Man jumps off Eiffel Tower!

I walked down into the metro on my way home Friday night and picked up the free 'metro' newspaper:

'MAN TO JUMP FROM EIFFEL TOWER!'

screamed the headline.

Goodness I thought. Newspapers now predicting suicides!

A new age of journalism?!

I read on. What it turned out to be was Taig Khris, the French many time inline skate world champion was jumping from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, the biggest fall ever on rollerblades, onto the biggest quarterpipe ever constructed. So a big thing then!

I was in Paris, I was just down the road from the Eiffel Tower so I grabbed my scooter saturday afternoon and went to watch. I couldn't not really!

And fair play to the lad, he jumped, landed and the crowd exploded! And I was there. EPIC!

Fact vs Fiction

"....because that Saturday, the Paris transport workers went on strike. And what was this strike about? Job Cuts? Safety Standards? No. The unions were furious that the government had been rumoured to be thinking about considering the possibility of maybe looking into the purely theoretical concept that it might one day (not now, but in, say, eighty years' time) be less able to pay for transport workers to retire at fifty."
-Stephen Clarke 'A Year in the Merde' (fiction)

"This Thursday, today, Paris transport workers went on strike. And what was this strike about? Job cuts? Safety standards? No. All unions in France were furious that someone very very very low down without any power at all whatsoever in the government may have said to a colleague over mid-morning coffee that Sarkozy has been rumoured to be thinking about considering the possibility of maybe looking into the purely theoretical concept that might one day (not now, but in, say, one-thousand years' time) that the French would not be able to retire at sixty and have to work until they were 63, even though that would still be by far the lowest retirement age in the EU and 90% of French retire before they are 60 anyway."
-Dominic Mottram 'A Year Travelling on the RATP' (reality)

Euro-star.

17th May 2010.

06.00. Brussels Breakfast.

13.00. Paris Lunch

20.00. Vienna Dinner

And that's me.

My life in which I hurtle about Europe.

3 meals.

3 European capitals.

1 day.

Le Fabuleux Vie de Dominic Mottram

What a week! Euro-star at one end; Eurostar at the other!

I sit here listening to the beautiful Yann Tiersen soundtrack for 'Amelie' and wonder what else I could do? Nothing. That's the answer. I don't need to do anything right at this specific moment in time. I've pressed pause. I'm taking it all in.

16eme. A series of fortunate events!

'Excusez moi monsieur,' came the call from over my shoulder.

I ignored it. I was on my way to the market. And anyway, a randomer on the street wouldn't want to talk to me. Would they?

'Excusez moi monsieur,' it came again.

Nothing. There were many people in front of me.

'Excusez moi monsieur,' a third time. I turned around, curious.

Because it was the 8th of May, I had a feeling the shops closed at lunchtime so I was up early.

Because I'm lazy I grabbed my hockey club hoody to wear.

Because I hate slow walking people I ducked down a side street and took a short-cut.

Because I'd run out of money, I stopped at a cash point.

Because of all of these little things, that I've never done before, this man had stopped me.

'Vous avez jouer de hockey?' *Oh hell. Brain switched to French and a default list of answers to questions about when training was, when matches were and where we played.*

He was young looking man, probably in his late twenties with a notebook. I looked around me and checked my pockets, waiting for his pick-pocket mate.

'Oui,' I offered. 'Mais je suis Anglais.....,' expecting him to vault-face and run away very quickly indeed. But he didn't. He calmly got out his pen and wrote things down in his notebook.

'Je suis journalist pour le journal de la mairie 16eme'

Right, I thought, better get on with it. So out came a load of questions about hockey, why I was living in Paris, did I visit the market often, did I like living in the 16eme, what did i think about the people. Everything.

He wasn't sure when or where my musings would be published as he had to dicuss it with those in charge, so my first job on monday will be to find out!

He took a picture of me for the paper, thanked me and left:

'Votre Francais est exceptionnel pour un anglais!'

Watch this space...........

What have I been doing?!

Many things really. Firstly though, an apology. I was in China watching the Formula 1, and then, as you know, Iceland exploded, trapping me in Shanghai! With no ability to blog!

But now I'm back in the free world where blogging isn't 'illegal' and doesn't 'pose a risk to national security' I shall be updating more often once more! :-D