When I spotted this fabulous image over at My Notting Hill blog the other day it really struck a chord with me. Sometimes when I am searching for something in an old book or magazine from my library at home, our bedroom can turn into something which pretty much looks like the room above. I have books all over my bed, floor and bedside table and let me tell you it's not much fun when it's time to put them all away again!!
In other news I have decided to clear the decks at Black & Spiro so I'm having an exciting online Pink Tag Sale here on the blog early next week which should be lots of fun. I am such a hoarder so it's time to move some things on and make some space for the new things I will be purchasing on an upcoming overseas buying trip.
So make sure you click back early next week as there will be some wonderful bargains to be had. If you have ever been to one of our annual Black & Spiro sales at the store you will know that I'm pretty ruthless when it comes to my markdowns!!
xx
Anna
image 1 - via my notting hill blog - room by mimi weddell from casa vogue 2005 - photo by tim walker
There is a genre of aviation writing, typified by Antoine St. Exupery, Ernest K. Gann, Richard Bach and Rinker Buck that focuses on the link between the machine and the person flying it. These pilots write not just about the sky around them but the space within. Chesley Sullenberger’s fine memoir, Highest Duty, My Search for What Really Matters, joins this group.
In the year months since he brought crippled US Airways Flight 1549 safely down in the Hudson River, Chesley Sullenberger has become the face of modern aviation. But it is doubtful he would ever have put pen to paper had fame not been cast upon him. Behind the crisp navy suit and gold braid, pilots live uneventful lives. Until they don’t.
Before the afternoon of January 15, 2009 Sullenberger worked in an industry in distress and worried about his investments. He quibbled with his wife and was apprehensive about a growing distance between himself and his teenage daughters. A typical week might have him traveling in the middle seat on a cross-country flight commuting from his home near San Francisco to his assigned base at US Airways in Charlotte.
But the life Sullenberger describes also includes an uncommon and longstanding interest in the underpinning of aviation: safety. From his first look at an airplane accident, as a 16-year old flying student at a grass strip in Denison, Texas, Sullenberger recognized the unforgiving nature of flying. This impression was reinforced in the Air Force as a member of the Mishap Investigation Board. When he became an airline pilot he participated in his union’s air safety committee and on the day he flew out of obscurity, Capt. Sullenberger had a safety book packed in his trip bag. Conscientiousness then is the quality that makes Sullenberger more than ordinary.
Airplane accidents are investigated so they can be prevented in the future. Sullenberger’s self-analysis is the flip side of that. Studying the factors contributing to good piloting can teach success. There’s no question what those factors are according to Sullenberger; preparation, anticipation and attention to the flight, leadership, responsibility and discipline in dealing with people.
Sullenberger claims the title “good pilot,” explaining that the lessons he learned in a lifetime of flying came into play that day. “Having the details of that knowledge in the recesses of my brain was helpful in making those quick decisions on Flight 1549,” he writes. But he rejects the title “hero” with a tart reply in contrast to thousands of syrupy media portrayals.
Anyone at the controls of Flight 1549 probably could have written a book about the event. But Capt. Sullenberger has given us much more than that. Certainly, co-author Jeffrey Zaslow should be given some credit. His previous books (The Last Lecture, The Girls from Ames) have demonstrated his skill at making private introspection publicaly relevant.
Together they have written a book that elevates one man and one event into a thought-provoking examination of what it means to do one’s best.
Australian born Author and fellow blogger Vicki Archer seems to live a charmed life in the South of France, the place she has found and now calls home. Like many, I adored her first book "My French Life" and her new book "French Essence", continues to drag me into her dreamy world. The photography by Carla Coulsonis divine and Vicki's styling is second-to-none. I have posted my absolute favourite page in her new book above. I decided on this one page as I don't want to spoil it for you. This book is definitely one to add to the Christmas wish list! Congratulations Vicki on another huge success!!
Nb. French Essence is available now in Australia & New Zealand and will be sold on Amazon later this year.
