After enjoying many stories of Philippe's "non-ordinary life" I was excited to meet him when we traveled to Tahiti for the first time in the summer of 2021. Over the weeks we spent at Claudine and Philippe's beautiful home, and again on vacation in France the following summer - playing cards and getting to know each other - I developed an affectionate understanding of who Philippe was: a generous, charming, and sentimental man, an outstanding cook, and a bit of a rascal. He also had the faintest French accent of everyone in his family, despite never having lived in the UK or America -- a sign I think of his sensitivity to language and its many uses.
One night over a smoke on the balcony in Tahiti he told me of his love of two things in particular:
Nature and animals, which he said while gazing into the lush gardens around his home and scratching his beloved dog, Hera, affectionately on the head.
Games & Gaming. I understood him to mean not just card games and board games, but the epic Game of Life: the ability and propensity to question authority and rules, and play creatively with the hand you are given. Philippe seemed to take the art of "play" seriously, as though it mattered more than an act to amuse ourselves, but also tests our wits and imaginations, a means to explore and push the boundaries in life.
I loved that he shared these insights and passions with me and I will look forward to sharing them with Florence, the daughter of Alban and me, when she is older - perhaps over a game of Tarot.