Lights. Camera. Action.

On Sunday evening Charles and Clydette de Groot invited PWW faculty and staff to a soirée at their apartment on the Champs de Mars. A charm-filled apartment with unimpeded views of the Eiffel tower. To match the location I slipped into my dark blue cocktail dress and silver sandals and swept my hair up high.

Tom had his camera rolling as the guests walked through the door. I took a gift for Clydette - one of my photographs - and presented it to her on entering. She was thrilled and showed the photograph to the rolling camera as a close-up. I made sure to invite her and Charles to my vernissage.

It was a delightful event - a chance to drink nothing but champagne and eat wonderful food (filo-wrapped asparagus with sweet chilli dip, satay sticks with finely chopped chives, mozarella ball, basil and tomato kebabs, enormous prawns with alioli). I listened, I talked, I charmed. I elicited some new guests for the vernissage.

Clydette and I shared our lists of the good and bad books written about Paris. I discussed moose with my professor for the coming week (Kevin Jackson) who will be teaching a group of us how to produce Creative Non-Fiction. I listened with attentive ears when Charlotte Puckette mentioned her need for a photographer for her forthcoming cookery book - The Ethnic London Cookbook. I talked to Siobahn about the difficulties of initiating cultural change in an organisation. It was both fun and stimulating - a fabulous evening.

Outside in the street I slipped off my silver sandals, delved into my bag for a pair of flat ballereins and happily rode a solitary metro home.