Lawyer not cheap surprise (irony)

And so the first serious partying of MIDEM got underway last night, with me having to buy dinner for my lawyer, Nigel Davies at Davenport Lyons who charges a mere £400 an hour (that’s about 470 Euros an hour at today’s exchange rate), so clearly must be in straightened financial circumstances. Apparently, my buying him dinner was because he reduced one of his many bills significantly, but so far I have been unable to detect any deduction whatsoever. However, he is such a nice chap, I don’t begrudge it at all (he said with fingers firmly crossed). Luckily I was able to talk him out of the appallingly over rated Moulin De Mougins, and had my eye on Cafe Roma, a cheap and cheerful lively Italian restaurant opposite the Palais in Cannes, but we split the difference and went to one of those restaurants in the old town where he attempted to sink my budget for the whole week in one meal.

My picture today is the one I wanted to show yesterday, after I had given my blackberry a serious talking to, and in its presence alluded to how nice the new models were, it decided to co-operate and send the picture eventually.

The view from my garden up to the old perched village of Opio nestling in the morning sunshine yesterday morning.

Today the MIDEM market gets under way properly, so I will diligently going about my music and currencies business in search of a nomination for an OBE as received by one old friend and business associate Ellis Rich OBE, so richly deserved (perhaps for his “work” as Chairman of the Performing Rights Society, where his duties seemed to involve much lunching and attending junkets seminars), it was a surprise to everyone, not least his wife and himself. Ellis has a holiday home in the old village of Valbonne, so can often be seen mopping up the red wine at the Cafe Des Arcades.

Before that, my worst fears were realised when that nice lady decorator did indeed buy some very substantial plants, which, as I feared yesterday, required the digging of big holes for planting, but then, my fairy godmother appeared, in the shape of my son needing to earn cash to go to Le Village nightclub last night, so it was he who dig the holes, although it cost me dear.

Clearly my alcoholic fast has ended as it would be frankly impossible to attend MIDEM without going to several of the parties that surround the event, and I felt it only fair and reasonable to try to catch up with the week I had lost. In this I was particularly successful as can be attested to by the state of my eyes this morning. And if you think I look bad, if any of you see that nice lady decorator today, please do not consider removing those dark glasses, they are there for a reason.

Chris France

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