The Truth about Zaha Hadid, Sempé and Me

Farewell, Zaha Hadid. 

You made some beautiful buildings and Glasgow is fortunate to have one of them.

I thought this was a moving tribute:

A few years ago my infant son was walking by the side of the Riverside Museum on his way to the temporary sandpit at the front of the building. I took a photo which The Herald newspaper subsequently printed as their Picture Of The Day:

As I was taking the photo I am pretty sure the wonderful Sempé flashed into my mind, i.e. the composition made me think of something he might draw for the New Yorker:

I wrote to Zaha Hadid and received a gracious reply from her "scheduler":

"Thank you so much for taking the time to send us the newspaper clipping of your amazing picture of Riverside Museum. Ms Hadid will be delighted to see this!"

I also wrote to Sempé and, after a while, received an email:

"We received well the letter that you sent...and showed it to M. Sempé who thanks you for the letter and your picture."

I think I am going to start pretending I have a colleague when it comes to sending emails. Might make me look a bit more professional:

"Dear Amazon, Francis Macdonald thanks you for your purchasing suggestions. He was grateful to receive them..."

Anyway.

Here is a New Yorker article that talks about Hadid's Riverside Museum on the banks of the River Clyde.

Au revoir.