My friend from the Middle East has joined LastFM and seems to be enjoying it. I have messaged him about D Graham's Tristano and Calum Findlay. The bear seems to be on reasonable form after his break. He is flirting a little with dark jazz. He picked out the Night of the Barracuda which I enjoy. I looked up the Filles de Kilimanjaro and discovered that one of the tunes on it is Gil Evans' reworking of the Wind Cries Mary. I think the title track is brilliant. Dave Holland plays on two of the tracks. I decided to order it from Amazon. I arranged a lunch for Thursday.

PW has bought a new acoustic guitar. I mailed Sue about my French trip - she has been there recently and reported that she thought the old France she knew in her 20s and 30s has disappeared. I listened to the overseas development minister not making a very good case for why his budget should be ring-fenced.

The food in Provence is famous - herbs seem to feature prominently in their recipes and are on sale in large quantities in the markets.