My father was something of a Francophile; every summer holiday we spent en France. He instilled in me an appreciation, during those childhood years, of joy drawn from the good life. I remember being about ten, watching other kids sipping wine, late one Mediterranean evening, out with their adults. I was overjoyed when my folks offered me the chance to be just such a sophist, that balmy night, with cricket song thick in the air. I was a few years older by the time I could appreciate the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. As an English Ex pat, I had to move to the other side of the planet to find a home that seemed as free, equal and friendly as my holiday memories of France.
This piece was made with Paris in mind and those great ideals. Here, in NZ, there a certain places where we are free to search for gold, there is no real class system and mates are for real. If only it were closer to France, I could pop in for lunch and eat until I died : ) Bon Vivre.