Kebabs, Food of the gods?
My new friend John Balodis www.valbonneonline.com brings to my attention that the pizza van stationed at the bottom of the big car parking area in Valbonne has added kebabs to its menu. Kebabs of course are disgusting greasy unpleasant and unappetising, until miraculously after you have had a skinful late in the evening when suddenly the idea of eating a kebab becomes especially alluring. I well remember back in the mid 1970’s going regularly to The Speakeasy in London to see my old mate John Otway perform www.johnotway.com and coming back on the A40 towards Aylesbury at 4am, and stopping for a kebab smothered in masses of the hottest chilli sauce! They tasted great then, until the next morning…so it it with a mixture of trepidation and delight that the same treat is available in the village. You may remember my rant in an earlier blog against my wife’s dog , Banjo?, the guard dog with loose bowels? he could learn a lot from my picture today, which shows the training dogs must normally undergo before living in Valbonne, I have no idea how he slipped through the net.
Dog training in Valbonne
Beautiful spring day here, shorts on, top down on the car, (or should it be shorts down and top off?) Super U open this morning only, so off to get bbq stuff before collecting wife from airport, its been blisfully quiet this weekend with her away, I can say that with impunity because she doesnt read this blog ( I can hear the Wing Commander saying “no one else does anyway”), so relaxing day then back into the fray tomorrow.
To rent my house in summer have a look at http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p412514
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Valbonne Antiques And Ex Pat Golf
Valbonne Antiques Market
The title of todays blog could be confusing, is golf played by a bunch of antiques in Valbonne? Does the expression ex-pat have any synergy with antiques? This particular antique was due to play golf today at Estoril with the Landlubbers, an offshoot of the Riviera Ex Pats Golf Society www.regsgolf.com , however, I have something of a reputation of detesting playing in the rain, which is forecast today. When living in England, one is forced to play in the rain if one wants to play regularly. This should not be the case down here, although we have had a spectacularly horrible winter, great for the local ski resorts many of which are reporting up to 2 metres of snow this Easter weekend. It is mark of how poor this winter has been and thus how little I have played that I actually considered turning out. The organiser, our leader Dave “the fade” Dowling, called me a wimp, so I puffed myself up, dug out the wet weather gear, found my never before used Currencies Direct umbrella and then thought f*** it, I’ll go into Valbonne, get The Sunday Times have a coffee and look at the antiques market which is held in the square in Valbonne on the first Sunday of each month. My picture shows today’s event before the promised storms, which as I speak look like commencing. Valbonne is known as a prosperous place and it seems to me that the prices at the fair reflect that, but it normally gets a large turnout, many of whom on a nice day have lunch in the village as well. No doubt “The Dowling Fade” will be on the email before dark, lying through his teeth that it was sunny all day and they had a wonderful game. That reminds me of an earlier REGS event some years before I arrived here when a tournament was staged somewhere up in the hills. It was a beautiful spring day, and after the golf, lunch was served along with significant amounts of rose and the trip down the hill did not commence until darkness had descended. One of the competitors, who had apparently imbibed freely, stopped his car to relieve himself, forgot to apply the handbrake and his car rolled into a crevasse 100 metres below. Shocked by this he was taken by another player to the Queens Legs to settle his nerves with a stiff drink. In the meantime the police found his car, went to his house and told his wife the car had been found wrecked but that there was no sign of her husband. Now you might think she would have been happy to see him back several hours later in good health but a little the worse for wear, but astonishingly, she was anything but! I shall never understand women..
To rent my house in summer have a look at http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p412514
The Queens Legs
The Brague between valbonne and Biot this morning
The Queens legs in Valbonne is as close as you get in France to an English pub. Tucked away up a side street at the top of the village, last night it was rammed. I met there one John Balodis, website designer and branding expert who has recently moved to Valbonne and has set up www.valbonneonline.com It is early days but as we began discussing the commercial possibilities of developing the site into a commercial hub for Valbonne business, and the ideas became grander and grander the more Guinness we consumed. Yes, draught guiness, draught Strongbow and a very good selection of other draft beers and bottled beer are available at The Queens, sadly no Fullers London Pride, the king of real beers, in fact no real beers at all, I guess the transportation and the keeping could be a problem over here, but as I say, as close as you can get to an English pub. And an English pub is synonimous with that fine sport of cricket wouldn’t you say? The wing commander drew my attention this week to a piece on The Times website;(www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article7080616.ece). Pink cricket balls? the traditional opening of the English first class cricket season in appalling weather being staged this year in….Abu Dhabi? I can tell you that the wingco’s moustache was bristling with indignation, and mine wasn’t far behind. Back to the Queens Legs and whilst on the subject of sport, John O Sullivan, an Irishman as his name might suggest, reminds me of a cruel bet he had with me at local ski station Isola 2000 a couple of years ago. It was new years eve I was wearing my kilt, much champagne and wine had been drunk, and at around 3am on New Years day the waiters gave up bringing us glasses of lemocello and bravely keft a couple of litre bottles on the table. Some time later a wager was offered and accepted which involved me agreeng to ski in my kilt on New Years Day. Despite firm agreement to meet at 11.00am, there was no sign of Mr O Sullivan. When I finally got through to him on his mobile at 5pm, he said “To be sure I’ve been looking for ye all day”, but when I attempted to gain payment he told me that in Ireland, no bet was valid if you have a drink in your hand , apparently now enshrined in Irish law. Can this be true? suffice to say I am still out of pocket and still remember the frostbite!
To rent my house in summer have a look at http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p412514
Secret Dinner Club
One of the best cooks in the area is Lucy Bird, who, as Radish Events have catered for a number of celebrities and events in the area. She is now setting up a secret supper club, the idea being that you go to a house where she is cooking, take your own wine, and then leave what you think the meal was worth. There is an existing supper club in Valbonne which I fully intend to join shortly, I know they were holding a Vietnamese night recently and also did a Sunday lunch and some of my friends speak highly of it.
Does anyone know the name of this bush? very sweet smelling
My picture today is again from my garden, as I am trying to find out the name of a sweet smelling local bush which is in full flower now. Golf is on the agenda for Sunday at Estoril which I haven’t played, unles of course it rains in which case I will be indisposed – the forecast is for storms….wife away for the weekend at an old school juant, so early doors at The Queens Legs beckons, for a pint of guinness – of course I am meeting a client at the same time (You are a client John?) followed perhaps by a pizza at The Valbonnaise, a nice atmospheric, busy and family run restuarant on the north side of Valbonne. One more picture follows; More tomorrow when hangover has finally subsided!
Blue pots on the way to the pool
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Hijacked by lunch
Cafe des Arcades before the onslaught
When the sun is out there is no better place in spring that to lunch in Valbonne square, so with news that my wife had been invited to a girls lunch, myself and several pals Cubby, Bill Colegrave an aficionado of real tennis (he seems to remember beating me at the other sort of tennis recently but I dont recall) and Paul Thornton Allan an enterprising young advertising executive, and owner of www.creative-village.co.uk who is sporting, as is his want, the unshaven look, decided to lunch at the Café des Arcades to see if the standard of food and service matched up to my recent review for www.fr2day.com. Almost inevitably in the sunshine, and with Paul freshly back from dreary London, he wanted to continue lunch and I am afraid to say that I am weak willed enough to have been persuaded to stay with him until at least 4pm. Worse was to come as we then sloped back to mine and enjoyed a digestive and some more rose in the late afternoon sunshine. So there dear readers, you have my excuse for the non appearance of a new version of this blog yesterday and that, as they say in the legal profession is the case for the defence. However, business is done with all 3, so the receipt for lunch will be submitted to Currencies Direct who have generously stumped up on many occasions far and beyond the call of duty and even entertained myself and my wife at The Lido in Paris, but I suspect this may be a lunch too far!
My background in the music business makes me a serious critic, many of my friends enjoyed Deep Purple when we saw them down her last year, but for me Ian Gillan whilst a passable singer lacks presence. I am told that this will not be an issue in June with AC/DC whom I have not seen before, so watch this space. Another friend, well one in particular (118 senior please stand up) has asked how to stop receiving this blog, and then goes on reveal how much he knows about it, suggesting that despite his protestations, he is an avid reader, clearly this is a must read item in the area and the message is getting through submitted to Currencies Direct who will doubtless reject it, as they have all the others! Nothing from Paul North or Jeff Potter so, both have clearly been put in their place by the contents of this blog.
My picture today are of Valbonne square basking in the sunshine
Chris France
To rent my house in summer have a look at http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p412514
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Banjo makes a deposit
My customary walk in the Valmasque forest this morning was Valbonne and the Cote d Azur at its best. The sky here is a blue as anywhere I have ever been and my pictures today show our dogs Max and Banjo enjoying their morning constitutional. Max is the old faithful family retainer, a wonderfully benign, easy going and accomodating old chap, Banjo however is entirely different, disobedient and a thief, he knows I dont like him… why else would he wait until returning after an hours walk in the forest to defacate in the middle of my freshly mown lawn? or if he is feeling particularly vindictive right within smelling distance of my hammock?
Now some of you may have read the comments on this blog. Many are erudite and amusing, but yesterday a comment appeared from someone I suspect may have been Paul North in disguise. Paul has rightly been a target for mirth in this blog and the comment seeks to support him. That is unnatural in itself, Paul has few friends but there are some clues in the comment; a reference to Johnny Foreigner was the first, the spelling of suspicious was the second. Paul is not as stupid as he pretends to be, but not as clever as he thinks. He is renowned to hate all things foreign, despite his frankly enormous appetite for beers from Belgium, Holland, Spain, America, et al (Paul, look it up – its Latin) and his claim to be a vegan – a paradox exacerbated (Paul keep the dictionary open) by the fact that be used to be a butcher! and further compounded by the enormous quantities of food he is able to consume. His local chinese restaurant has a policy of “eat as much as you like” but Paul always maintains it should be “eat as much as you can” Off now for coffee in the square in Valbonne!
Max and Banjo on this mornings walk, Banjo storing up a suprise for my lawn
Max and Banjo, Banjo seeking the best spot for a little deposit
Toodle Pip
Chris France
To rent my house in summer have a look at http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p412514
http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/lifestyle/vacation/destinations
Sunny France
Thunderstorms today will give way to great weather for the rest of the week so should be able to sit in the old square in Valbonne at the Cafes Des Arcades later on and sip rose and watch the world go past, no cars so safe and quiet, except for noisy rose drinking Brits like me….I mean that we tend to be noisy after drinking it, not whilst drinking it – I hope thats clear….in the office today due to inclement weather, and hard at work administering royalties which is as close as I get to a day job, but I have a decent view from my window which is my picture today. Heard from an old friend Jeff Potter who in his younger days liked to be known as Jett Spotter, claiming to be able to beat me with a frying pan. I think he meant at tennis, but with Jeff you are never really sure…he also seems to forgotten the lesson I gave him on the golf course last time out. Anyone visting the area should really take a look at www.fr2day.com which is a really good website featuring the whole area from Menton to St Tropez. Mip TV starts the week after next in Cannes, another gathering of the great and good from TV land, so setting some meetings to help people save on their foreign exchange, look at www.currenciesdirect.net/chrisfrance arranging meetings in Cannes on the beach is a little more interesting than slogging across London on the tube, so I will try to think of you poor souls back in the dismal world that is blighty..
Chris France
To rent my house in summer have a look at http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p412514
http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/lifestyle/vacation/destinations
Golf In France
Wilfred and Sally have some fun playing piggy back
Some regular readers of this blog which I began just over a week ago, and which to my surprise number hundreds each day, may have been distressed to see the comments of secret millionaire aka Paul North about golf on yesterdays blog. Paul, who has distinguished himself by winning awards as a salesman in the world of fridge magnets , (need I say more) suggests that he dribbles at his computer, a fact that we have all been aware of for years, but none of us had the courage to tell him. He claims that losing to me at golf has been his philanthropic duty (he did not describe it like that, he will think this is something to do with stamp collecting), and that his slice is manufactured (he once told me his ideal golf course would be 18 dogleg rights) suffice to say that if ever he should venture onto these shores again, I will bet him 100 euros that I will beat him and give him 5/1 odds, but of course, only on equal terms, ie no handicap. I trust that is the last I shall hear of him. My pictures today show some of our baby tortoises emerging from hibernation, and the mother and father having a game of piggy back. Tortoises apparently live for up to 200 years, so these guys are at least 40 years old are still youngsters themselves. My guess is we shall soon be having to look out for tortoise eggs again! Off now to write a revies of Cafe Des Arcadres in Valbonne for www.fr2day.com
Chris France
Baby tortoises, 3-5 years old
Bluebell Lives!!
Daises v lawnmower = score draw
In is necessary each year , along with the dozen or so tortoises that my wife has bred, to coax bluebell, our VW camper van – pictured here – out of hibernation. The weather needs to be warm, which is is today and Bluebell has successfully awakened and taken various children to various friends this morning. My son James knows the the van is really cool, whereas my daughter Charlie believes her social life will be over for ever if she is ever seen even near it. The fact that her friends also believe it to be cool makes no difference. At 41 years old, she is younger than me, and a bit prettier and in the 18 months we have had her, we have only ever overtaken 1 vehicle, a cherry picker. My other picture shows the compromise I reached with the daisies yesterday, the lawnmower took most of those babies out but some survived, at least until I get some more petrol… Now I could have played golf today, but a barbeque beckoned, but talking of golf I have had a rather intemperate outburst from one of my “friends” Paul North who advises me that he has beaten me at golf the last 2 times we have played, and relieved me of some cash along the way, however he is in no way ashamed of his girls handicap of 28, which for non golfers amongst you means that I have to give him 15 shots start, despite him being at least 15 years younger than me. You may very well think that he should wear a blouse and play from the ladies tee (actually he often does, his second shot..) but I coud not posssibly comment, except to say that with his taste in shirts, (in fact his taste in anything) a blouse might be a move forward! pip pip!
By the way, we rent the house out in summer, anyone interested should have a look at http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p412514
Bluebell awakens after a long hibernation
I Like To Brague
looking upstram on The Brague towards Valbonne
money without frontiers
The river Brague passes through Valbonne on the way to Biot and then on into the Med, there is a fantastic walk along the river of about 6 miles which can be done in less than 2 hours. My picture today shows a part of it, nearer to Valbonne. I could walk to it from my house , but I didn’t today as I am rather tired from a night out with The British Association of Nice last night. After a copious number of beers, a curry, a visit to a strip club, more drinks, another club and then a kebab at 4am….oh no, sorry, I dreamed that, actually it was a couple of drinks in Hotel Brice with some of the luminaries who meet there every Friday and who were understandably very interested to learn more about the services of Currencies Direct, and I was home by 8.30. But I digress, with spring a new arrival in the area, The Brague walk through the Valmasque is rewarding in whatever direction you go, ending up either in the square at Valbonne or in pretty Biot – actually its better to walk to Biot because the parking there is diabolical! So, off to mow the lawn, I told my wife how pretty I thought the daisies looked, but from the look in here eyes I could tell that she felt that was an excuse not to get the lawnmower out..
Chris France http://www.currenciesdirect.net/musicoflife
Summers coming
View from pavilion over pool
Today will be the last day of rain here in the Cote D Azur until October. This prediction will probably be as wrong as I have been over the past few days; poor spelling, a lack of humility, upsetting my friends, potentially offending others – all criticisms fully justified, I will try to do better in future. Last night we went to Cafe Brun in Biot, what a pretty village let down by an abscence of parking, one of the few places to offer vegetarian curry, very enjoyable and great to see Wayne from fab website www.fr2day.com in fine form but woke up to more rain! Pippa is probably right, it is drier in the Dordogne, so nose to the grindstone today, trying to better the lives of ex pats by educating them into using Currencies Direct to do their forex exchanges rather than get ripped off by the banks…so I will sit with my computer in the pavilion by my pool (shown here so that Pippa can see that we do have sunny days) where I have discovered the wifi works!! well at least until lunch time, then off to Nice this evening to have a drink with The British Association
Chris France
Chateau de Berne, rose and a golf club
And so to the fabulous Chateau De Berne to attend an event being staged by The Ark , a really worthwhile charity providing pastoral care and educating english speaking people about how to deal with death and getting old in France. From the look of the audience it was none too soon for many of them, such was the concentration of zimmer f rames (I can almost hear Pippa and Zoe screaming noooooo he cant say that…) but I was actually being dead serious! Ok, no more jokes about dieing or getting old, I mean I am in an advanced state of degeneration myslf, at least my wife often calls me a degenerate, and thats when she’s being nice…I shall expect to hear from Peter and Judy Lynn about whatever typo I have failed to spot today, as I have on all previous occasions this blog has been published. My picture today shows Mike Lorimer independent financial advisor who was also in attendence sporting a Currencies Direct baseball cap covering his luxuriant hair, although how he managed to force it all into the cap I will never know anyway I got my 7 iron back . Lunch was served in the beautiful drawing room/cave where I tried the red, (Alison, you were right!) which was particularly good for a rather young provencal red, but I guess something had to be young,….doh!!
Chris France
Its just a game
Apparently when one plays tennis, there are often winners and losers. I for one have never been one to dwell on defeat, indeed it hardly ever happens. Today for instance, I enjoyed a nice game of tennis with some friends in the warm spring sunshine. I am not certain of the score, as it is irrelevant, however I am sure that myself and my doubles partner, the Wing Commander bested the telly tubbies aka Mark Gurdon and Bill Colegrave one way or another. Some may think it rude to refers to ones good friends as telly tubbies, but they are a much loved institution and I love them as much as life itself. Whilst enjoying a rather long lunch at the Auberge St Donat after tennis, my wife Issy adjourned with some friends notably Ashley Gurdon (wife of telly tubby junior) and Lisa Thornton Allan to Cafe Latin in Valbonne for lunch. Clearly inspired by our strenuous exercise, Lisa arrived by bike, and as my picture shows, had a little trouble negotiating an object in her path. Wednesday sees me journeying to Chateau De Berne – one again spreading the good word of Currencies Direct to the adoring masses with the gorgeous Pippa, where no doubt, I shall be forced to partake of the local rose, but only in such a way as to benefit the local vinyards….I am sure you understand. Such is life, full of sacrifice…
Chris France – www.
- Is that a speed hump?
currenciesdirect.net/musicoflife
Valbonne – tennis wars
Post tennis discussions by the pool
Today is a typical cote d’azur day, sunny and warming up, so after my customary early morning walk through the Valmasque and along the River Brague, I am about to play tennis for the first time this year . Supposedly a gentile game, it is anything but when the wind-ups (or in cricket parlance “sledging” commence). My erstwhile tennis partner Wing Commander Spensley is the other half of the “MOGS”, which is short for “Moustachiod Old Gits” a slightly harsh description I feel, more recently however we have become known as 118 118. Anyone who has English TV will be aware of the advertising campaign where 2 (in my opinion) very attractive men promote the directory enquiry service of the same name. Music is a recurring topic during the game when my ignorance is rightly castigated – after all I only make a living from it, I know nothing about it! the Wing Commander is a great musician and my many opponents including Mark Gurdon are very knowledgable, but hey, they have proper jobs unlike me! I will report back tomorrow about our expected success, which will be followed by lunch at the Auberge St Donat, a typical french restuarant that produces a 4 course meal (no choice though) and wine for under 15 euros…..and there never seems to be a limit on the wine supplied – at least we, despite numerous worthy attempts,have never found that limit! Not much work going on this afternoon then…. have to get the website to do the work for me.
First one!
Looking towards the hills behind Grasse
Chris France's Blog 