Glass half full?

I have long been a fan of the stupidity of the European Union, especially enjoying the mess that is the euro, and that fact that I know in my capacity as fat controller for the Valbonne area of Currencies Direct, it will get worse.  I delight in the fact that the Germans appear to make the rules, the French ignore all the stupid rules and the English slavishly obey all the rules. There are restaurants all over France serving cheese in nice moist way, which totally contravenes EU regulations. It is therefore with some delight that I have seen a recent directive making it an act of racist abuse to call gypsies gyppos, in future apparently, they are to be referred to as Caravan Utilising Nomadic Travellers.

Whilst we were in Portofino last week, we came across a kind of wine glass that we had not seen before, which is designed not to blow over in the wind they get there from time to time. It seems to me a good way of cutting down on ones wine intake, which is something that is exercising my mind again this week, with 2 big bashes lined up for Friday and Sunday, After all, if one did not want to drink a whole glass, one could still have half a glass of wine as my picture shows, surely?

Just half a glass for me.

So, 2 big bashes to come this week. The Friday bash for Peachy Butterfield is heading out of control even before we get there. It seems that the event takes place all day on a boat starting in Cannes,  starting with breakfast and lasting until dinner. First going to Juan les Pins for lunch, heading to the Isle des Lerins (is that plural for leery?) for the afternoon and back to Cannes for dinner, maybe I should take some of those half glasses above on order to pace myself? barely a day to recover before it will be necessary to do it all again, this time on Sunday on the classic yacht Berenice with the International Club of the Riviera for as “Reach For The Stars” lunch, to celebrate the Cannes Film Festival, again lunch on board the boat in Cannes harbour, what could  be better?

With teenage offspring, who have discovered the joys of  beer and wine, there is always a danger when we go away for a few days that the house will be in disarray when we return. Previous returns have been greeted with such give away’s like the Hoover still in the lounge, mop and bucket in the kitchen, but this time, there was nothing obvious to give the game away. I am certain that a party was had, but so far, have no proof. What was required was the laser beams that the nice lady decorator employs for eyes, but she was thoroughly jaded after the long weekend, so they may have got away with it.

Banjo, the despicable dog has developed a limp.  I was sharpening my biggest knife in order to put him out of his misery, (you have to be cruel to be kind sometimes), and was eyeing up the chainsaw but she who will not be amused, his protector, claimed he merely has a slight sprain. I misheard and thought she had said he was a bit of a pain, and found myself agreeing before her focus returned and I retired into my box again for another night.

Today I must send the invites for Le Tour De Finance to all those happy people who like a free aperitif in lovely surroundings in Mougins on 19th May and deposit the rest of my posters around the area, before heading into Antibes to reset HSBC on the correct course.

Chris France