All Expenses Paid (Fact Meets Fiction)

THE ADVERT: Six months in the South of France, looking after elderly English lady while family travels. Separate en-suite accommodation. Must be a driver. Ideally 40+ and non smoker. All expenses paid. ME: Laura Bennett just 40 and been divorced longer than married. No dependents. Lease run out on my rented cottage. Sales job going nowhere. Time for a fresh start. So, I decided to go for it. I mean what could be simpler than looking after an 82 year old English lady? I had visions of gentle strolls to the boulangerie and compulsory siestas. But this was before I met Betty. She looked like everybody's favourite grandmother until Jean- Louis arrived to pick her up on his Kawasaki 1200! Keep an eye on her, her daughter said. I had a job to keep up. "Engaging, fun, unpredictable, fresh, original, silly, and just plain old enjoyable. Cracking idea and neatly executed. All I need is a deck chair and some sun and I'm sorted!" Andrew Morgan on www.authonomy.com If you take Samantha out of Sex and the City, team her up with Rose from the Golden Girls, set them in Provence for six months, you have: All Expenses Paid. www.helenducal.com Cover art and design by Simon Birch: www.simon-birch.co.uk