Will we survive the global warming? We shall have to. I’ve now put away the electric blanket, heaters, cosy dressing gown and fluffy slippers, ‘The Little House on the Prairie’ nighties, finished the last of the Ciobar...and out come my plastic shoes and leopard skin bathing suit for late weekend afternoons at the Exiles. Alas, my days of full frontal sunbathing between mid-day and 3pm are over. After that growth on my face last year, the treatment of which came with dire warnings, from the dermatologist I know that skin cancer is a reality. Mine was a lucky escape so I now have to pretend that White is Beautiful, which it isn’t of course. In summer we all need a golden tan to go with our lighter coloured clothes and our turquoise and coral costume jewellery. Anyway somehow one looks slimmer with a tan, more attractive. But the tan has to go...yes alas. White has to be Beautiful...and even if we know it isn’t we shall have to pretend it is and not look at the mirror too closely.

Too much food isn’t good for us either and it is said that we dig our grave with our teeth. But on that count it is more difficult to exercise will power. Adam and Eve lost Paradise for a mere apple. Can you therefore expect the rest of us to resist much more delicious fare? Here, everything is a pretext for food. I step into the home of a member of the family and the first thing they do is invite me into the kitchen for a cosy chat and soon, inevitably tins, trays, jars and packets start making an appearance on the table and one cannot escape the onslaught. Indeed, I don’t want to escape it. Diving under the table would not help as their dogs would tell you. These pets are fed constantly underneath the table while the humans eat at it. Indeed, they receive more attention. And the irony of it all is, that we sit there and discuss diets and walking and the importance of exercise, especially as we get older...and older...and eat twice as much as we should.

Which brings me to one of the stars in next Sunday’s First, our monthly glossy, on which we have been working. It is Liz Said. I have not met Mrs Said personally but I have been on email with her. To say that she is incredibly fit is an understatement. She cannot be fitter than she is. She had no problem telling Sandra, who interviewed her, how old she is either. She is 57 but certainly looks infinitely younger. She knows all about calories and exercise and keeping fit but what is so cruel is that she also makes the most exquisite looking cakes as you will see from our photos next Sunday. Liz Said says that the portions we eat should not be bigger than our fist. I groaned when I read that and walked away from my computer, uttering mantras and tantras. I must eat about 15 fists a day. I would starve to death on one fist or even two. I shall try to persuade Liz to write an article or two for us about her successful experience. I too, want to look like her.

And no, you cannot escape food...you don’t want to escape food especially at the Al Fresco restaurant at the InterContinental. This outdoor eaterie has just be relaunched for the summer months and a group of hacks and hackettes were invited to this Seventh Heaven to try the summer fare. Its very spacious which I find immediately attractive. Who wants to be huddled in some tight restaurant in this heat? We spent a most enjoyable evening away from our computers eating well and drinking a reasonable amount. I met Christophe Laure the new GM and sat near his wife Maria, who is Spanish but speaks excellent English. She is very Mediterranean and flamenco runs in her veins and I half expected her to ask for a rose and stand on the table and give us a little show but she didn’t. Not this time at least. As we get to know her better perhaps we can persuade her to dance for us. Alex Incorvaja and Luke Engerer looked absolutely dashing in their lightweight summer suits. Don’t we all deserve to be surrounded by elegant men?

I enjoyed most of all the Salmon Tartare with Caviar Sour Cream and Cucumber and the Lobster-Morels stew in Madras curry with Pan-fried Foisgras. There were some lovely balls too. I have forgotten what the filling was but we politely devoured them. The only dish which I thought was pretty ‘abstract’ was the Chilled Bell Pepper with Octopus Salad. I couldn’t find my bell pepper...and nor could my neighbour. The dish looks bright but there really wasn’t much to it and I wouldn’t order it again. But we’ll forgive the chef. The petit fours, which included chocolate truffles were delicious and we were not counting the calories. We would have needed a calculator to do so after all that wine.

Some of the young men on my table were too busy admiring a young hotel resident who had not drawn her bedroom curtains. This gave the rest of us a chance to help ourselves to their share of the truffles...their jaws fell when two handsome 6-foot black men appeared in the same bedroom. Her body guards perhaps? But by then the truffles had gone as well as the girl.

Rosanna Cravenna the hard-working director of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura has been here for some seven years. This is her last posting and she will be retiring in her home in the north of Italy. Many of us can say that we have worked well with her. Thanks to her we have enjoyed some excellent art, talks, plays, dancing, films and music. She brought out some eminent Italian personalities too. Rosanna is quiet and understated but highly efficient. She was seriously ill while she was here but most of us only learnt about this afterwards.

Many attended her farewell reception at the Istituto last Monday. I would have liked to take the time to get to know her better. From a degree in nuclear physics, life’s circumstances made her take up a career in which she promoted Italian culture and promoted it very well. We shall be sad to see her go. I find it incredible that seven years have passed since she arrived. We wish her a happy and tranquil retirement and hope she will come and see us again one day soon. She was an asset to the Italian diplomatic corps...and to Signor Berlusconi as well!

At Rosanna’s reception I spoke briefly to the French ambassador, M. Chrismant. I hope he will stay here for seven years too. He is not only charming but has that rare quality – breeding, which certainly cannot be said for some of the awful specimen who litter these islands...and the local internet scene. He carries his learning lightly and unobtrusively. He makes a change from loud-mouthed and unattractive gas bags who speak through the nether regions of their bodies spouting out a great deal of rubbish. He is obviously a seasoned diplomat and diplomacy runs in his blood. I have tried to bait him on several occasions hoping he would come out with some indiscretion but I have now learnt that this is impossible. His breeding and indeed his profound Christianity do not let him be indiscrete in any way. Yes, I do hope he will stay for seven years.

At the party a former Chief Justice came to say hello and kissed me on both cheeks...I found it touching. It will probably be the first and last time that I have been kissed by a chief justice... former or otherwise.