3 shades of grey, sun, sea and sand

“It’s just going to be that romantic shit on the radio all day” said the Curmudgeonly Nice Lady Decorator as she ripped the knob off the radio as we left Elmer Sands after our morning walk. Thus us romantics were dismissed in a few seconds and she did not hear my request for her on the radio for Valentines Day. At least that is what I told her, which was a neat way of deflecting any flak that might have been forthcoming for forgetting to do the usual duty with a Valentines card.

The skiies are laid out in the garden, and but for a shopping trip to Brighton, would have been strapped onto the ski rack by lunchtime yesterday, had I not pointed out that driving around Brighton with skis in a ski rack might cause some comment. I know there has been some snow locally recently but I think that would be stretching the point.

So by the time you read this, I shall be in the car heading for the Channel Tunnel on our way to Meribel for a weeks skiing. All those black, red and blue runs could well be joined by a brown run, as pointed out yesterday by the Reverend Jeff, should my current ailment not improve somewhat. The first point at which I felt human the evening before was when I reluctantly ordered and drank a pint of Harvey’s, concluding that it was a kill or cure and miraculously, it was more of a cure and I was not dead yesterday morning. I think the brewery are missing a trick here in their marketing as this was close to a miracle cure. Billy brown tail banished (nearly).

By tonight then, I shall be tucked up in bed in Beaune. Give the dog a bone they say, and this dog would love to find some of Beaune’s finest red wine this evening, something which should not be hard to find in this pretty town. We are staying a charming hotel, right in the centre called Hotel Belle Epoque once we arrive after an exhausting 6 hour drive across France. I have sensibly used the wonderful services of Currencies Direct to get the best rates for euros for our trip, and will need a substantial quantity as we have both impecunious Sprogs in tow.

Elmer Sands, grey sky, grey sea, grey sand. Boy am I looking forward to some colour and sunshine

The cover print for The Valbonne Monologues has arrived and been approved and so production has commenced with books due to be delivered to me in early March. Flights have been booked and I shall be in Valbonne from 14th March to satisfy demand for my presence or, if I am honest, to whip up some enthusiasm for the launch, whatever shape it may take. This time, not only a paperback, but a hardback version are being printed. I would like to think that this represents another rung up the ladder to the tower of literature, but cynics might believe that with a limited market, one should try to extract as much cash out of each sale as possible. What I had not considered is that printing in colour, and adding pictures, which caused the pixie problem, causes the price to be much higher per copy, so my break even on the last book of 120 sales (almost doubled – giving my the opportunity to call myself a successful author), will be much harder to achieve this time around. The good news is that under the new ISBN regulations, the new one will be available to order from any book store!

Chris France
@Valbonne_News