Time Team!!

Happy Easter.............. a few days late but never mind!!!

Ellie & Matthew.................................... Ellie, Matthew & Nathan

.........Matthew in the village.......


We hope everyone is well and you've all had a good easter and looking forward to Summer!! (I write this as the news tells me there is snow in the UK April 2008!!)

Cheese!!!!!!!!!!!...................................Nicola on her horse.......

OOhhh it's a bit cold!!

Matthew and Nathan are happy and well!! Matthew had bronchitis in February and wasn't too well, but he's fine now. He then fell over at football and was on crutches for a couple of weeks... again, he's ready to have a game of football. Nathan is great!!! He's made soup at school today.... but as parents, we've yet to try it. Let's hope he doesn't take after his mummy in the kitchen??!!

A Bientot!!!!

We say a sad farewell to our lovely friends Vanessa and Jim who stayed at the little house during the winter. We will miss them lots!!! They're off to Bonny Scotland to start a new life there, so we wish them well on their new adventure!! The boys and Maxim will miss them.... but Jim won't miss the muddy pawprints I'm sure!!

Happy New Year 2008!!!!

Nathan with aballoon on his head Matthew with his beloved dog Maxim David with his beloved ... wife, Michele!!

Yes, we know we've been useless updating this 'exciting' blog!!... and we know the anticipation for the next episode is just too much.... so apologies to those that visit this blog on a regular basis ... and to those that don't: you haven't missed much!


Our house 'Le Bonté', eventually moved in Oct 07 Our 'La Petite Maison' .... original!!

A New Year's Resolution will be to update the site more often... so we shall see ..................


Maxim at 4 months Nathan at 5 years with Matt nd James

We will post some more info very soon xxxx Michele, David, Matthew, Nathan and Maxim xxx

DECEMBER 2006.................The Big Move???

December was crazy!!

We hired a van from the garage at Villeneuve. When we arrived to collect the van, our faces dropped as it looked older than me and it looked like it had had a hard life!! However, it was cheap and it moved … not very fast … but it moved!!

We piled our worldly goods into the back of this mean machine and did two journeys over two days with all our stuff. Me, David and the boys sat in the front of this van. We looked like a right load of Gypos, ducking down every time we saw the Gendarmerie.

Trying to sort out what we needed for the little house, and what we didn’t need was a nightmare!!

............ and then there was Christmas!!!!

NOVEMBER 2006...................

Lot et Garonne Map and Matthew walking up Villeneuve main street.

Matthew had his birthday party in the garden with his friends. He had a great party … not so much food this time… just lots of sugary sweets and cakes!! The girls did musical statues whilst the boys played football and cricket. ‘Cricket’??? … not a game played in France … but now Matthew’s friends sort of understand the concept of it. Doesn’ t make it any more interesting though. Cricket to the French must seem a really boring sport … and I can only agree!! So thankfully, a lot of the French wives of the future won’t have to suffer like the poor English women cricket widows!!

Unlike the UK, where the shops are full of Christmas decorations and people are milling about starting or finishing their Christmas shopping, here in France, November is just like any other month. There is not a Christmas Tree in sight and no sign of tinsel. In fact, the lack of panic, did not spur me on to go out and start shopping. The French children apparently have one main present and a few other little things but that’s it!! Argos would find it hard to make a killing here!!

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We were more or less promised that the little house would be ready for Christmas, and we would be able to move in. We handed in our notice to where we were staying and started packing up boxes for our ‘big’ move. Somehow we needed to get all our furniture stored somewhere, as obviously the little house had limited space. We found a barn to rent in Perrigeux, which was two hours away. The couple who owned it were lovely and didn’t want much for the storage. When you compare paying £140 a month for storage in the UK, to 20 euros a month here, it just shows you how much we get ripped off in the UK. In the meantime, we got plans together as to when we would move completely, bring over our B&Q kitchen and other bits and bobs to get to France.




These other bits and bobs included a baby grand piano which I bought off Ebay for the bargain price of £100. Top quality!!! A Piano, I know isn’t a number one priority when you’re trying to build a house, but it was the first time in our lives where we would live in a house big enough to house one. Admittedly, my piano playing talent only runs to chopsticks and the first line of a Barc concerto with just my right hand, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to have and learn. I think for the boys to learn and to have the chance to play would be a gift, even if they didn’t pursue it when they were older. It was a German walnut veneer piano made in 1869 and all the keys worked. It would wait in storage until we were ready to bring it over in December. Anyone read the book a ‘Piano in the Pyrenees’ by Tony Hawks???

MAY 2007...........

Hooray!!! Finally an update of our lives in France ... only 8 months on!!!....

Well, it is now May 2007, and a lot has happened since September 2006. We've now been in France for 16 months .... sounds such a long time!!! We've had some good times, happy times but sad times as well.

The sad time of course is the loss of my mum just over two months ago. It seems unbelievable that I'm actually writing this as I still haven't accepted that she's gone. For everyone that knew her, she was a lovely, wonderful lady. So strong and proud, yet so loving and giving and never expected anything in return. She was selfless, a great friend who you could always talk to and she would never judge your actions. I miss her desperately..........

Mum at Lalinde, Dordogne September 2006

Wellies on, Nathan and Mum, September 2007 at the little house.
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Just so that we can give you a 'summary' of the past eight months where we hadn't updated the site, here is what we can remember!!! The following text may be a cure for insomnia if you have it!!!

Diary of events ….. September 2006 - May 2007


SEPTEMBER 2006 continued.....

September saw the return of the children back to school and a new French class for me!! Nathan settled straight back into school, whereas Matthew struggled a bit. I think 8 weeks off from school and not talking French everyday, caught up with him. He was now the only English boy in the class and he no longer had the help from James with the translation. James is one year older, so had moved up to the other class. Nathan and Matthew both started guitar classes after school… if you can call them that!!! I can’t imagine Nathan doing anything with a guitar except doing an impression of The Who and banging it over someone’s head.

Matthew is still horse riding, going to football, learning French once a week and now has the Guitar class on top. A bit too much perhaps?? Nathan is just having fun!!

Sue and Gerry came over again to see us which was so lovely!! They bought with them two golfing pals and they all lived it up in the prestigious ‘Vigiers Hotel and Golf Club’…. very posh!! I don’t think the Hotel knew what had hit them when The Whitbys came over to say hello!!! The weather hadn’t been great before they arrived, so the ‘fairway’…. is that what you call it?? Was a wee bit muddy and I think wellies would have been more suitable instead of those spikey, tasseled shoes you wear when you’re playing that funny game. It was so nice to see Sue and Gerry again, and it was just like old times. Thing is, you miss them more when they go back.

Mum then came over on the 22nd . To see her at this strange airport in the middle of France, the place where we lived, was bizaar!! It was so lovely to see her at the arrivals hall and I couldn’t wait to give her a hug. David had travelled with her from Dublin to make sure she was O.K. She gave me a kiss and commented on ‘how well I looked’ and squeezed my arms to see how much fat I’d put on them!! I blamed it on the Brie and baquettes!!

As soon as she got in the car for the journey back, she used her nebuliser, plugging a contraption into the cigarette lighter and taking lots of fresh oxygen breaths. This is when I realized she wouldn’t be the same active ‘runaround mum’ that I had always known. But to have her in France was truly wonderful and I was so anxious to show her every part of our new life.

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OCTOBER 2006.…………

October was made up of visits to Duras; Beynac; Bordeaux; Allemans sur Dropt; Lauzan; Eymet; Lalinde, Monsegeur; etc, etc.

Many casual walks through the vines and walks to the land to see the progression on the houses.

The second floor of the main house got started and the windows and shutters were fitted to the little house.

The weather was lovely for October; so no complaints from Mum regarding the rain p***ing down. She had a lovely few weeks. She met a lot of our friends and she made a good impression on them.!!… or should I say she was well remembered?? Talking to them now, they all have a fond memory of her which brings a smile to my face. The classic one is when she met Jerry for the first time and Jean-Christoph Nouvelli. When introduced to Jean-Christoph and Jerry, she was told he was a famous chef from the T.V. Mum then proceeded to ask « which one is the Chef? And what sort of Chef are you…. A Sous Chef? »… Classic!!!

Helen remembers Mum telling her off for hanging out the washing when Helen was heavily pregnant!!

Maureen and Martin then came for a week in October which was nice. A few changes around in the bedrooms, meant we had the three women, Mum, me and Maureen in one room and the four boys, Martin, David, Nathan and Matthew in the other room. Cosy!!

As everyone knows, I’m no master chef in the kitchen!! So cooking for 7 for the best part of a week was challenging for me … and the poor souls who had to suffer my cooking!!!

October 12th and Nathan was 4!! He had a drum kit (agghhh), a battery charged musical guitar (aggghh) and lots of other noisy stuff. He had a party and had about 13 children come to play. … which was sooo relaxing!!!… not!! They all painted terracotta pots, played pass the parcel and ran around like lunatics for two hours!! Nathan had a great time … whilst the adults flaked out afterwards. The French children when they have parties just eat cake, sweets, sweets and sweets There is no sausage on sticks, pizza, nuggets, sandwiches …all they want is SUGAR!!! So next time I won’t bother with the usual food … just a box of Haribo will do.

We went to the Bonne Etappe for Nathan’s birthday as well. They had a new chef called Gregory start working for them who is excellent. The Bonne Etappe is run by a couple called Angela and Steve and they have two small children, Rebecca and Joseph.

Martin and Maureen went back to the UK, and two days after, Mum went back to Ireland. I would have loved for her to have stayed longer, and we were both sad and upset at the airport. Living in France has its’ ups and downs, just like living in the UK. However, when you have got your Mum with you, everything seems better and you get an inner strength from somewhere that enables you to tackle most problems that life throws at you. I think that her belief in you , which in your own mind can often falter, is so strong , that you feel you can deal with anything. The love that she shows you can raise you above all else.

Mum was booked to come back on the 25th March ‘07. Little did we know what lay ahead….

On the 23rd of October we travelled back to England for a week in the hope of getting to see all our friends and family. We saw some friends and some family, but the time went so quick, that there were so many other people we would have loved to have to seen, but we never got the chance. It was lovely to see George and Tyla, Jackie, Nicki, Louise and Debbie, Julie, Gail, Laurie and Sarah, Sue and Gerry, Stephen and Angela and of course Rob, Kate, Nan and Grandad! So to everyone else that we never got round to visiting … sorry!!! We haven’t forgotten you and you are all very much in our thoughts! It was so strange to see ‘where we used to live’. Everything seemed the same, yet it seemed a world apart from where we had been living the previous 10 months.



Matthew was 8 on the 30th of October, and we did the very British thing of going to the zoo; the cinema and then to Frankie and Bennys. We would arrange another party for him in France in November

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