isobelmtl

Writing under a Montreal sky

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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

  • This is what Lent looks like in San Miguel

                 Mexico is not a quiet place.  I am writing this with a pair of orange ear plugs stuck into my ears.  Yes, it does somewhat deaden the noise of barking dogs, cars bumping up a cobble stone road, motorcycles roaring up the streets, the roasted corn seller bawling out…

  • Mexican overload

              This  conference is very intense.  The calibre of the presenters is very high and the workshops are productive and pertinent.  I get a bit exhausted and so this afternoon I went on an excursion to a nearby town justly famous for its church.  This is the Church of Atotonilco.  This…

  • What’s in a name?

    In the neighborhood of San Antonio is a mysterious blue door.  A sign, Pannos leads me to peek in.  A wonderful aroma of baking bread, a shaded courtyard, a welcoming mother and daughter who sell wonderful, wonderful bread.  It’s a good thing I’m walking a lot in San Miguel because I could eat nothing but…

  • A memorable evening

        I went went to a performance by the Guanajuato symphony orchestra. The concert was held in a theatre in the middle of town.  I would estimate that 80 percent of the audience were ex pats and I noted many a grey or white head.  The rest of us had discovered Miss Clairol or…

  • Bride in a pick – up truck

      But not just any pick-up.  Notice the floral decorations and what a shiny new model it is.  Yesterday, Saturday, was the day for weddings in San Miguel.  This one took place in the big ” parochia” of San Miguel the archangel.  Some people mistakenly call it the cathedral but since San Miguel is not…

  • Working in San Miguel

        We we are still celebrating the feast of Candalaria or Candlemas Day.  There is a big component of buying and planting flowers, trees and bushes.  The open air market is a temporary home to at least one hundred stalls.  People come in covered trucks from far away and they sleep in the trucks…

  • Nature and Culture

      This morning I took a cab which cost me less than five dollars to a nature reserve high above the town of San Miguel.  I went on a bird walk with some Canadians and Americans who certainly had a better idea of what they were looking at than I did.  The big standout for…

  • Toller Cranston’s funeral

      I received a notice by email that Toller Cranston would be laid to rest in the cemetery in San Miguel on Saturday, January 31, 2015.  I have made friends with another Canadian woman here and we decided to go.  I was interested in Toller Cranston as an artist and I had fond memories of…

  • Sam Miguel doggies will have their day

          Or so it seems.  I was invited to a lovely dinner party yesterday.  San Miguel is that kind of town.  I have never been in a place where people were so eager to know me, eat with me, drink with me, invite me to groups.  Really it is quite amazing!  I attended…

  • A new theme?

      I really was trying for something a little more romantic than the street dogs of San Miguel but they seem to insist on muzzling in.  Today I went in search of vegetables and found an organic market peopled by many Mexican sellers and many Gringo buyers.  I managed to find onions, garlic and carrots…