So quiet here....?

[Karine]

Sorry for not being around lately, but I was invited to my friend's wedding, in Venice!
It was last weekend and it was really great!! Now I'm back in Bordeaux.

[Karine]

I'm on the road again...
I left Bordeaux last Saturday to come to Paris for 2 months, to work on my thesis at the national library. I will go back to Bordeaux at the end of January.
I also have great plans for the Holidays: I'll be with my sister in England. I haven't seen my family in more than two years (the last time I went back home was in September 2010) and it'll be my first New Year's Eve with her since January 1st, 2008! I miss her so much and I can't wait to see her! She's working as a French assistant in a school and I'll spend 10 days with her. We would like to visit Glastonbury, Tintagel, Stonehenge and London.

Last year, I was alone at both Christmas and New Year's Eve. First, I thought it would be tough, but I made myself a great meal, watched happy movies and it was okay. There are so many people who don't even have a safe home or who are sick that complaining about my situation would have been shameful. I had a warm place to sleep, I was healthy, I had food for two and even if my family was far away from me, I knew i was not really alone.

What are your plan for Christmas?

[TheSquirrel]

I'm on the road again...
I left Bordeaux last Saturday to come to Paris for 2 months, to work on my thesis at the national library. I will go back to Bordeaux at the end of January.
I also have great plans for the Holidays: I'll be with my sister in England. I haven't seen my family in more than two years (the last time I went back home was in September 2010) and it'll be my first New Year's Eve with her since January 1st, 2008! I miss her so much and I can't wait to see her! She's working as a French assistant in a school and I'll spend 10 days with her. We would like to visit Glastonbury, Tintagel, Stonehenge and London.

Last year, I was alone at both Christmas and New Year's Eve. First, I thought it would be tough, but I made myself a great meal, watched happy movies and it was okay. There are so many people who don't even have a safe home or who are sick that complaining about my situation would have been shameful. I had a warm place to sleep, I was healthy, I had food for two and even if my family was far away from me, I knew i was not really alone.

What are your plan for Christmas?

What you say is true, and it's good you have a realistic and relative view of things, but sometimes I think Christmas is a cruel and unhappy time for many people. It is worse being alone at Christmas than at any other time. I am lucky, even though I dread cooking the Christmas meal for my partner's mum and brother in a small kitchen (and end up with a massive headache), I know I am lucky to have a partner who I love, and have been with for over twenty years.

I hope you have a really great time here in England, Karine, and have a great Christmas.

We are both looking forward to concerts next year from Rita Ora, Leona Lewis, Emeli Sande, Lana Del Rey, and Kings Of Leon, so lots to look forward to. Am also winding down my business and am looking forward to entering some bigger poker tournaments. Some people let poker take over, but I realise the most important thing in my life is my partner (not poker, not money, not music, not sport).

Take care, and Merry Christmas.

[Karine]

You're right: seeing everybody else gathering and having fun while you wrestle with loneliness, sickness, divorce, death, ... it's surely tough. That's why I'm thankful for the great and happy moments that fill my life!
I wish you and your partner a very happy Christmas!

[Crazylitstudent]

Hope you have a good time in England Karine. All the places you mentioned are amazing so you should have so much fun! I'm going to be in London in the next couple of weeks as I'm going to the Tate Britain art gallery to see the Pre-Raphaelites Exhibition that's currently on as a Christmas/Graduation/Birthday present, looking forward to it.

Sorry I haven't been posting in such a long time. I have finished my Masters and will be graduating in two weeks. I'm not going on to do a PHD because its too expensive but I'm continuing my work on Victorian Poetry as a Independent Scholar and it looks like I'll have my first article on Tennyson (based on my dissertation on Religion and Death in his poetry) published next year and I'm going to try and do some conference speaking during the summer. Then I've got a BIG project that I'm working on for a future article. Thank god I'm only getting a part-time job next month because I love research too much to abandon it as this point!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

[RiverOfLove]

Yeah, Christmas can be rough, but it really is time for families to come together. Sometimes that doesn't work, though.

I would like to travel to England or maybe somewhere warm for the holidays one year. I like Christmas trees, but I hate snow. It's even worse walking in it!

[Karine]

Hi all! I'm back in France and I wish you a very happy New Year!!
@ Ben: I went to the Tate Britain yesterday! I was very impressed by the two "Lady of Shalott" paintings (by Waterhouse and Hunt), they are beautiful!
In the last room of the exhibition, the tapestry of the knights leaving for the Holy Grail quest ("The Arming and Departure of the Knights") was so big, I can't even imagine how much time it took to do this!

Now, it's time to go back to my thesis...

[Crazylitstudent]

@ Karine: I'm leaving for London today and will be going to the Tate Britian tomorrow, really excited about the "Lady of Shalott" paintings (Being a Tennyson academic they are a must )

[Karine]

There are many references to Tennyson's work in the exhibition, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

[Karine]

@Ben: did you have enough time to see the exhibition? Did you like it?