Monday morning, the 18th of May, The Mayor called me Mr. Brand, and I said, yes, here I am. I was ready for hedgehog. In our garden, we have five hedgehogs now, and somehow they had become the important people of the house. The Mayor said they had questions for me, because hedgehogs want to…
Episode 47 begins in the usual state of Peeling Potatoes readiness: technically live, spiritually scattered, and administratively suspicious. The Mayor is trying to make windows smaller, find his questions, check the episode number, remember what day it is, and pretend that twenty-five prepared questions means he is in control. Fruitloop calmly reveals that she has…
It was Friday, not Monday, and already that made everything a little bit different. Normally when The Mayor and I meet, it is Monday morning, eight o’clock, and the week is standing there with both feet on my chest. But this time it was Friday. The sun was shining, the engine was warm, the grill…
I am in Croatia at the moment, staying at a campsite near Rovinj. I thought I would send a few impressions. Not a big story this time, just some photos from the campsite and from the town. Rovinj is a beautiful place, with narrow streets, old houses, the sea, boats, and many small corners to…
This week was one of those weeks where the weekend was far too short, the white school socks refused to stay clean, and the house felt like it was spinning out of control. I can point to exactly one cause for this: life in the Fruitloop lane. Monday started as a slow morning, but the…
There are mornings when life feels beautifully organised. And then there are mornings when I leave my apartment on the 14th floor without my glasses and my phone. This Thursday’s Lunch meeting began exactly where many honest conversations begin: with someone saying, “I’m okay. Just okay.” That someone was me. Fruitloop greeted me warmly, already…
I already knew before the weekend even started that I would be tired. At work I was covering colleagues who were on holiday, and for two weeks it would continue like that. Four mailboxes to manage, different countries, different offices, different people asking for things at the same moment. Spain maybe open, maybe closed. France…
When The Mayor showed me the cartoon, I liked it very much. I was quite touched by it, actually. The idea was simple, but also completely absurd in the right way. Garbage are playing at The Piece Hall in Halifax on the 16th of June, with Skunk Anansie, and somehow I am not only at…
My name is Fabrice. I was born in Wissembourg in 1967, but I grew up here in Cleebourg. For me, Cleebourg is not just a village. It is my village. My childhood friends were here. Some of them are still here. My family was here too — my grandfather, my grandmother, everyone. I went to…
I suppose playful thinking is not so easy for me. The Mayor said this at the beginning, more or less, and I think he was right. Not because I don’t like playfulness, but because sometimes when someone asks me a funny question, my mind goes to the practical side first. I try to understand the…
