Finally made it down to the site of the picture on the postcard - Brooklyn Bridge - but it was daytime so no clever photos but a smile as there were three Asian brides lining up to have their pictures taken under the bridge. As I passed by a hour later there were a further four couples there so it must have been an auspicious day for Asian marriages. Last week I had a mix of experiences in just one walk through Central Park. IN the middle of the Great Lawn were ten/twelve identical black baby carriages drawn up in a circle like a wagon train protecting the insiders. In the middle were the mothers/nannies? huddled together in conversation while the children dozed around them. Adjacent to them were five young women slathering themselves in sun tan lotion, amd next to them a single girl hammering out a message on a laptop. Nearby on the inside road of the park joggers jogged, runners ran, bikers biked, bladers bladed and boarders boarder and heaven help anyone who thought they could stroll across the sea of movement without being shouted at. The whole was just one constant blur of passing life. Nothing, or no one, seems to stand still in New York for long for fear that it/they might be in the way and/or miss out on something. Downtown last week I saw a middle aged woman, dressed in a black business style trouser suit, leave the passenger seat of a car and begin pounding on the boot (trunk) of a car in front of her own, because it hadn't moved into a crossway of other traffic. As her own driver hadn't allowed any space between the two cars she was now demanding that the car in front move on. It appeared that going back around the rear of her own car wasn't an option for her.........blaming the other driver seemed more appealing. And almost everywhere, except in a service situation, people have often seemed quite surly. Hold a door open for someone and you get either a look of utter surprise or no response at all as they brush past you. Even New Yorkers themselves seemed bemused last week when a paper survey suggested that residents of the city were becoming more polite! I did however meet one man who was charm in itself - a docent at the Carnegie Hall, where I took a guided tour. What a wonderful hall it is on the inside - bonus was that a leading French pianist was rehearsing on the stage so we were able to hear the famed acoustics of the place. Loved the story that the only reason it got built was the Carnegie, himself a dour Scot by all accounts, fell in love with a singer who made it a condition of their marriage that he put up the money for the hall. Personal bonus was that I researched and found that my Great Aunt, Mary Garden, had made her American debut at the hall in 1923. LIfe imitates art outside Joan's apartment as a film crew has been shooting part of a movie on the crossroads in front of the Loews Cinema, for three days now. Last night they finished but were almost promptly replaced by three fire engines which had been called to deal with an incident on the same corner of Broadway and 68th. It may be a little damp around here occasionally but it is never dull. Probably won't write anymore postcards till I get back to London around 28th April.