July Update 2026

Scott & Nicole arrived at the end of June, with Kelso their cat, and stayed with us until the last day of July. Scott brought my new laptop, and we had countless sessions setting it up and dealing with various issues. However, just as they left, my email ceased to work. Maybe I receive mail but cannot send it other than through my gmail account. I have been hours online & on the phone with 123reg & Apple, but as of 2 August it has still not been resolved. On the Kalends of July, we had dinner with Penny, Scott & Nicole at Au Bien-Être. Two days later was Scott’s 50th birthday chez nous with Yvonne, Penny and Pierre & Catherine. Jessica was the chef.

One particular Scott session lasted much longer than I had originally expected, so I forgot & missed a good hour or so of Soteria. This was on the trial of Socrates (Plato’s Apologia). What was interesting for me, however, was that out of the five of us, three do not care for Plato and thought Plato’s Socrates was arrogant.

With Scott & Nicole, we did the lake tour on Sunday the 5th. On Wednesday the 29th, they took us to Les Pins in Sillan-La-Cascade for dinner. Because of the fires to the south, the restaurant was surprisingly empty. I had asked Ryan to take Scott & Nicole to the train station. He brought us some weed. After the departure, Jonathan picked us up, and we enjoyed a most pleasant luncheon at Natacha’s, though the fires had re-erupted south of Cotignac. We had rain briefly along with strong wind on Sunday the 11th, but otherwise it has been continually scorchingly hot. On Tuesday the 21st, we went with Scott & Nicole to Pierre & Catherine’s for drinks. From there, we could see the smoke from the fire in Cotignac which had to be evacuated. Penny & Patrick have had to leave from Montfort twice and have taken refuge at Penny’s both times.

One evening on the place, we enjoyed the jazz band Anatole. Our cinema at Penny’s for the month included the war drama film Pressure (with just Penny) which was powerful & moving, Michael with Wendy, Phil & Macia (tedious but interesting), a splendid Tuner (Leo Woodhall and Dustin Hoffman) with Natacha & Jonathan, Phil & Macia and Wendy, and finally Carolina Caroline which I did not particularly enjoy but thought Samara Weaving was terrific.

Richard & I have listened to The Lost History of Flat Earth which Jezznette had sent us. I found it quite unbelievable and incomplete and a not too subtle Abrahamic/Christian defence & promotion of the Bible. For the rest, I finished James Davidson’s comprehensive and captivating The Greeks & Greek Love. I also read and enjoyed Bernadette Brady’s published dissertation, The Shape of Fate: From Classical Philosophy to Astrological Practice. I am continuing to read John Hamlet’s Kabhzist Paganism manuscript. And I am now also reading W. Watts Miller’s Durkheim, morals and modernity.

I have seen Baptiste twice, & we have both been to Marie Jacob. Richard & I have ordered the Arctic Blast. And at home, Philippe & Virginie have cleaned out the oven. Philippe has fixed the umbrellas, the kitchen lamp & Richard’s room door. The Mairie rejected our current plan for constructing a cabanon, and Philippe is pursuing that further.

For the Wimbledon finale, Penny had invited us to a luncheon. Jacqui was already there when we arrived. Then eventually, Twig, Phil & Macia, Wendy & Leo, Jim Piddock, Damian & Caroline, and Susie. Penny had prepared quite a feast along with strawberries and cream for dessert. I had a brief swim before we ate but had forgotten my goggles. Had another during the finale itself. Finally, we were the last to leave and when Sinner and Zverev were into their fourth set. Sinner was by that point in stride and then won the match.

The next day was our traditional champagne & mont blanc Bastille Eve celebration. It was a successful gathering, and Julien was great and stayed and cleaned up everything afterward. Nadith was ill, but Soraya sang & performed excellently. In all, Guy & Martine came with their daughter and two grandchildren, Jessica came with a cousin & spouse. There were also Penny, Pierre & Catherine, Yvonne, Françoise and Nadine, Stephen with three houseguests, Liliane, Dieter & Cindy, Virginie & Philippe (who helped cleanup and who brought Philippe’s photo machine which was a huge success for everyone), Macia & Phil, Anne-Marie & Peter.

Two days later, it was the Festival Aix-en-Provence. We reached the Roi Renee by 13:30 – having stopped for Vignelaure wine along the way. Unpacked, lunched in the room on bread & cheese, then napped, then had cappuccini downstairs. The Die Frau ohne Schatten was magnificent. Tequila sunrises (2 each) & cheese plates each after at Le Darius. The next day, we breakfasted outside, but it began to rain. We moved under an umbrella. Later we had cappuccini on the Cours Mirabeau. From the hotel, we taxied to the Conservatoire Darius Mihaud for the Middle Eastern jazz (?) of Layale Chaker & Sarafand. After again at Le Darius we had two tequila sunrises a piece along with omelettes & frites before walking back to the hotel. On Friday, the concert (again) at the Darius Milhaud was this time Beth Taylor (mezzo) & Julius Drake (piano) with a programme of Reynaldo Hahn, Hedwige Chretien, Elgar, Schumann, Tailleferre & Augusta Holmes. It was splendid as was afterwards La

Rotonde with two & a half negroni a piece and me with a pizza & Richard a soupe de pistou. Saturday, at Jeu de Palmes, it was Hans Werner Henze’s El Cimarrón. I liked the music to some extent but found the narrative, as politically important as it is, boring, boring, boring. I managed but had great difficulty keeping awake. Afterwards, we vapourised a few times and got to Place Richelieu where we had frites, a cheese plate and three margaritas a piece

and then were offered two tequilas shots on the house. Our final night, Sunday, Zauberflöte was interrupted during the first act because of rain – finishing as a result at 01:00. It was a splendid performance, but we did not get to bed until nearly 2 am.

On Wednesday the 22nd, we met Natacha & Jonathan and Jeanne & Carlos at Café Du Cours. Then Richard & I along with Scott & Nicole went to Penny’s for a lovely lunch with Stephen and Stephen’s tennis coach Jack. Susie had to cancel since she was could not make it having been unable to get either back home or to our village. Patrick had been taken to the hospital. Natacha et al. along with Jeanne’s sons and mother plus a few others swam & picnicked that evening at the pool. Nicole had prepared dinner for us.

It seemed to take most of a day, but I managed to book our October train tickets from Ventimiglia to Milano. I had to book each ticket separately & at different prices and we will not be sitting together. I have yet to face the booking of our return.

We’ve had a Family Zoom on the 31st. I’ve also had phone calls with Gin (twice), Jimmy (twice), Margit, Nancy, John in Flagstaff and also Jacqueline. There has been an onlinemeeting with Charlotte and Ben. With Scott away on a date, it was just Nicole, Richard & me at the Calalou for two rounds of margaritas. On the 26th, Penny drove us to Catherine & Pierre’s for dinner. Jessica and Mona were also there. It was an enormous meal and with much dessert. There has also been a lovely lunch at Jessica’s with Lulu, Iris, Douglas, Tillie, and actors/theatre people Alex & Daniel.

I enjoyed a delightful & loving Raymond dream. I was very drunk, & he was okay with that. We were going to go home together. Before going to pee, I introduced Ray as a favourite love to Marlowe & Marlowe to him as a favourite friend. I peed & then woke up. In a later dream that night, I was trying to locate Richard. I went up some height, but it wasn’t the MacDonalds. I finally found the restaurant but started to go up another dark flight of stairs & realised that that could not be the restaurant’s entrance which I then located. The serving

area was on an upper level, but there was no Richard. I realised then that there was another floor above, and as I climbed the stairs to it I saw Richard eating. I was about to ask what it was that he was eating but woke up – happy at least to have found him.

For the rest, I am realising how ephemeral happiness is. Joy on this plane is not permanent. Whether this is fate or the consequence of free will, I am unable to say. So much of this life simply involves resignation and acceptance of what there is.