So I'm back in France. Martine picked me up at the station last night in her new (well, actually very old) Rover. While in London I:
1 Went to Pilates every day.
2 Learnt that the Canadian rights to Tout Sweet had sold in an 'excellent' deal. According to my editor, the fact it sold at all is good as normally Canadian publishers only buy books when they're already bestsellers.
3 Met my perfumer friend Linda Pilkington of Ormonde Jayne in Claridges for a glass of pink champagne and sampled her new fragrance Tiare, which contains a wonderful £30,000 a kilo gardenia essence. I think it's her best yet. It reminds me a little of Chanel Cristalle but much prettier.
4 Signed some more books in Waterstones Kensington, where Patti, who is looking after my book so well, made some reading suggestions including:
•The Cassandra Chronicles By Ariel Leve - very funny observations by a writer who claims to look on the bleak side of life.
•The Price of Water in Finistere by Bodil Malmsten (a 'new life in France' memoir that until now had escaped my notice, but which is written in a very sparse, lyrical way.)
5 Had dinner with friends at The Chamberlayne - an excellent gastro pub in Kilburn (83 Chamberlayne Road, NW10, tel 0208 960 4311).
6 Bought a new pair of cherry-red Prada 'Mary-Jane' shoes. There will be limited opportunities for wearing them in the French countryside but I couldn't resist. There is something about a pair of red shoes that makes you feel happy.
7 Realised what a wonderful network of friends I still have in London.
Ahhh, red shoes. Every girl needs a pair of red shoes. Mine are Jimmy Choo Mary Janes. Currently parked at the back of my closet, as wearing heals and carrying around a chubby baby seems a little unpractical. But their day will come, I am sure.