They had arrived at their hotel on September 15th, in torrential rain, having driven all the way from their home in Widnes, Lancashire. As they drove into the car park they caught the wing of the car on a gate post and damaged both the bodywork and some of the electrical system. Undaunted, they managed to get it repaired in Bayonne but it meant they were without a car for several days.
Once it was repaired they then drove into Spain (still in awful weather) to visit an old university friend of Jack's (from his time at Poitiers University, presumably) , who was amazed when they turned up, out of the blue, at his factory. They hadn't seen each other for over forty years.
Nancie and Jack had first met on the beach at St Jean de Luz in 1937. He thought she was French and married as she had children with her. It wasn't until he saw her again the following year that he plucked up the courage to actually speak to her. He then discovered she was an unmarried Scots lass from Kilmacolm who was working as a Governess and came to St Jean de Luz
Nancie kept in touch with many of the families she worked for but sadly not Mimi. I have been trying to find out what happened to her in later life but so far, unsuccessfully.
To return to the mysterious Mr Smith of my previous post. He seems to have been involved in Jean Ferris' financial affairs but I'm not sure in what capacity. He could have been a New York trustee. At one point he gave Nancie, then aged 26, the money to pay all the staff at the Villa Korsar, so he certainly had control of the purse strings. Nancie also mentions a Mrs Bond in her diary but I'm not sure of her role. She was possibly the housekeeper at the Villa Korsar.
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