Mireille Day

He sounds a bit weird.

We can deal with it if you like.

And I thought, oh, a bit weird.

You so have nailed Jean.

So we started corresponding again by email at this time.

And then I was making a trip to France and I thought, I'd like to get in touch with him again now.

And now that he wasn't sailing, because I never wanted to get on a boat with him again ever, and I'll just say, we'll just catch up for lunch.

First of all, he said, just lunch?

Nonsense.

Come to my place.

We can spend a few days there and I'll take you to the Riviera to where my other boat is.

No, thank you.

Not going on that boat again.

Oh, look, it was a time warp because he looked like the 1970s, which I have to say in the 70s he wasn't quite as unruly as he looked.

The hair was much longer then.

He had, you know, one of those collarless shirts on, an Indian shoulder bag.

He was wearing sandals.

I thought that he might turn up bare feet, but that was how he was dressed, the epitome of the 1970s.

And did you get on easily?

It was as if we just picked up from where we'd left off.