Sunday, October 29, 2006

The X-ray Factor


It’s nice to be back on the Riviera and not feel like an impostor – now at least the first half of my handle is true. Got in last night and our bags arrived this morning and we celebrated this reunion with lunch at Michel’s. I once asked him why the apostrophe – since it doesn’t occur in French – and he said it’s because he wanted it to look English, and both he and his wife are called Michel(e). I didn’t try to explain about the plural apostrophe - I just hope Lynne Truss never sees it. But he does do a fantastic grilled sea bream which I guess is the main thing.

Greeted by Daniel, our newly-friendly newsagent, as we bought our Sunday Times – three times the price in England and half the size – and he thanked us for the plug. Now half the world is flocking to Villefranche to see a cheerful marchand de journaux.

As you get to the departure gate at Heathrow you come upon a mountain of confiscated cigarette lighters because someone once carried liquid explosive. Now they go to new levels of lunacy every time there’s a new scare – after PanAm 003 and the exploding radios they went wild about electronic stuff in your luggage. Then it was beards and back-packs. Then they caught that guy with the explosive sneakers, and they forgot about electronics and back-packs - now you have to take off your shoes in public and go through the metal detectors in your stockinged feet while your shoes go through an X-ray machine.
One only hopes they don’t catch anyone with explosives in his underpants.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful villa!
( I am ignoring the explodig underpants reference. )

Anonymous said...

All that security and they still let people board the wrong flight? Go figure.

Anonymous said...

Should explain, Ed: the villa has six apartments, only one of which is ours. (It was split up to accommodate US sailors' families when the port was base of the Sixth Fleet.)

Anonymous said...

Still a great place to live, TEd.

Anonymous said...

ah .... the balcony - I remember it well .... and the six hour lunch afterwards! Enjoy!

justin said...

Let's hope the bombers don't conceal stuff in their bras either?
Yes, the villa looks fab, Ted.