The Socialite of Bloomsbury

Allow me to introduce you to Collette, or l’autre Collette as she introduced herself to me. I was visiting my old student stomping ground when I lived, briefly, in Bloomsbury. In those days there was a Safeway - now a Waitrose. I saw a lovely looking older woman with an interesting tote bag. It turned out to be a print of Frank Lloyd Wright and we started chatting. I’m pretty good at chatting with strangers but Collette could teach a master class. We spoke about all sorts of things and I think we could have carried on chatting until the shop closed.

I said that I liked her festive earrings and she quickly took off her scarf to reveal the matching necklace. I asked to take her photo and she assured me that she wasn’t photogenic and preferred to leave no trace… I eventually got her consent by saying that everyone can be photogenic and that it depends on the skill of the photographer. 

I only had my old iPhone on me but I hope you can glimpse the wondrousness of Collette.