Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
Above: Pont Vieux (1335) spanning the Tarn River
A short, half-hour train ride from Toulouse, the ancient city of Montauban was chartered in 1144. The population is more than 60,000, but the narrow streets in the historic center certainly contribute to its small-town feeling.
Continue reading “Postcard from Montauban, France: Day-trip to the birthplace of Ingres”
Above: Place de la Trinité
When I started sorting through our images of Toulouse, more shots seemed to be landing in the random file than normal. Part of that is the patterns of the city itself. The imaginative use of brick and stone, far more striking than the staid formal Williamsburg-look abundant in my original home state. And the way Toulouse tends to reuse not tear down the old, with an unbridled free-spirited approach to mixing centuries of architectural styles in the same block.
Continue reading “Postcard from Toulouse, France: Is there any logic to the wandering eye?”
Above: “Boy Playwright Shows Talent,” San Antonio Express, July 6, 1913, UNT Libraries, The Portal to Texas History
Seeking the feel of an era when trying to write historic fiction requires time-consuming research, but distracting detours are so seductive and somewhat justified as snippets gleaned slip into the pages you type.
Take Oliver Perry Wilson Bailey (1897-1978), tagged with an ambitious-sounding name. The 1910 Census, when he was but a lad of 12, recorded him as a professional rabbit-raiser living on South Alamo Street, now part of Hemisfair, in San Antonio. By 1913, he was an accomplished screen writer. Yes, the son of a reporter of the San Antonio Express already had sold screenplays to three different companies.
Continue reading “Diving down rabbit holes: Fledgling 19-teens’ silent film industry proved distracting”
Postcards from Barton Springs 