I spent the whole day in the flat yesterday, as editing had come in (a dissertation on migration). I can’t say it felt a particularly productive day, as I was scattered and found it hard to concentrate, and I could hardly bear to think about my memory room story. That is an odd side of […]
Time traveller
Wednesday was a lull between projects (late at night the next bit of work came in) so I did some accounting and refamiliarising myself with the memory room story. This is a longer novella, and I have been chewing over it for a very long time indeed. I think it’s promising, but let us see […]
Working day
Monday was our first working day and occurred in two parts: first at the Urbanista cafe, accompanied by a croissant and coffee. Then I came home to make a quick lunch which turned out not to be so quick as the stove is powered by a gas cannister and it took me some time to […]
Around a dark corner
We went first to Badaro, an up and coming neighbourhood in eastern Beirut, but south of where we are in Gemmayze. Most things, including galleries etc were closed but we had a tasty if overpriced breakfast and then strolled through Badaro towards the national museum. This latter was very impressive in its display, though less […]
Grazing
We walked down to the downtown area, to Beirut Souqs, for the Souq al-Tayeb, the biweekly farmer’s market. Along the way, amidst the reconstructed yellow buildings and across what was once the Green Line, we walked through the global chains that signify a blighted luxury; your Burberries, Ralph Laurens etc. In a shadow of a […]
I was dreaming and then I woke up
Our first day in Beirut. I pottered around, unpacking and assessing as the GF slept. The flat is triangular, with a balcony at the point. The bathroom is the weakest part of it, as the shower is also tucked into a narrow triangle and is quite uncomfortable (not to mention mouldy) whereas I can easily […]
Firm believer
I arrived in Beirut a firm believer in airport lounges. The stopover was in Istanbul’s small, over-crowded second airport. the lounge was also small and overcrowded, but I found myself a table (though an Arab family tried at one point to take it over and I had storm back in a range and put back […]