Footnotes to a Conversation, April 8, 2024
I’m winging my way back to Canada today. I’ve had a wonderful time in England and France but am looking forward to being back in Victoria. Maybe it’s a sign of age, but it’s the small things, the familiar routines, that are both memorable and rewarding. I only spent 5 days in Collioure, but I quickly established routines – a hot drink on the front to admire the view and an ice cream perched on a bench below the fort in the afternoon. Once I get home, I’m looking forward to catching up with my family, but I’m also looking forward to buying bread at Fry’s Bakery, walking the West Bay walkway, and checking out what new treasures have come in at The Market Garden. It’s not the purchases that matter. All of these simple pleasures involve walking and observing and time outside.
Breaking the Rules
I set out to include a link to The Market Garden. Lo and behold, I discovered the origins of the store:
“We started with a simple idea in 2015: organic seeds and fresh grown produce sold out of a lush garden. In 2017, the beginnings of a grand grocery emporium started to emerge. It seems every grocery store in North America runs on the same manual. We set out to flip the model on its head and break all the rules. Instead of the common aisles, we opted for rooms, each featuring its own decor to complement the products being sold. Gone were the standard fluorescent lights: in their place, the finest chandeliers we could get our hands on. Typical metal shelving vanished, replaced by bespoke creations and fine antiques. Both online and in store, we pride ourselves on offering unique products, a beautiful shopping experience, and great value to our guests.” [The Market Garden]
Thank goodness for all those people who aren’t afraid to break the rules!
Invisible Women
I shouldn’t be surprised and yet I am every time I’m reminded of how society fails to consider the needs of women. In this case, it’s an article about transportation systems designed for men. Women are less likely to own a car, 47% more likely to be seriously injured in a car crash, and 9 out of 10 women around the world don’t feel safe in public spaces (How comfortable do you feel walking alone at night? I know it makes me feel uneasy.). [Union of Concerned Scientists, Planetizen]
Maria Montessori
I went to see the film La Nouvelle Femme this week about Maria Montessori. I knew a little about her educational methods but nothing about her strength as a woman and her refusal to be invisible as a wife and colleague. She was one of Italy’s first female doctors. Her work with children with mental and emotional disorders led her to recognize that children without disabilities had many of the same needs.
“What Montessori came to realise was that children who were placed in an environment where activities were designed to support their natural development had the power to educate themselves. She was later to refer to this as auto-education. In 1914 she wrote, ‘I did not invent a method of education, I simply gave some little children a chance to live’.”
Maria had a long and eventful life, moving from Italy to Spain and eventually India, but she held fast to her beliefs in the power of women and education. [Association Montessori Internationale]
Photo: Cloister, Musée d’Art Moderne, Collioure
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.
If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.