping in central London...
After a whole morning of shopping I decided to relax in one of my favourite pubs in Mayfair, Audley.
This immaculate late Victorian pub fits perfectly into classy Mayfair and it’s obviously suitable for a lady of my style.
I had in mind to buy a little present for the person I’m going to visit tomorrow.
I think I have already mentioned to you that she’s one of the daughters of an old friend of mine.
She’s not that young anymore, and my friend, her mother, unluckily passed away a few years ago...
Lizzie has had a life full of responsibilities, so sometimes she is gently envious of my freedom, but this is another story.
Now I have to leave you, because I feel like sipping my glass of Sherry.
My favourite Sherry is Amontillado, maybe it's because of its special colour...
A writer I knew, my old friend Edgar Allan, liked Amontillado and used to tell me:
" My little Violet, it has the same colours of your hair in the shade..."
Actually he wrote a novel called "The Cask of Amontillado".
But this is again another story....
03-SEP-2008
Would you like another cup of tea, Professor McLivet?
Professor George McLivet is one of my neighbours.
He comes over rather often to have a friendly conversation with me and to taste one of my special scones.
If you want to try my recipe, I cannot guarantee that you'll receive a visit of Professor McLivet as well, but you'll have delicious scones for your teatime.
For the dough you need
2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold butter, cut into pieces
1 cup (150 grams) fresh blueberries
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon (5 grams) pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk or cream.
Start by preheating your oven to 220 degrees C and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
Gently fold in the blueberries.
In a small measuring cup combine the cream, beaten egg and vanilla.
Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together.
Do not over mix the dough or the scones will be tough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 16 cm round and about 4 cm thick.
Cut this circle in half, and then cut each half into four pie-shaped wedges (triangles).
Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream or milk.
Bake the scones until nicely browned, about 15 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a scone comes out clean.
"Would you like another cup of tea, Professor McLivet?"
"Yes, please, Mrs. Violet"
"What is the book you have on your bed table in these days, professor McLivet? You always have the most interesting reading for your nights..."
"Thank you, Mrs. Violet, I'm reading again, maybe for the 30th time, "Candide" by Voltaire.
Political satire doesn't age well, but occasionally a diatribe contains enough art and universal mirth to survive long after its timeliness has passed.
Candide is such a book.
And I think that nowadays we can find many points in common with the situation which inspired this ironical book by Voltaire"
" You are so right, my wise friend..."
3-SEP-2008
This is my today recipe!
There is nothing complicated in this recipe.
All you need is a few fresh and genuine ingredients like the ones I picked up in my garden.
Two big eggplants, the long ones rather than the round ones
Two tomatoes or even only one is enough, since I use beefsteak tomatoes, which are rather huge.
Then you need fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, salt and dried minced chillies.
When you have collected all the ingredients you need some time to grill the eggplants, cut in thin slices.
It’s good to grill them, instead of frying, because they tend to absorb too much fat, so if you grill them, they remain lighter and healthier.
I use a stovetop grill/griddle that has ridges on it to make those lovely brown marks.
If you cannot grill them, you can put them in slices in your oven and to just brush their surface with a little, very little of olive oil.
When the eggplants are cooked, you have just to peel the tomatoes* and to cut them in small cubes.
Then put all nicely in a large dish as I show you in the picture and add a generous dose of fresh basil cut with scissors, not minced, then add olive oil, salt and just a little of dried chillies.
It’s perfect for a summer lunch.
*A friend across the pond told me that there was an excellent video on how to peel a tomato on YouTube.
She discovered it when a recipe called for peeling a tomato and she didn't know how to do it!
2-SEP-2008
Nothing better than the vegetables I grow in my kitchen garden...
Some of you might remember I had worked for many years as a governess and housekeeper in Lord Algernon Moncrieff’s service.
I could exercise all my talents as a refined cook and also learn a lot about human nature.
My talents for cooking have even increased during the last years, since I have been free to experiment and create many different recipes, while when I worked at Lord Moncrieff’s Manor I had to please his guests’ tastes.
We all know that too often British tastes for food are not adventurous...just to say it with a euphemism.
I have come to the conclusion that in culinary art, like in all arts; what is really important is a mixture of quality, accuracy and simplicity.
What is too involved, too complicated, too overwhelmed by different ingredients and different tastes can impress a superficial audience, but is never appreciated by experts.
In my way of cooking, I hope, this principle is carefully applied.
Today I'll cook for you a simple but delicious recipe, which is very suitable for one of the last hot days of summer.
You'll see it later, if you'll have the kindness to keep on reading my diary.
By the way, don't hesitate to ask me for suggestions and advice about all what is related to food too.
I’ll be always happy to give you some clues to prepare a tasty and well balanced menu.
I would also like to thank the person who wrote me to congratulate on my home.
It’s neither luxurious nor elegant, but it reflects my personality and I consider it very cosy.
This is what a home should always be like,
a place where all reminds us of who we are and what makes us feel content.
“A house is made of walls and beams;
a home is built with love and dreams.”
1-SEP-2008
Practising my curtsy....
I suppose you are wondering what I’m doing in front of my mirror...
Well, you know I’m a lady of experience and in life I have learnt that it’s good to know a little about everything, even though we don’t mean to constantly use all what we learn.
Experience is like a treasure in a safe which we can take out to spend, little by little, when it’s necessary.
A curtsy is a gesture of respect, made by a lady when she bends her knees at the same time as bowing her head.
It’s not a very common greeting nowadays, but I’ll go to visit one of my old friends’ daughters soon and she’s a bit formal about certain habits....
I know how to curtsy perfectly, of course, but I have not done it for many years, so the problem for me is not to learn how to do it, but to test if my old back and my tired bones can still cope with that.
It would be a bit embarrassing, if after curtsying in an impeccable way I needed the help of a couple of valets to get back on my paws vertically....
Being only formally mannered is not a great quality by itself, but knowing a bit of etiquette and hot to behave politely has never damaged anyone.
On the opposite if we were also more polite in the little details of our daily life, even though nobody can see us, I think life in general would be better for everyone.
Good manners cannot solve the big problems of the world, obviously, but they can be a way to better cope with them.
1-SEP-2008
Of course I can drive!
Of course I can drive, or else how could I go shopping downtown?
I live a bit in an isolated place, you see.
I can assure you that I drive quite well.
Actually I learnt to drive from an Argentinean friend, many years ago...
Ah, he really knew how...
His name was Juan Manuel, but I called him “El Maestro” as many of his friends did.
I think he was the greatest driver of all time.
He had a liking for Mercedes-Benz and once he insisted to offer me one....but this is another story.
I must have still a photo of Juan Manuel somewhere; we often danced tango together as well...but definitely also this one is another story.
Nowadays I don’t drive exactly a Mercedes, but my little car is very handy.
Ah, here it was...
I found the old photo of my driving lessons with Manuel...they were the days!
31-AUG-2008
“Would you like another glass of Sauvignon, my dear friend?”
I’m answering a letter here which was forwarded to me.
A very nice and pleasant lady, whom I feel honoured to have been in touch with, expressed in that letter her melancholy mood due to a decision she had made.
After many years dedicated to her long and gratifying lecturing career, she had just come to the conclusion that it was time to turn the page and retire.
I can understand that every decision of this kind provokes mixed feelings, even though as in this case it was quite motivated.
I refuse to fall into the marsh of rhetoric and the commonplace; it would not be in my nature; so I simply went to my cellar and took a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and two glasses to have a virtual drink with my friend.
The soft orange light of sunset is burning in the sky, but night is still far away.
It’s time for a bit of thoughtful rest.
Being free in life means being responsible and one needs much more courage to accept one’s natural limits with dignity and serenity, rather than to push oneself behind those limits, only to deceive oneself and others.
“We must start to discern what we carry forward with us.”
This is the best starting point to consider every brand new day as the first day of the rest of our life.
Living retrospectively is a waste and constantly carrying too many things which have been part of a former cycle of life is a useless burden which doesn’t allow us to walk freely enough toward what we intend to do and to build up.
“Would you like another glass of Sauvignon, my dear friend?”