Bloody Mary does not cure Bloody Hangover

June 6, 2010

tags: Bill Wyman, Cote D Azur, Currencies Direct, English Book Centre, fr2day, Living In France, Moving To France, Radish Events, Rhythm Kings, Secret Dinner Club

I tried a bloody Mary, several glasses of rose, a fried egg, all the usual hangover cures, but nothing worked, so a siesta was inevitable before our driver, the cute and almost perfect Nigel Graves arrived at 7pm sharp last night to start the next adventure in the life of the idle rich in Valbonne. And so to Saint Paul De Vence to see ex Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings featuring an array of top musicians, plus the dulcet and immediately recognisable tones of the legendary Georgie Fame and long serving session singer Beverley Skeete, staged in the fantastic outdoor setting nestling in the ramparts of this beautiful ancient hilltop village. Ancient is the watchword here, with the 8 musicians in stage probably totalling some 600 years between them, Bill himself having notched up 74 himself, weaving a musically evocative feast of blues, Jazz, and 60’s music and culminating in Bill himself taking the vocals for Honky-tonk Women. Simply a treat, except for the fact one couldn’t get a drink until afterwards, but given recent excesses, I was almost relieved!

Oui Oui, je suis un pop star

Continuing with the ancient theme, a late afternoon event with a difference occurs on Tuesday at 5pm at The English Book Centre in Valbonne. An old WW2 Spitfire pilot living in Chateaneuf has written a book, about to be published called SURVIVAL AGAINST ALL ODDS – SUNDAY, 8TH JUNE 1942: SHOT DOWN OVER FRANCE. My first thought was that it might be a guide as to how to survive a Phil Collins gig, but is a true story about how after being shot down, he managed to make his way to Gibraltar and escape, back to England only to throw himself back into the war effort again.
He’s still around to tell the tale (he’s 88), and he will be outside the bookshop on Tuesday 8th June, 68 years to the day after it happened, to sign copies of his book and chat with anyone wishing to meet him.

Afterwards continuing the military theme we will probably do some “Square Bashing”. This expression was once synonymous with soldiers undertaking repeated laborious marching drills, but in Valbonne parlance square bashing refers to going into Valbonne square and giving it a bit of a bashing in terms of consumption of food and drink!

I think perhaps will be a quiet day today with lunch on the beach at Juan Les Pins in preparation for a week looking no less frenetic, with the return grudge match at St Donat on Tuesday, when once again money will change hands in my direction before Mr Savin returns to the UK to lick his wounds and try to recover before the next inevitable beating that I shall administer when in back in blighty myself in July.

I hear that the red radish guerilla beach event is fully subscribed on 19th July, and that Frances Thompsons supper club event has overflowed into the 19th as well due to popular demand, als I will be at neither as I have manfully volunteered to run the bar at the Mougins school Summer Fair on the same day, and combine this philanthropic duty with a similar duty of continuing to make available the possibility of saving money on foreign currency transactions at the same time..

Chris France

buying a house in France, moving money? www.currenciesdirect.net/chrisfrance

Latest local news? http://www.fr2day.com/

Best Estate Agency in Valbonne? http://www.rivierarealty.net/

Best French Riviera Property Agent?

http://www.afa-international.com/

http://frenchriviera-properties.com/

rent my house in summer? http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p412514

Best on line resource in Valbonne? http://www.valbonneonline.com/

Secret supper club http://www.red-radish.com/

Wedding reception? http://www.bastidestmathieu.com/

Valbonne Tourist Office http://www.tourisme-valbonne.com