Sophie - Reviens vite et oublie

Of the four international renditions of The Ronettes' "Be my baby" that I've accumulated over the years, this is probably my favourite. Let me know whether you want to hear the German and Spanish versions at some point too!

Un p'tit séjour à Paris (Part Two)

Part Two of our trip includes my top two *free* things to do in Paris. Number one is to pretend you want to eat at the Georges restaurant at the top of the Centre Pompidou. You get to ride the glass-housed escalator on the outside of the building all the way to the top and get (in my humble opinion) the best view over Paris because it actually includes the Eiffel Tower in its vista (see 3rd photo down). Number two is the Bibliothèque Mazarine library, part of the Institut de France on the Left Bank, one of the most prestigious learned societies in the world (see the final photo).























Although it's free, visiting the library does require that you have a very high threshold for feelings of intense shame; photo ID; and two passport photos. In the tradition of French bureaucracy we had to complete a form just to be admitted into the library and then go to a second desk to fill in another form to be assigned a desk to sit at. In order to actually touch one of the thousands of priceless antique tomes which line the walls from floor to ceiling would have probably required another ten forms, an IQ test and a stool sample, so we chose to skip this step.

We were then ushered across the world's squeakiest floor to our desks, where we felt obliged to spend the next 15 minutes pretending we were engaged in very important research. To say we stood out would be a gross understatement - not only we were not wearing beige, we were below 50 years old and clearly foreign. Our case was not helped by the fact we had neglected to bring any real stationery, so we sat - amidst France's most learned intellectuals - writing into our miniature 2-inch pads with pink glitter pens trying our best not to look at each other lest we burst into laughter. We lasted 15 minutes before we had take a rather shameful walk to the admissions desk and inform them we were leaving. Anyhow, it was worth it. The place is AMAZING!

Unfortunately you can't take photos, largely because the place is so silent that the clunk of a camera shutter would probably make everyone's ears bleed. You can get an idea of how breathtaking this library is by taking a look at these photos made available by Wikimedia Commons.

France Gall - Laisse tomber les filles

Sound familiar? April March's English-language cover version was used in the end credits of Death Proof. Here's the original track for you, from 1964 (again!). Hope y'all like it.

Un p'tit séjour à Paris (Part One)

Myself and Kate have daydreamed about embarking on a Parisian adventure ever since we first met, so I could hardly contain my excitement when our Eurostar train began inching forward and I could proudly announce that it was actually happening - WE WERE OFF TO PARIS! Having packed our combined weight in camera film and meticulously compiled handwritten lists of places to visit sorted by theme and area, we were well prepared to explore and photograph as much of Paris as possible in the short time we had there. From "Thom & Kate HQ" in our apartment near the Canal St. Martin, we (metaphorically) pushed figurines around a giant map using one of those big sticks like in old war movies and made it our mission to take in as many photo booths, cute cafés and sweet boutiques as possible. This is the first batch of snaps fresh from the photo lab, hope you like them!

Christine Lebail - Deux jours avec toi

Here's my favourite - yet seemingly little known and under appreciated - track from Christine Lebail for you, from 1964. «Deux jours avec toi» is a sweet and catchy ballad of teenage romance, though she's only moderately sweet on her boy - she'd quite fancy spending two days with him but makes it clear that two months «serait la barbe», in other words a bit of a drag! Hope you enjoy it!

Parmi les fleurs au fond du jardin

Bristol University's botanical gardens have been on our to-do list for a little while and so when we woke up to a suitably morning a few weeks ago, we packed a tupperware of croissants and cake and decided to go for a little wander. As our visit fell within the university vacation period the adjacent halls of residence were devoid of any student bustle - so we not only got to enjoy the gardens in a setting of relative silence, we also ad the place to ourselves - free to snap away to our hearts' content.

Jocelyne - La la la la la

Here's a real foot-stomper from 1964 for you, courtesy of Jocelyne. Have a great weekend!

Chaque pomme est une fleur qui a connu l'amour

A wonderful summer's day spent at Garson's Farm, picking fruit and getting lost amongst the sunflowers.

Assis près des vieux et tressant l'osier, couchés au soleil buvant la lumière

Just a few snaps of an afternoon spent picnicking and playing pétanque with Kate and my family at Barbury Castle in Wiltshire.