"Establishment" does not even dust the surface Rob. All those years ago it is where a young woman full of dreams first was introduced to Brancusi, through her classes in three dimensional design taught by a madman/sculptor, was launched into wild freedom in light and colour by Moholy-Nagy, and just down the street in the kitchen of a small Italia Restaurant learned in the middle of the night to make and form Orecchiette and cavatelli. Everything suddenly became within the realm of possibility and curiosity exploded into flight which carries me to this day. My time there came unexpectedly, but made all the difference.
Strangely Peter, I find putting together and baking excellent soufflés the same sort of almost out of mind / parallel zone experience as painting, writing and photography. I never question where they carry me, or why. (But of course life is always better with Chocolat) 
(and never make only one).
The light and moment was indeed exquisite, and wish I could have done it more justice, yet being there for it to unfold was as usual, serendipity. Lumine!
If I have one, serious educational regret, it's that I was too much the good, obedient kid when we returned from India to live in Scotland. My two interests were art and English. Unfortunately, the new school I had to go to in order to finish my formal education looked upon art as the province of the less able student, and the family was convinced that maths, science and the other traditionally venerated subjects were far more likely to offer a good future. So, art was out along with my early innocence in justice. As, of course, was art school.
Anyway, as with everything, there is a plus side, because it's where I met my wife-to-be and she made up for that early scholastic disappointment every day of her life. That said, total immersion in something one loves can't be beaten, and picking up stuff as one progresses along the slippery slope is poor, very poor substitute for that total immersion, that baptism by exposure to the real deal. All I could do was read
Vogue and the
Pop Phot Annuals.
I envy you.
Rob
