Moving 'abroad'.

I took this photo of Lady M on the very day we left to live in France, in September 1972. Buying our house hadn't been easy; it was still pre-Common Market days, and they made things as difficult as possible. 

To buy property in France, I was forced to buy 'Investment Dollars' in order to buy French Francs; this was known as The Dollar Premium, and it didn't come cheap!

It must be remembered that in 1972 the UK was still regarded as the enemy by France. Having captured little Napoleon back in 1815; they'd never really forgiven us. 

We had stuffed a rental Transit Van full of all our goods and chattels, and filled my VW Beetle with two children and our scruffy mongrel 'Hamlet'. With not a care in the world, we set off on an adventure.

At Dieppe I was ordered to park overnight, then was literally conned out of about £50 (a lot in 1972) the following morning, in order that I could continue my journey South. Lady M, the children, and the dog, also spent the night at the port as I was 'leading the way'. It wasn't a good introduction to our life in France.

The big old Farmhouse that I'd bought hadn't been empty for too long. It had water and electricity, but no bathroom. Luckily there was a room that was perfect to create one, and that was my first task.

On the day we arrived at the house (above), the previous owner's wife was there. She fetched a bale of hay from the huge stone barn, stuck it in the 'inglenook', and lit it. I honestly though the whole house would burn down, but she just laughed and said it would warm the house quicker that way. We were being introduced to a very different way of life.

Lady M learned to bathe the children in the kitchen sink, and we quickly bought oil filled radiators, and a few 'storage heaters'. We visited a local 'white goods' shop and bought cooker, fridge, and a freezer. It didn't take long to get things in shape, and comfortable. Luckily the previous owners had left behind a huge kitchen table, and several big cupboards. Our own furniture filled the rest of the house. 

It was quite a big property, and luckily all the roofs were OK. There was just over one hectare of land and a small wood of Grafted Chestnuts. I just needed to establish my vegetable plot, build a chicken run, and plant fruit trees. By the following Spring of '73 we were in business.

Lady M mostly looked after what was indoors, and I looked after the outside. The children just played amongst the hay in the barn, with the dog. Life was quite idyllic. It was exactly what I wanted for my growing family. We had one lovely farming family as neighbours, and hundreds of acres of open countryside to play in.

Was I bonkers? No, just foolhardy and adventurous.

Eventually we joined the Common Market, and subsequently the EU, and life became easier. Then in 2020 the British people decided that the EU was becoming too bureaucratic, and we should go it alone. We, of course, voted to 'remain', but the 'leavers' won. Luckily we had still a couple of homes back in Blighty so we now spend our time between the two countries. Three months in Southern France, and nine in Southern England.

Lady M puts-up with all this madness, and Billy our current dog (who is French) takes it all in his stride. The children (now adults) all speak French, and over the past 50 years (more than half my life) we have adopted French ways. Our strange life now seems perfectly normal, and we hardly think about it. I even have another building project for France in 2026. I'm a glutton for punishment.