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Hello Dear Hannah!

I have to say this weeks marvelous penpal filled me with mirth. I was waiting to have my routine blood pressure check at the surgery , I was early and couldnt get a signal for my phone in the waiting room so I went to the loo. Having a scroll through my pedestrian emails I came across your own and immediately gobbled the contents up. It was so funny that I snorted out loud several times and then got a ridiculous attack of the giggles. The receptionist asked me if everything was ok when I eventually came out and I tried to explain what I had been doing...

Sorry about your foot , hope its giving you less trouble now.

I bet Babs was very upset for you. Sweet hound.

Yes, Paris is a marvelous and fascinating city , bought to vivid life by your penpal and also Kates lovely phne calls from various areas of utter beauty on the facetime.

Love the sad noses ... Kate and I have what we refer to as " winter nose" where the tip of the nose gets absolutely perished in the cold winter weather, the person who invents the nose warmer will be rich indeed!

Look forward so much to what you will bring us next week Hannah. Meterrand in the sky with diamonds! Fabulous! Bless his mystical heart! X

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Hello Karen!

I love the image of you in the doctor's waiting room getting the giggles!

The foot is much better now, thank you!

Aww winter nose!

Love from here x

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founding

“Fell into the apples!!!” That is a keeper! How illustrative!! Perfect!

“Mitterrand in the sky with diamonds”…Is Lucy right next to him, out of the picture?

“…the old friend who didn’t use birth control because “the body is made of water and water remembers everything and knows when the time is right to conceive.” Must be only true in France, because shotgun sales to rabid fathers when they find out that Antionette is pregnant, are strictly regulated.

“…who was born an orphan and later entered a marriage with a mean and selfish man.” Well, that’s a great formula for overcoming writer’s-block…Charles Dickens swore by it! In the vein of, “It was a dark and stormy night…”

“For years they operated a level-crossing, before it was automated.” Now THAT is imaginative!

In the States, the flavor-of-the-month is reality shows based on the lives of the morbidly obese…shows with names like, “My 600lb Life (272.155kg),” and “1000lb Sisters (453.592kg).” I’m sure that these poor souls exhibit “jambes Lourdes,” along with armes lourdes ; pieds lourds; corps lourd; and in the theme of today’s correspondance from Paris, chevilles lourdes !!!

Get well fast…and for heaven’s sake take ibuprofen…you will heal faster and be in less pain…I was a hospital chemist for 44 years in the States and a parent for 39 years and counting!

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Thank you! I love the phrase 'fell in the apples' too! And the level crossing operations. Thanks very much for reading :)

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Another magnificent letter. Merci

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Merci beaucoup !! <3

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Get well soon, Hannah. Hope the foot recovers quickly and you avoid any more of those apple-falls!

This was the best line, by the way: "I was contemplating the logistics of transporting five kilos of salt with a twisted ankle." I read that entirely in the style of a character from a Murakami book and it warmed my heart.

As ever, I escaped to Paris for a brief moment and came away with more knowledge of its culture, so thank you.

Rest up! (Haven't watched Severance yet, but several friends have reported on it that it is superb and a must-see.)

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Thank you, Nathan! The foot is doing much better.

So lovely to read you felt transported, thanks very much for taking the time to write!

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