Struggling with a somewhat hectic schedule in February, Zela kindly agreed to take time away from her busy engagements and meet me in Nice. Our location? The very splendid Negresco Hotel on the Promenade des Anglais. Once settled in our plush seats and having each succombed to an irresistable chocolate gateau, I began asking Zela how her love of chamber music came about. She smiled and explained how it had always characterised her professional profile even from an early age by performing with her sisters, pianist Mona and violinist Lesa, as the Terry Trio.

Born near London, England in 1933, Jil was just six years old when she was sent away from home and found herself in a boarding school for the very first time. With the threat of World War II many families were torn apart as children where ushered away from cities and into the safety of the English countryside. Like them she was devasted.

Solace was found in a large grand piano she discovered in the school hall. Lifting the lid, she started playing a few notes and a passion was born that would last a lifetime.

How far would you travel to look at a museum that specialises in old Roman pots? Well, we think it’s well worth the trip to a village near Béziers — a fair way from the Côte along the A8 and the A9, maybe, but no problem for a mini-break. The Romans used vast numbers of ceramic pots — jars ranging in size from carafes, to huge storage vessels called dolia, the size of a Californian hot tub — everywhere throughout their empire.