In a bar, of course.
About 8-9 years ago. We had just had a reunion at Le Castor's
headquarters when Simon (who else) suggested we had a drink somewhere.
As it was near five and had nothing to do until seven when we had a
dreadful formal dinner to attend to, off we went to Le Dragon basané
: Fawzi, Hermy, paul, my father, Simon (of course), myself and
what's-his-name-who-used-to-do-the-typesetting, Jack or Bill - one of
those names one never remembers - pity, yes, but he never stayed long
with us anyway.
T'was a double vodka with
lime for Simon (what else ?), the same for paul, a glass of white wine
for Fawzi, a beer for Jack or Robert, a scotch-and-water for me and,
of course Perrier's for Hermy and my dad. - Those are the things one
remembers.
Anyway, someone - must
have been paul, always the first to complain about anything - asked
the owner to lower the music which was blasting from every speakes in
the house which, as we were the only clients in the joint, he promptly
did. I said "Thanks" to which Hermy asked me
what kind of music I liked. Not paul, me.
Now, I've been, in my
life, sucked into voluntaring for all sorts of things but this one I
never saw coming. "I don't know, I said, all kinds, I
guess : classical when it's quiet, Jazz, even pop music..." -
"Well why don't you write about it ?", he asked.
"In English, my father added. It would add a touch of
I-don't-know-what, internationalism, in Le Castor..."
The trap opened up.
"Yeah, said Fawzi. You're a well-traveled person
("Une personne cultivé"she actually said). You
could start with music but go on with books you like, films... I don't
know : what about the concerts, shows, you went to, the plays you've
seen...."
The nail in the coffin
came with Simon : "How about 'My ten-best lists'. That
wouldn't be too difficult, would it ?"
To this day, I swear
- pardon my French -, that if I didn't know these people who were and
still are my
friends, I'd say that they had all had pre-agreed on cornering me in
writing those dreafull columns which I did - ages ago - and which I've
now been asked by you-know-who to translate into French for the new
and improved edition of the UdeNap site on which she's been asked to
organize.
So there I am, today,
reading old stuff and trying to comply with her request which imposes
on my already busy days a bit - sorry : alot - of added work. Oh, the
translation is easy. Fawzi could do it in a jiffy. - Make that a jiffy
and a half. - It's the bloody contents I have to deal with :
Look at it this way : if
you asked me today, Monday, what is my favourite Classical composer I
would say so-or-so, but then, on Thursday next, if you ask me the same
question again, I'll probably mention another name. Now think about
this : after nine years you want me to agree with someone I
don't remember having been me ? Well that's what has been asked, a
couple of months ago.
I made a deal :
Publish my old columns
intact. Once that's done, I'll write new one's in French.
Will therefore follow Mes dix
coups de coeur. With a new Introduction. Eventuallyé
Yours,
Copernique Marshall
May, 2022
