John O' Groat's Journal contributor
Graeme Mackay
NEWS & EVENTS
September twenty sixth 2013 would have been the birthday of Angus Mackay who was taken from us in 2008 at the age of forty. To celebrate his birthday we are going to Alta Mesa Memorial Park at 11 am followed by lunch at Olive Garden in Palo Alto on El Camino Real close to California Avenue. We remember Angus, forever forty, as tall , lean, tanned with chestnut eyes and dark brown hair, with a cheeky smile, a dimple perhaps a frown, a turned up lip, a bold look , sometimes shy, could be grumpy but always on the go and ready for new adventures on the road. Sometimes I thought he could not live without music, it was more like a drug he was hooked on. I remember when he moved to the Sunset District of San Francisco to start his new job at the Leaping Lemur Cafe and called me in a tizzy over a David Gilmore cassette tape that he'd left behind at Mountain View and really needed it so please have a look around. I mailed it off to his new place when all was saved by music that hath charms to soothe the savage beast. It had been a tape he'd got on his first visit to California in 1989 as it turns out and here we were fifteen years later still hanging on. Let's celebrate the son, brother, friend who was a chef ,poet, traveller , writer, music lover not neccessarily in that order.
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Twighlight Musings
​A collection of poetry published in hardback by the International Library of Poetry as a compilation in 2005, consists of individual author's work alongside their short biography.
Throughout life we store information collected from experiences and try in some way to make sense of it. When we are not able to understand the things that occur in our lives we often externalize the information. By doing this we are afforded a different perspective , thus allowing us to think more clearly about difficult or perplexing events and emotions. Art is one of the ways in which we choose to externalize our thoughts.
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The Meaning of Poetry
Within the arts , modes of expression differ but poetry is a very powerful tool by which people can share sometimes confusing , sometimes perfectly clear concepts and feelings with others. Artists may simply want to share something that has touched their lives in some way, but the poetry within these pages is from every perspective, every intention, every event or emotion imaginable. Some poems will speak to certain readers more than others but it is important to keep in mind that each verse is the voice of a poet, of a mind that needs to make sense of this world, of a heart that feels the effects of every moment in this life and perhaps of a memory that is striving to surface.
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Timeless Voices
Another hardback book from poetry.com consisting of a compilation of individual works by poets from around the United States.
Recallling our yesterdays can give birth to our many forms of expression.
The Marling Menu Master for France
A comprehensive manual for translating the french menu into American English in the form of a handy pocket soft backed edition.
The bewildering terms and expressions that have so many times baffled when you ate at a French- type reastaurant are now before you in all seriousness! In France an English translation of a French menu is rare: the list of dishes is a long one, the complexities are real.
Food serving establishments
​Restaurant: provides complete meals the elaborateness and cost of which will vary according to the elegance or simplicity of the house.
Brasserie: originally a beer-serving place but now usually has a restaurant in addition to the long bar.
Auberge: a country inn with food and lodging but sometimes an urban restaurant will carry this name
Rapide: sandwiches, made-up salads, plates of salami or ham are featured in addition to light dishes that can be eaten sitting or standing.
Bistro: general name applied to the intimate family-run type of restaurant; enjoyable small places with atmosphere.
Cafe: basically a drink-serving establishment usually with outdoor areas on the sidewalk under umbrellas.
Routier: a type of restaurant found along the highways indicated by a red, white and blue target circle sign. These little places are truck driver stops offering good value and quantity with often very good food.