"What Was That Demo?"

Last Thursday's jolly club members, at the club's
meeting in La Corona.

News About the 'Café Metropole Club'

Paris:- Saturday, 26. February 2000:- With this issue 'Club News' changes into the most recent club meeting 'report.' Readers and club members who want a booster-shot of Metropole late on Thursdays, will find the newest meeting 'updates' as usual.

But to save regular-edition readers and club members the hyperlink trip back to last week, the last meeting's 'report' will be here too.

The two versions may differ slightly, with some first-version photos being dropped while new ones are added here. Any other last minute information is more likely to be on this page too.

For example, Charter Club Member Kathleen Bouvier spotted Paris' first daffodils and mentioned them at Thursday's meeting. Photographed today, where she saw them, the photo is below.

Last Thursday's Meeting

Thursday, 24. February:- I made a foolish error. A couple of days ago I wrote to a 'real' club member, saying I needed 'a spark.' Around noon today, I found some of my wires sparkling - the vital ones! - and could not get a quick fix or any other kind.

It might only need a turn of a screwdriver, but if I get it wrong with my 94 year-old wiring I am on the ground floor and my landlord lives upstairs over me, and there are several floors of neighbors above him. So I pulled the plug on the whole thing.

With this on my mind I arrive at today's club meeting, under grey skies and temperatures above normal. As usual I have come a bit early 'in case of I don't know what' and to take a few grey-day photos on the way. This make the camera's battery signal flash the message "I'm nearly empty, so watch out!"

'Fine,' I think, 'No power in the shop and now there's going to be no club meeting pictures to not download and not put online with today's club report.'

'The show,' as they say, 'Must go on.' I paste on as much grin as I can bear, and trade the handshakes all round going into La Corona. The patron says, "A member came yesterday," and gives me a card. The patron says another card has been left with a message on it. This one, I forget to get.

Allan Pangborn comes in while I'm arranging the club's members' and reports' booklets. I give him back his Champagne photos and we settle down for a two-hour chat, with me sort of hoping Mr. Smith from Tennessee will show up, but deep inside I know he won't because it is that kind of day.

But not quite. Nancy and Byron Pinckert edge their way up from the vicinity of the bar and say the magic word, which is 'Metropole.'

"Welcome to the club!" I babble. 'Just my luck; brand-new members on a day of shambles. They'll think I'm the king of the boobies.'

But my fears don't pan out. Kathleen Bouvier waltzes in with her 'spark' and she is followed by Diane Rushing, who became a new member two weeks ago. Today's club meeting has what amounts to a comfortable 'house.'

So we lift the curtain on the 'City of the Week' which turns out to be Long Beach, California. Byron Pinckert verifies for me that Long Beach is so called because it has a long beach, which is easily as apt as 'Boondocks' having both a boon and docks.

Actually, the Pinckerts do not live 'on the beach' but on a canal; which is one of many, "Like Venice," and yes, like "The other Venice, a few miles north."

None of this may be as actually funny as I'm trying to make it sound, but if you are reading this - both datelines above is correct which means I have craftily secured emergency electricity and just scraped up enough photos off the bottom of the batteries to get by.

The Pinckerts also have a legitimate 'Question of the Day.' One of my jobs as club secretary is to answer these, so I am glad when new club members remember to ask them.

"What was that demonstration we saw near Invalides yesterday?" is the question of the day. "We didn't seen anything in the papers about it."

I am not glad when members ask question for which I have no answers, but I rewind my memory as fast as it will go. The nearest answer I can get - but I get a hint first: "They looked like meatpackers and they had red signs with 'F.O.' on them."

'Aha!' I sort out hospital workers from postal workers from firemen from parents-teachers-and-students, hunters and dog-catchers; it was, "Hospital workers," I say in triumph. Explaining the 35-hour work week is not quite so successful, as well as being pretty boring.

Meanwhile we are having 'Drinks of the Week' that we've had before so they don't really qualify. Allan has his usual small glass of wine - Gewürtztraminer - which is about one gulp, so he gets another small pot of it.

Kathleen knows better, and starts off with the Suze-Cassis combo which Byron also has, while Nancy and Diane have beaujolais.

Last week Diane missed the club by going to the sunny and warm Aix in the south of France, where it was chilly and windy. A few weeks ago, Bill Dunlap said it was good down there too.

The Pinckerts are both designers; with Byron being an architect. His favorite 'architectural' experience in Paris is the Musée Picasso, which he says, "Puts the vision of the artist into an interior shell."

Another charter club member said some time ago that visitors there tended to boggle in doorways, but Byron shrugged it off. "Just more time to look at the paintings in the rooms."

Like many other charter club members, the Pinckerts have been to Paris several times. "We never get to go anywhere else," says Nancy. However, this trip has an unusual twist to it, because Byron's employees gave it to the couple as a Christmas gift.

In return, he is taking photos with a cannon of a Sony and putting them online on his company's Web site. He says his company uses Webcams on building projects, so he can also see what's going on while he's away.

Kathleen lets us know about a stunning discovery she's made. "I saw daffodils today!" she says.

Since she has not live in Paris for a whole year yet, she doesn't know that, in principle, Paris has no daffodils in February and it lucky to get tulips by mid-May. She saw them beside the A13 autoroute in Auteuil. She says she had a good look because she was in a huge traffic jam.