Page 73 - FOYER_Cannes 2001

DIARY BERLIN • LOSANGELES • MILAN • FOYER • CANNES • TOKYO • LONDON PAGE71
BAD... ITWASGOOD
CSHAPTER15, THESTONES
idney always used to read the International Herald Tribune in the morning before he sat down to work on his new book. “This is an interest-
ing ad,” he said one day, wander- ing into the sitting room from his study. “I think you should answer it. It might be just what you’ve been looking for.” I took the paper from him and read:
“Wanted. For English organiza- tion in the South of France, bilin- gual, organized woman, salary plus expenses, 25-35 years of age. Please contact Mlle. Bergman, Hotel Grand Bretagne, Cannes.”
My curiosity was aroused and I went to look up the phone number of the Hotel Grand Bretagne. As I was leafing through the phone book, the penny dropped. I remembered where I had heard the name Bergman recently. Whenever a story about the Mick Jagger wedding had appeared in the papers, she had been quoted as his official spokeswoman.
The local papers had had a field day with all the turmoil surrounding the event. And it seemed like every- time they needed a statement from Jagger, it always came through a Mlle. Bergman.
“Yes, the wedding is still on. No, the details of the pre-nuptial agree- ment have not yet been finalized.” Mlle. Bergman this and Mlle. Bergman that. And then finally, “Yes, the wedding will take place as planned, now that the pre-nuptial agreement has been signed, accord- ing to Mlle. Bergman, a spokesman for Mr. Jagger”.
So now I knew what English organization we were talking about. “My God”, I thought to myself, “this is a job to take care of the Rolling Stones”. It occurred to me that most people who read the International Herald Tribune were based in places like Rome, Paris, London, Stockholm, the
Far East or New York.
There would not be many
people reading that ad in
the South of France, ten min-
utes from Cannes. We sub-
scribed, so got it every day
in the morning mail.
I called the hotel and asked to speak to Mlle. Bergman. The phone was answered by a very nasal, American, female voice. “Hello, this is Jo Bergman.”
I decided to play dumb. “My name is June Shelley. I saw your ad in the Herald Tribune. I’m very curious. Could you tell me what it’s about?”
I heard her take a deep breath. “The job is to take care of
continued ✒
“My God”, I thought to myself, “this job is to take care of the Stones”
Available now from www.JuneShelley.com