Know your ONIONS

THE STORY SO FAR: Making onion soup, Jill found herself thinking back to her brief teen romance with a French boy, Hubert. He was in England as an ‘Onion Johnnie’, selling sweet onions from his uncle’s farm near Roscoff, in Brittany. As Hubert had a girlfriend back home, to Jill’s dismay, he didn’t keep in touch. However, meeting him inspired her to train as a French teacher, so he was a huge influence on her life. When Jill’s husband, Geoff, a keen golfer, suggests a holiday in Brittany, Jill can’t help smiling at the coincidence… and wondering if she will see Hubert when they visit Roscoff. But she realises she’s not likely to run into him in the street. And not knowing the name of the farm, or even his surname, she thinks it’s unlikely she’ll ever see Hubert again…

The holiday was nearly over – and Jill and Geoff had had a great time. They’d stood in awe on the World War Two landing beaches, walked out to the island abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel and, for fun, played the gaming tables in Dinard’s casino.

While Geoff enjoyed his golf, Jill had explored tiny cobbled streets, strolled along ramparts and promenades, and generally soaked up the atmosphere.

Then she’d sit over a coffee or a cool drink, watching the world go by. But all the time, with guilty hope, she found she was scanning