Saturday, June 18, 2005

Afternoon in the Park

This afternoon I took my book, camera, a bottle of water, put on my sun hat and went off to Regent's Park. It's just around the corner but usually the weather isn't hot enough to sit on a bench and read...or think.

I wished I had a dog to walk today but out of the thousands of people who were there, I only remember seeing 3 dogs. Paris would be quite another story!

It's funny that I chose to read Virginia Woolf because we were both very stream-of-consciousness today. It was the details about people and life that stood out for me. I would watch, write, and read at regular intervals and each action mirrored the last.
I sat on a bench under some trees and looked out at a large pond full of all sorts of water birds. As I read, I would see things out of the corner of my eye as people walked past...and I'd hear things...I really only ended up reading 3 pages in an hour...My senses were too occupied with the world around me...

  • Japanese tourists with brown hats, bags, shoes, jackets
  • The thread hanging from the bottom of an African lady's shawl
  • A man with keys jingling in his pocket as he walked
  • Snippets of conversation: "The lady always says yes." "The fish is salted and dried for months." "We ended up with a headache." "I will end up in the sea. I'm going to the sea."
  • The soft feather rolling across the surface of the water like tumbleweed in a desert
  • Children's voices wafting from the other side of the pond
  • The hint of roses on the breeze from the garden nearby
  • Pigeons cooing in the trees behind me
  • The duck opposite that would not stop preening
  • The photography class that wandered by, studied same duck, by which time he'd tired of preening and was starting to doze off
  • The daddy who crept up on his little daughter as she leaned over the water watching the fish, went BOO! and tickled her into the grass
  • The entwined lovers I stumbled upon around corners
All in all, an interesting day. I went to the store on my way home and bought Viennetta ice cream to replace my after-dinner pot of tea.

12 comments:

michelle said...

sounds like the perfect day

Olivia said...

You are so online right now! I just posted this and went to Steliano's site to read about our names and there you were!

Olivia said...

;-) yes I'm rather proud of the feather

Olivia said...

haha! we are real-time blogging again Steli.
Well, maybe when you finish your mythology series you can write about the things you overheard.

michelle said...

sorry Liv, I was on quick. Had to go to work

Anonymous said...

That does sound lovely - I'm trying to organise a big picnic in regents park and I hope it's half as nice as this!

Olivia said...

Piano - the last pajama pic of me was taken at age 7.

EB, welcome back. If your picnic is on a lovely day, you'll be hard pressed to find an empty patch of grass.

Anonymous said...

Nice one! Virginia Woolf indeed.

And mainly: VIENNETTA! he he

Anonymous said...

What don't you like about the french people and their dogs?

ah, 31 sounds cool,it's been 37 and above lately in Houston. oh, but it was so nice in San diego, 21C.

People watching is so much fun, haven't done that in a while.
Vanessa

Olivia said...

I can't speak for Steli and Piano, but when I'm in France they don't pick up after their dogs, and it smells like wee on every corner.

I know, 31 sounds cool. Sunday got to 33 with 90% humidity and no one went out - I was plastered to my recliner with the fan on.

Anonymous said...

hello there! what a wonderful blog! and thank you so much for visiting mine!

ms. moonglow

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a dream day for inspiration!

It truly is wonderful to experience life through others in the way you've described. I think writers notices things that appeal to the senses and have keen observational skills.