Richmond - first day in England

Today I am in Richmond, a picturesque part of southeast London, former home to the King, situated on the lovely Thames River, and this morning is saturated with summer sun. 

My very dear friend Anna lives here and has many times offered me hospitality which I have gratefully accpted. She lives alone with her elderly cat Tom, and works part-time for an esteemed London composer, who like many of his ilk, boasts an eccentric lifestyle. Anna, although a former member of the jet-setting Rolling Stones' entourage, (Mick Jagger is her only son's step-father), is quite conservative these days, more by necessity, in this hugely expensive city of London. However she manages to survive well and is a very kind hostess to her many and varied friends, of whom I am a but tiny insignificant part. 

We met initially through the French side of the family, her father being the uncle of another old Parisian friend of mine Jean Louis, who remains a staunch friend in spite of having become a châtelain in Normandy, that is, he and his partner own an enormous 17th Century castle and survive by renting it out. Their lifestyle, is needless to say, a bit out of my price range, but our friendship remains there at a distance, fuelled in some way by my ongoing amitié with his dearest cousin Anna, where I am at the moment.

Tom asleep on the chair in the salon.

Anna, ma belle hôtesse....in her beautiful home.

Her books, her ancestors...

The macarons from France, délicieuses!

Anna's very functional and spotless kitchen,I must take note!

I have had just had an excellent amd sustaining breakfast and Anna is preparing to go to her job, leaving me to my own devices, which is lovely. She has also gifted to me this excellent small book about Francis Bacon whose works I know but do not really appreciate so it will help me as he is  arguably the greatest English Artist of the last century, and certainly someone I would like to know better.

New book to read on my travels...

So today on to discover some of Richmond, perhaps the Kew Gardens, and also just relax after a vey hectic two days of air and train travel. The bookings from Wellington did work out very well with my Virgin train from Manchester being an absolute dream, fast and comfy and the landscape we whizzed by was a delight. I would love one day to discover rural England by doing the canals which snake up and down this wonderful country.

Chez Paul..I can't escape from it..

Down the High Street in Richmond on a coolish morn but not too bad. Am tempted to have pain au chocolat and coffee at my eponymous Paul's Patisserie so asked the Bulgarian serveuse to make me a real coffee which she does, after some more instruction. It is nice, like my coffee at Memphis, which serves to make me nostalgic. 

For the rest of this quiet day I am strolling down to the Thames and then to the Curzon Cinema which is showing 'Amy', the movie I wanted to see, so at three I will catch that and then home to see Anna and her other house guest tonight, a friend named Veronica. May be an interesting evening...

The Paul's franchise, all over the world now, is rustic bread and good coffee and pastries, so my name is at least synonymous with some of my favourite indulgences, although I really should be curtailing them a little. But I am on holiday and Richmond is a very nice place to do a coffee and cake!

On rolls this famous river

Great buildings beside the Thames

At the local Curzon Cinema near the Thames

Am sitting on a Thames riverside bench and the breeze is fresh, summer has gone. They say it was here for a while, but not for me. Lucky I brought my rain coat too!

 At 3.30 this afternoon the acclaimed 'Amy' is showing at the Curzon and I will attend. It has all the trademarks of a winning documentary and I will enjoy it on this chilly afternoon on Richmond Park. Going into a bookstore to buy some postcards, the assistant gave me a short history of the White Lodge, aka Pembroke Hall, which happens to be the name of my ancestors. As it is not far from here and certainly worth a visit, I may go perhaps tomorrow. I wonder if any of my very early family on my mother's side were resident there once, many, many moons ago, who knows, they may have (just joking!)

Curzon Cinema foyer at Richmond

This was indeed an excellent if harrowing doco of Amy Winehouse, showing a superb voice as good as Billie Holliday, who was prematurely ruined by bulimia, alcohol and drugs, who had a very selfish and greedy father who was never there for her until she became rich and famous.  It is very sad life story of today's drug culture and general dysfunctional parent relations.

This little cinema in Richmond by the way, is a gem!