When the going gets tough, I look for something to make me feel better. When I stepped out of my art class this afternoon it was hot and windy. The sharp light and hard lines reminded me of the paintings of the Canterbury Group of artists in the 1920s to 1970s, who made it their mission to represent the local landscapes as they are, not in the romantic, European-influenced style of artists such as Petrus van der Velden.

Beauty pleases the eyes, sweetness charms the soul.

Voltaire quotation on the wall of Sweet Soul Patisserie.

It seemed a good plan to take the bus home rather than walking. On the way to the bus exchange I looked for that ‘something’ to make me feel better. I spotted a little slice of Paris: Sweet Soul Patisserie. I was enticed inside by the people standing transfixed at the counter. As I sat at an upstairs table (with a whisk-shaped table number) I looked down at the counter display while I enjoyed an iced coffee and a ‘Paris Brest’ pastry, and reminisced about my weeks in Paris in 2018. I re-read my journal yesterday and felt pangs of nostalgia.

Some people stopped to eat, others bought boxes of treats to take away. No sooner had one line of people gone, than more came in the door. The assistant was continually topping up the depleted counter display with fresh pastries.

I took one last photo as I left.

At home, the tomato plants looked disheartened and the sun umbrella had fainted into the blackcurrant bush. Water was administered (to the plants), and I thought of bedouins in the desert heading for the next oasis.