Rich Women, Poor Judgment

It’s not often you come across references to some of the smaller towns and villages down here in the UK papers unless it’s related to something happening in the larger communities of Nice, Cannes or Monte Carlo. I was therefore surprised when I saw the town of ‘Cagnes Sur Mer’ mentioned recently on one of the front pages of an UK Sunday newspaper.

Cagnes is a small but desirable place to live and is situated between Cannes in the west, and Nice further along the coast to the east. It has recently seen a lot of expensive new apartments built, and smart new pedestrian squares are springing up everywhere. It is very much an ‘up and coming’ place on the coast.

The Cagnes story however was not about the town or the snow which covered it last week but about a 64 year old, ‘rich’, British woman who had been murdered by her ‘toyboy’ lover.

As soon as I read the story it reminded me that this coastline is just full of rich, single, older women, looking to live out the remainder of their lives in the sun, having fun. Many of them, having been divorced, probably with large financial settlements, are just looking for a nice, quiet life with probably a bit of companionship thrown in. Many of them have been successful businesswomen in their own right and have come down to the Côte to escape the pressures of business life.

Whatever the reason and their background they are generally beautifully turned out, have used the best surgeons to ensure they retain their good looks and generally live in smart properties. They are therefore prime targets for ‘toboys’ and other ‘Casanovas’ looking for an easy ride. An allowance, a car, good clothes and the best restaurants. All they have to do is groom themselves, smell nice and be attentive both in and out of bed.

I just cannot fathom why these women don’t see it coming. Certainly, those who have founded and run businesses in the UK should have the nous to suss these scoundrels out, but all sense seems to go out the window and before you know it, the ‘toyboy’ has moved in and is beginning to take over their finances and the rest is usually a very sad story.

Finally, and this is a bit of a coincidence given his values and morals, my alter-ego, Nigel, is now writing a blog. It will not be a daily blog, probably bi-monthly and any postings will be highlighted here. It can be found at the following address but beware, it will sometimes contain ‘adult themes’:

http://monaconigel.blogspot.com/