Read Winter: Notes from Montana by Rick Bass, 
which I found in the book exchange area on PariSanté Campus. In a French translation, within the travel Folio collection I usually enjoy (incl. William Fiennes’ Snow Geese). But not this time, despite my relating to the appeal of cabin life in a remote location (provided it is spared by wildfires)! The reasons are multiple, from unceasing self-glorification for choosing to settle in Yaak Valley, Montana (on the Canadian border), without acknowledging the huge privilege of being able to have the choice, to a very low-level form of environmentalism that verges on the “not in my backyard” version rather than addressing societal issues, while investing in oil drilling in Texas and bemoaning on the time it takes to ship [his] car parts from Japan, to the huge chunk of time and space dedicated to wood cutting and the subtleties of maintaining a chainsaw in subzero temperatures, with again a lack of perspective on the tiny percentile that can afford this way of living.
Made several kilos of fig jam and compote—testing for a difference when peeling the fig, which is not so much about taste as with a more liquid outcome and hence a longer cooking time—, besides delivering daily to the department and the neighbours! Also had a fabulous dinning experience in Leamington Spa in a Keralan restaurant, forecasting a fantastic food scene for the next IISA conference in Kochi!
Watched Season 2 of House of the Dragon (for which Winter is not yet coming!), which is very uneven in pace, appeal, acting, and scenario. Especially the scenario (possibly missing input from the author)! But the lead actresses are running the show most convincingly. (And much more than their male counterparts….) And listened to three new albums by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (Wild Dog), London Grammar (The Greatest Love) and… The Cure (Alone)!
Xi'an's Og