Remember the James Bond film entitled ‘You Only Live Twice’? The lyrics go: You only live twice, Or so it seems, one life for yourself and one for your dreams. Well, it’s all change now. How about ‘You Only Live Thrice’ with the words: You only live thrice, so say we all, two lives for yourself and one Virtual. And what brought that on, you must all be asking yourself.

Well, I came across a rather surprising article on the BBC website a couple of days ago that sort of shocked me. Nothing serious but very, very sad to the sociable creature that I am. The article was all about Virtual dinner parties. It now seems a new cyber trend is developing whereby people can discuss a pre-set topic via e-mail rather than meeting over dinner. Can you imagine sitting alone with your plate and a glass of wine in the evenings, emailing your other ‘dinner guests’, who equally sit alone with their plate and glass of wine and all emailing one another? I have never read anything more morose.

Having said that, don’t we do this already at work? Rather than walking a couple of metres over to a colleague and discussing an issue or project, do we not email instead? While I may do this during work hours (boss breathing down my neck for an immediate answer, chained to my desk, bunions on my feet, etc.), I simply cannot see myself giving virtual dinner parties. Not that I give any dinner parties at night. I do lunches.

And, as we’re in France, I think it’s only right that I serve some wine. To be honest, I’m not a great connoisseur and tend to shy away from heavy reds preferring the light, refreshing Provencal Roses you can find here. This is normally chilled (but not icy) and then served in some rather posh cut-glass glasses. Any reds are left to come to room temperature (though there’s some debate as to what ‘room temperature’ means nowadays). Anyway, I was much amused by another BBC article I read recently on how music ‘can enhance wine taste’ and that playing a certain type of music brings out the best in wine (and your taste buds). Thus it seems that Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Syrah and Merlot are quite particular in their musical tastes (ex. Syrah adores ‘Chariots of Fire’) and the effect they have on us, after they’ve had an ear full.

AHHH, now all is explained. That’s why I feel so terrible the next day after a glass or two of wine. It’s not so much the amount of wine I consumed but the music I played it . . .

No, it wasn’t Groundhog Day, but yes, Nigel and I were in Nice last Sunday too. If you remember, I’d picked up a brochure about Le Jardin Botanique de la Ville de Nice when visiting Parc Phoenix the previous Sunday. While browsing through it I came across a map of the Jardin’s location and of course made another discovery: Promenade Corniglion-Molinier that appeared to run parallel to the Promenade des Anglais. Why hadn’t I noticed this before? Flummoxed? You bet I was. A return visit was called for.

When Sunday dawned it was one of those perfect mornings that are truly irresistible and must be seized before its magic fades. There is a point, as you leave the Antibes péage, where the road cusps and you are suddenly confronted with an incredible view of Nice and the Baie des Anges with the Alps as a stunning backdrop (in winter, when snow caps the Alps and the sky is a crystal clear and the blue Mediterranean curves around the Baie, it is one of the most spectacular sights in the world). Of course, this being a motorway the view only lasts a couple of seconds, but on a morning such as this it truly fills the heart and you wonder how you could ever leave this region.

As my research involved the area close to Nice Airport (known as le Californie district), we parked in the Bosquets multi-storey parking and walked the short distance to the Promenade des Anglais. Though it was only 10am, the sun was already warm as we made our way there and came across the most wonderful of sights that could only have happened here on the Cote d’Azur: a small shop had pitched a stall just adjacent to its shop front and was very busy selling oysters and sea-urchins . . . for breakfast! It was a fantastic sight, and so unexpected. Jostling for space on a couple of stainless-steel tables, clients happily partook of their repast - all washed down by a glass of champagne. More than anything, it was the convivial atmosphere, laughter and general bonhomie that was so enchanting.

Nigel showed me an interesting article published recently in a September issue of the New Scientist that I found fascinating and felt I should share with you.  As everyone knows, in the very distant past, the division of labour was simple: men hunted and women gathered; and it seems that even today, in our modern high-tech world, women are still the best gatherers. According to a new study by Max Krasnow and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara, modern women are better at remembering the location of food such as fruit and vegetables in a market. For their experiment, the researchers led 86 adults to certain market stalls then back to a location in the centre of the market from where the stalls could not be seen. They were then asked to point to each stall’s location; women performed 27% better than men at locating the food.

 And how do we both do in a supermarket? Interestingly, Nigel always goes off to choose the meat while I delight in selecting our fruit and vegetables; our ancestors would be proud of us . . .