OUR KIDS LIFE IN FRANCE, AND OURS - the long awaited holiday

The works were ahead of schedule, and the men beginning to get tired. My job was pretty full on at that time too and I had just 2 hours during my afternoon break to spend with the kids when they got home from school, before leaving again and not returning home until 1am, trying to grab as much sleep as I could before getting up again at 6.30am. So we made the decision to go away for a week during the school holidays. My parents-in-law wanted to stay and have a quiet time and house sit, which was fine, so we set off for Biarritz on the south west coast of France. I have travelled a lot around France, but never been there so we were all looking forward to it. Because we booked last minute we managed to find a really cheap apartment, overlooking the sea, with swimming pool and near the town. Not actually in Biarritz, but not far.

The kids were so excited, we had never had a proper family holiday before, it had always been visiting relatives, which isn't the same, and then when we bought the shop, we didn't close for holidays, so this was a real treat. We took a train round the centre of the town to see all the sights before attempting it on foot, we went to one of those adventure parks where you swing through the trees at dizzy heights. It made my legs wobble watching the kids balancing all that way up, even if they did have safety harnesses on! We ate out every night and lunchtime bar one, when there was a good film on so we got take out pizza and sat cross legged on the bed to watch it.

The funniest part was the carting. None of the kids had ever done this and it was an experience for them and us, as it turned out. The eldest took to it like a duck to water and raced off. Our twins weren't quite so good. Whilst the eldest was whizzing past our daughter was at a snails pace and did 1 lap to every 10 of his. You saw her fist shake in the air every time he whooshed past with a cheeky smile. Her twin brother had the speed too, but unfortunately not the control and spun off the track on every lap. The guy in charge was not most pleased as he had to go and fish him out of some bush or tyre wall every 2 minutes. The final straw came when it was time to come off the track. Our eldest came in without problem, our daughter would take another hour to get back to the beginning, and the next lot of racers were getting impatient waiting for her return. Her twin brother, however, put his foot down, lost complete control, nearly ran over the guy, knocked all the bollards down into the pit lane and then duly crashed into the back of a stationary cart. Needless to say, we were asked, in no uncertain terms, to leave and not to come back. Ahh, a holiday to remember!!

OUR KIDS LIFE IN FRANCE, AND OURS - getting there slowly

The picture on the bottom shows what the outside & downstairs looked like prior to moving in, all except the image of the beams,(top right of bottom photo), which is what the whole of the upstairs looked like. The photo on the top is the upstairs getting there!

The house was coming along bit by bit, and looking better every day. The grass in the garden was beginning to get greener, and we had been out and bought swings & things for the children. This was a good idea and it kept them occupied in the garden for hours. We soon began to get a steady stream of French children visiting, curious to see how the English live, not that it's any different to how they live. It was, and still is, lovely to hear the kids interacting with people of another language, how they chop and change from French to English without even thinking about it.

My husbands brother came to visit next. He had been holidaying in Spain and dropped by for a couple of weeks. This was perfectly timed as there was some heavy duty work coming up that needed 2 strong men, and the children hadn't seen him for a while and as the twins birthday was looming, it would be a good opportunity to do something special together.

"If he comes while we're at school, can he come and pick us up?", asked our daughter. He did turn up early, and so duly went to the school with us to get the kids. The school gates opened and the kids burst out like water out of a leaking pipe and literally jumped on pour old uncle, almost smothering him. "This is my uncle, he's been to Spain, he's English too, and he doesn't speak any French, so we're going to teach him, and he's going to stay at our house, and we're going to have fun.....", was all you could hear the kids twittering to their friends, with intermittent giggles. We managed to get home eventually, in one piece, and i cooked a special meal that evening, which, for once, everybody appreciated. "What are you getting for your birthdays?", asked uncle. Bikes. New bikes. Shiny new bikes. Specifically, one red shiny new bike, and one blue shiny new bike. Expensive, I thought. Hang on, he said what are you getting not what do your want!! They would have to wait and see.........

OUR KIDS LIFE IN FRANCE, AND OURS, from dream to disaster

We liked it. We liked everything about it, the apartment was a little small, but we'd cope with that. We shook on a deal and got the ball rolling immediately. Within 2 months it was ours, leasehold, but ours, and we moved in on the day of signing. Our eldest son was so excited, he just ran round and round the shop, sneaking the odd sweety into his pocket on the way. That was something I hadn't considered, and it became a bit of an issue later on. The twins were too young to start school yet and had to wait a few months before starting toddler school, but the eldest was registered almost immediately, and settled in quite nicely. It was a bit daunting for him as he already spoke fluent English and couldn't understand anything, but children are so flexible and it wasn't long before he was speaking like a native. When I say native I mean it, he even had that southern France twangy accent. The twins followed in his footsteps a few months later but found the language easier to contend with as, at 3, their English was not so well established. And they too settled in very nicely.

The village was great, more of a small town really, with restaurants, bars, bakers, chemists etc. But the best part was schools. All within walking distance, and for all ages from 3 to 17 years, perfect. There was always something going on...village fetes & carnivals, outdoor evening concerts, travelling funfairs & circus, very animated. It was all great fun at first, learning how to run a business, doing the accounts, learning the tricks of the trade, working out margins for prices there was so much to keep us occupied. But the down sides of it soon became apparent, getting up at 5am to go to the cash & carry, not closing until 8pm, being open 7/7 and 365 days a year, bar Christmas Day I drew the line at that! I guess things were good for about a year, custom was good, takings were good, the children were happy and we were happy being our own bosses. We were also happy living near to my parents, we saw them frequently, which was good for the children. When we lived in England we were lucky if we saw them once a year, and the kids missed them desperately, well, at least the eldest did, the twins were too young.

Disaster struck after the first year. A new supermarket opened up on the outskirts of the town...bigger, posher, cheaper than our modest little shop! Takings began to drop, and customers became fewer. Our best days were Sundays & Bank Holidays when the other was shut, and we began to focus on those days to draw in more custom, but things were getting tougher. The following year another disaster struck. My dad died suddenly. This completely shattered my whole life, goodness only knows what it must have felt like for mum. I was very close to my dad and was broken inside, much the same as our eldest although I didn't see it at the time, probably too wrapped up in my own grief, but it became apparent about 2 years later. Two months after the death of my dad, our eldest son suddenly became very ill, and we discovered that he had an enlarged kidney that simply wasn't working. My whole world collapsed right at that moment. My dad had died, my mum was still grieving, and now our son was seriously ill. Suddenly, the shop wasn't very important anymore. Surely things couldn't get any worse...??

HOLIDAY WEATHER OR EASTER BREAK, and when is Mother's Day?

SITTING IN MY GARDEN IN FRANCE.

Today in the Vendee is beautiful and sunny. It's warm and not a cloud in the sky. The children are all at school, so the house is very quiet and still. The only sound is the insects fluttering through the air, trying to find the warmest spot, and the birds twittering to each other in the trees. Look, a wasp, a sure sign that spring is on the way, and not a moment too soon

I guess that many of you are beginning to think about booking your holidays, if it's not already done. Or maybe an Easter break before the big vacation. We can't have summer holidays as we have a gite, and we have to be here for our customers on their holidays, people like you. Puts the children's noses out of joint a little, but we enjoy our family holiday in October. It's actually quite a nice time of year to go away, provided you choose your destination wisely. If you're thinking of holidaying in the Vendee, France, check out our holiday cottage, just click on the link: www.gitevendee.co.cc

Mother's Day is fast approaching, 22 March, and I just don't know what to get my mum. What do you buy for the person who has everything? Penicillin?? Only kidding! I'm trying to think of something different, different from the usual flowers thing, something that she can keep and won't die. Maybe I'll make something, my dad, (god bless), always said, "the best presents are the home-made ones 'cause it shows you've taken time and care". Mind you, I can guarantee she will be able to keep it but I can't guarantee that it will stay in one piece, I never was very artistic! What will you give your mum? I need some ideas!!!!

Don't sell it, shell it

I can only assume that since the recession began the only thing people are buying is petrol. Was it 25 billion in profits that Shell announced this morning? That's alot of mazooma. It' crazy really as the price of petrol is so high, well it is in the UK but here in France it is beginning to come down, it is, shall we say, affordable. Today in France it's not the recession everyone's worried about, no, today is national strike day. I haven't the foggiest just what they're striking for, and I'm not entirely convinced that they do either! So, there's no post, no public transport, and no school teachers. The school thing we're used to , I think my eldest must have had at least 3 weeks off school in the past couple of years due to strikes. Why can't they strike during the holidays?? And also, why do I still have to pay for the school bus and canteen when they "shut down"?? Between that and jour de ferié, (bank holidays), long weekends there's little time left to study. Any excuse for a booze-up! Could anyone enlighten me on these queries I have......
1. Why don't spiders hurt themselves when they fall off a wall?
2. Do birds find it hard to fly in high winds?
3. How do flies find their way home?
4. Why do mosquitoes only bite you in the dark when your trying to sleep?

Any thoughts?