The next chapter

of my thesis is finished and sent of for its review. Now I have one last chapter left. But as we are visiting friends near Mâcon for a couple of days I am afraid there will be not a lot of progress made until next week.

Nevertheless it is a good feeling to click the "attach file" and "send" buttons.

A food fair will be held in Mâcon during our stay. Let's see what our hosts have to say about whether its worthwhile or not. Also the New Beaujolais is being fêted this weekend, so apart from all the hype surrounding this wine, I guess we will still be able to taste some lovely wines. And then we are in for a culinary treat. Alas, neither the name of the chef nor the place have been revealed to us yet.

Now I am off to find some needles and thread. Of course buttons only get lose and fall off when you are away from home without sewing supplies. Although I could swear I packed some emergency needle and thread.

Speaking of needles and threads reminds me of the parable of the camel fitting through the eye of a needle, which in turn conjures the association with a lock in my mind. Very strange. But anyway, here is a lock to go with that.

Today was churches' day

at least for me. In the morning I went to mass at the parish Ste. Elisabeth de Hongrie which is right around the corner from us. This Sunday was her feastday so there was a big celebration, members of the Order of Malta (which have there Parisian seat here) were present in full regalia, the bishop of Le Puy-en-Velay, himself a descendant of the saint, presided over the mass and the former French president Giscard d'Estaing came too. I have no idea what the connection is there, but it was altogether quite an impressive sight. To mark the day, the parish is introducing breakfasts every morning for the homeless.

At 4 p.m. we went back for a free baroque concert by a part of the group Parnasse Francais, which was wonderful and then right on to an organ concert at St. Eustache at 5.30 p.m.

St. Eustache is the biggest Renaissance church in France. During the French Revolution it became the Temple of Agriculture. The church seems Gothic in style at first glance but is really a Renaissance building and a beautiful one, too. I liked the atmosphere there more than in any of the other churches I have visited so far. It is airy, not somber at all. One former double door opening has been converted to a giant window, which allows the public to - in a way take - part in the life of the parish, but by the same token does not allow the parish to close its eyes before the misery of its surroundings.

The parish is very much engaged in social work with the homeless, e.g. they distribute 230 warm meals per evening, and manage a cuple of welcome centres for people who live on the street. And there are many, many people living on the streets, a very sad sight.

When aesthetics and commitment go hand in hand -regardless of religion- that is when true beauty emerges.