Not Quite Nice (34 page)

They could see Ted, sitting on the other side of the room, his arm around Marianne. The couple gazed into one another’s eyes.

Tom was laughing, waving his pink-and-gold top hat, while Zoe cavorted in front of the portraits of herself, performing for Faith, Alfie, William and Benjamin.

‘It’s all very sweet, isn’t it?’ Sally sighed and took a mouthful of ice cream with raspberry sauce. ‘We all panic, but our kids are fine, really, aren’t they?’

‘They are,’ said Theresa.

‘I have to learn to be less judgemental,’ said Sally. ‘We’re all just human, after all.’

‘I know.’ Theresa took a bite of vanilla-syruped peach. She had to say, her recipe wasn’t at all bad, but when you were following the rules of a master, how could a perfectly constructed dish like this fail?

Theresa’s phone rang.

It was Imogen.

‘Mummy?’

‘Yes, darling?’

As the day had started so well, Theresa prayed it wouldn’t be bad news.

‘You know I said the girls had been suspended from school and, I think I told you a few weeks ago, that, since the trip out to see you, they all seemed to be doing rather well at French . . .’

‘Yes?’ said Theresa.

‘I’m finally facing up to it: Michael isn’t going to come back, is he?’

Theresa quietly said no.

‘So I’ve made a decision,’ continued Imogen. ‘We, that’s the girls and me, well, we’ve decided we’re going to move to France.’

Theresa gulped, took a deep breath and said, ‘That’s nice.’

She scooped the spoon round the bowl and opened her mouth.

‘No, not exactly Nice, but, like you, somewhere near,’ said Imogen with a laugh in her voice. ‘Like Bellevue-Sur-Mer. I’ve already phoned the estate agent and they say there are two rather good houses that have just gone on the market.’

Theresa thrust the laden spoon into her mouth.

‘And, you know what’s so wonderful about it, Mummy. You’d be able to babysit again!’

Theresa’s mouth was so full of Peach Melba she couldn’t manage a reply.

PEACH MELBA

Ingredients

2 whole white peaches

Caster sugar

Vanilla pod

Raspberries

Lemon juice

Vanilla ice cream

Method

1. Peaches

Bring a pot of water to a simmer. Put peaches into the simmering water to blanch for 1 minute.

Drop peaches into a bowl of iced water, then peel. Cut them in half and remove stones.

Make a caramel by burning some caster sugar in a pan. When brown and starting to bubble, add a little water till it is a syrup and put vanilla pod into this.

Add peaches, simmer, stirring occasionally, till peaches are soft (and slightly firm) generally about 5–8 minutes.

Remove from heat, strain, cover and set aside till peaches cool, then chill.

2. Raspberries

While they are cooling, purée fresh raspberries in a blender, and strain through a sieve into a bowl.

Add 4 teaspoons sugar and lemon juice and stir to dissolve the sugar.

3. Serving

Put a ball of vanilla ice cream at base of each bowl.

Drain and arrange two peach halves on top of ice cream.

Pour raspberry sauce over peaches.

Decorate with spun melted sugar or chopped almonds – but
never
whipped, or any other, cream.

Acknowledgements

Angus

Christopher

All my friends at
La Civette Du Cours

Constance

Fidelis

Gilbert

Jose Mari

Josey-Anne at the Language School

The bus drivers on the Lignes d’Azur

Lima, meilleure pour autant que je sache

Maïtre d’ at Alain Ducasse Restaurant, Louis XV, Monte Carlo

Nerys and Patrick

Raymond

Richard

Les sauveteurs des plages de Nice

To all my friends at Le Safari Restaurant for always giving me an extra special welcome and desserts

Sebastian

A Note on the Author

Celia Imrie is an Olivier Award-winning actress best known for her parts in the films
Calendar Girls
and
Nanny McPhee
. In February 2015 she returns as Madge in
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Her roles on stage include Dotty in
Noises Off
and Mrs Tilehouse in
The Sea
and, on television, Diana in
After You’ve Gone
, Vera in
A Dark Adapted Eye
and Miss Babes in
Acorn Antiques
. Last year she brought her cabaret/revue
Laughing Matters
to Crazy Coqs and then to the St James Theatre. Her autobiography,
The Happy Hoofer
, was published in 2011.

www.celiaimrie.info
©CeliaImrie

By the Same Author

The Happy Hoofer

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First published in the United States 2015

This electronic edition published March 2015

© Celia Imrie, 2015

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ISBN:        PB:        978-1-63286-032-3

   ePub:    978-1-63286-033-0 

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