Dear Susan, You have mirrored my feelings exactly, I too know the feelings of living abroad most of my life and I certainly will vote Democrat and for Obama.

In Greece, on the island where we have a home, there are several topless beaches, there have been for years. However, it depends on the fashion, some years the Italian tourist girls are topless then the next year they are not. I think that most young European girls certainly have gone topless at some time. I can only speak for my daughters who certainly have, it seems to have been a rite of passage, but as they got older the bra came back. Most women look better with a bra and it is always the wrong people I find lately who go topless. Anyway who cares, the only time I ever really objected was when my husband reading his book on a crowded beach was inches away from a bared breast, he seemed to enjoy it!

I thought that the Ile de Re was totally nude…

Well, I must say that I too have gone gray..I had my hair streaked beige for years anyway, and it just sort of did it on its own..but the grey is like not steely colour more on the Helen Mirren line..I think every winter of putting colour in, but my hairdresser and husband think it is a great colour and I dont mind in the summer when I have a brown face..but in the winter …well. My husband tells me that one should grow old gracefully.. I wonder sometimes, I must be the only 66 year old with grey hair in my city surrounded by all older women with all sorts of dyed hues!! Perhaps I am just lazy thinking about having to go to the hairdresser every few months to top up the colour..so, I am going with the growing old naturally!

I too could not live without my daughters..I have two and they both live in London, so far away from Pennsylvania. However, we email daily and talk a lot on the phone and I travel back and forth to England and they always spend time in the summer with us in Greece and come home for Christmas. The younger daughter is about to move to Geneva so we have decided to retire in France so at least we are on the other side of the pond!

past memories of Je Revien, Caleche, Jicky, Diorissimo, Shalimar, Halston, loved Halston, Annnick Gotals L’eau de Hadrien, and the grapefruit one she has, and now almost anything by Jo Malone.

why not try Green and Brown Chocolate, organic and can be found at Wholefoods…also my favourite in the whole world are Leonides Chocolates from Belgium, excellent.

Well done Mary for giving us these wonderful tips on the Med. We are going sailing for two weeks around the Aoelian Islands in Sicily, any good tips on restaurants there? We start off in Palermo and end up in Catania after sailing to the various islands. This will be in September. Also, any tips on Greece?

GT, I completely agree with you, Being There is on the top of my favourite movies along with the English Patient, the Tin Drum, Jules et Jim, The amazing Mr. Ripley, Pans Labrynth, and so many more.

More books I love.. The Discovery of Heaven, translated from the Dutch by Harry Mulisch The Great Catherine by Carolly Erikson Paradise by A.L.Kennedy The Romantics by Pankaj Mishra Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen Love in a cold climate by Nancy Mitford and all of the following, Michael Chabon, Henry James, Lawrence Stern, Henry Fielding, Turgenov, Tolstoy, Bellow,Edith Wharton, Flannery O’Connor, Ivy Compton Bennett, Faulkner, Satre, De Beauvoir, Alisdair Gray, Sebastian Faulks, Jerzy Kosinski, and too many more to list.

The earliest memories I have growing up in Scotland were the tales from Hans Christian Anderson. I cried when I read The Little Match girl, I loved The Snow Queen, Thumbelina, The Emperors New Suit, the Princess and the Pea, just to name a few, all good lessons in life.

Sarah, I am a British woman living in the US. Which women would you have I wonder. How about Petronella Wyatt, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Hilary Alexander, Judy Dench, Emma Thompson, for starters. Who do you suggest.

Mary, I love your columns and your mother sounds a really lovely woman. I sat on the plane going to London next to a very nice Polish man who was on his way back to England for a reunion with some British soldiers and he was from Poland, Ohio. I thought it amusing at the time because of all the places in the US, he ended up in Poland. My daughter was interviewing at one time at Kenyon College and we passed through Poland several times, I can’t really see you there! Hopefully, my daughters, who both live in London will remember that it is Mothers Day in the US because it is a different date in England. I lived in NYC when you started your agency and I remember well that it was the first agency to allow women to wear trousers…and I loved the planes..and the fact you married the CEO. How different the world was way back then, Pucci dresses, white stockings, a new Spring coat in pastel colours, false eyelashes, shell earrings from that great shop on Madison Avenue, the mini, the bar on top of the Pan Am Building and your agency was the best..

Well Miss de Cordelia, as far as your intimidating comment on this piece, I think I remember your comment “Shirley is good people”. In my book, that is certainly not good english!

Well Emcee, all I can say is for someone who is so critical of anothers writing ability, ie. the Glen Close Armani piece, “Shannon is terrific people” is not what I call good English.