La Belle SaisonLa Belle SaisonSnippets of student life in Edinburgh and Paris Articles
Wake Me Up, When September Ends
2007-09-10 17:16:00 PooIt?s around this time of year when my health seems to take a turn for the worse. From September to January my body just seems to get weaker and weaker, and I find myself having to fight one hundred billion times harder just to get out of bed in the morning.The past few weeks have been tres oxymoron-y. It was supposed to be The Beginning. I was in Beauvais searching for a place to live, and a wee jobby that would give me some sort of income to support my dirty secret habit of shopping. (Coincidentally I spent my 300 euros meant for a deposit on an apartment on clothes and shoes. Naughty Princesse). But then September rolled around and I was struck down with crippling pain and a vague realisation that my health was in decline. Again.Took a plane yesterday back home, where the rude little girl who sat in front of me insisted on twisting her head around and staring at my fecked up face for the entire journey from Paris to Glasgow. By the time I got off the plane I felt like shooting ... More About: Wake , Ends
Silly Princesse
2007-08-30 08:31:00 I have a spot.It's small and very pimple-like and is situated on my shoulder. ***"Can I squeeze your button?" Says FP."Mmm..." I sidle up to him, thinking it's some sort of sexual innuendo. "Mais oui, avec plaisir mon amour."He reaches for my shoulder and pinches me. "Ouch!" I push him away. "What are you doing?""I squeeze ton bouton," he replies.Oh. Bouton means a zit. He wanted to squeeze my spot. Not my button. Silly Princesse.I love my subscribers More About: French
Pure Disappointed
2007-08-24 23:12:00 After the past couple of days of ?heads down, pens poised? working constantly on that vile thing that?s consumed (almost) all my time for the past 3 months, I took a ?duvet? day today.I had planned a good old lie in until around 11am when I would drag my body to the bath and soak in some hot soapy bubbles, allowing the stress to simply flow out with the steamy vapour and cling to the mirrors. However, my plans were scuppered when I awoke at 8.30 am, out of habit and frankly the sheer insolence of my body clock, and had to lie in bed for another hour trying so very hard to get back to sleep. Which didn't work. No lie ins for me then.I skipped the bath because someone (and I?m not pointing any fingers but I suspect it was a person going by the name of Mum) finished the last of my super expensive, super gorgeous cashmere bubble bath and the Tesco?s own brand was not looking particularly appealing.So I gathered my lilac duvet, which could have done with a wee bit of a wash to be honest... More About: Pure , Sapp
Papped
2007-08-24 00:53:00 I promise a proper post is on it's way soon! Until then, however, here are some pictures of FP's visit to Scotland last week. Because it was too good a time not to share with you all...See, I'm the caring and sharing type! Amn't I nice?A French man drinking Irn Bru ~ a rare site!FP immersed himself in the culture completely - all he drank was Irn Bru and good Scottish whisky (see below). What a man!And to prove this point, here he is at Glengoyne Distillery. Ah whisky...the water of life. Glengoyne is the best. I'm certainly not a fan of whisky but even I accepted the free samples and enjoyed them. Strangely enough, the more samples we had the better they tasted.At the Falkirk Wheel. I look an eejit don't I? Ah go on, your just being polite. I do look like an eejit. Why do I still believe that leggings are a good look? Where have I been?!This photo shows the Wheel from a crap view but it still looks pretty cool. Click on the picture for a bigger version and check out those ho...
Hallelujah
2007-08-23 17:10:00 Please mes amis, turn up the volume and join me in rejoicing!Halle lujah !My dissertation is GONE! Gone man, Gone! I handed it over to a lovely little librarian with charming rimless librarian glasses and perfectly polished nails at university this morning, breathed a sigh of relief (which alerted me to the fact that I had been holding my breath for the past three days) and skipped off into the distance.Now, I can?t say that it was easy; this D thing. If I?m honest it was the most annoying, shitty, boring, difficult thing I?ve ever done, like ever, and frankly, my dear friends, after the last two days of working on it non-stop from 8am to midnight, I?m ready to drop.Never again do I want to discuss The Impacts of Tourism in Capital Cities for the rest of my life. I also never ever want to hear the 'D' word ever, ever again. If I do, I fear I may rip my eyeballs out and stuff them up the bum of whoever has had the sheer audacity to utter the profanity that is the 'D' word.But ... More About: Geek
A Special Invitation
2007-08-20 23:10:00 This post is not for the boys!This morning the nurse was on the phone actually inviting me in for a?SMEAR TEST.?You?re invited for a smear test.? She said.Oh goody! Lucky me! How exciting to be invited to have a smear test, I?m absolutely honoured. I must be moving up in the world. Everyone who?s anyone will be there.I?ve been putting it off since April. And, to be honest, as any doctor or nurse who looks at my medical file loves to point out with an accusing tone of voice, I have never been. Not once. I have made appointments, oh yes. But something always 'came up'. Yes, all five times. I know, I know I?m bad. But the thought of having a nurse peer between my legs and poke something referred to as a ?brush? or a ?spatula? in my ?er?well, you know?and ?scrape? some cells out makes me want to die. I?ve vomited a tiny wee bit in my mouth just thinking of it.And have you seen the contraption they use?! (look above). I mean for heaven?s sake! You?d think with all the technology they h... More About: Special , Invitation
Foosty
2007-08-20 23:02:00 Let?s just ignore the last post shall we? Ok, good. Grand!So, like the wee eejit that I am, and like a girl who has been with her boyfriend for a year now, I have let myself go.Yes, I promised myself it wouldn?t happen. I also promised FP it wouldn?t happen. But I have been eating like a moo (I have also been eating dead moos) and when I walk I feel a little like the marshmallow man (or is it the Michelin Man? They both look the same to me) because I can feel the rolls of fat bounce. The day FP left I told myself I would cut out the shitty food I?d been gorging myself on. Hell, I even drew up a nice wee diet sheet (like I said, an eejit, I am) and coloured it in. But as this is the last week of my dissertation, and I?m still nowhere near the end, and my parents are hating me and shouting at me and have resorted to sitting down to write chapters for it themselves (shhh, that?s a secret), I ran to the biscuit cupboard. And I?ve not returned since. Yes, I'm writing to you from t...
Ashamed
2007-08-20 19:44:00 As dusk approaches, the lights inside the house appear to brighten, and I can see my own reflection in the window that I stare out of. I take note of the way the light reflects off my nose, the way I look so deformed. The rest of my face shrinks in comparison with the swollen lumps of my skin and I look away.I cannot bear to look at myself any longer.I love my subscribers More About: Sham , Shame
Alone
2007-08-18 20:27:00 To miss -To regret the absence or loss ofAs in; I miss youI sit in the bed he slept in for the past week and I look around me. He tidied up before he left; made the bed, tucked the corners of the white sheets under the mattress and folded the extra towels neatly, placing them at the end of the bed as he found them the day he arrived.My laptop warms my legs as I burrow myself into the bed which seems so large now he?s not here. The pillow still holds his scent, and is now covered in mascara from the tears that have spilled from my cheeks.I thought that the airport goodbyes would become less upsetting the more we had to deal with them. I suppose I was wrong. As he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me softly, I realised this would never get any easier. We stood at the entrance to Passport Control, his beautiful, blue eyes smiled down at me and I forced myself to hide my sorrow.And then he was gone. Walking slowly towards Security and joining the queue, pausing once or twice to smi... More About: Alone
Beef Burger
2007-08-16 18:37:00 Dear beloved blog,I?m still alive!!I do apologise, little blog, for not being around lately. I?ve been a very, very busy girl looking after FP, making sure he?s fed and watered and I've been taking him tours, generally acting like a tourist in my own country.Now don?t think I have forgotten about you, blog, I haven?t abandoned you. Au contraire ? so many weird and funny things have happened to me in this past week and I always thought of you. Honestly.I don?t have much time to write just now, because I have a delicious Frenchman sitting next to me playing cards, and I?m eager to start our aperitif, but I thought I might let you and all my blog buddies know I?m having a rare old time and so is FP. He says Bonjour.Before I go, guess what we?ve been up to?!We witnessed a real bitch fight in a restaurant between a waitress and a really annoying drunk woman. That was rather fun.We went to a gig in (of all places) Glasgow (actually, it was my brother's band who were playing), and I got ... More About: Scotland , Beef , Burger , Urge
Ear Plugs
2007-08-10 15:04:00 As you can see, I'm having a Voice Thread day. In the quest to have my blog reviewed on Fuel My Blog, I have lowered any standards I had and have completed John C's requests. Let the battle commence!Disclaimer: Don't listen if you're in a nervous disposition.I love my subscribers
It's Past My Bedtime...
2007-08-09 00:33:00 ...And I'm still up. Instead of sleeping, or reading a nice book, or even continuing with the dreaded dissertation, I've been creating things online. Because that is the type of sad person I am. La Belle Saison now has a Cast page (just for the crack) and Princesse Ecossaise has a Flickr account, with pictures of a certain poser, the Scottish countryside, La Rochelle and Irn Bru, amongst other things just as exciting.Off to bed nowLot's of love,Sleepy Princezzzzzzzz.....I love my subscribers More About: Past
Miracle of Life
2007-08-07 16:56:00 *Sniffle* *wipes away a tear*This is the most beautiful post I have ever read.Welome to the world, beautiful baby SophieNow, does anyone have a baby I can borrow for a few hours in order to remind me that I don't want one of my own just yet?I love my subscribers More About: Life , Miracle , Mira
Watch What You Say
2007-08-07 16:13:00 Political Correctness in Britain has gone too far.The other day my 85 year old grandfather asked me to go to the ?Chinkie? to get a Chinese take-away. I gasped, ?Grandpa,? I said, ?you?re not supposed to say that word.?He looked at me, bemused. ?It's not an insult, Princesse. I?m too old for this political correctness rubbish.?Today I have no idea what I am supposed to say and what I am not. I?m terrified that I will say a word that is now ?frowned upon?; I?m scared I will inadvertently offend someone. We are all a nation of confused plebeians, walking on eggshells in fear of uttering the wrong word and appearing racist / sexist / ignorant / discriminatory.Don?t get me wrong, I believe there are words that should not be used because of the offence it causes. I fully understand words being banned which are genuinely offensive ? such as the N word. But I?m pretty sure many of the words being scored out of our vocabulary today are not because minorities have complained, I suspect it i... More About: Watch
Nothing Matters Any More Than He
2007-08-05 16:44:00 One of the first moments that I realised my relationship with FP was entirely different to that of any I?d been in before was last September, when I went to France to stay with him for a week. It was the first time we had been together alone without a rowdy group of French people surrounding us, and the first time we had been together as a couple.With other men boys, I?d desperately wanted to be looked after. I?d wanted to be taken care of, protected and treated like a precious, fragile ornament that could shatter at any given moment. I wanted to be treated with care. I wanted my happiness put first in every possible action.Yes, it was selfish, but I was young. Anyway, the boys didn?t treat me the way I wanted to be treated, because they were thinking the same thing for themselves. They wanted to have their happiness put first. Frankly they didn?t want to compromise and neither did I.And so the moment I felt this fierce, overwhelming urge to mother FP, to make sure he was never hurt... More About: Matters
Princesse and Infliximab; a Love Story
2007-08-05 14:33:00 The girl in the picture, taken in 2005, did not know she was going to have a facial disfigurement that people in the street would stop and stare at. She didn't know what it was like to feel like a monster and a freak. She was an average girl, worried about spots, greasy hair and what she ate. She didn't know what the future held, and she didn't care. She was happy. This girl can't be brought back to life, she's been through too much now, been in some very dark places deep within herself. But the 2007 Princesse is stronger, and happier, more appreciative and has a new sense of self. Young Princesse can't come back, but her health can...As I said a while ago, I was to begin a new treatment for my condition, as things were only deteriorating. The drug, which is called Infliximab, is fairly new, and is not prescribed for my illness, however, my wonderful doctor managed to find an infliximab specialist who was willing to take the risk by treating me (and let?s face it, it was a hug... More About: Love , Story , Love story , A Love Story , Tory
Giggle-itis
2007-08-02 15:13:00 Out for a drive with my oldest, bestest friend this morning, enjoying the rare good weather, we drove with the windows rolled down and the music at full volume. If I wanted you to think I was cool I?d lie and tell you the music was R&B or techno or rap or drum ?n? bass, but I think you all know by now that I?m not the coolest kid in school. We listened to Take That; their old album. So old it wasn?t even a CD, but a cassette tape. ?Everything Changes,? and ?Back For Good,? blared out as we sang our little hearts out, remembering the days when we truly thought we were in love with those men. Zannie was in love with Robbie Williams, and I was in love with Mark Owen. We were going to marry them and have their babies.Somehow that didn?t work out. And frankly, we are quite relieved.We stayed close to our little village, we didn?t want to end up in the centre of Glasgow, or caught in congested traffic. We drove by the farms in our village, past the cows (or the coos, as we call them), pas... More About: Scotland
Four Years Younger
2007-07-30 20:32:00 In the midst of some serious last minute dissertation writing (I?ve two weeks left and I?m only halfway through the first draft), I took a quick trip to the hospital for some blood tests this morning.Let me just add at this point that it wasn?t that god awful nurse I got last time who bruised my arms like a junkie.The nurse, a 30 something, brunette, with an Australian drawl, welcomed me in the blood room, asked me to sit down and began the washing of hands and all the other fun stuff that goes on during the blood test ritual. We were making polite conversation as she drew dark red blood from my right arm, when she asked, ?So, are you still at school [Princesse]???Ah, no,? I replied, wondering what she meant by ?school?; surely she meant university or college, no??Are you going to study at college?? She asked me, filling the last tube with blood.?No, actually I?ve finished university,? I smiled awkwardly at her, wondering exactly how young she thought I was.The Australian beauty let... More About: Years , Year , Ears
Run, FP, Run!
2007-07-26 13:28:00 First it was a dream list of baby names. All typed up neatly, girl names separated from boy names, in order of most favoured.Then it was the wedding gowns. Leafing through glossy bridal catalogues, circling dream dresses; Vera Wang, Reem Acra and Badgley Mischka.And last night, bored and alone, I opened up my laptop and typed in ?Property for sale in France? into Google. Houses with pools, five bedrooms, dressing rooms and stables, with separate gîtes in small, beautiful villages?houses with un grand cave for storing wine!The worst thing was that I was searching for homes that would suit ?the kids?.What kids?!Someone help me. I?ve turned into one of those girls I hate.I love my subscribers
Don't Stare At Me
2007-07-25 20:36:00 Girls, you know when you meet someone ? it?s usually a guy but occasionally a woman will do this ? and they say ?hello? and ?how are you? and ?are you enjoying yourself?, only you realise they aren?t talking to you, they?re actually talking to your breasts? Isn?t that, like, the worst? I mean, no one wants people to be talking to their breasts instead of them, do they? Not even the most desperate of all attention seeker girls with fake boobs want that do they?And if you have a newly sprung spot glistening on your forehead you certainly don?t want people saying ?hey! How you doin??? to your spot do you?If you have a nose you?re not happy with, say it?s too big, you?ll realise people talk to it instead of you.Or if it?s spinach (or in my case, chocolate cake) you suspect that?s caught in your teeth then no doubt people will begin to address the spinach instead of you.For me it?s my nose.I liked my nose when I was growing up. It never bothered me; not too big, not too small. Some peopl...
Eh...Aye
2007-07-24 01:49:00 I'm not sure I was ready to divulge that information yet...If you read it on your reader shhhh don't mention it, I don't think I'm ready to talk about it.I love my subscribers
Cry Baby
2007-07-21 21:04:00 Airports are difficult for me. They bring tears to my eyes almost as much as hospitals do. I?ve had so many emotional experiences in airports that I associate it with tears; tears of joy, tears of sadness, tearful farewells, tearful ?I missed you so much?-s.When I was younger, airports were frequently visited to wave off my dad as he left for business trips. As a true Daddy?s Girl, and the baby of the family, I kicked off on a temper tantrum every time he left. As we watched him walk away from us, through Security, with his smart clothes and his briefcase, he would turn and wave to his little family. I?d try my best to breath deeply, even as a five year old Princesse I knew I had to be brave until Daddy was out of sight. He found it difficult enough to leave us for a week or so on business, so I always held in the tears until he had walked around the corner into Duty Free and the Department Lounge out of sight. At this point my entire chin would quiver uncontrollably and seconds lat... More About: Baby , Scotland , France
The Window Incident
2007-07-19 14:39:00 Post continued from Meet the Parents (Again) *** Saturday 14th July. Bastille Day! My first Bastille Day in France!The day had been planned several weeks ago. There was a Franco-Ecossaise party a few hours from Mr and Mrs FP's house and we, as a foursome, would be there. There would be kilts!!! There would be Scottish dancing!!! There would be whisky!! And it was all advertised on a beautiful tartan poster with every sentence punctuated with several exclamation marks!!!At 8am we were up and getting ready for our trip. By 8:30 am we had decided not to go. It was 30 degree heat and no one was prepared to sit in congested traffic on the auto route for three hours each way.The air of awkwardness had cleared from the night before when I descended the stairs to greet Mr and Mrs FP. As they kissed me good morning, I smiled in relief. Thank God! So they didn?t hate me for the way I?d been so sullen.And then it happened. The point where I knew I was a walking disaster. The mo... More About: Window , Incident , Cide
Meet the Parents (again)
2007-07-18 23:52:00 Post continued from Away with the Fairies***By the time we arrived at our destination I had munched three (or was it four?) cookies, a whole chocolate bar and drank half the can of juice, the remnants lay melting on my very new, very white top I?d bought that morning from Les Galleries Lafayette. ?Ah merde?, I exclaimed as I noticed the melted chocolate smeared across the bottom of the vest. FP shrugged and smiled lazily, ?C?est po grave?, he said in his Northern accent, he was just happy I was okay.Despite the chocolate stains, I was greeted with gusto by Mr and Mrs FP. They?d been on holiday and were incredibly tanned. I pulled on my cardigan, shameful of my pale (I believe others had used the words ?white as a ghost? and ?transparent? but I prefer pale), Scottish skin tone.The apero was taken outside on the terrace in the scorching sun. It was when I popped a mini pretzel into my mouth and took a sip (read gulp) of my champagne that I realised my hands had begun shaking again and... More About: Meet , Parents , Parent , Meet the Parents , Pare
Away with the Fairies
2007-07-18 22:51:00 I?d like to begin this post with a public apology because so busy / tired / distracted / stressed out / away with the fairies was I that I forgot to write Monday Madness on the Fuel My Blog blog this week. To the Fuel My Blog team I apologise?I?m usually so organised on a Monday morning (that?s a lie) and I?m almost always sitting at my computer screen (I wish that was a lie) but this week, something was amiss.I believe my problematic state was due to the fact that I?d spent a whole weekend chez FP?s parents. Yes, now I come to think about it I?m quite sure that that is where it all began and that?s where I lost the plot (I also lost my earring there but it?s somewhat less important). All that good, rich, French cuisine has left me with a stomach the size of a beach ball and brains the consistency of purée.***I?ve met FP?s family several times and know them well. They?re kind, feed me extremely well, and we hit it off the very first time we met.Driving from FP?s apartment to his par...
Bonjour Paris
2007-07-11 12:12:00 Oh là là! I'm using FP's macbook with its French keyboard...this post may take hours to type - I've made so many mistakes in this one simple sentence. Question - why why why are important symbols and punctuation in such odd places on a French keyboard?! It took me half an hour this morning to find the @ sign. And which Frenchman decided a semi colon is more important than a full stop and should therefore be placed on the same key but one must press shift just to get a meagre little full stop? All that effort for a full stop, I mean really it's absolutley insane.Anyway, that's enough complaining for today. Other than that I am the happiest girl alive. The reunion at the airport was perhaps not as sickeningly beautiful as I foresaw (there was no crowd to part and applaud in wonder of the beautiful young lovers as I was one of the very last out due to a little panic when I thought my suitcase had been stolen. It had not been stolen, it had simply been doing several tours of the ca... More About: Paris
Girl With No Home
2007-07-09 12:38:00 I?ve epilated my legs, moisturised, toned and exfoliated my skin. I?ve waxed my moustache. I?ve painted my toenails, plucked my eyebrows and realised I have a monobrow forming. I?ve written four To Do lists, I?ve packed and repacked my suitcase. I?ve sprouted a spot on my chin ? typical ? and I?ve studied myself in the full length mirror and have come to the conclusion that I?ve probably put on half a stone since I last saw him.I?ve stressed myself out with what to wear on the journey, I?ve had butterflies each time I think about where I?ll be and who with by tomorrow evening. I?ve struggled over whether I should use a little bit of fake tan just to take away the terrible paleness of a Scottish girl who hasn?t seen the sun in a long, long time or if I should just listen to FP and be ?au natural?.I?ve tried to whiten my teeth (to no avail), I?ve tried to disguise the bags under my eyes and the big scar across my face (to no avail also). I?ve put an expensive deep condition mask on my... More About: France , Home , Girl
Ignorance is Bliss
2007-07-08 12:19:00 I am a complete bookworm, and I don?t mind admitting it. I adore immersing myself in a book, escaping mundane day to day life, kicking back with a memoir or a good novel, forgetting where I am, letting hours slip by like minutes.Bookshops are great fun in my opinion, sure it may seem geeky, but spending an hour or two browsing a quiet, peaceful book shop on a rainy Scottish day surrounded by thousands and thousands of different books; novels, fantasy, romance, comedy, memoirs, biographies?it?s a real pleasure for me.It appears that over the past few years there has been an influx in ?misery memoirs?; people writing about their childhoods, where they were abused, beaten, neglected, or suffered hardship. Usually the author explains he or she wrote said book in order to reach other victims of abuse, to show that you can move on, you can leave all that happened in a difficult childhood behind and have a healthy adult life. But we all read them. Most of which become bestsellers, eg. A ch... More About: Geek , Ignorance
The Winner Takes It All
More articles from this author:2007-07-05 13:20:00 I?m a winner! Firstly, remember those Moo cards I won from Fuel My Blog? They arrived this morning! They are so very cute and I love them! I?m not sure who to give them to, perhaps I should leave them lying abut in pubs and restaurants and see who comes along to the blog?that could be quite fun. Or I could send one off in a bottle across the sea and if someone finds it they are bound to be curious and go straight home to look up the web address! Aren?t they? No?Well maybe I will stick to handing them out to friends then.In other news, I received a blog award! Yassssssssss.This award came from Zhu, the bonnie wee lass from correr es mi destino and is a ?schmoozer? award. That means I interact. Or, as zhu wrote, ?According to Mike from Ordinary folk who designed the award, "Schmoozing as defined by Dictionary.com is the ability ?to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection??To gain advantage?! Moi? Mais non!From what I gather it is now my ... More About: Winner 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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