The British experience of the Mediterranean, 1976

Was this the reason why we set up the Common Market?

‘When we set up the Common Market what was in the back of most of our minds was the Côte d’Azur,’ declared the actor Robert Morley, introducing the Observer’s exploration of Britons and the Med in 1976. His Riviera trips involved a regular ‘ritual potter’ around estate agents chasing a familiar Med fantasy: ‘To wake each morning to the scent of mimosa, to breakfast outdoors… A long swim, a short drink, luncheon under the tree, a slumber in the hammock.’

Morley’s dream was relatable, but his holiday experiences were rarefied: invites to lunch at ‘large, under-furnished, extravagantly shuttered mansions’ where esoteric mousses were served by gloved footmen and guests worried about who was wearing a tiara.