It is always a pleasure for me to visit the town of Auvers-sur-Oise. Auvers-sur-Oise is of course where Vincent van Gogh spent the last two months of his life, and where he died and lies buried. I, an admirer of Vincent – not only of his paintings but so too of the man – go […]
As you may know I not only write but I also paint. That is canvases and not walls. I will show you some of my paintings here now. All are to be bought. So if you are interested do email me here on this site, or at marilynztomlins@orange.fr Or if you are a art gallery […]
On your next visit to Paris and you have a day to spare and you wonder where to go, what to see, what to do, think no more. I know where you should go: must go. The town is named Brie-Comte-Robert. It is not one of those large, noisy towns in the Ile-de-France […]
What is the world coming to? Have you heard of a killer being released from prison because he has a heart condition and may die – in prison? Well, this has now happened here in France. On November 17, 2009 I wrote the following piece for the true-crime site crime.magazine.com.http://crimemagazine.com/father%E2%80%99s-revenge It was a case which […]
I have been neglecting my website. However, there is a good reason for this. I am deep into writing another book. And what it is about? The picture above should give you a clue. Here follows my intro to this new book of mine. Myths die hard. Some never die. They go on and on […]
Oh, fortunate you who will be taking a break in the French capital this coming Christmas and New Year period because here are many new art exhibitions here now. I will list them. Luxembourg Museum (Musée du Luxembourg) – 19 rue de Vaugirard, (6) L’AGE D’OR DE LA PEINTURE ANGLAIS – from Reynolds to […]
Great was the relief and happiness on Friday, October 11 2019 (this year) when the news began to circulate in France that Xavier Dupont De Ligonnès, the ‘alleged’ assassin of his family – Agnès (his wife) and their four children – Arthur, Thomas, Anne and Benoit – had been arrested at Glasgow Airport […]
Every day people – French and foreigners – come to Rue Le Sueur in the chic and expensive 16th arrondissement of Paris. They walk down the street, the Eiffel Tower ahead, but for once the tower does not draw even a glance. Instead they stop at No. 21, a six-storey building, half-way down the […]
In 1992 I wrote about a scructural error in Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral, and that the building was not all that secure. My piece was published on Thursday, May 7, 1992, in the Johannsburg-based ‘The Star’ daily. At that time restoration work to the cathedral was being undertaken and in charge was French architect […]
Book trees have come to Paris. But what is a book trees? It is a tree trunk in which a ‘shelf’ or ‘shelves’ have been carved and where books are left for passersby to help themselves to a book – or books. The idea originated in the USA. You can find such book trees in […]
Not only writing, but also paintings, here as some of my paintings. All are for sale … so if you are interested, you can contact me on marilynztomlins@orange.fr I will any day now post more of my paintings, so drop in again.
Cemeteries? You won’t walk by one after dark? Here beyond the windows behind my desk is a cemetery. The tombs I cannot see, a building blocking my view, but what I can see are, on a summer day, some leafy green trees. But it does not upset me because I love cemeteries: I am a […]
Paris’s Louvre Museum has become the most visited museum in the world. All of 10 million people visited it in 2018: its highest number of visitors ever. Most of the 10 million were Americans, with the Chinese a close second. So what do we Parisians think of this? A sigh is the reply. A […]
Shame does stick it’s head out at the most inconvenient and thus embarrassing moments. France is leading the centenary commemoration of the end of WW1 – the Great War. Over sixty world leaders will be here on Sunday, November 11, for the main ceremony at Paris’s Arc de Triomphe. President Trump will be one […]
When Dr Marcel Petiot (see my book Die in Paris) was guillotined on Saturday, May 25, 1945, he had a scar on his left foot. Always was this man – France’s most prolific serial killer – proud of the scar. He showed it to those he told the story of his Great War experience. […]
