French Escape

  I seemed to hit the ground running on my return to Menton all those weeks ago and it's been busy ever since.  My first aid course in the library seemed to go down very well with lots of questions and very enjoyable tea and cake afterwards. Big Ted competently played the part of choking baby and infant requiring resuscitation. All in all it was fun and hopefully useful for those attending. Back home after his exertion The Kermesse (church jumble sale) at the end of March was a huge success raising over 4000€ for the church. Clothing, bric-a-brac, jewellery, books, tombola prizes etc etc gradually filled the back of the church and crypt until the day came. I did a little baking for the cake stall and added to the clutter in the church from the clutter in my garage. The day before, a team of us moved the pews clearing the church to set up the stalls. Then it was all hands on deck to put out all the goods that had been donated (Naturally, I was on the bookstall).  On th...

 A brief sojourn in England (with a week in Tenerife in the middle) and all of a sudden I’m writing again. My book Hidden Two is moving on, the characters have woken up and are telling their story.  I had left Menton at the end of the first week of the Fête du Citron, to escape the crowds. After a week in England, we travelled to Tenerife only to find that our trip coincided with the last week of the Tenerife Festival in Santa Cruz (luckily we were staying in Los Cristianos).   During a shopping trip in Santa Cruz, we found ourselves accompanied by people of all ages dressed in animal onesies, crowds of women and girls dressed in white (the significance of which we never discovered) and a group of flamenco dancers with shoulders bigger than Geoff Capes and more make-up on their faces than I’ve used in my entire life. That was the day that it rained. It poured to the extent that the evening's celebration had to be cancelled. We sheltered from the rain at one of the stalls ...

  What could beat a mid week break in Genoa that included fabulous food, an interesting exhibition and my first experience of the opera? Five of us took the train from Ventimiglia to Genoa—just over two hours away, it feels a world away from Menton.  It is definitely a city of contrasts. Its glorious past is demonstrated by extravagant buildings on wide thoroughfares but extensive graffiti suggests a less affluent present.  In the old town, which spreads up from the port, tall oppressive buildings border dark narrow streets until you turn a corner into a bright expansive square or look up an alleyway towards a magnificent church. Off the tourist trail it is a very friendly welcoming city, everyone seemed to be smiling. Perhaps the sunshine was an influence there... Our hotel was very well placed for the Berthe Morisot exhibition in the Doge's Apartment of the Palazzo Ducale. I have to admit that I had to research Berthe Morisot before I went, as my only experience of her...