Of Kabul
Of Kabul I recall,
men on camels,
proud, dignified
an open air market,
bags of spices,
saffron, orange, russet
a hotel for hippies,
embassy row, pretentious,
a Rhodesian hippy, talkative,
Afghan coats, exquisite,
the exotic sky,
lapis and clear,
early November,
no storm clouds on the horizon.
Passion in Port Stanley
My partner was going to be away for a week in July so I thought I
would take a little holiday. Go someplace just by myself. One of my
happy places and just work on the novel I was trying to write about a
wealthy couple who go off travelling for a year in search of spots
they could help financially. I could have just sent them to Africa but
I preferred to have them wander about a bit and visit some of the
places I had thought of visiting like Russia. Anyhow the book was
coming along fine and I thought wouldn’t it be nice to take a holiday
by myself for a change. Now where?
I decided on Port Stanley on Lake Erie. A place few people
seem to know about but which I find enormously charming. It is
sort of like a New England fishing village with large frame buildings
and antique shops and boats - boats everywhere. I was practically
brought up on a sailboat so boats have a sort of ingrained appeal for
me. Tugs and ferries too. And of course I love the water and
lighthouses and all of that sort of thing and the air always seems
cooler there on hot summer days. Nice sandy beach - nice sandy
bottom in the lake , no stones.. What could be more perfect Oh yes
and three places where I could write outside and sit and smoke - my
only vice I assure you. A common vice among writers for some
reason. In any case there was one place with a balcony overlooking
the harbour I enjoyed and a patio behind one of the inns - a gazebo
actually , protected from the sun. What more did I need. A Band B
or a cabin.
I had done an article extolling the virtues of Port Stanley for
the local paper one year and a place that had cabins had emailed me
to come and stay in their cabins if ever I wanted to stay overnight.
No, I hardly expected it to be free but it sounded nice so I decided
to stay there. Yes, they would be happy to have me.
Jean-Pierre left on the 15th of July for to Toronto and I left on the
16th for Port Stanley. From London-Ont., where we had moved
because it was cheaper than living in Toronto and less stressful
which as writers we appreciated.