Le French May 2009 is in full swing and if you haven’t yet taken a look at what’s on offer then you’ve already missed out on some great shows, but there’s still half a month to immerse yourself in all things French. The French, perhaps more than any other nationality, have grasped that life is to be enjoyed. To be lived, to be experienced, to be touched, appreciated, tasted, savoured, kissed, loved… Yes, many other peoples have learned to carpe diem, to seize the day - but none do it with such style and refinement. They have turned pleasure into an art and then refined it to explore all its nuances, adding a certain je ne sais quoi to their joie de vivre.

It’s the little things that make the difference, always the details that you miss most when, for instance, a loved one isn’t around. The smile, the touch, a hug - individually minute but together a massive void. Skype and text if anything make it worse, emphasizing the feeling of being so close, yet so far. So on the spirit of Le French May, take a few minutes each day this month to reflect on the minutiae in your life that give significance to even the most mundane routine of the everyday.

Speaking of how absence can highlight the joyful details of daily life, my good friend and bc columnist Spike is under the weather currently – so much so he’s not even enjoying his girlfriend’s sponge baths. Please accept our apologies that there’s no column this issue.
sd