Monte Carlo Rally co-driver Hannah McKillop Davison grew up in Northern Ireland. The 29-year-old (who turns 30 on March 23) wouldn’t describe herself as a particularly sporty child but says she always went to rally events with her dad. “I attended my first rally at just two weeks old with my dad. He is a mechanic and I spent my childhood in the garage with him watching and learning – in between ballet lessons! I have always loved the sport and have become more involved in it over the years, from the organisation to competing.”
The Scotland-based driver admits she had always wanted to compete in motorsport but only started after she met Josh, her now husband, 10 years ago at the age of 19. “Josh is also a co-driver and taught me a lot from his experience. It helped me to get started.”
Hannah typically competes in around 20 events a year, from small national races to European level. She co-pilots with both her husband and father-in-law Michael Davison. “The two dynamics are interesting!” she laughs. “Josh and I have attempted some small navigational events together but maybe two co-drivers in one car doesn’t work so well. I have also competed with Josh’s dad and really enjoyed that, it’s always a lot of fun.”
For the 92nd Monte Carlo Rally, put on by the Automobile Club de Monaco, Hannah is teaming up with Monaco resident Chris Ingram, the first British Rally Driver in 52 years to become an FIA European Rally Champion in 2019. It is her first World Rally Championship (WRC) and she follows in the footsteps of legends like Michele Mouton, the first and only woman to ever win a round of the WRC who began her career at the first ever WRC event, the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally, as a co-driver for Jean Taibi. Hannah admits, “Of course, there is always pressure with such a prestigious event and with such a competitive driver but I try to turn that feeling of pressure to focusing on the goal. I have worked hard to be here and it’s important to also enjoy the experience.”
Hannah and Chris are driving car No. 26, a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 sponsored by Suisscourtage, which was unveiled with Prince Albert on January 21 at Port Hercules. “The Skoda is a fantastic car,” Hannah describes. “It’s stable and balanced, everything in the car is purposeful and thought about for the job it needs to do. It’s a pleasure to be in, and we are thrilled to have Suisscourtage onboard. They are enthusiastic about our journey and it’s great to have a Monaco-based company backing us.”
The Rallye Monte-Carlo, which was inaugurated in 1911 by Prince Albert I, officially kicks off Thursday, January 25. “I’m most excited for the iconic stages, like the Col de Turini. As someone who grew up watching this event on television every year, it is very special to be here experiencing it as a competitor. The biggest challenge is the length of the event but we have worked very hard on our pre-event preparations and we both feel confident and determined ahead of the race.”
Hannah says her key word is “organised”! “I work with teams in the UK on their pre-event organisation and logistics which I really enjoy. I also manage a rally experience centre in Scotland called The Forest Experience where anyone can come and have a go at rally driving on gravel in the forest. I am very lucky to both work and compete in something I love and enjoy so much.”
When it comes to support women in motorsport, Hannah says optimistically, “I definitely see massive progress. It’s great to see so many female co-drivers in Europe and more and more in the UK. I think it’s really important and I hope it continues to grow for both drivers and co-drivers.”
For this rally race year, she adds, “One of my goals for 2024 is to compete in a team where my dad is the mechanic.”
2024 Rallye Monte-Carlo official start FOR CAR 26 at Place du Casino.
Article first published January 25, 2024. Feature image Instagram Hannah McKillop Davison. Video: Martine Ackermann.
Did You Know? In France, International Women’s Sports Day is held on January 24. Created in 2014 by the French CSA Audiovisual High Council, the aim of the Journée Internationale du Sport Féminin is to provide more visibility and equal representation for women’s sports in the media.
The French Broadcasting Council collaborated with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee and originally called the day 24h for Women’s Sport. The name has since changed to Sport Féminin Toujours, with the focus remaining on the advancement of women’s sport.
A nod to Scotland-based Hannah Davison, the first women’s golf club was formed at St. Andrew’s in 1867.
Watch the interview with Natasha Frost-Savio. The founder of Pink Ribbon Monaco gives the inside scoop on the upcoming charity gala and 5K walk.
Breaking news out of the Pink Ribbon Monaco camp. After setting up the non-profit back in 2011, founder Natasha Frost-Savio has announced Princess Charlene has taken on the position of Honorary President in January 2024. This “cements her commitment to women’s health and the fight against breast cancer with the Principality’s most prominent association dedicated to the cause.”
The timing could not be better. Pink Ribbon Monaco’s two big fundraising events are around the corner. A swanky gala with award-winning musical guest Zhang Zhang on February 2 and the 12th edition of the 5K Walk on February 11. All proceeds go to support lobular breast cancer research at Monaco’s Princess Grace Hospital Center.
The second edition of Pink Ribbon Monaco’s gala and charity auction, under the High Patronage of Prince Albert, will take place on Friday, February 2, in the elegant and exclusive Salle Médecin, in the heart of the Monte Carlo Casino.
This is a James Bond moment. Each guest will receive a game chip to participate in pre-dinner French Roulette and blackjack. Additional chips can be purchased for €100, and although no cash jackpots can be won, lucky winners will take home sought-after prizes.
As a private event, and thanks to the support of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, this is a rare opportunity to take stunning photos in the historical venue and capture the special moments at the roulette and blackjack tables.
The live charity auction will include a variety of luxury fashion and interior design lots, jewellery and art work, generously provided by Chanel, Versace, Vitale 1913, Boghossian, Zegg & Cerlatti and Rinck. A Grand Prix weekend experience valued around €10,000 will also be open for bidding.
It’s not just the venue that makes this “one of the season’s most select and sought-after events”. The evening will be set to the tune of the award-winning musician Zhang Zhang. This is a rare occasion to see the first violin of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra with her 7-piece orchestra up close bringing the house down with classics “from Mancini to Morricone and from Sinatra to Fitzgerald.”
The following weekend is Monaco’s favourite 5K – and for the first time the date does not fall on a school break. The 12th Pink Ribbon Monaco charity walk is on Sunday February 11. As with the gala, funds raised will contribute to a breast cancer study in the Principality.
The event is part of Monaco Run and starts at 10:15 am at Port Hercules and the circuit gently climbs up the Rock to pass in front of the Palace, the Cathedral and the Oceanographic Museum before winding back down to the terraces of the Monte-Carlo Casino. Children and dogs are welcome but pushchairs or wheelchairs may need assistance in some areas.
Online registration is €30 and free for under-13s. Participants will get a commemorative t-shirt that can be picked up on Saturday, February 10, at the Pink Ribbon Monaco stand at the esplanade of Port Hercule from 10 am to 5 pm. Raffle tickets (€10 for 5 tickets) will be on sale, too.
Watch Natasha’s video above about Saturday’s crazy surprise guest.
Natasha is grateful for her Pink Ribbon Monaco walk sponsors (SBM Offshore, Crazy Pizza and Striped Sportswear) and points out that unlike other sporting events, participants will not have numbers on their bibs. “Instead, they can write messages of support or tribute to the victims of breast cancer instead.
“The aim is not to complete the course in record time, but it is a moving show of support for women, sisters, daughters, mothers and friends,” says Natasha.
Martina Brodie would sum up her childhood in one word: books. “My first memory is of my mom and dad both reading. Always. I was convinced that everybody reads all the time.”
Martina and her two younger brothers were born in the eastern part of Slovakia, in a small town called Sečovce. Growing up under Communism meant a life full of restrictions, including travel outside of the Eastern Bloc. “But I did travel,” insists Martina. “In fact, I travelled Around the World in 80 Days with Jules Verne. For me, our local library was a Treasure Island. It was only later on that I realised these books were carefully checked and censored for any praise of the West and that many authors were banned.”
There was no freedom of religion. “We had to learn Russian at elementary school and, to prevent us from going to church on Sunday mornings, the school organised ‘Sitting by the Samovar’. This was a competitive quiz about Soviet culture.”
Western music was also a no-go. “Once my father brought home the Beatles’ album, Help! Someone had smuggled in the LP and it was so exciting. We were breaking the rules! We couldn’t play it loud, but my brother and I must have listened to this record a million times – dancing and repeating the strange words which we learned by heart not knowing what they meant. Years later, when I met Ringo Starr in Monaco, I was starstruck and left speechless from a flood of memories.”
Martina moved to Monaco in 2010 with her husband, Ian, founder of NEWS.mc. The couple first laid eyes on each other just before Christmas 1996 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Journalism major Martina had started her weekend job at the country’s first Irish pub, Dubliners. Ian, who was publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Central European Business Weekly, which he founded in Prague in 1992, was at the bar on opening night. They didn’t speak that first time.
The Dubliners became a distribution point for Ian’s weekly newspaper. As Martina recalls, “My Irish friend at the pub saw me laugh out loud reading its tongue-and-cheek column Central European Diary and made sure that I met this guy when he next came to visit.”
Martina was in the process of breaking up with her boyfriend when she was formally introduced to Ian at the pub. “Our chat turned out to be a night-long discussion. And it must have been interesting because I stayed up talking to Ian until early morning. I remember leaving the underground bar and there was daylight. I was about to hop on one of the first trams of the day when Ian asked for my number. There were no mobile phones back then and I couldn’t afford a landline so I made up six digits on the spot, which he duly noted down. I knew I would never see this guy again. What I failed to tell him was that I was leaving town to finish my thesis and be with my family. A few days later I quit my job at the pub and left the capital for a long time.”
Martina heard from friends that Ian had been relentlessly calling the fictious number. “He would come from Prague to the pub in Bratislava most weekends, asking everyone about my whereabouts. When I returned a year later, people were coming up to me with Ian’s number saying they had had enough of this guy looking for me. I was like, Which guy? … Don’t tell Ian!”
Martina called Ian. The next day he once again took the five-hour train from Prague. “Lunch turned into dinner and the rest is history, well with a twist. I was aware of the nearly 30-year age difference so I travelled around the world to make up my mind. Ian followed me. To Mexico. To California. To Canada. He really is the most tenacious person I know!”
Except for when Martina went to Japan for three months with an international group – Up With People – and lived with host families in nine places. “My Japanese host mothers were very supportive of my dilemma. They told me, ‘Martina, many people do not experience what love is. You seem to have found it, don’t throw it away. Even if he is much older – go for it – and when he dies, you will find another!’”
Accepting the advice, by age 30 Martina and Ian were living back in Bratislava and had two children. She worked as a freelance television and radio journalist, and also helped Ian start a monthly bilingual magazine, Business Slovakia.
When Ian’s mother had health issues, the family moved to Wellington in the UK. Martina looked for work. “It was 2007 and you couldn’t find a good cup of coffee. This was long before the big chains discovered this pleasant town in southwest England. So together with a friend – and on a very tight budget – we opened the Chocolate Box, a continental café selling Belgian pralines and ten types of hot chocolates,” Martina shares.
“It was no ordinary café. It very chocolatey and magical, and even though I had no previous experience running a café, it was a success from day one. The boys were small and I worked 24/7 baking most of the goods we were selling. After four years I was exhausted.”
It was time to sell the coffee shop and use the money to return to Slovakia. Ian had already gone ahead to prepare the family cottage when Martina picked up a copy of the Sunday Times. “I read this wonderful article about Monaco written by Evelyne Genta, the Monaco ambassador to the UK. The piece mentioned how Monaco is full of opportunities for young entrepreneurs with good ideas, that it is a great place to live as well as a safe place for families. I called my husband to say: ‘Stop whatever you are doing. We are going to live in Monaco.’ Ian agreed and that is how crazy we are. We did it.”
They packed up the hired van and drove with the kids from the UK for Monaco. Ian started a job as Editor-in-Chief at the Riviera Times, the boys were enrolled in local schools, and Martina? “I was desperate to learn French and explore life on the Riviera. Except nothing worked out. The boys had a terrible time at school. They didn’t speak French and the whole system was brutally different from the UK. They say you can only be as happy as your least-happy child. Well, they were both depressed and it was hard for me as a mom.”
On top of that, Ian’s job didn’t work out and he quit. “I was furious! However, it was 2010 and we both knew Monaco would benefit from an English-language news service as nothing else existed at the time. That’s how Monaco Life started – first as a print magazine, later as online daily news. It was exciting and growth was rapid.”
The British Association of Monaco, led by Vanessa Ilsley, and Anette Anderson at MonacoUSA supported Martina and Ian from day one. “They may be our most favourite people in Monaco,” Martina admits. “It is never easy to come to a new country and try to connect with like-minded people and I will never forget how welcoming they were. When life wasn’t easy, they were always there. In fact, I think it was Annette who took the ‘famous’ photo of us dancing at Stars’n’Bars around 2012 or so.”
The other point bookish Martina remembers from those early days is her need to join a book club – any book club. “I wanted to get to know people but clubs were not accepting new members … so I started my own, the Monte Carlo Reading Society. We had some good laughs and the six women who joined are my closest friends to this day.”
Still, Monaco’s promise of “a great place to live” was not all it cracked up to be. “They say you have to give a new place at least two years before you make a decision to stay or to move on. I gave it three. I had to make a hard decision to take the boys back to finish their education in Wellington. Ian stayed a bit longer and sold Monaco Life before moving back with us.”
They stayed in the UK for four years but in July 2019 Ian returned to Monaco to start Monaco Daily News – aka NEWS.mc. “The boys wanted to return to the Riviera. I was hesitant because I truly love the UK. I had a great job working for the 250-year-old Fox Brothers and it doesn’t happen often that you have the best colleagues, the best management and inspiring owners. I worked in the best company in the world really, truly. It was a hard decision to follow my family.
“I could say coming back to Monaco this time was much easier than before. Maybe. The boys had finished school so that was easier. Ian now has two wonderful partners and our boys Max, 19, and Jack, 23, are very much part of the business, too, so my role is more a supportive one. Although, I must say, the written interview will always be my favourite type of journalism. I love people’s stories and Monaco is so rich in this department.”
Although Martina studied journalism, as a child she wanted to be a teacher. “My mom was a history teacher and although she was very strict, her lessons were so imprinted on the students they didn’t need to write one single thing down. She had a gift of storytelling that stayed with you. I know this first hand because as a small child she would sneak me into her afternoon classes.”
Martina adds, “They say when the student is ready, the right teacher arrives. And I was ready when the Face Yoga Method came to my life at the best possible moment. After a six-month Face Yoga Method Teachers Training, I became certified on November 1st and am starting my online classes from January 2024.
The name Face Yoga Method was coined by Fumiko Takatsu, a Japanese woman who created the concept of a holistic approach to looking after the face. As Martina puts it, “At first it was pure vanity for me. I wanted to get rid of wrinkles and get that bulging double chin under control, but what I found was a whole new dimension of tension release. Quite frankly, our face doesn’t start at our chin, but at our feet.
“Just like we exercise and tone our body muscles, we can do the same with our facial muscles. And as we do we increase the blood circulation which results in more oxygen bringing more nutrients to our skin. It’s a non-invasive, all-natural way to achieve a more youthful appearance and improve our skin’s texture with no special equipment needed. Just a little bit of diligence and perseverance.”
The more Martina learned about Face Yoga, the more it resonated from within. “I wanted to learn how to teach it and share the excitement. Little by little, we can wake up the muscles on our face and start a fully facial workout, aligning our bodies, our skin and ourselves. It’s all interconnected and consistency is paramount here.”
The classes will run on a monthly subscription basis at a very reasonable cost and even though this self-care is a never-ending journey, Martina’s students will be able to practice certain poses and continue their inspired Face Yoga journey on their own. “As my teacher Fumiko says, ‘Change your face, change your life’. I like to say: Every face tells a story, let yours be uplifting.”
To say this has been a tough year for Martina is an understatement. She lost both her parents, unexpectedly and suddenly. “My Face Yoga daily practice helped me tremendously to deal with this emotional trauma keeping me grounded, focused and calm.”
Part of that focus is remembering her folks with gratitude. “When Communism collapsed and my father started his private dentistry practice, it didn’t do so well and he simply couldn’t cope with the new rules of capitalism. My mom was the breadwinner. When his business collapsed, they both went to America and washed cars at petrol stations for five years to pay my father’s debts and to save their house. They paid every single penny back. And kept their house, for us.”
She thinks back to that Help! album her father snuck into the family home when she was a young girl, and singing and dancing with her brother to The Beatles. Martina wishes she could go back to that day she met Ringo Starr to say: ‘You have no idea what you mean to me. You opened a whole new window to my future when I first heard and spoke English, the language I now speak, write … and will use to teach.’”
Email Martina Brodie about her Face Yoga Method classes or contact her via Facebook.
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25th has been observed since 1981 to honour the Mirabal sisters, three political activists from the Dominican Republic who were murdered in 1960. But it wasn’t an official designated day until 2000, when the United Nations called on governments, international organisations and NGOs to collectively raise public awareness every year on that date.
Eight years later, the UN launched its UNiTE campaign, 16 days of activism against gender-based violence starting on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and running to International Human Rights Day on December 10th.
TOLLFREE HOTLINES
0800 91 90 10 Victims of Violence Monaco 3919 Violences Femmes Info France
Additional numbers listed at end of article.
According to femicide statistics from UN Women, in 2021 some 45,000 women or girls were killed by someone in their own family – that’s an average of more than five people every hour. In France that same year, the government reported 122 women were killed by their partner or ex-partner and 35% of them were victims of previous violence by their partner. In the UK, the Femicide Census’ most recent data estimates that a woman is killed by a man every three days – and 62% of them by a current or former partner.
Paris-based therapist Jill Bourdais became involved in helping victims of domestic violence after meeting fellow American Paula Lucas in 2010. She recalls, “Paula had been cruelly abused by her Palestinian – yes, alas – husband while living in the UAE with him. She had escaped and come to Paris to talk about her non-profit then called American Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center, which is now Pathways to Safety.”
As Paula was looking for people to help her spread the word, Jill at once volunteered, and organised a forum on the subject in Paris. Jill created a Domestic Violence Support Group soon after, which she hosted and led – “at first in a little space I own in our building but with Covid, switched to Zoom, which means women from all over France now join.”
Jill grew up in Boston and after college worked in journalism for several years before changing to psychology in 1977, doing a Master’s in New York and a DESS (Diplôme d’Études Supérieures Spécialisées) in Paris in 1981. “In 1968 I’d married a Frenchman I met in New York, which led to my moving to Paris. I have been working as a therapist ever since and have had lots of experience running groups and giving workshops.
For Jill, pinpointing the signs of domestic violence is tough. “As most women’s self-confidence is beaten down by abusers, this leads to a strong sense of shame. That means that they won’t share what they are enduring as they’ve been hearing for months or years that all is their fault,” she explains.
“Repetitive physical illness can signal abuse, as can depression or little remarks about the partner controlling all decision-making in the family, as control is an essential need of the abuser. If a friend or family member senses a problem, it’s probably best to start with unobtrusive questioning about the woman’s well-being, pushing the point little by little. Avoid remarks implying that all will be okay soon, or that some small fix on her part will make everything better.” Jill advises family and friends to read up on the web the signs of abuse which are often covert, in case your friend reveals some of them, not realising that she is, in fact, being abused.
“I think people often think that abuse means physical harm done to a victim. In fact, that is not always in the mix, whereas psychological, emotional and/or financial abuse are always present. Many, many people assume that an abuse victim can ‘just leave’ without factoring in the financial costs of that, the factors regarding uprooting children, the lack of family support in France, the ignorance of administrative procedures, poor command of the language, the lack of access to money, poor or no job prospects, and inability to return home if they have children!”
The Expat Web Addressing the complexities of expat women, Jill says, “I cannot prove this, but my belief is that expat women who do not master French are at a considerable disadvantage with the police and with the justice system here. The procedures are long and arduous. If you manage to press charges, you never know if your report will be passed along to the prosecutor or just put in a file drawer, and you can wait for months before any action is taken. If you need a translator, he or she has to be court-approved, and can be good or incompetent. You are left out of any banter among those present.”
Jill strongly advises finding a lawyer who speaks English and has experience with domestic violence “or you will be badly represented”. She adds that even if you find the best lawyer, all outcomes depend on the judge you get, and therein lie many sad stories of judges who clearly take the side of the French abuser.
“The biggest trap is that expats who have children VERY rarely get to return with them to their home country, so they are condemned to stay in France until the child is 18. Many fathers who have never even changed a diaper sue for full custody to take revenge on their partners, and though full custody in either direction is rare, even fathers who abuse their children often obtain 50-50 shared custody.”
Women are invited to join Jill’s bi-monthly Domestic Violence Support Group which is run by volunteers. “It is for anglophones – from any country – as there are plenty of helpful associations for French speakers. We meet twice monthly for 2 hours, and attendees take turns explaining their situations. Others are invited to chime in when they have information or suggestions or questions. Usually between 3 and 7 people attend each time – not always the same women, though there are several ‘faithfuls’ who are important allies in the process.
“I do not charge for anything I do for victims, such as accompanying them to the police or to court hearings, writing attestations for court procedures, finding lawyers or useful associations in France which might help them, finding a therapist – I don’t generally act as a therapist for the women who attend my group – or just being there when they need to talk.”
National GAMS Federation – Group for the Abolition of Female Sexual Mutilation (excision), Forced Marriage and other traditional practices harmful to the health of women and children La Fédération Nationale GAMS –Groupe pour l’Abolition des Mutilations Sexuelles Féminines (excision) des Mariages Forcés et autres pratiques traditionnelles néfastes à la santé des femmes et des enfants) 01 43 48 10 87
By her own admission, Beth Blatt has “a chequered past”. After college at Dartmouth, the American had a promising career in advertising but quit after three years to become an actress in musicals. She toured the US and the world until a 5-week stay in Tokyo turned into three years when she landed a regular TV and radio gig. “It was great being an expat there because I was allowed to do all sorts of work I had no experience doing,” says Beth. “I became the pop-rock music critic for the Japan Times, had a role in a Godzilla movie – and started writing lyrics with the composer of the musical I’d done.”
After Japan, and with a six month-detour in Hong Kong (where she met Red Pear Theatre founder Hilary King), Beth moved back to New York City with the decision she preferred writing to performing. She was accepted in the prestigious (and free of charge) BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop where icons such as Maury Yeston (Nine, Titanic) became mentors. “I worked hard and my work was recognised, developed and produced. Then one day I realised musicals are so US-centric and that ‘The World’ was missing in my work. I wanted a purpose beyond that. And so I created my music-for change-business, Hope Sings –Singing Stories of Change to Change the Stories of Lives.”
Beth believes the power of music can change the world. “Not an original belief, I know. But my vision was to combine the specifics-rich stories favoured by musicals with music from all over the world to reach casual listeners in a deeper, more transformational way.” She started by commissioning Latina singer-songwriters to create songs inspired by success stories of women whose lives had been uplifted through microloans.
Then one afternoon on a playground in NYC, Beth heard a mom who worked at the United Nations talking about the formation of UN Women. “And it just popped out of me: ‘They need a theme song.’ The mom introduced her the UN’s head of communications, who was “rather taken aback by my idea, but didn’t say no” and, through Hilary King, she was able to reach out to composer Graham Lyle (What’s Love Got To Do With It). With Somalian songwriter Clay, they created “One Woman,” which became the finale for the UN Women launch at the gorgeously-gilded UN General Assembly. “When thousands of staid diplomats and bureaucrats stood and sang along – well, it’s one of those moments you treasure forever.”
The next thing that popped out of her mouth: “Now you have to record it.” Beth spent the next two years working every connection she had – cold-calling managers and Googling to assemble a cast of some 25 internationally-acclaimed artists, including Brazilian Bebel Gilberto; Indian Anoushka Shankar; and Angelique Kidjo from Benin. On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2013, the recording was released and Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon (below with Beth) ended his speech by quoting Beth’s lyric: “Shine, Shine, Shine – We shall shine.” This gifted her another treasured moment.
Every year since, groups perform the song on International Women’s Day at the UN and beyond. “If you are reading this and have a sudden urge to sing the song here in the South of France, please drop me a note. I’ll share the score, lyrics – even a karaoke backing track.”
Beth is a long way from New York and the UN General Assembly. So how did she end up here? “We moved to Paris from New York in July 2022 when my husband’s work transferred him over. We were both itching to come – he is French, an Antibois, and I was a French-German language major in college. We’d spent little bits of time in France over the years, but nothing substantial.”
The minute Beth landed in the City of Light she hit the museums, the historic monuments, the churches, and immediately discovered amazing women she’d never heard of. “I did what I always do. I started ‘writing’ them.” Her Forgotten Women of France series includes Clotilde, first queen of France; Christine de Pisan, first female professional writer in Europe; and Marie-Thérèse, the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette – who survived the Terror and three years in prison.
Marie-Thérèse’s story was the richest and Beth turned the monologues into a play. “I went on a tour of the Chapelle Expiatoire, the Paris memorial to her parents that she had helped build. I’ve always wanted to create site-specific theatre, which takes place in a cool space relevant to a character’s life. I asked the guide there if they’d like to attract more Anglophone visitors. Turns out they did. Six weeks later, I brought a group of women there for a combination visite dramatique and one-woman-show. They loved it – so I’m now figuring out what to do with it next.”
For the past few weeks, Beth has had the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on her radar. She is committed to doing a presentation of new material about women who stand up for themselves and others. “Since I’m spending time in Paris and Antibes, I decided to do something in both places on November 25.”
In Paris, she discovered Winnaretta Singer, Princesse de Polignac, who built the first shelter for battered women in Paris, and was a patron of the arts. On the Coast, two women have grabbed her attention: Béatrice de Rothschild Ephrussi and Eileen Gray. “Their stories are unexpected and heart-breaking – I long to bring them justice, dramatically. That’s what this Forgotten Women of France project is about for me. Telling the stories of women who’ve been erased from or misrepresented by history.”
This is where Beth needs help. “I’m looking for more stories of brave women that need to be told. I want to connect with historical sites who would value my bringing their spaces to life – and attracting more Anglophone tourists. I’d love to talk with organisations that help women who are dealing with violence – including, but not limited to, abuse from a partner, being forced into an early marriage or deprived of an education.”
Beth has been non-stop since she relocated to France 15 months ago and being fluently bilingual is definitely an advantage. “I grew up just outside of Chicago and from age four, went to a small private school attached to a teacher’s college. A French woman wanted her kids to go there, so she offered to teach French lessons. I started French at six, in first grade. I continued through high school, and in college, where I studied in Toulouse one year, worked the next summer in La Rochelle at a Credit du Nord. Years later, I married a French man. I guess France is in my destiny.”
She considers it a privilege to live on the Côte d’Azur. “I love Paris – the energy, the culture, the people I’ve met – but I feel it’s almost a physical need, to have this nature, this space around me. And I’m discovering amazing women to write about here, too. Wherever I am inspired and have stories to bring to life I am a happy camper.”
And Beth just learned that she has been awarded an artist’s residency at Le Chateau de la Napoule in Mandelieu. “I’ll get to spend a month there with the goal of bringing to life the story of Marie Clews, and her husband Henry. I’m thrilled!”
The 10th edition of the Ladies Vintage Car Rally took place on Sunday, September 10th, with nearly a hundred women – and for the first time – men stepping out to support Child Care Monaco. This year’s dress code: “The Charleston”, a nod to Prince Rainier as 2023 marks the centenary of his birth.
Now, usually, I would write about how unique this fundraiser is, how it shines a very bright light on women in Monaco and how wonderfully they can come together for a humanitarian cause. I would probably say that Martine Ackermann founded Child Care Monaco in 2012 with a mission to “promote and help the education of disadvantaged children in the world”, and has on-the-ground projects in India, Guatemala and South Africa. And, surely, I would add that Martine not only pours her heart into organising this vintage car rally for women (with the help of Bernhard, Theo, Carla, Annie, Dominque and David Golland), but she also finds the time to support each and every one of us for our events across the year.
Instead, I want to share other rally driver’s experiences. Throughout the day, I spoke with familiar faces and new faces to the Ladies Vintage Car Rally.
Here are the day’s highlights: 8:15am: Breakfast at the Café du Paris. I met up with Olive and Maria, and Tracy. (Scroll down for lots of photos.)
9:45am: Departure of 39 classic cars, including a 1947 Delahaye 135 MS and 1962 1500 Giulia Spider Alfa Romeo, courtesy of the Prince’s Car Collection and its director, Valérie Closier. (WATCH VIDEO TOP OF ARTICLE).
12pm: The group made their way west past Nice and up to Opio to the secluded (this was a speakeasy, after all) Le Mas des Geraniums, where lunch was followed by roulette, a tombola and dancing, and not necessarily in that order. Here is Béatrice Bordier and Magali Jacquet-Lagreze from CFM-Indosuez Monaco,
12pm: The group made their way west past Nice and up to Opio to the secluded (this was a speakeasy, after all) Le Mas des Geraniums, where lunch was followed by roulette, a tombola and dancing, and not necessarily in that order. Here is Béatrice Bordier and Magali Jacquet-Lagreze from CFM-Indosuez Monaco, which donated the use of six cars.
5 pm: The post-lunch route led to afternoon tea at l’Antre Potes in Eze. Newcomers Simone and Audrey share their thoughts.
7pm: The day comes to an end with a prize giving in the presence of Princess Stephanie at Castelroc, next to the Palace.
Breakfast shots from the Café du Paris.
Valérie Closier, Director of the Prince’s Car Collection.Bernhard Ackermann leads the way.
Article first published September 11, 2023. All photos and videos copyright Nancy Heslin.
Sustainable luxury designer Runa Ray reminds me that there is more to the Prince Albert Foundation than meets the eye. (WATCH VIDEO above.)
Sure, since it was created in 2006, the non-profit organisation PA2F has given out more than €100 million in grants and been involved in 750 projects dedicated to planetary health, including Beyond Plastic Med: BeMed, Human Wildlife Initiative, Forrest and Communities and, in our backdoor, the fantastic Pelagos Initiative. And yes, the PA2F Planetary Health Gala attracts some pretty big names: Leo, Sting and Redford.
Yet if you happened to stop by the first edition of the free Green Shift Festival last week on Promenade du Larvotto, you would have witnessed the Foundation’s other star power: partnering with those not–so–celebrity names who work relentlessly at a grassroots level using art to inspire a public shift of consciousness when it comes to environmental issues.
One of those stars is Runa Ray. The bio-couture designer was in Monaco for the Festival June 7-10 encouraging people to write messages of their commitment to the ocean as part of her Ocean Flag initiative, which is an endorsed activity by the United Nations Ocean Decade 2021-2030.
“I have been working with the Foundation mostly as a sustainable fashion designer,” Runa told me at the Green Shift Festival. “And this is using fashion’s waste for a social cause, which connects humanity and speaks about environmental purpose, which can be linked to climate justice and social justice.”
The Bangalore-born artist added, “These messages are going to be sewn and this specific flag will be displayed at COP28 UAE in November. People across the world – orphans in Ukraine who have sent in their commitments, India, the Indo-China border, San Quentin State Prison, and now people from Monaco – have all sent in their messages.”
Martine Ackermann with Runa RayMartine’s commitment message to the Ocean Flag.
According to the UN, “A three trillion-dollar industry, fashion is responsible for 20% of the global wastewater generated through pesticides for land cultivation, dyes and textiles – which often flows back into the ocean.” The UN says that the Ocean Flag “aims to bridge the gap between fashion’s environmental pollution and educating the public on the detriments of climate change on the ocean through the lens of fashion.”
In addition to being involved with the UN’s Ocean Decade, the author of Fashion for Social and Environmental Justice also works with the UN Environment Programme Faith for Earth. “I have used fashion as activism and education to engage youth and future decision makers and educate students in universities on the intersection between climate change and Peace,” she said.
Runa grew up in a city in the south of India, where the most coveted professions after graduation were medicine, engineering and dentistry. “It was important to be educated in the sciences whereas arts took a back seat,” she described. “India was still adapting to the post-colonial era for the need of the above mentioned professions and peer pressure was at its best with students vying for top honours to establish themselves and the names of their families.”
She studied science but found herself at a crossroads: become a doctor or pursue fashion, a new career path introduced by her mother who said “the world had enough doctors and that fashion could use some help.”
Runa was one of the prestigious few who were chosen to be a part of the ministry of textiles India and study fashion. “Fashion was nascent and I, being of the creative bent of mind, decided to enrol myself at the National Institute of Fashion Technology. It was an arduous process of selection wherein only 120 students were chosen for four centres all over India.”
She excelled in what she described “a wonderful journey where I won the best design collection award”. This led to a Master’s at the Ecole Supérieure des Industries du Vêtement in Paris under the Chamber of Commerce. Studying fashion and marketing helped Runa gain industrial experience in factories and couture houses, where she “notably came across fashion’s waste not just from the standpoint of consumer waste but that which existed within the industry from prototypes to printing, dyeing and even packaging.”
She continued, “One should understand that waste starts from the sketch that is created, from paper to prototype and the final product. This is what probably inspired me to take on being an environmentalist. I loved creating wealth from waste and using fashion as activism to educate and advocate for policy change.
“As I further explored the industry, I came in contact with the highly fragmented garment sector from nomadic workers to the denim industry, which employed young boys to scrape at jeans for the faded look using only sand paper and led to occupational lung diseases because of the fibre in the air, to the tanning industry and dyeing industry, which discharged effluents into water ways at night.”
This would further her reason to connect the arts, humanity and science for the benefit of mankind through fashion. “An environmentalist is one who keeps the environment in the center of everything that they do. I am a fashion environmentalist because I keep nature in the epicenter of my designs, to benefit and find ways to reduce carbon footprint within the industry, and any process that could contribute towards it.”
For Runa, it is “extremely important” to go to the source. “As a fashion designer, it is imperative to understand where your clothes come from, to understand the geography, the geo-political causes, the livelihoods of people engaged, the impact of economy on prices and the control of governments on natural and synthetic fibres.”
She literally goes to the source. “For my Himalayan expedition, I travelled to four villages in Ladakh to document the pashmina goats, their rearing, harvesting of their fur and making it into yarn and final conversion into products. Most of the pashmina farming is government owned, where subsidies are given to the herders. The communities are pastoral and semi-pastoral who depend on goats and yak for income.
“The goats are combed in summer months to get the fine pashmina fur, which is then sent to the de-hairing unit where it is cleaned of any debris. The hair is then sorted into variations depending on their length. The hair is further taken to communities in the mountains of which one would make the yarn and they are paid for their efforts. the yarn is collected and taken to the next village which spins the yarn to sweaters and other products. The products are collected and then sold in the wider market.
“With the advent of climate change, most goats are dying and pastoral communities are moving out into urban dwellings to find jobs, which means that by 2050 we would have most of our pashmina farmed and not free-raised as they are currently in the Himalayas.”
Runa, who dressed Grammy award-winning artist Laura Sullivan, will be creating a multi-episode docuseries to be shared with the Prince Albert Foundation to enable wider learning. “It is only right to help amplify the work of the Foundation through fashion and arts, to connect with science and throw light on relevant issues of climate change through storytelling,” she emphasised.
When it comes to fashion and clothes, Runa says the biggest misconception that most people have is that if they donate used clothes to charity, most of the garments find a new life. “This is untrue, because most garments end up in the land fill, as only gently used and slightly worn ones make their way into the secondhand market.
“The one tip I can give consumers is to not follow trends, but stick to classic buys that will last for years, where quality and style will never go out of fashion.”
Runa Ray is currently working on a trip to Sudan to connect with displaced communities and their dying art of weaving, which is impacted by civil war.
The names Red Pear and Hilary King will no doubt transport some Riviera residents back 20 years.
In spring 1995, Hilary founded the non-profit Red Pear Theatre with her Heinz executive husband, Roy, and directed 150 performances in English in Antibes. “For ten years, the Red Pear performed professional English-language shows in Theatre Antibea once a month – except July and August, when you could have billed it as a weight loss program … just too hot!” Hilary recalls.
Following the Red Pear’s closure in 2005, the couple opened up their Cap d’Antibes villa, La Timonerie, to host fundraising cocktail dînatoires. “There were over 40 performances in my home, where the actors gave their services for free so we could send the ticket money to Cambodia, where we helped build three schools,” explains Hilary, who trained in theatre at Rose Bruford College in London.
When her beloved Roy “the Bear” died in 2010, Hilary continued the occasional soirée to raise money for Cambodia before moving to Avignon in 2015 and then returning to her native London in 2019. She has continued to use her theatrical talents. Last week, she organised a charity cabaret for St Martins in the Fields raising £45,000 towards funding 18 Keys, a sanctuary for homeless women in London.
The book was released in March 2023 (£35 UK; £37 for EU) and the official launch takes place June 15 at Theatre Antibea when Hilary brings the Red Pear back to Antibes for one night only. “I return with nostalgia for the old Red Pear audience and a theatrical fairy tale for anyone who arrived in the area after 2015!”
Starting at 7pm, Hilary will kick off the evening with a few anecdotes from the book before veteran film, TV and stage star Anne Reid takes to the stage for a specially-fashioned cabaret, accompanied by Stefan Bednarczyk, whom Nice-Matin called “Un Roi du Cabaret”.
After their performance, both Red Pear veteran Stefan and Anne – who just completed a sell-out run of Marjorie Prime at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory and is fondly remembered as Celia in TV’s Last Tango in Halifax with Derek Jacobi and for the film The Mother with Daniel Craig – will share some Red Pear memories over a glass of wine with guests. Limited tickets (€35) also include a welcome glass of wine and a copy of The Red Pear Theatre Storywith a chance of a book signing.
Hilary acknowledges the support of Theatre Antibea and its artistic director Dominique Czapski. For tickets, call 04 93 34 24 30. And hey, if there’s enough interest in Red Pear fare, perhaps Hilary could persuade Dominique to let her have the theatre again one of these days …
Victoria Morris with “the most adorable German Shepherd”, 7-year-old Ziggy. “When I was called in to work with him as a young adolescent dog, he was highly reactive, would have intense reactions to dogs passing by and his general obedience needed much work. There must be participation from both owner and trainer to make a meaningful change and to see how happy, confident and well-adjusted Ziggy is now is just the best!”
Tis the season when parents think about putting a pet under the family Christmas tree.
For animal behaviourist and trainer Victoria Morris: “Often, we can get caught up in the excitement of getting a pet that we sometimes forget to be realistic. A pet is not only for Christmas but is your companion and dear family member for a very long time.”
With over 20 years’ experience, Victoria, who is based just outside Monaco, always knew she wanted to work with animals. “As a child, I was mesmerised when travelling if there were animals there, for example at Dolphin Quest in Honolulu, I stood there for hours just watching and observing the trainers. I would ask them lots of questions and was decided from the age of 12 that my career path would be with animals.”
From that moment on, researched the field of Animal Behaviour, Animal Behaviour Management and Training and worked hard to build her career starting with jobs in zoos and aquaria, working with Humboldt penguins, Harbour seals, snakes, guillemots, Patagonian sea lions, Moluccan cockatoos, pelicans and Bottlenose dolphins.
She launched her Pet Behaviour and Training Consultancy in 2005 in the UK and has been working closely with vets and other professionals in the field since, including with the Animal Care College in Ascot. She says transferring her business to France was a natural decision. “Having already had experience living a European lifestyle in Spain from an early age, I understood and really came to appreciate all the lovely aspects to everyday life that brings. Also, my parents were living in France.”
She admits, “Working in this part of the world is quite different to that of my consulting in Essex years ago when I had my consultancy there. Many of the pets I work with here have very different lives and routines. Many owners travel with their pets frequently, so I am often helping owners to train and desensitise their pets to travel including air travel, car and boat travel.”
Working with a team within a household who care for her clients’ pets is normal. “As a result, consistency is very important in terms of training and behavioural treatment, so this takes a very specific approach in order to successfully attain. Essentially what I do is very bespoke and requires tailoring my programs to my clients and pets needs according to their individual routines and situations.”
In addition to looking after the mental and physical well-being of the pets in terms of behaviour, Victoria – who has published articles in Dogs Monthly and been on radio – is also involved in making sure all veterinary care for her clients’ pets is provided and up-to-date so both owner and pet are ready to travel.
“There are certain veterinary treatments that are specific to areas my clients travel to and here in France, so I advise on this from my knowledge so far and from the great veterinary professionals I work with. I am also often engaged in travelling with my clients’ pets and bringing them to my clients who may have travelled ahead of time so I can be occupied with their safe travel and look after any behavioural needs.”
Victoria is often involved in helping owners choose the correct pet for them. “I will help them prepare for a pet’s arrival to the home – having the correct beds, bowls and training aids – so we can start in the best possible way, therefore decreasing any potential stress that pet may experience but also getting training routines established early on and making sure the pet concerned adapts well to its new home.”
In some cases, Victoria, who has a Combined Honours Degree in Animal Behaviour from Anglia Ruskin University, can recommend breeders and will also accompany clients to visit their chosen breeders or in some cases rescue homes or people who may be looking for adoptive homes for their pets. “I have a wonderful team of professionals I work with in various different fields from osteopathy, general veterinary care, hydrotherapy, massage etc and work with the best quality groomers, eye specialists and skin specialists and work on referral from these specialists.”
Victoria takes her responsibility as an animal trainer/pet behaviour counsellor seriously and is dedicated to continuing her professional education. She is a member of the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants and subscribes to many pet behaviour journals, such as the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (which she is also a member) and is an accredited member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers in the UK whereby she abides by a strict set code of ethics. “I do not use choke chains, half choke chains, prong collars or any anti bark systems – systems based around aversive stimulus – that are available and employed by other ‘trainers or professionals’ as these are ethically questionable and are ineffective.”
Her clients are offered a high-end service with attention to detail. “I provide one-to-one behavioural consultations at my client’s home, dog training tours/residential training, group classes in obedience, agility, dog dancing, Pet Aid Training – training pets to aid owners with limited mobility, Dog Training Days and Group Dog Training Holidays.
Working with a wide variety of breeds, she assures, “Yes, all breeds can be trained but the trainer does need to be aware of the breeds genetic predisposition and to be aware of that breeds specific needs, however many people do use this as a limiting factor. What I mean by this is that people have a preconception that certain breeds are a certain way, and it becomes a self for-filling prophecy and no effort is made to shape good behaviour to avoid those unwanted behaviours.”
“Many people come to me with issues with fear-based behaviour, house soiling issues, aggression, separation anxiety, stereotyped behaviour and general handling and obedience issues.” Not all behavioural problems can be completely solved. “You can’t give someone a guarantee. It depends very much on the effort and dedication of an owner to commit to working with a behavioural problem, as well as several other factors including how conditioned and ingrained unwanted behaviour has become, the individual pet itself, its behavioural history, the severity of the behavioural problem and how effectively behaviour can be managed. Having said this, with appropriate training and management huge improvements can be attained with behavioural issues and problems and many of these issues can be solved.”
She has witnessed the many emotions that come up for an owner during the process of behavioural treatment. “It’s not always easy for an owner to work with a behavioural problem that they are experiencing with a pet. There are many family dynamics and couple dynamics involved, as well as the individual psychology of an owner which means as a pet behaviour counsellor you need to have good skills with people, you need to be able to listen and really understand what is going on in a household.
“It often means people must admit where the management of their pet may be going wrong and how they are contributing to problems, how their responses to certain situations and behaviours are increasing the rate of undesirable behaviour. I have to be there to support my clients and am very dedicated to being there for them and their pets.”
She states the most common mistake clients can make is to anthropomorphise their pet. “They love their pets but sometimes too much, they forget to create boundaries and nurture discipline which pets need to feel psychologically secure. Enrichment and socialisation is also very much underestimated in terms of its positive effect on behaviour management.”
Victoria works on referral from veterinary surgeons and from recommendation treating a wide range of behavioural problems and training issues. “I work with dog aggression, separation anxiety, house soiling issues and much more. I also work with veterinary professionals and groomers when there are issues with handling. I work with both clients and their pets to desensitise their pet to handling/veterinary procedures, therefore decreasing stress for both owner, pet and veterinary professional/groomer etc. This is something that my experience working with marine mammals and exotic animals has well prepared me for and given me great experience in, as this is an extremely important part of animal husbandry.”
“The focus with the kayak is to introduce the dogs to a wide range of experiences and situations. It’s all about socialisation and developing confidence, obedience skills and enabling the dogs to develop into well-adjusted dogs that can handle changing environments and of course have fun socialising and swimming,” says Victoria.
As a trainer, she says you never stop learning and experience provides you with so much. “You have to have a presence with the animal you are working with, you have to understand an animal, its environment, its history, its diet and genetic predispositions but patience and kindness is of paramount importance which is why I abide by a strict code of ethics.
Many people think that training marine mammals is very different to that of training a dog but the methods of training are the same applied according to that animal’s physical abilities and the modern training approaches employed with companion animals today originated in many cases with marine mammal training and the training of exotic species.”
Beyond dogs, Victoria has worked with Moluccan cockatoos, macaws, bottlenose dolphins, Patagonian sea lions, harbour seals, Burmese pythons, Humboldt penguins, pelicans, dogs, cats, horses, rabbits and goats. “People are now realising they can clicker train their cat, rabbit and horse and the wonderful benefits of doing so.”
Caro Cuinet Wellingsgrew up in a small village near Aix-en-Provence but from a young age knew that she would travel, live abroad and speak English. “And that is what I did. During my LLCE degree at the Université de Lettres of Aix en Provence, I came across a poster advertising a Post Graduate Certificate of Education. That led me to St. Martin’s University in Lancaster to be a secondary school teacher, teaching French as a foreign language. I began that career in August 2000 in Kenya.” By 2009, she was teaching at the International School in Dubai, married and welcoming her first daughter.
“Teaching filled my life, it really did,” Caro says, “and I was a good at it. But when the possibility of moving to Malaysia came up, I decided to explore a new path for myself and stepped away from my 12-year career in education. The move to Kuala Lumpur was tough as I embarked on setting up a photography business, with little knowledge of how to run one, barely the skills to take photos and without the support of friends there.”
After the birth of her second daughter in March 2014, Caro suffered post-natal depression. “We spent six years in Kuala Lumpur, it is a place paved by fabulous friendships, fantastic trips, even better food, but also big heartaches, discoveries and great courage.” The family relocated to France in 2018 and Caro describes it as “perhaps the hardest move I have ever had to make. To put it simply, I felt like an expat in my home country.”
She focused on the teaching and coaching side of her photography business. Fast forward four years, she runs two workshops a year on creativity, light and building a visual identity as a photographer. Her online course on the Empara platform has motivated family photographers and somehow the mom of two has found time to develop a one-on-one coaching program. This is all in addition to her group mentoring day, where photographers can experience everything from pre-shoot to photo delivery.
Photo: Caro Cuinet Wellings
“My scope has grown. I shoot families in their homes but have loved taking lifestyle photos of private chefs and maison d’hôtes. I also photograph clothing collections working as part of a team with an agency in Barcelona and work with big education companies for their marketing materials.”
Caro says “our potential for learning is bottomless” and that anyone can develop a photographer’s eye. “I believe in having a vocabulary to help name what we see, so we can understand how elements of a scene work together. No need for a fancy camera to be able to do this, as our eyes are really the key – observing, taking the time to see, to name and to put things together.”
The Biot-based artist knows what she is talking about. Caro’s book Voir la lumière: #100daysoflumière will be available January 5, 2023, but is available pre-sale now on Amazon and Fnac.
“I once said to my now 13-year-old daughter: ‘I have a book in me.’ I didn’t know which book or what it was going to be about.” During lockdown in Eze in April 2020, Caro invited photographers to join her to find light. “Hundreds of photographers followed the project that consisted in taking and publishing one photo a day. The aim was to photograph the confinement but always trying to find the light and improve technique and art. I am so happy and humbled to have been able to gather a supportive and creative community during a time that was really difficult for some of us.”
The challenge led her to revisit the “book in me”. In 2021, she saw the amount of content she had created. “I had sent many newsletters about photography techniques but also about mindsets and how to cope with challenges, where and how to find creativity and inspiration. I had interviews with colleagues recorded on podcasts and countless pages of notes that had piled over the years doing the challenges. And, of course, some 600 photos created for them.”
Photo: Caro Cuinet Wellings
By the end of the year, she said to herself saisi mon courage à deux mains and wrote a pitch to Eyrolles, a publishing house that specialises in editing photography books. “I started writing in February 2022 when I got the go ahead and now it’s going to print nine months later. My third baby!”
She knew she would travel and learn English. She knew she would write a book. What next for Caro? “I always have projects swirling around in my head. I have dreams of exhibitions of the work created for the challenge, setting up a yearly festival with a conference around it and let it be a forum for exciting learning and human experiences. I want to continue to photographing families and women entrepreneurs. I want to continue my work with other photographers in my workshops or via coaching and see them grow and blossom in what they do. I feel a lot of happiness seeing them in their own paths for the success they have designed for themselves.”
