Good morning,

Someone upstairs needs to unplug the sun for a bit because what the?? Or, actually, we need to unplug our everythings and let the planet breathe, because we are in big trouble. My friend Amy Brown came over on Tuesday morning because Wednesday we were going – and went! – to see Ricky Martin near the lake in Lausanne…but more on that later… Anyway, Amy came over and we pretty much sheltered inside with multiple fans blasting from all directions, and hardly went anywhere.

Although on Wednesday morning I drove up to the top of the Jura to show her the view from one end of the lake (Lac Léman, the biggest in Europe) but the haze made it blurry, so it was a semi-fail. Still, it was beautiful up there, with wild flowers everywhere, and insane cyclists resting after peddling to the top. We heard cowbells, so went to find them, but even they were under the trees in the shade. So we drove back down again and went to the pool at the club where my husband plays golf, and swam and then had lunch, feeling very privileged and lucky, because we are.

Une sièste was necessary afterwards because Ricky concerts demand lots of energy - in my case at least - so we had a snooze, and then got the train, and then a taxi to the Pully Festival, a new one in this area that began last year. It’s a beautiful venue, right on the lake, but they’re clearly still wearing their festival training wheels because the queues for the food stands and food trucks were as insane as the heat - although there was a nice breeze there thank goodness. People were lolling on the rocks in swimsuits and swimming in the lake, and the atmosphere felt somehow very vintage, reminding me of holidays in Italy when I was a little girl.

Anyway, I didn’t eat because reasons - and not because I want to lose weight and am being silly about it - just for IBD extra security. Amy had an ice-cream, and we got some water, and went through the ticketing thingy to the big scene (there’s an off-festival too). The first act was Caroline Alves, which is funny because my friend Celine met us there with her friend who is also called Caroline Alves! She was lovely, but the sound was saturated with bass and made us feel like our bodies were going to shatter. Two of my friends decamped to avoid exploding, but as I die-hard RM fan I stood my ground, as did Amy and Laraba (the best fasciatherapist in the world) possibly out of solidarity! It turned out to be worth it because when Ricky came on, the people at the back of the venue were squashed like cheap sardines, while we were squashed like slightly more expensive ones - you know, where there’s only about three in a fancy tin.

But yes, it was very squashy, but he was amazing, as always, and everyone had a wonderful time, except possibly some proletariat ( Anna Schott I keep using your word this week!) sardines at the back who were mushier than we were. And we were pretty wet and mushy! And I sang, and was so happy when he sang Private Emotion which I’d been hoping he would (and even DMed him to ask him to sing it…oh dear!), and even happier when he did She’s All I Ever Had, then more yay forNobody Wants to be Lonely, so on the whole I’d say it was an excellent night. Also, when he did The Cup Of Life, he came on wearing a Swiss football tee-shirt and told us Switzerland had won! He’s fifty-four and still bounces around andleaps about like he did twenty years ago, and I always worry he’s going to sprain an ankle… 😂🙄

(It was sooo hot even Amy’s camera was steamy! And I’m sorry for singing off-key, but couldn’t hear myself, and everyone around us was off-key too, so I do not care).

Anyway, enough about Ricky, because I’m gushing but I’m not embarrassed but maybe you are embarrassed for me.

Thursday was Ricky recovery day for Amy and I, and we lolled about feeling like he’d ravaged the both of us - my feet and her back – and she read more of Yesteryear, and I did fun stuff on my computer, and then we lolled a little more with fans. Amy left yesterday evening, and wasn’t able to see anything else of this pretty corner of the world because it was 38 degrees… I thought afterwards I could have taken her for a nice drive with the air-con, but that would have felt a little too fuddy-duddy, right? I mean, we may have wonky bits, but we’re not at that stage yet. Amy assures me it was nice to loll and read, and we also did some painting, which reminds me I must bring her my extra set of coloured pencils that turn to water colours when you wet them.

I’m writing this in my nightie on the terrace, having woken early because it’s HOT, and it’s still lovely out here for a little bit longer. And very very pretty. The birds are singing - I changed their water so I hope they have a bath, or a drink, or both.

We drive to Spain tomorrow, where we have air-con (it’s not allowed in Switzerland for ecological reasons, but apparently it now might be possible for private houses, so we’ll see), and a pool! Hurray! My daughter and her husband arrive on Wednesday for a week, and I can’t wait to see her little belly as she’s expecting a little boy for September! Then I have two friends coming for a few days, and later another friend and her husband, and then we’ll be back for my immunosuppressant infusion in early August.

Stay cool, I think the temperatures will drop soon, and then everyone will be moaning about it being cold for July, and how we’ve had no summer.

But unplugging everything does seem to be the only way forward. Less will be more.

What have you managed to do in the heatwave? I am not even hungry anymore…

Make me happy, leave a heart, or even better, leave me a comment. ❤️

Be cool! Read poetry. My poetry! ❤️

Ooh, also, I’ve started turning some of my poems into song lyrics, and then adding music using Suno (I don’t play any instruments).

My romantic comedy, JUST LIKE A MOVIE, is no longer available on Amazon - so if you have a copy of the self-published version, or even the initial version, called Mucho Caliente, they are now extremely rare and valuable, so keep hold of them! The new version will be published March 16, 2027 by Empress Editions, a US publisher, and will be available globally. The pre-order link will be available soon, so please please please pre-order a copy, or better yet, several copies to give to your friends as pre-orders are very important for rankings. I am currently writing the sequel.

Here is the new cover:

I am very proud of being part of Empress Editions, of the work I put into my poetry because it is because of my poetry that Alisa Kennedy-Jones, the
founder of Empress, found me on Substack.

We have so many ideas that will be put in place alongside the publication of the book, so stay tuned! It’s going to a lot of fun.

Lots of love,

Francesca xx

BONJOUR, IT IS TRES TRES CHAUD

LIGHTS. CAMERA. COVER.