I’m delighted
and really exited to have been asked by Sarah at Mitenska to become part of this
blogging collaboration. Sarah asked what are our precious things? What would we
save from a burning building? It’s really made me think about the things I have
and what I would miss. Perhaps things I see and use every day and yet don’t always
register.
This small postcard sized ink drawing in its
dusty (and cheap) frame is my first item. It sits amongst the toys on our living
room fireplace. It was one of many pictures that sat on the hearth, initially
to cover the horrendous fireplace (we changed that) but we’re now down to two. It’s
an ink drawing street in Monmartre at night with the Sacre Coeur in the
background. I bought this in 1998 when I went to a conference in Paris.
This was a significant trip for me, although
at the time it didn’t feel like it. It was the first time I’d travelled alone.
It was the first time I explored a city alone and entirely able to do as I
pleased. It was the first time I’d had to present and defend my work to a
(pretty big – eek) audience. I walked and walked and walked and walked. Along
the Seine. Through Monmartre. Around La Defense. I went to the Louvre and the
Musee D’Orsay. I ate steak and chips alone in a restaurant served by a surly Parisian
waiter. It wasn’t the romantic trip lots of people have to Paris. It was an international
conference on obesity and my head was full of genetics and the work presented there
was a chapter in my thesis. It was when I felt like a real academic. When I
felt that I was contributing to the world and I wanted to remember this. I
looked at the pictures the artists had on display on the streets, thinking I’d
like to take a little piece of this with me. It took me ages to decide which to
have. Something about this one, drawn and coloured on a piece of brown paper,
spoke to me. Now it reminds me of a time when my work was most important, when
the Rs weren’t even considered and when I was building up to be who I am now.
Joining in with
Sarah at Mitenska
Leanne at Today’s Stuff
Bee at The Linen Cloud
You’ll find their Precious Things there.
