Salut!

Off the beaten track in France: (1) Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume

At the western edge of the sprawling French departement of Var lies Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, a town I have long meant to visit without ever quite getting round to it.

The name has lived in the consciousness throughout Monsieur and Madame Salut's 20-odd years in this part of France.

So British on the Côte d'Azur: singing in Le Lavandou's rain

Stop Press: the winner in the Big Floats category was the one you see above - Satisfaction, the work of Les Amis du Quartier de la Gare - and that would have been my choice, too. In the medium-size section, the honours went to Terre Neuves du Soleil for their depiction of Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest

In London, we were reliably informed, the sun was shining. Only a couple of weeks ago, Boris Johnson had raised chuckles when boasting to a London conference about a "fantastic climate" better than Rome's.

On the Côte d'Azur, his words rang true. It was raining on the parade at Le Lavandou's annual floral carnival, the corso, and this year's theme was So British.

Brigitte Bardot: still making waves at 80

Whether it's supporting dodgy right-wing politics, firing off letters to the mayor of Saint-Tropez about the "celebrity villa cruises" that invade her privacy or engaging in her fierce war against animal cruelty, Brigitte Bardot retains the capacity to rise above the parapet and make sure she's heard. On Sunday, she will be 80. Tonight, she gives a rare interview, to every other Frenchwoman's favourite newscaster, Laurent Delahousse, on France 2. Salut! wishes BB bon anniversaire pour dimanche - even though the late update is I have now seen the interview and nearly choked on my coffee as she heaped fulsome praise on Marine Le Pen - and reproduces this item from four years ago ....

Photos du weekend: Le Lavandou

This posting is aimed without apology at the English-speaking people who, increasingly or so it seems, head for the southern French resort of Le Lavandou, roughly midway between Toulon and Saint-Tropez, between Marseille and Nice.

All the presidents went ... to the Fort de Brégançon

There are no concessions for the, er, mature. Sadly, since it would otherwise have been free, I find it increasingly hard to pass myself off as under 26. So we forked out our 10 euros apiece and did what we'd long wanted to do: visit the Fort de Brégançon, France's summer presidential holiday retreat from 1968 until last year.

Photos du weekend. 'Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go?': Chez Jo, naturellement

Be warned about the recommendation that follows. Chez Jo may well be as good a place as any to eat along the Varois coast, say between Toulon and Saint-Tropez, but it has its peculiarity. This is how I put it a year ago:

If you do explore the beaches outside Le Lavandou, Saint-Clair is the prettiest but it also small and, consequently, the most crowded. Le Layet is not recommended unless you propose to take everything off or have booked a table at the excellent Chez Jo where customers eat in clothing (making them what naturists call les textiles) and don't mind seeing the exposed bits of non-textiles wandering over to inspect the menu ...

Photos du weekend: how was la Fête de la Musique for you?

Most people know about the annual celebration of music that originated in France but is now held on the first day of summer in many other countries, too.

Le Lavandou had its little slice of the action. Paris will have been buzzing, Montpellier certainly was, but the event is not confined to the capital and bigger cities.

Médecin malgré lui, musicien ... and now l'artiste

So, the man's a cardiologist and, I am sure and assured, a very good one. He's a drummer whose love of music is so strong he'll jump on a plane from Nice to catch a show at Ronnie Scott's club in London and he's an occasional wannabe racing driver putting Ferraris through their paces at the Paul Ricard circuit in Castellet.

And then there's his art.

Photos du weekend: Saint-Tropez and a quick dip in the Med

Some things never let you down.

A visit to Saint-Tropez almost always starts in the same way. A space is found in the Parking du Port from where it is an easy walk to the centre.

Fair winds for France: hit the road, Jacques

That's it. One more do-do, as five-year-old Maya puts it, and we're off back to France. The long journey to the Var will be broken in Le Croisic, in the Loire-Atlantique, and I am more excited than age makes respectable.