Silence

If silence is golden then readers of this blog could be living in Fort Knox by now. One month back in England, and already plans to document my time in Paris have turned staler than a Marks and Spencer’s croissant.

Reaching the end of my tether at my media job, I have been officially unemployed since the beginning of August. Deciding that this would be an ideal time to hop across the channel visiting friends and family, the last month has proved eventful in more ways than one.

First, it’s with a sad heart that I report the passing of my French grandfather, who at 75, lost his battle with an ongoing Gitane-related lung condition. I know that my French family will be relieved that he is no longer suffering, and the hospital canteen staff just glad to avoid his daily tongue-lashing.

Secondly, time has been called on my relationship with on-off-on girlfriend Madeleine. With just too many conflicting issues, the love affair between France and Britain is over. Feels like the winter of BSE all over again.

As if all this wasn’t enough, the financial constraints of unemployment have forced me to give up my apartment. I therefore find myself ‘squatting’ as the French say, in the tiny 24 m2 apartment of friend and former teaching colleague, Eponine.

With a brand new challenge for La Rentrée, I hope to be reporting on new jobs, apartments, life, love and all the nitty-gritty bits in between, ensuring that you, the reader, get a taste of what real life is like in Paris, not that picture-postcard bullshit you’ll find in a certain film starring Meg Ryan.