I spend part of the year at a spiritual retreat in The French Vosges Mountains, the retreat is called Seminar Paradies and it is run by two of my best pals

go to the website - click here LE CORNU

I found this photograph which I took from the little chalet that I live in when I am there - the website has much better ones.

It's the place where I have written most of my work - it always holds a piece of my heart wherever I go and however long I am away ...

I simply love the work of Bart Hess, the Dutch artist. Thses videos amply show his amazing and original talent.

Someone asked me to post what I was currently reading - so here's the list below. I'm an avid reader and have lots of stuff open all of the time. I read on my Kindle but I also buy some print.

As you can see, I have a pretty mixed taste - that kinda reflects my taste in art generally - pretty eclectic and a constantly shifting focus. I wasn't planning on posting links to these books.

It would be cool to know if you're reading one of them too, but let me know what you are reading 'cos I am always looking for recommendations.

ALP IS READING (I will try to keep this list up to date and post reviews as I go) ...

• The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck
  
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
  
• Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
  
• Assignment to Disaster by Edward S Aarons
  
• Strange Conflict by Dennis Wheatley
  
• The Romance of Tristran & Iseult retold by Joseph Bedier
  
• Stripped Expectations by James Lee Hard
  
• The Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Eugene Petrov
  
• Lexington Black by Savannah Smythe
  
• Wondering, The Way by Luke F D Marsden
  
• Jonathan's Hope by Hans M Hirschi
  

I've got about 20 books downloaded which I haven't started yet - I'll knock some of them on the head when I fly back to Europe at the end of April.

Alp

I was watching a whole load of Youtube videos last night - I'm addicted to visual art, short film ... well, all art really. I kinda thought this group of short clips worked well together - and expresses something of the diversity of dance/performance art. Also. I'm currently exploring the degrees to which power is constrained in art and art liberates power ... enjoy!

Went to a flea market today and scoured the books, only to find a nearly full set of Sam Durell 'assignments' - got Assignment To Disaster which is the series opener.

I think you can still get them on Amazon (I checked and not on Kindle) - the Fawcett edition I picked up was from 1955, possibly a first edition. I love these short and punchy kinda formulaic stories - probably for the same reason that I like short films - everything encapsulated in 15 minutes - which takes a lot of talent.

I got a good deal because Amazon is selling a used copy for $2.95 and paid 49 cents. I'll let you know what I think and pretty certain that I'll go back and get the rest - a full set might actually be pretty cool to have on the shelf.

Like Ian Fleming, Aarons was in the Navy. Casino Royale - Fleming's first Bond story appeared in 1953 - I wonder to what extent they read each other's stories and to what degree they influenced each other's writing.

The Sam Durell's were beside a copy of The Romance of Tristan & Iseult retold by Joseph Bedier and translated by Hilaire Belloc - got that for a dollar.

Alp