The Padlocked Bridges of Paris

Paris is for lovers and indeed for anyone else who has a romantic streak or simply loves old cities and their culture.  This picture shows a bridge spanning the river Seine which is groaning under the weight of padlocks left here by lovers over the years.  Paris officials are in the process of putting up plastic panels on the Pont des Arts bridge near the Louvre in an effort to stop this practice.  In June a section of the footbridge collapsed and in fact serious damage is being done to all the old bridges of Paris (and no doubt in other cities, too).  According to City Hall over 700,000 padlocks were attached to bridges in Paris this summer alone.  The City fathers are appealing to lovers to simply take a selfie on the bridge but many tourists reject this idea.
Maybe I'm insensitive but I cannot see the charm or indeed the significance of putting a padlock on a bridge in Paris or indeed any other city.  What happens if you split up?  Do you just shrug your shoulders and obliterate from memory the day you and your lover were so sure of an enduring passion that you just had to lock it up - symbolically - on a bridge in Paris?  Do you even remember that you did it say five years down the road?  And if the break up was particularly acrimonious do you grab a hacksaw and cut through the ties that bind the lock to the bridge? I am sure the City Fathers would approve of that idea!
I love Paris, I must admit.  If I ever win a few billions in the lottery I would buy an apartment in one of those lovely old buildings not too far from the river. I'd spend part of every year there, sipping coffee at a street cafe or wandering along the river bank or around the back streets and soaking up that special Parisian atmosphere.
 I am indebted to Messynesschic's blog to keep my love of Paris alive and kicking.  Take a look at this MessynessChic's hideaway hangout in Paris, for example, and you'll understand my fascination.

I hope tourists and lovers of all nationalities will realize that a padlock on a bridge in Paris is not going to guarantee enduring love.  It might guarantee the closing of ancient bridges which are crumbling away under the load.

Kicking the Can

If there was one cliche which made me wince every time it was said in the last few turbulent weeks of the U.S. debt crisis it was "kicking the can down the road."   Grrrrr!   No wonder they couldn't come to an agreement when they were all singing from the same song sheet and on the same page, too. When I saw some of the interviews with Republican mavericks, I thought they were whistling past the graveyard.  President Obama stayed poker-faced and didn't let anyone see his hand.  But in the end they all had to step up to the plate otherwise the entire country would have been dead in the water.

Enough of that - here are a few things to ponder:

Recent research shows that from the age of 18 months upwards a child can tell when someone is being insincere according to a report in The Times.  Well now, let's do a toddlers' test on politicians and on some grown-ups, too.  "Coochie-coo" isn't going to cut any ice with the little ones if they don't think you mean it.

Research at Princeton University revealed that marmosets take turns to call out and wait 5 seconds before responding.  They don't interrupt each other or speak over other's cries.  That's pretty awesome isn't it?  How many people do you know who really listen to you instead of waiting for you to get on with your story so that they can start telling you their's?  And maybe the U.S. Democrats and Republicans would have solved things sooner if they waited 5 seconds before shooting their mouths off.  It would have given them time to engage their brains.

And now for something completely different but it has an "paawww" factor.  There exists in Paris a cafe called The Purple Puss where you can cuddle a cat while drinking your coffee.  The idea was started by a Japanese woman and is very successful.  You have to book a month in advance to get a table at weekends.  Apparently these kinds of cafes are popular in Japan where people believe that stroking a cat relaxes tension (see the slip on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24592430 ).  At any rate if you don't mind cat hairs in your coffee, it is a very pleasant way to enjoy your cafe creme.   It could even stop you kicking the can down the road.