And what a summer it has been! Trips to the theatre, Moliere – in France and in London. Shakespeare in Peckham Rye and my book The Saturday Girls has arrived in solid form, looking beautiful and clear, ready for its launch on 23 August.

First there was Toulouse, a city I have never visited and often confuse with Toulon. Never to be confused again! Toulouse has a radical past and a vibrant present: a university, a river – the Garonne – and a strong aeronautical presence, having welcomed, in 1926, Antoine de Saint Exupery, pilot and author of Le Petit Prince.

We arrived on the eve of the Fete de la Musique. It is a huge annual event. There was to be a concert in the Place du Capitole, the main square in the town, close to our hotel. We went out for dinner that evening, and coming back we had to pass through the Place

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And so we had to join the queues of young people waiting to go and have a good time which meant being searched. Bags were opened, we were rubbed down. But everyone was good humoured and we didn’t have long to wait.

The next day was hot and interesting. We wandered by the river Garonne,

went to the market, drank coffee, ate lunch.

The next day we travelled up to Saint Antonin Noble Val a small medieval town on the Aveyron river – a perfect holiday retreat. A lovely house with a large garden, a boulangerie a minutes walk away, and restaurants, cafes and bars all close by – all in the setting of pretty medieval buildings, and a lot of art. We even found ourselves attending a couple of private views.

And in the middle of the week the Saint Antonin writers’ group hosted an evening of Moliere. In a local restaurant, le Capharnaüm, two actors performed short scenes from Fourberies de Scapin, a play which had its premiere on 24 May 1671, at the Palais Royal in Paris. It was hot and the actors wore masks and wigs, but great fun was had by all.

Back in London there was more Moliere, at the Haymarket Theatre, Tartuffe, Moliere’s 1664 play. It was in both French and English with subtitles, but its main draw was to see the actor Audrey Fleurot, who appears as the tricky red haired lawyer in Spiral, the French police series Engrenages. It was interesting.

So much theatre! There was also the rather marvellous Measure for Measure by Changeling Theatre, in Peckham Rye, and as well as their Blithe Spirit in Saint Bartholomew’s Church. And earlier there was Macbeth in Crouch End by The Factory Theatre company.

But the loveliest last part was to receive a copy of The Saturday Girls in the post. It’s the first time I have seen the spine with its lovely Z for Zaffre and the back cover with its very kind quote from Mary Gibson a writer of many successful novels. I can’t wait for 23 August when the book will finally come out.