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This article is taken from PN Review 259, Volume 47 Number 5, May - June 2021.

From Otherwise I Forget Clémentine Mélois
extra rapid cement, grey paint,flat-headed nails 24 upholstery screws

extra rapid cement • grey paint • flat-headed nails 24 upholstery screws

Jérôme

I’m not the first person to say it, but for chatting up women there’s nothing like B&Q. It’s packed with single women struggling to find what they want in the drill aisle. They hover, they compare prices, they haven’t a clue what to choose. And then I come along, prince charming, offering my services. Sometimes they turn out to be stupid bitches, but not always. Women, even married ones, like a handyman, a bloke who can offer advice and possibly more. With a bit of practice you’ll always find one who’s a bit bored with her life who won’t say no to a little extra now and then.

Shopping List

3–4 small carrots • 3–4 turnips • 3–4 leeks • 3–4 chicory heads
3–4 pears • 250 gram prunes • chervil tarragon • bread
Sunday morning • Butcher • bread

Aliénor

We all have our worries, our inescapable anxieties, that’s normal. But prayer
is the moment of the day when I take a break from it all, when I relax into simplicity, in a heart to heart with Jesus. I tell the Lord that I love him, I listen
to him through the word, I cross the void. The most important thing is not to understand. Once you have understood that, the holy Spirit is within us. I receive the love of Jesus ...


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