Chapter 15 (of 20) Evan Shipman at the Lilas
Chapter 1 (of 20), A Good Café on the Place St-Michael, will take you back in time to the story that began my French culinary experiences while reading A Moveable Feast, chapter by chapter. From there, each chapter will take you to the next chapter and culinary experience.
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” Ernest Hemingway.
Chapter 15 (of 20) Evan Shipman at the Lilas, accompanied by Creme Brûlée and Hot Chocolate at Café Rouge, St Paul’s Churchyard.
Notes From Chapter 15: Evan Shipman at the Lilas
A WorkLife Book Club For One
Notes on Books
From the day I had found Sylvia Beech’s library I had read all of Turgenev, what had been published in English of Gogol, the Constance Garnett translations of Tolstoi and the English translations of Chekov.
I loved being brought back to when Hemingway had first discovered Sylvia Beech’s library and to her generosity in sharing her books with those who appreciated them. I loved how Hemingway took me, the reader, through the time that had passed since that first meeting, through the books he had read.
Notes on Reading
Words of Wisdom
To have come on all of this new world of writing, with time to read in a city like Paris where there was a way of living well and working, no matter how poor you were, was like having a great treasure given to you. You could take your treasure with you when you traveled too, and in the mountains where we lived in Switzerland and Italy, until we found Schruns in the high valley in the Voralberg in Austria, there were always the books, so that you lived in the new world you had found, the snow and the forests and the glaciers and their winter problems and your high shelters in the Hotel Taube in the village in the day time, and at night you could live in the other wonderful world the Russian writers were giving you. At first there were the Russians; then there were all the others. But for a long time there were the Russians.
I loved being reminded of the wonder of writing and reading. I’ve always loved reading, but when I was writing my last book, I spent a year writing far more than I was reading. That was OK. It needed to be done. But I wanted and needed to get back to reading more because, as a writer, reading is an integral part of my craft.
Taking Hemingway’s, A Moveable Feast on a Moveable Feast chapter by chapter has helped so much in getting back on track with my reading and flexing my reading muscle. As I write about my experiences, it’s helping me, as a new writer, to flex my writing muscle too. I am learning so much from Hemingway and from the experiences of taking the book to cafés and restaurants – the food, the drink, the ambience, the location, and the walk that gets me there and back. I can relate to Hemingway saying there is a way to live well and work and feel as though I have a great treasure given to me when I have time to read in a city like London. All of this doesn’t have to cost a lot – the food and drink and making time to read, when along with books, time is the greatest treasure, is truly wonderful.
When I finish this book, I plan to continue the practice of taking books on a journey – through the streets of London and further afield, hopefully. I know I too, will live in the new world I explore and discover by day, and I will also live in the other wonderful world that the writers from many different places will take me to.
Epilogue
I’m not sure when I’ll read the next chapter of A Moveable Feast over a glass and a plate.
It most likely will be another spontaneous happening. It may take a little planning to keep the French theme going, or as I walk and explore and discover, it may not.
The Continuing Story …
… I can now share where Chapter 16 (of 20)… An Agent of Evil took me …
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Today I enjoyed Creme Brûlée and Hot Chocolate at Café Rouge, St Paul’s Churchyard.
Se souvenir de toi, Norma.
#FunFact1 The world record for the largest creme brûlée topped out at 26 feet in diameter, weighed 1,600 pounds and was estimated to have two million calories. Source Mobile Cuisine
#FunFact2 With the advent of printing, St Paul’s Churchyard quickly became the centre of the book trade in England. Originally it was dominated by foreign booksellers. Richard III’s only parliament of 1484 passed the act, which encouraged them to do business in London. Despite other protectionist measures, the king personally intervened that printers and booksellers were exempt from these. Source Wikipedia
#FunFact3 In 1964, Martin Luther King gave a sermon at St. Paul’s Cathedral to a congregation of over three thousand. Aside from being an activist, Martin Luther King was also a Baptist minister, and he spoke about three different approaches to life in a sermon now known as The Three Dimensions to a Complete Life. Source London Pass
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Founder of School of WorkLife, Carmel O’ Reilly is a learning practitioner and writer. She creates resources to help people self-direct their WorkLife learning. These include a Collection of Books which originated from her first book, Your WorkLife Your Way and a Learn Through Reading Series of Case Studies. which originated from her latest book WorkLife Book Club.
That’s the power of writing (and reading, which is an integral part of the craft for writers), it helps you find, develop and tell the right story at the right time in all WorkLife situations – in day-to-day communication: WorkLife and feedback conversations, presentations, talks, and negotiations, at interviews, and when socialising and networking in building and maintaining good relationships. The practice of writing helps you to tell the stories that express who you are in an interesting and engaging way.