A picture worth 50,000 hits?

A total of 50,000 on this site was reached yesterday. That is a poignant illustration of the numbers of poor souls who want to know the latest gossip concerning the antics of the idle rich in Valbonne. I have mined a very deep seam of fascination with the intrigue and excesses, or so it seems. Just to illustrate this point, I publish today a picture taken over the Christmas period for which I have no explanation.

Nope, I have no idea either and I don't even want to speculate

Yesterday I was on airport duty to ferry the gorgeously athletic Lisa Thornton Allan to the airport. She regaled me with details of an event that took place the night before to which I do not appear to have been invited. Mr Humphreys (he was free, as was dinner for the guests from what I hear) was apparently having a birthday celebration at Le Jarriere a fabulous but expensive restaurant on the way up to Bar Sur Loup, bandit country, up on the northern edges of civilisation, a village that is beautiful but rather basic, a bit like Yorkshire although whilst that doesn’t really have the beauty, it is certainly very basic.

What astounds me is that I was not invited. I shall doubtless receive a written apology in due course. Perhaps it is a question of style? Mr Humphreys as regular readers will know is my style guru, my inspiration for sartorial elegance so perhaps my recent clothing choices have been found wanting? I am at a loss here, I now have a petrol blue cashmere (effect) sweater, a lime green made to measure golfing suit (to match the silver golf shoes picked out with lime green trim in almost the same shade), I have some Kenyan multi coloured patchwork house slacks but all these garments purchased and worn under the careful tutelage of Mr Humphreys has clearly not been sufficient for me to reach top table status, or indeed any table. However, I will not be down hearted and, as the annual sales have started, I shall be going into Cannes today for some personal retail therapy and search for some clothing of which he would approve. I wonder if there is a transvestite factory outlet anywhere nearby?

The local Internations gathering takes place this evening at Hotel Juana in Juan Les Pins and I have decided to take the train from Mouans Sartoux. I am still toying with taking my 2 metre high pull up banner advertising my book, which is also available for kindle machines, which is apparently a tablet used to many to help with reading. This is news to me, I mean how can a tablet make you better educated? But I digress. I have emailed the organiser suggesting that the whole Internations experience could be enhanced by my poster adorning proceedings but have yet to receive a response. She may be so overcome with gratitude for the offer that she has been physically unable to respond or perhaps more likely she is trying to think of a polite way of rejecting it.

I shall of course be metaphorically wearing two hats this evening because in my ambassadorial role as Regional Coordinator (as opposed to Regional Controller as I was described in an email yesterday – I should not be confused with the fat controller in the Thomas The Tank Engine stories, which would be particularly galling after a hard week on a low carb. diet) for Currencies Direct because believe it or not, there are still those amongst us who have not seen the light and are paying their banks 3 – 4% more than they need to on all foreign exchange transfers. Wherever you are and whoever you are, I will find and convert you eventually.

Chris France