August 2023

August 2023

I managed to finish reading David Niven’s Bring On the Empty Horses and am now reading Jonah Raskin’s American Dream: Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and the Making of the Beat Generation – this last from Marie-Laure. Muriel broke down with Barbara in Fox, and Pavel helped us to tow her to Petit Claude’s where she has been ever since. Pavel & Teresa left two days later but after a fun dinner chez nous with them, Barbara, Joanne, and Natacha &Jonathan. Earlier that day, Richard and I had attended George’s funeral. And two days before this dinner, we had had the dinner at Tellus for Penny, Guy & Caroline, and Susie & Patrick.

There have also been dinners at Joanne’s – the first along with Liliane (Barbara then spending the night there so that Joanne could take her to the train station the next day) and the second with Yvonne & Paula. Another dinner has been at Pierre & Catherine’s with Mona and Penny, and then one at Natacha & Jonathan’s with Marie-Laure (here from the 9th to the 16th) and Jamie (here from the 11th to the 13th). We attended the Aioli in Fox-Amphoux with Joanne, Marie-Laure, Yvonne, Basti, etc. after which we visited Adele (still poorly) and then had cocktails and Marie-Laure’s courgette soup at Penny’s along with Richard & Jo Price.

Other events included our cinema night at Penny’s which was Benediction, Terence Davies film about the poet Siegfried Sassoon with Jack Lowden. It was a sad story. The next night Richard and I had drinks with Joanne at the Calalou, and I was ill in bed all of the next day. Then was Soteria reading and discussing the second and final chapter of the Rider Haggard's short story, "Smith and the Pharaohs." I enjoyed this excursion to Egypt. This month I was able to have an enjoyable phone conversation with Fern in Florida. She is now 98. Sarah Pike arrived for a lovely visit from the 26th to the 28th. Kostas & Marta arrived with Alan (5) and Liam (15 months) on the 27th and stayed three nights – the kids being wonderful and exhausting energies. And after his Paris-to-Brest and Brest-to-Paris cycling marathon, a cathartically emotional Gary has arrived on the 29th and taken over the kitchen to produce splendid meals – yesterday’s lunch being chili rellenos for which Eve and Nicole drove up from Cannes. Later we all went to the vernissage at the Musée Simon Segal for Rodolphe Hammadi’s intriguing sculptures and Véronique Pilarek colourful paintings.

For the rest, Josée and Maria continue to clean the house marvellously – including while we were outside yesterday enjoying the lunch of Gary’s delicious Mexican cuisine. Phillipe & Virginie have done more house restoration, and Pascale continues with the basin area tiling. We have seen Marie Jacob our podologue, and I have had my follow-up with Robin Geier, the otolaryngologist. There has also been the most enjoyable Vakantie Orkest Ad Hoc from the Pays-Bas one evening in front of the Mairie.

So as an understatement I can say it has been full. With Gary, we are debating hunting-gathering (his preference) vis-à-vis neolithic agriculture (my preference). Healthwise for both Richard and me, things have been reasonable. And also I have come to realise that what’s good about short-term memory loss is that one does not have to discuss and resolve for the umpteenth time whatever has been annoying or infuriating. In a short while, it has been simply forgotten.