I had a strange dream. I had a strange dream,
Paris. All my dreams are strange. You were not
in it, though it ended with me ending a social
gathering by saying, I need to go by 11 or 12
for Imagined Paris. It was understood and accepted.
It was a strange dream. I was asked what it was
like to drink whiskey or cognac. They didn't
even ask what it was like to drink in the morning.
Was it the morning? I swear it didn't look like
anywhere the Spoon I've been to. Ah, could they
just be British? This uncertainty about the time
of the day will cloud my attempt to interpret
the dream for sure. I need to go by 11 or 12
for Imagined Paris could mean I need to apply for my French long-stay visa by month 11 or 12. And now it
could also mean by day 11 or 12. Anyway, I answered:
this is armagnac, actually, but when I lived in
Paris, I used to drink whisky or brandy at the
counter in the corner of an old bar, like a lonely
old man, in a dress. Now, if - when I go back to
living in Paris, I won't be a lonely man in the
corner of an old bar, in a dress or a pair of
trousers, anymore. I will be surrounded by not
only friends but love. I will be not only loved
but surrounded by friendships. It won't be just
one or the other. Maybe I'll still walk in the
rain alone, occasionally, for feeling misunderstood.
But that's all right, a falling star would fly
back up in a hurry if anyone wished to understand
me fully. It's good to be understood by someone,
albeit not fully, and it's great to never be
misunderstood by oneself. Full-bodied (it means
I don't need to eat much) - that's how I will feel,
like the drink in my dream. I will be bolder,
earthier, more intense, more artisanal - these
are the qualities of armagnac compared to cognac
that my Google search came up with, by the way.
Being single distilled, I won't think twice about
launching anything, a compliment or an idea.
Will I not? You're so confusing, Paris, I like
it! Well, perhaps single-distilled just means
I will be less filtered than I already am, if
that's possible. Hey, anything's possible! Either
way, Paris, you are in for a ride! Maybe not
a ride because I don't drive anymore. A spin?
I'm not a good dancer. Hmm, you are in for everything
that's real that doesn't require that much of
adrenaline - how about that? Like a sailing trip?
The boat I'm currently living on in Chelsea has
neither a sail nor an engine anymore, so maybe
like... when an Uber boat goes past the barge
and makes it swing side to side to jog your balance
a little bit. A little bit often, I'd say.
C'est la vie on the River Thames, where I enjoy
my isolation in between hosting dinners, working
on something with my artist friends and going
to the theatres. It's strange how life seems
to be perfectly balanced while I'm living on
something that moves all the time. It's strange
to think of moving to Paris when I'm already
surrounded by artists in London now. Someone
said recently, "I think London is the best city
in the world, why would you want to move to Paris?"
It's a dream, and all my dreams are strange.
It's a dream, and I take my dreams seriously.
Londres. Le 9 novembre 2025. Je t 'embrasse.