Carte Blanche

Sydney Opera House

And so here I am back in Paris after a lovely little trip back home to Australia. See how pretty January in Sydney can be? Sure, there is a disparity of forty degrees or so in temperature and I am back to wearing three pairs of socks under boots instead of bare feet in Havaianas with patriotic little Australian flags on them, but it is nice to be back in my other home. A small glimpse of The Eiffel Tower as I walk down the street is exciting once more. I’ve just about beat the jetlag and the French even had a grève and giant manifestation yesterday to welcome me back. Thanks France!

Next week I begin something rather insane. I will be making a weekly commute to London to attend the Faber Academy. Every Wednesday until the end of July (and the last Saturday of each month), I will be making my way into the Faber Offices in Bloomsbury to work on my novel. Finally! Some mentorship! Some structure! Some discipline! Some native English speakers! Hurrah! Behold my use of exclamation marks here, clearly I can hardly contain my excitement! But the promise of rubbing shoulders with talented writers and poet laureates and attending boozy book launches isn’t all that I am thrilled about. There is another imminent achievement that awaits.

The Eurostar Carte Blanche.

I am but 200 points away. And with two Eurostar trips per week I will be getting my hands on this much desired little card in the very near future. What is it, you ask? Well to be honest, I’m not entirely sure. I suppose it’s just a card. I don’t even think that it is white. But it will give me access to the hallowed Eurostar business lounge! Now I am not sure what goes on in there exactly but I suspect it is business. Very important business conducted by (in the words of the Eurostar website) “the privileged few”. Hello elitism. You called?

Even as a little girl I have had dreams of belonging to some elitist group, something like The Masonic Society, The Bloomsbury Set, a small street gang of intimidating thugs. All I want is to belong, but also to have others wish to belong and be denied! If the Eurostar Carte Blanche set will have me, then so be it. I even have an elaborate plan. Upon receiving my membership into this secret society, I will spend all of my spare time in the Eurostar business lounge. Even when I have no trains to catch. It’s going to become my local hangout. Laptop in tow I will find myself a spot of my own and appear to be involved in some sort of very serious business.

Others around me will notice and say “Oh, what very serious business are you conducting there?”.

“Classified.” I shall say, very mysteriously, possibly wearing some sort of mysterious hat. Yes, indoors, it doesn’t matter, this is business.

“Yes, I am also conducting very serious business,” they will reply, and then offer to buy me a gin and tonic or possibly another beverage that is slightly more business and mysterious. Perhaps a martini. Nothing says business like vermouth. And so begins my proverbial debutante ball into the world of “the privileged few”. I may take a couple as lovers, on the sly of course, there is no mystery in being overt about these things, but these dalliances shall be documented many years later in the detailed biography of The Eurostar Carte Blanche Set. A seamless plan!

It all begins on Wednesday! Exclamation mark!