'No News' Is Not 'Good' News

By last Thursday, Paris' spring weather had
dissolved into normal.

Non-News About the 'Café Metropole Club'

Paris:- Saturday, 25. March 2000:- Alas, last Thursday's meeting of your club in Paris was so without incident, that it is not worth recounting here.

By 'without incident' I mean without new, old, 'charter,' virtual or real members. Without a 'drink of the week,' no 'quote of the week;' less than no 'food of the week' - oh! - deep-fried Mars bar, where are you?

What did I do for two hours? As the club's unofficial and self-appointed secretary, I did the club's entire 'business' for a whole five minutes, and then killed the remaining 115 minutes - by criticizing the café, La Corona.

But first, I realized I was in a café, and the prospect of sitting in one, 'with time to kill,' seemed novel. This wore off after 23 minutes, so I looked at it.

Various 'virtual' and 'real' club members are active though. Thank you for sending all the messages, with the badraps about the other club members who are not showing up for the meetings in droves.

I welcome these encouraging messages. This also goes for presently 'virtual' members who are writing to say they intend to become 'real' in the near or medium-distant future. I am looking forward to seeing you.

It is good to keep in touch. The café La Corona will be occupied with a film-shoot for a couple of days in May, so there may be a change of day for one week's club meeting. The actual date is not yet fixed, but I will include it here as soon as the café's patron finds out what it is.

Also, I will be absent from two meetings - the last one in June and the first one in July, which are Thursday, 29. June and Thursday, 6. July.

For these dates I will try to arrange for the server-lady, Linda Thalman, to be acting secretary. If she in unavailable, I think another club member will step it to fill my shoes. The main thing to remember is the club's meetings will take place nearly as usual.

I will be back in my spot on the eve of Bastille Day, on Thursday, 13. July. This will likely be a Bastille Day eve that will be somewhat extraordinary - Year 2000! - and there should be a lot of dancing in the streets; followed by the biggest picnic in the history of the world on Friday, Bastille Day.

Next Thursday's club meeting will be held as usual in the same place at the same time, rain or shine. If no members turn up, in the next club 'report' I will write about the Spanish Legionnaires and the blond girl in the raincoat they wanted me to sell to them.

Thinking it over, I'm not sure this threat is dire enough.

I won't recommend this - yet again - but if you want to read last Thursday's original report, you can see the unofficial account of the weekly Club meeting - which was never same as above.

The unique and sole purpose of the Café Metropole Club is to provide a chance for readers of the online magazine 'Metropole Paris' who are also 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.

Like any other club, the Café Metropole Club has a membership card. Unlike other clubs, this card is a bit 'vrtual' as you can see here. If you wish, it is possible to print it - if you feel the urge - but it is not absolutely necessary.