So far this week...

Dear Everyone,

Wednesday's been and gone already. At last time is starting to fly. Not long til November and believe me, I'm counting the days!

Here, things are busy as usual. I have an evening in with the cats for a change and my Eastenders dvds (catching up from February!).

The art world has got worked up here and rightly so regarding an exhibition at the Chateau de Versailles given by Koons. Personally, I find it completely outrageous to have placed it at Versailles when it would have been far better at somewhere like the Pompidou Centre, if indeed it had to be shown anywhere. I can't see anything artistic about it, but call me an ignoramus if you disagree - see slideshow below from the New York Times. How can a balloon poodle possibly be called art, except of course by balloon makers, whose job it is to do such things at childrens' parties. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/11/arts/design/20080911_KOONS_SLIDESHOW_index.html
As for that alluminium lobster hanging in such a beautiful room amongst portraits of French royalty, well... I'm a bit gob-smacked. What was the Minister of Culture thinking? Menu pour son réveillon, peut être?

Other news: the Bulgarian poet and screenwriter, Konstantin Pavlov has died aged 75. See obituary below from the Sofia Echo:

Konstantin Pavlov, Bulgarian poet and screenwriter, dies at 75

14:56 Mon 29 Sep 2008 - Svetlana Guineva

Konstantin Pavlov, who died on September 29 2008 aged 75, was to literary critics something like the last crusader, an enlightener who often touched on the mystical but without stepping into the realm of superstition. Pavlov had a reputation of putting under close personal surveillance the times he lived in, using only his senses and the strength of his spirit.

But when the dark times of communism gave way to something indefinable but often described as the time of a quest for democracy, Pavlov already knew – all times were mediocre by nature. He must have realised long ago that essential loneliness was what every individual was predestined to dwell in, loaded with the burden of solving his/her existential puzzle.

Born on April 2 1933 in the village of Vitoshko, near Pernik, Pavlov briefly attended Sofia University to study law. During the communist regime he was primarily translated and published abroad, while to the public at home, he remained virtually unknown because of his refusal to comply with the imposed ideology of “building the bright socialist future”.

He had been publishing poetry since the 1960s and had his work organised in 10 volumes.

Throughout the years, Pavlov also wrote scripts for feature-length and documentary films. He worked as an editor at Radio Sofia, later at the Bulgarski pisatel (Bulgarian Writer) publishing house and for a short time, at the literary newspaper Literaturen front (Literary Front).

Only in recent years was he acknowledged for his contribution to modern Bulgarian poetry and literature. In 2000, he was awarded the Nikola Fournadjiev national poetry award, and in 2005, he received the Hristo G. Danov national literary award that honors efforts in building civil society in Bulgaria.

Pavlov's works have been translated into French, English, Spanish, German, Russian, Polish and Hungarian. Regarded as one of the most influential Bulgarian poets of the 20th century, Pavlov's poetry prompted remarkable Russian poet Anna Ahmatova to exclaim: “This is the greatest Bulgarian poet I have ever read!”

And another thing:

If anyone's in the Zimmerli Art Museum area of New Brunswick, please go to this exhibition for me by procuration: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/nyregion/new-jersey/28artsnj.html?ref=design We need far more exhibitions such as this, rather than the one noted above at Versailles. This is a tribute to the victims of Stalin's Russia, who as you know, died in their millions in the goulags across the country. This is one of those many moments when I wish that teletransportation had been perfected years ago - that one could simply click fingers and be at any place at any time for such marvellous cultural events... I do hope it will come to Europe in the not-too distant future.

Manda came to stay for a few days this week. It was great to have her here. She left this afternoon, returning in two weeks, and I shall miss her until then. Adrian is still in the UK where his mum (aged 90) is preparing for a hip operation at this tender age. I can't think what the surgeons are thinking of performing a general anaesthetic on a lady of her years, but asta e.

That's all my news so far. No need to speak of work, for I have nothing complimentary to say. How I miss my Bucharest students who came to class dying to learn, absorb all that I had to teach with homework done and intelligent questions to ask.

With love from your BBC correspondent in Paris,

Sarah xox