This month divides neatly into two on a couple of fronts.

In terms of travel, the first part (start here) was very pleasantly spent in Derbyshire, hanging out with family and friends, and making the most of the still fine weather to do lots of interesting walking.






The second part saw us heading down the map, via London (just overnight) and Paris, to Toulon.







Toulon was lovely, but we were there primarily to get to Corsica, the first objective in our proposed Four-Island Foray. And Corsica is where we still are.

After a night on the boat (longer than expected), and three nights in Ajaccio (not long enough), we took the amazing little train to Calvi.





Calvi turned out to be a really rewarding place to stay, with lots of walks right from the doorstep, and the opportunity to take that adorable little train back up the coast to visit other seaside places. (Start here, and click forward to see more of all that.)

Bright and (very) early this morning (and I don't know why we keep scheduling moving-on days to coincide with end-of-the-month days), we once more boarded the train to trundle round to Bastia, in the top right-hand corner of the island.

The journey as a whole is going pretty well (touch wood). I must admit the weather is a teentsy tad too warm for me... And yes, I know those of you tangling with Storm Bert and his successors won't have any sympathy whatsoever with that view. But the temperatures do seem to be turning out rather milder than my travel-planning research had indicated, with the result that most of my winter kit is currently in my rucksack needing to be lugged around, as opposed to on my body keeping me warm. On the much bigger plus side, the accommodation has all been good; we've stayed healthy; and there have been plenty of interesting, beautiful, and/or delicious things in all our ports of call so far.




Just yesterday I would still have been able to write that we've not had to tangle with any major logistical challenges. Then we found out -- by somewhat indirect methods, because there's no notification on the website -- that Moby Lines (on account of a duff boat) are no longer operating the crossing we'd planned to take from Bonifacio to Santa Teresa di Gallura in nine days' time, and are replacing it with a boat that goes from somewhere else, arrives somewhere else, and takes a lot longer. So we had to quickly organize work-arounds for that. But hey, keeps you nimble...

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Of course, the month divides across another watershed, too. There was the first bit, when we thought there was still the ghost of a chance that Something Really Bad might not happen, and there was the second bit, when it did...

For weeks, my email inbox was full of the reverberations from that (mostly grief and horror). The two which best reflect my thoughts and reactions are by Singaporean activist Kirsten Han and American Franciscan priest Richard Rohr.

Strap in, folks, this is going to be tough...




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In other news, The Velvet Cushion has seen a bit more action this month. In what might vaguely be called the "adventure" category, I hoovered up The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (shiveringly creepy, and all the more enjoyable for being read as part of an online read-along); Murder in the Crooked House by Soji Shimada (totally wacky); and A Long Fatal Love Chase by none other than Louisa M. Alcott (a rollicking ride, wholly surprising if -- like me -- all you'd previously known was Little Women et al, and a bit of an attempt at a feminist statement, although it wasn't published until well after her death). In the psychological/political category, I'd put Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (baffling to begin with, and definitely hard work, but ultimately quite memorable); The Comedians by Graham Greene (a sobering account of 1960s Haiti); and Dora Bruder by Patrick Modiano (a haunting attempt to reconstruct the life of just one of the victims of right-wing terror during World War II). Also posted this month were the fifth in the Book notes series, and the second entry on Kafka, whose 100th death anniversary I've been marking with a bit of a revisit of his life and work.




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Can you believe there's only one month left in the year? Me neither.

So much still to do, so much still to read... So many projects not finished, so many projects not even started... And you wonder how much time we've all got...

Meanwhile:




So, as Advent begins, I wish you peace and purpleness. In large quantities.