isobelmtl

Writing under a Montreal sky

Recent Blog Posts

about

Isobel Cunningham has published short fiction and poetry. Her book, Northern Compass is available on Amazon. She was born in Wales but Montreal is her adopted home. She speaks French, Modern Greek ( it’s a fun story) and a little Spanish…oh, English too, of course. She welcomes comments on her blog and looks forward to chatting with you over cyber-space.

Author: isobel cunningham

  • Aztec Dancing

    This will be short as I have been standing in the  square for hours…not the 12 hours the dancers have been dancing, but still.  Such drumming, costumes. Such a mixture of Christianity and indigenous customs.  More tomorrow, I promise!

  • Old and Young

        I could hear an accordion playing somewhere near the square ringed with neatly clipped trees.  The melodies, however, were not neat, slipping from some sort of oriental belly-dance tune to a tango to a waltz.  Impossible that this eclectic stream of tunes and chords could be canned music.  Ah, there he was, sitting…

  • Small Beauties

      Yesterday it was humid and oppressive.  For the second time during my stay here if rained heavily during the evening.  I am hoping that means the air will be clear and fresh this morning.  Late in the afternoon yesterday I swung in the hammock, reading for a few moments, letting the book drop onto…

  • Leap

        Can you see what these very glamorous bridesmaids are doing?  Having come to the main church of San Miguel ( the parochia) they are removing their trendy sports shoes and putting on some killer high heels.  That way they  can totter into the church behind the equally glamorous bride and guests.  It is…

  • The ladies ( and gents) go shopping in San Miguel

      I am revelling in  the serious second-hand shopping scene in San Miguel.  The classic is the Tuesday Market high up on a hill outside of the town.   It’s overwhelming, muddled and chaotic but sometimes it yields good results ( a North Face jacket for my granddaughter for $2 last week). The vendor even…

  • Little Mexican mysteries

      Today just a few scenes from a fine day walking around the city.  Besides the lovely colonial architecture which has been preserved in San Miguel we often see something pretty to catch the eye.  I love this piñata high over one of the streets leading from the central garden.  Don’t know who will be…

  • Beaten by Butterflies

            Yesterday I went to see the Monarch butterflies in their reserve high in the mountains of Michoacan Province in Mexico.  The landscape is startlingly different from the scrubby plains, full of cactus and brush that surrounds San Miguel.  The car turns off the highway onto a twisting two lane highway and…

  • Blessing

      It can be a daunting thing to see beauty when one is alone. Late yesterday afternoon I sat in the square in front of the parochia of San Miguel and watched the sun turn the pink stone into a spun sugar wedding cake.  After 25 years of living alone, travelling alone, one would think…

  • Reflections on Valentin’s Day

      Mexicans love celebrations.  Now that Canadalaria is over ( the old Candlemas, or Presentation) it was time to turn to Valentine’s Day.  I saw many people walking around with bouquets of flowers, modest or extravagant and everywhere in the town were huge bunches of helium balloons, most sold by youngsters.  I read somewhere that…

  • Sigh! The Life of a Writer

      So, here at the Writers’. Conference in San Miguel when we don’t have a workshop or keynote speaker or open mic ( gulp, I,have it tomorrow!) we lie down for a little nap on the lawn as the fountains play and eager writers have pitches with agents.  Oh, no, they sit in chairs at…