Thanks to Jill Shepperd of the English Book Centre in Valbonne, some rather splendid reading material came my way today. While I don’t doubt the ease in which the internet has turned book buying into the simplest of tasks I do wonder if it hasn’t made it somewhat mundane and impersonal. What, I ask myself, could be more glorious than the ability of visiting a real-life bookshop, discovering new titles or the anticipation of finding long lost old ones and even discussing authors and their books with the bookshop owner?

Last year I think I blogged how much I loved books and how I have a tendency to sniff them, wallowing in the smell of new pages or crusty old ones. I think I forgot to mention that I’d also learnt never, ever to lend one of your dearly prized possessions to anyone - be they your very best friend or marital partner. These books are not boomerangs - they don’t come back. So when Kathy Alex of Cooking with Friends lent me her own copy of Julia Child’s book My Life in France, I quickly realised that this would be a book I’d want to keep and treasure. I also knew the guilt I’d suffer if I held on to it. The solution was a quick call to Jill to ask her to get me my own copy. What I love about the book is Julia’s candid openness and great wit which makes it difficult not to stay awake into the wee small hours immersed in her world to find out what she’ll do next. But the book is made more fun because Kathy lives in the same home that Julia did on the Cote d’Azur and, because I know Kathy, indirectly I also know Julia.

My second book was another classic, Two Towns in Provence by MFK Fisher. Martin Hills had already highlighted this book to me a few weeks ago as being a rather good golden oldie and suggested that it merited a review. Now that I have it I can see what he meant and so have asked him to write a review for the next issue of AMB. It too is written from the heart and contains much nostalgia. Published in 1964 it is a delightful journey of a world that no longer exists but would have been charming to know.

But it is Jill’s third book which is rather special. By sheer fluke she came across Cote d’Azur - Inventing the French Riviera by Mary Blume. This book is now out of print so I’m over the moon she knew how excited I would be about finding it (proof - I’m blogging). I felt magnetized by it even after delving into a few pages. Crammed with nostalgic stories and some rather brilliant scandals Mary talks of a Cote d’Azur I would have loved to have known as one senses the French Riviera on the cusp of sliding out of innocence into industrialism, simplicity into mega tourism.

These are books I shall treasure and turn into friends while others in my bulging library shall remain as research material. And while I may appreciate the effectiveness of Google and other search engines, I am glad that I haven’t lost the ability to open a real book and read. Knowing how hard it is to write makes me appreciate so much more someone else’s effort.

Can you believe it? It’s Easter Monday already. Where has the time gone? But, guess what everyone - I know exactly as Nigel’s loaded Entourage onto Happy Lappy and am I ever organized now! Gone are the days of lost To Do lists, misfiled emails or forgotten entries in my agenda, I am now zippy sharp and focused! Though I still have a bit of a learning curve to do with this exceedingly powerful software, I’ve already found myself planning new projects linked with emails, To Do lists and notes. For me, this is an important leap forward in my quest to achieve my ultimate goal: additional contributing authors and broadening the scope and horizon of the website (without dropping any balls in the process).

So apart from learning some great and really useful software, what else have I been up to recently?

Well, last Friday morning I made the short drive to Valbonne to attend a book signing. The very well known and much loved author, journalist and broadcaster Deanna Maclaren was at the English Book Centre signing her latest novel: Villa Fleurie. Valbonne is a great place to go any day of the week but market days are extra special. The narrow cobbled streets simply buzz with people tempted by the sheer diversity of local produce and variety of goods on offer. Against the backdrop of this very vibrant market and pretty stone village houses, Deanna decided to make the most of this fantastic atmosphere and sit outside to sign her books. When I arrived there was already a crowd of people milling around her (I noticed some very well known faces) but I somehow managed to squeeze past them and have a quick chat with this truly lovely and very engaging person.

Only a few weeks prior to her book launch she’d kindly consented to giving me an interview from her home in Cannes and explained the background story about Villa Fleurie. You can read this interview and a review of her book in the June issue of AMB.

It being Easter Monday, Nigel and I drove to the very pretty medieval village of Bar-sur-Loup to attend their yearly Fete de l’Oranger this morning. If you’ve ever driven around this region you’ll have noticed numerous oranges trees. These are the bitter bigaradier oranges that have been cultivated on the south-facing terraces (or restanques as they’re called in French) since the 19th century. The tree is now the symbol of the village (much like the violet flower for Tourrettes-sur-Loup or the lemon tree for Menton).

With the day being so bright and sunny, there was a great turn out so finding a parking slot near to the village wasn’t easy. But perseverence paid off in the end and after parking the car, we then proceeded to walk up to the village centre to enjoy the festivities. I’ll be writing more about this festival in the April issue of AMB but suffice to say that it’s really excellent and if you are over here next year for Easter - mark it in your diary as a festival well worth attending.

Lastly, Maman Fleur is doing well and getting wider as each day passes. She continues her love of anything well, shrimpy, especially if it still retains its shell. While she crunches heads, bodies and tails to her utter delight (and downs the lot), our other cats sit a comfortable distance away from her, glancing over from time to time if a particular crunch is louder than another. But our mum knows a true fish when she smells it; herring, red mullet, tuna and tinned sardines are accepted with relish - but try and pass a surimi stick on her - and forget it.

Frosty mornings have been heralding some exceptional weather lately and, while time has not permitted me to enjoy longer than ten minute breaks, it is warm enough to eat lunch outside by the pool. Annoying computer problems and frustrating breaches to our internet connection these past few days while working on the February issue of AMB Cote d’Azur meant I found myself walking around the garden more often than normal: not so much for inspiration but to pull my hair out.

Though they may be small walks, I am always followed by my faithful furries ever hopeful that may be this time mum will stay out longer. While my mind continues to fume about the idiosyncrasies of computers, mother nature has a way of tugging me out of my little world to show me life’s bigger picture, and so calming me in the process. Nudge, nudge she tells me: Look! So I do and marvel at life again. Our crocuses are in bloom, as are our tiny wild violets, both the white and blue ones. Our daffodil’s are just about to burst into flower and our two young mimosa trees are turning a soft golden yellow, their scent wafting through the garden, if only I paid attention. There’s much more rustling going on in the trees and bushes and a couple of blue tits are nesting already in the little birdhouse Nigel placed on the wall of our patio a few years ago. Not only do they have a room with a view but it also comes with views over our pool and towards the hills beyond.

Another room with a view has just recently been sold. Picasso’s mansion in Mougins went for the princely sum of 10 million euros. Its been purchased by an unnamed 40 year-old Belgian art dealer who will restore not just the mansion itself but the guardian’s house and another building, as well as bringing some much TLC to the park. I had no idea it had been abandoned by his daughter after Picasso’s wife, Jacqueline, committed suicide in 1986. The property will be renamed l’Antre du Minotaure (the Minotaur’s Den).

Getting not so much as a facelift but more of an uplift to World Heritage Status is Le Corbusier’s log cabin in Roquebrune-Cap Martin. It seems that this 3.66m x 3.66m ‘cabanon’ could become the Alpes-Maritimes’ first World Heritage Site. This is great news and I for one am delighted. Corbusier’s cabanon will become the fourth WHS in the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region; the other three being the Roman and Romanesque architecture of Arles, the Roman theatre and triumphal arch in Orange and the historic centre of Avignon.

Who is getting a facelift is Marianne. This little lady with her traditional red Phrygian cap, is to undergo a new look on French stamps from July this year. President Sarkozy has accepted a design by the French illustrator Yves Beaujard, following a competition launched by La Poste in October. Marianne will now appear surrounded by a number of stars, suggestive of President Sarkozy’s values towards the European Union.

And lastly, talking of lifts, I thought you might all enjoy viewing this very remarkable footage which I received today from a friend in the States. The song, “You’re not heavy, you’re my brother” comes to mind. Enjoy for it is awesome. Click here for a touch of circus magic (with sound).