It was in Antibes that Elizabeth first met the writer Norman Douglas (pictured above, on the left, with Graham Greene.) Elizabeth was twenty-five and Norman was seventy but they immediately felt a great affinity for each other and there is little doubt that Norman became Elizabeth’s most important mentor. Norman taught Elizabeth to appreciate the Mediterranean and encouraged her in her love of good food, introducing her to many Mediterranean dishes, fruits and vegetables. They seemed to share a common view about life and Norman famously told Elizabeth to ‘search out the best, insist on it and reject all that is bogus and second-rate’.