Gourdon to walk or beach for lunch?

“It’s a pity those birds cannot hang on to those greasy balls” said that nice lady decorator yesterday afternoon as we toiled in the garden trying to bring it some order. Always a master of the double entendre I did a double take and made a comment of which I am not proud but she had the good grace (or base sense of humour?) to laugh.

She was of course referring to the special balls of bird food she has been fastidiously hanging on our pomegranate tree. It seems that certain species of bird are unable to get sufficient purchase on these spherical bird attractors in order to feed, but I have yet to work out how the balls being greasy had anything to do with it or precisely how it impeded them. She is excited by the range of bird life she has attracted to the garden, at the last count running now to over twenty species she has already identified, of which I found the curlew the most interesting.

I was excited by the prospect of a new way of becoming popular. If only it had been so easy to attract birds when I was younger. I too could have been very good at ensuring my balls were greasy if it ensured it increased my success rate with women, indeed there are several girls…..but that was a long time ago and I do not want to go into that now.

The plan today is, if it remains sunny and warm (it was 17 degrees yesterday afternoon – if you are reading this in the UK, why are you still there?) then we may jump on the train from Mouans Sartoux and go for lunch on the beach at Juan Les Pins. It is something that must be done. 6 weeks of almost exclusively sunny weather requires a considered response by us ex pats, and having considered the possibilities very carefully, I think lunch on the beach is the right thing to do.

It is that or another infernal walk up a mountain, in fact my picture today was taken just before the New Year on just such a walk and depicts a view from the top of the hills behind the beautiful village of Gurdon, looking down into the valley above the village. You may consider that it is akin to looking into the abyss, and that is exactly what the Greeks are doing in terms of their continuing involvement in the Euro. I mention this as it is normal that I mention the wonderful services of Currencies Direct and this seems the obvious place to insert such a reference. The drachma will back in circulation in March.

The donkey track above Gourdon

I am arraigned in the comments section for the quality of the photographs that appear in this column. This is rather unfair as I consider myself to be a writer, indeed a successful writer, rather than a photographer. My preference is for atmospheric shots or if I am honest pictures of embarrassing digressions or better still humiliating examples of private excess. Quality is not my photographic watchword, shocking is. The fact that some photos I have published are shocking actually quite pleases me.

Hotel Juana is the venue for an Internations networking event on Monday. I am considering taking my big pull up poster advertising my book. I have mot asked permission so I hope they will not be too upset at my guerrilla advertising tactics, at least I hope they will be more accommodating than Wayne Brown from Red Radish who did his best to ensure that pull up was hidden from view last Friday at there otherwise splendid supper.

Chris France