Paris, November 24th 2022
On our way to the CEDRE in the autumn sun, we notice again the heavy police presence in the nearby streets. The day centre is continuing to function as well as it can, people queuing to receive important mail and serving themselves coffees from the new machine. The Community Table is well used in each session and this Thursday we noticed a particuler fluidity and calm in the way interactions and creations happened.
Taking a leaf out of Etienne Klein’s theory that anagrams reveal the hidden sense of the world, we played with words, unravelling « montagne » to find « gone » « géant »« gnome » and in the word « university » finding « unity », « sun »… We found that « dactylographe » comes from the greek : writing with fingers. Amid the laughter, one man remarked that it did his brain good to get some exercice.
At the other end of the table some intricate brick structures were made in very different styles. We chewed cinnamon sticks and smelt spices. One young man who comes regularly traced a mosque from a postcard, and talked about the importance of what he calls « together life », which we took to mean the freedom of the here and now, shared with other people. This seems a beautiful way to describe what happens around the Community Table.
Words by Kate France & Naomi Press
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