Tourettes – July 28th, 1947

Ian has now arrived where he will stay for the remainder of the holiday.

Dear Mum and Dad

As you see, I have now arrived at ‘Le Lac’ where I received your letter of the 17th. I have delayed answering because I had expected a reply to my earlier letters – but the post out here is very poor compared with London. I don’t think that it would be much use if I gave you my Marseilles address because nobody there knows sufficient English to read a letter from you and in any event I shall be returning there to catch the train home.

We arrived at ‘Le Lac’ on the evening of Thursday last after a very tiring but equally interesting journey by motor coach from Toulon to St. Raphael and St. R to Fayence where we were met by Mr and Mrs Giraud in their car. (By the way, I wasn’t too tired after my long journey to Marseilles.) In the motor coach we travelled along the Corniche d’Or – the coast road – which is very beautiful but not so beautiful as the road from St. R to Nice and Monte Carlo – or so it is said.

Conditions at ‘Le Lac’ are not so good as at Marseilles and Toulon – though the people are very nice. There is no lavatory – so one has to make use of the open fields but I am used to that. The people are mainly farmer-folk occupied almost entirely with the land and there is no one really to talk to – as there was at Toulon. The days pass very slowly indeed in spite of efforts on my part to sleep them away. There is nothing very good in the way of books to read but I do enjoy highly cartooned (?) French novels as best I can. The heat, too, I still find a little trying. I feel also that my French is not making the progress it ought to because of lack of conversational facilities.

On the other side of the picture is the prospect (very vague) of visits to Cannes, Grasse, Nice and Monte Carlo. Also Miss Smith’s friend Mlle Carle will I believe be visiting us sometime and I am looking forward to that very much since I shall learn something of the people at Aix and also I hope shall have some congenial company.

Jean has a great many friends and relations in Tourrettes and we have gone the rounds of visiting them. I have found them all very nice but not very ‘interesting’. We have been bathing twice on both occasions in very beautiful spots, especially the first time when we went to a mountain stream such as one reads about. Yesterday (Sunday) was the day of the village fete and in the evening we watched the end of the Boules Championship, afterwards having supper at Jean’s grandmother’s, then adjourning to the local ‘Bar’ to spend two noisy hours there. We slept at Tourrettes with Jean’s grandmother, returning to ‘Le Lac’ this morning.

Well, I will close this dismal letter now in cursing the fates which dragged me from Marseilles and Toulon and in looking forward to your reply, also in conveying Mme Giraud’s hearty thanks for the food which you provided – she really is grateful.

Love to all
Yours truly, Ian

PS: I have written to Miss Smith and told her of my troubles and am hopeful that she may be able to do something for me.