The Club Is Not Fumes

Just how many members prefered the sun onthe terrace?

News About the 'Café Metropole Club'

Paris:- Saturday, 18. March 2000:- First I want to thank all club members who wrote to comment about the possible coming sales of champagne by Metropole.

I am still mulling over what sort of answer I should send to members who wrote to say various unkind things about alcohol in general and in home-made champagne in particular.

Last Thursday's club meeting in the café La Corona resulted in no new members, again. Patrick, the club's waiter, did not win the 'Millionaire' lottery thing, again.

The only person who seemed unaware of the lack of new members, or the attendance of any existing 'real' members, was the server-lady Linda Thalman, who is a 'real' member herself. With her there, I can say the club's attendance increased by 100 percent over the previous week's.

Linda brought along an empty bottle of 'Havana Club' cuban rum to show me what neat bottles they make on that far-away island in the Caribbean.

I don't remember whether 'Havana Club' was named 'Drink of Week,' because the bottle was very empty. I don't remember what Linda drank, except she did say she suspected that it evaporated. Fumes in the air can't become 'Drink of the Week.'

Most of this 'not remembering' is because nothing much of any kind happened during Thursday's club meeting in Paris; and this is the reason for not re-running the meeting's account here, as I wrote I would do a couple of weeks ago.

As if turns out, like club membership, nothing is happening this week. Smart people, even if they are club members, are staying outside to catch Paris' occasional sunbeams - and I can't say I blame them.

It is also possible that there are few club members in Paris available to attend meetings. This is what I prefer to think rather than imagine you all sitting together on a waterside quay on the sunny side of the Ile Saint-Louis.

In fact, if you are doing this, I can recommend the riverside quays across the Quai du Louvre from the café. This is a spot on the right bank that does not share the Seine with the speedway traffic. It has pretty good views of the bridges - the Pont des Arts and the Pont Neuf - and the backlit left bank.

Next Thursday, if you are not at the club's meeting, I may just zip over there to see if you are basking in the sun instead of loading up on onion soup in the café.

I won't recommend this - again - but if you want to see last Thursday's original report, you can read the unofficial account of theweekly Club meeting - which is the not same as above.

The sole and unique purpose of the Café Metropole Club is to offer an opportunity for readers of the online magazine 'Metropole Paris' who are in Paris to meet its 'Ed,' and each other, at its weekly meetings in the club's Paris café.

You will find that your 'Club' is more value than it costs - which is nothing - even though it has no actual real, pretended or 'virtual' benefits, except for being absolutely free.