La France, formidable

Mary and I flew to France (Toulouse) for the weekend, to celebrate the 60th birthday of Richard Charkin, former Chief Executive of Macmillan Publishers. I thought driving in to Oxford on the new one-way system was difficult, but Toulouse is madness; even when you can see your hotel, it still takes another hour to work out the route. In the end, Mary had to be sent ahead on foot before we were able to reach the front door. The following morning, we visited the Hôtel d’Assézat which housed The Bemberg Collection. Mr Bemberg was a mad and eclectic collector, and although the museum is billed as important because it has 36 canvasses by Bonnard and over 100 other Impressionists, the truth is that it's the first floor, with a remarkable Bruegel, a memorable Van Dyck, and a magnificent David, that make it worth going to Toulouse, that is if you're an art nut.

In the afternoon we drove to the little village of Puycelsi which must be unique for its sheer beauty. The buildings range from 12th to 14th century, and there is little or no sign of modern life to ruin its appearance - no street signs, no gaudy neon lights, not even a telephone box or zebra crossing. There are three little shops tucked away in a side street, and in the tiny general store, the French joie de vivre was summed up when we needed to buy some soap. The shop keeper offered us one bar of soap, take it or leave it - there was no choice. On the other side of the store however, were eleven varieties of cheese - God bless the French.

The party in the evening at Richard's exquisite French retreat was attended by guests from every era of his publishing life - from Oxford University Press to his current exalted position at Bloomsbury, and the turn-out alone left no-one in any doubt how respected and admired he is by his own profession. Mary and I slippped away just after midnight - we were among the first to leave - and at breakfast the next morning we were joined by someone who had just left the party.