Brigitte d'Aramon
Brigitte d'Aramon
A photo, taken in 1963, of the young Comptesse Brigitte d'Aramon standing in the dunes at the Warren beach, Abersoch, North Wales, nonchalantly chewing a blade of grass. In those days the Warren was a caravan site but has since evolved into an upmarket holiday park with smart chalets only, popular with the North West of England's nouveau riche. Gone are the days when anyone could go and shelter from the rain, dining on saugage, beans, and chips then jam tart and custard at Tony Minoprio's condensation-soaked and crudely muralled King March cafe.
Apparently Brigitte, then only fourteen or fifteen years old, was already a French Countess. Stunningly beautiful, she was a summer guest of people called Vennings who owned or rented a caravan at the Warren and who were friends of my parents. At the same time there was also a German girl of the same age, whose name was Bärbel Rost. I found Bärbel just as attractive as Brigitte.
But this is a fabulously arresting and sexy image – the easy pose, the play of sunlight, and blades of dune grass poking up as a fledgeling aristocrat emerges, gleaming, untouchable, into a world of privilege.
