Thursday, October 22, 2009

Back home

The trip to Cedar was lovely. I listened to P. D. James' INNOCENT BLOOD, one of her few stand-alone novels. It's dynamite. Whenever I read James, I hear whispers of Dickens and Trollope. Also the Bible. What amazes me is her closely observed details of setting, her profound sympathy for unsympathetic characters, and her image-making ability. I think she's just grand.

The talk went well. As I suspected, no actual teens showed up. The average age of my listeners was probably 65. But they were totally game and engaged, and I wanted to have a big old pizza party and sleepover with them when I finished.

I ordered a meat pie at the pub instead of fish and chips. Fish and chips would have been a better call. The waitress warned me that the meat pie was sweet. And I thought that would be fine. But I kinda didn't fancy the clove-i-ness of it all.

Came home to autumn in the Avenues. Let me tell you, people, there is no more beautiful neighborhood in autumn than mine. Not to be rude.

5 comments:

Lisa B. said...

OMG I was just thinking this afternoon, is Ann back? and what did she eat? and what did she listen to on the way there and back? And now, all of my questions are answered.

Every neighborhood is beautiful in the fall, for instance, mine, but I do believe that yours is extra beautiful, frankly.

Amy said...

I miss autumn in the avenues (sounds like a Hallmark movie doesn't it?) it is one of my favorite things.

Also, I think sleepovers with 65 year olds are the best kind.

SWILUA said...

when I lived in the avenues autumn would totally stress me out. it was just so. beautiful. I always felt like I should be doing more... or something...

Ashley said...

I was just at my grandma's house in the avenues yesterday and I totally agree. Autumn in the avenues is the best.

Bob the Woodworker said...

I have to confess that I think autumn in our lovely village in New York may have been prettier, though it was so wooded that it was, perhaps, too dark. It was more of a rural, wooded lovely, where autumn in the Avenues is more of an urban, homey lovely. I'll take either; in fact, sometimes I think that a lovely autumn (maybe with a lovely spring thrown in) is almost enough to make up for the deficiencies in summer and winter.