OUR DAUGHTER'S CHATEAU WEDDING

Just when we thought life was beginning to settle down following the nearly disastrous golf incident ( re posts 2nd and 6th May) life took another turn ( more like a somersault) when our daughterMichaela and her boyfriend Darren announced they were going to be married!!!! and, bliss upon bliss, they wanted to get married in France-- and more than that, they wanted the celebrations to take place at our lovely Chateau la Roche Hue!

What a wonderful surprise it was , but we knew it would not be the easiest of occasions to organise for any of us! For a start, all the rest of our family and friends lived in England, and all of Darren's family live in England too! However, that did not dampen the joy of the occasion and we all set to work! Fortunately Michaela was absolutely fluent in French having worked in France for years before she joined the CruiseLines. Darren could not speak french at all , so Michaela did all the formal arranging with the local ' Mairie' ( Town Hall), and with the church. In France there are two wedding ceremonies , the first is the formal ' official' ceremony which takes place at the town hall presided over by the Mayor -- this takes place a few days before the church wedding and is less formal, similar to a register office ceremony in England .The second is the religious ceremony in the Church and is quite formal.

Invitations were sent out , and there were very few refusals ! Darrens' family decided to hire a large bus to transport everybody over in one go. Our family and friends were all going to arrive independantly in their cars. Everybody decided to make a short holiday out if it so it was a good job we had the accomodation for everybody, and what a blessing the apartments included kitchens, so everybody could self-cater during their stay ( phew)! It was early Spring-time so we had no bookings arranged, thank goodness! Outside caterers were arranged for the wedding day and Michaela and I made the fruit wedding cake tiers ourselves because in France they do not use fruit cake for weddings. I had them professionally decorated and mounted. So here are some pictures, they are all snap shot photos I'm afraid......

Michaela and Darren at the official ceremony at the Town hall, the Mayor is wearing the sash, Alex has the video camera.

The happy couple after the ceremony, they said aferwards that it felt strange and that they didn't feel married at that point , not until after the Church wedding.

The wedding day dawned and the caterers arrived early.......

The first thing to be set up was the wedding cake

I thought that they did a great job of decorating it - so pretty!

It was chaos in our bedroom, I was helping Michaela get dressed and she was not happy with her hair, we tried it every which way, then, suddenly she scruffed it all up on top of her head, held in place with a few grips, we put the veil in place, and she was beautiful, I am welling up writing this, but she was a vision. I am limited for photos on this post I am afraid, and I cannot find any taken at the church......

but here is a photo taken of the happy pair on their return from the church...

and the newspaper coverage showed ' their' knowledge of the English language :-)

Then several photocalls...

Four of my grandchildren, with Michaela and Darren





On the back steps of the Chateau, with just a few of our side of the family, another shot was taken with Darren's family and friends.

Then it was inside for ' le Vin d'Honneur ' and the champagne flowed! I smile now looking at my outfit! Talk about Joan Collins' shoulder pads-- however they were the rage at the time- but why did I choose black as the dominant colour????

Not only was the day itself a momentous occasion, it was 4/5 days of fun and partying, because most everybody arrived a day or two before the wedding and stayed a couple of days after, and we had the room for partying, and the pool and the horses, so everybody had such a good time.

Lovely memories!

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Last week I posted on my other blog ,about a walk on the wild side in my grounds, watching the demise of my trees. Today I took another walk with Chris on the real wild side at a nearby superb animal park....

.......it is called Parc le Pal and is nestled in 100's of acres of grounds, with over 500 animals, rides, roller coasters, restaurants, cinema, and spectacles with eagles, seals and parrots etc. Truly a fantastic day out for all the family! This is where Chris and I went today and I thought you might like to join us for a while.....

Hello! do come in to my enclosure and meet my friends...

This is Joeph, my best friend, he is quite old and he has a wonky horn!!

OOOOH! But my other one is O.K. !!



" Now listen here, guys & gals, if we huddle together against these rocks they won't spot us!

"Tut! Florrie and Amy are always titivating! They think they are better than us!!

" Now where did Petula go? can't see her anywhere!"

" Coooeee sh's behind you!!"

" Come on Pet, up this hill, show them what you can do!"

" What a fuss! We don't have to do anything to show off, just display our great headgear!!"

" What is wrong with everybody today! They are all complaining! Keep quiet, I am trying to do a job here!"

" They advertised them as 'des. res.' ! Which one is yours? Mine has 2 bedrooms!"

And so the chatter went on...

Chris and I just smiled and strolled hand in hand...what a perfect day

GOLF- the FINAL HOLE!

So, this is the final chapter of the golf story, the last installment left us awaiting the full dossier following the visit from the ' Golf-course expert' -there must an official title for these people -with anticipation!

The day dawned , the dossier arrived and we waded through it .

It was very detailed , from the complexities of the soil, right down to drawings of a) the 18 hole golf-course with the water holes , b) the clubhouse situated near the 9th hole, and c) the large Hotel nestling just within the woodland. It also noted the catchment areas by population, and current golf courses within a certain radius. Then it talked up the benefits of creating such an establishment in the countryside of the Loire Valley in France. In fact it was genuinely worth the large sum we had paid, so we were well satisfied!

So the next step was to go to the Mairie for the planning permissions! Then the ' French Administration' took over and we spent a long period ( I cannot recall exactly how long but it was at least 2 months) biding our time and looking into local golf courses and the running of them!

Finally -- We got our permissions! WHOOPEE! We were estatic, and thought that we had really arrived! Our dreams had been realised! We would find a buyer and be able to repay the bank and get back to concentrating on our first love, which was running the beautiful chateau La Roche Hue.

How naive we must have been, always looking through rose coloured glasses, we were about to get our first lesson in trying to" run before you can walk"

Our main setback was to discover that just outside of our nearest local town ' Baugé ' a Japonese consortium had already obtained planning permission for an 18 hole Golf-course which was already well under construction! This information was a huge blow as it had not been mentioned by our expert in his dossier. So he had not been as thorough as we had thought. We had relied on him to discover any potential competitors! We went to visit this course and it was in an ideal situation , and was being developed by professionals! This Bauge Golf-Course is still up and running today!

"So where do we go from here?" was our first thought!

We carried on with a search for a buyer for the golfing project-- we advertised in Golfing papers/magazines etc. Several enterprises showed interest but none of them decided to go ahead, mainly because of the other Course. We thought of suing the Pro for our money back on the dossier, but realised it might end up costing us more, so we discarded that idea.

We also approached several golfing celebrities- again nothing and money or ' lack-of ' was getting to be a problem.

Well, at the end of the day, we still had our lovely farm, so, reluctantly we put it back on the market.

Eventually , we sold it to the nephew of the family we had bought it from, ie the original owners of Chateau La Roche Hue. He , the nephew, was a Comte ( an Earl) and (unbelievable, but nevertheless true) he wanted to buy the farm, renovate it and install his mistress and her pet wolf! Yes I did mean WOLF!

So we struck even! We sold the farm for what we paid for it, making no profit, put our dreams on hold and got back to the business we were running, and concentrated on how to make it profitable. So endeth the tale of the GOLF..............

TAGGED - FOR THE FIRST TIME!

THE HISTORY OF TAGGING.

I have been tagged - for the first time by the lovely Susan! this should be fun, my task is to record " SIX UNIMPORTANT THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY "

so here we go ........

1) Laying down in the bath, watching my boobs float to the surface looking perky again!

2) Picking dead skin off of my feet -- disgustingly good!

3) Driving the car with the top down!

4) Setting off in the motorhome -- destination unknown!

5) Memories of hop-picking as a child with my Mum!

6) Waking up next to my man!

Now I have been told I have to choose six new bloggers to tag ! I expect you are all flinching now, so my six lucky people are:-

Akim at I am a housewife get me outta here

Anet at Purple Squirrel

Cheryl Ann at Desertswest

Jan at Jans'place

Dewlish at A short history of nearly nobody

Lala at My castle in Spain

So that is it for today, good luck to the new taggers.......

GOLF CRAZY or CRAZY GOLF!

Following the purchase of the farm, it began to be ' golf ' for breakfast, ' golf ' for dinner, and, yes you've guessed it - for tea! We actually never tried playing it but we did a lot of reading and talking about it. Our plan had to work because we had been to the bank for the purchase of the farm! The Manager had thought it was a great idea ( fortunately he was a golfer) and he was looking forward to being our first customer!

The next step was to get a geological survey of the land to be sure that it would be suitable for creating the 18 hole course . This was fairly easy to arrange, but costly, as you can imagine. We waited for the results with baited breath, because if the report returned a negative response, we were left with just a derelict farm on our hands. Fortunately the report came back and was positive on all counts, and the land had water which would be good for arranging a few hazard holes.

Then we had to find an expert who would create the actual course - so we visited a course about 60kms away and met the owner, who was a really obliging gentleman, and he arranged for us to meet with the person who had planned out his course, which was also an 18 hole. He came out to the Chateau the following week and Alex gave him a guided tour of the farm and its land. We thought that the main farmhouse itself would make a good sized clubhouse at the 9th hole, and the expert agreed that it would be good. Alex then left him on his own to wander and get the feel of the land and he agreed to meet us back at he Chateau. Our minds went into a reverie wondering what our ' golf-course' would look like.....




We wished!


When he returned he was full of enthusiasm and asked if we had thought of gaining permission for a large Hotel on the land as well so as to attract golfers from further afield or even abroad . We hadn't considered that, but thought " Why not? In for a penny etc"! All sorts of images flashed through our minds......












" SHALL I RELIEVE YOU OF YOUR BAGS? SIR? "





So, after a long consultation the golf expert left armed with his figures and we sat back for a few weeks waiting for the final dossier to arrive. We would have to use this dossier to gain planning permissions, and to then find a suitable buyer for the whole package.

to be continued.............

THREW CAUTION TO THE WINDS!

Back to the farm!

To briefly re-cap:-

In 1989 , we ( my husband and I) had bought this abandoned 80 roomed Chateau in the Loire Valley France, with a next to none knowledge of the french language- Moved in with the dogs and my 82 year old mother--- Renovated the Chateau over the next year and turned it into a holiday letting business by creating 15 self-catering appartments-- bought six horses -- traded successfully for two seasons, and were now contemplating purchasing a nearby derelict farm with its 170 acres with the intention of creating an 18 hole golf course!!!

We must have been totally in cloud cuckoo land!

NO! Not that one!

Yup! That is the one --up with the fairies!

Well, I suppose you would call us risk takers-- but we did have a plan!

Our plan was 1) to get as much information as we could about creating a golf-course and everything that has to be done leading up to it. Then, 2) to buy the farm and the land. Then 3) hire a golf-course advisor(?) to create it for us on paper. Then , 4) Apply for planning permission for the course and a club house ( the farm) --and finally, 5) we would then sell the whole deal ( farm and all) to somebody who had the money and ambition to go ahead with the course! Sounds simple enough doesn't it? Yes you are right - it wasn't!

However , we threw caution to the winds, and we bought the farm! Now that was fun at first, as we set about exploring all those acres that were ours, and climbing up into the attic of the old farm building and finding things, like original wooden clogs ( goodness knows how old they were, and what a pity I haven't a photo of them) and boxes of old abandoned pairs of glasses? Wasn't that a strange find! We wondered why they were kept, there were at least 50 pairs;

We also found two fantastic huge old pots which were full of some alcoholic substance, my cousin who was there at the time sampled some and thought it was brandy! We kept those pots and they stand today in our courtyard......

Is it my imagination or can I still smell the brandy ?


These are Chris' legs , bless, to give you an idea of their size -- the pots not the legs:)

Another great joy at that time was I could take my horse up there and ride to my hearts content!

You will perhaps have noticed by now that , referring to the plan, point one was not actioned at all, i.e. we took no counselling apart from buying lots of golf magazines and visited a few golfcourses about an hours drive away! Incidentally, neither of us had ever played golf, and I still haven't, enjoyable though it looks!



I try not to let my posts go on too long as there is always so much to relate! It is getting towards evening meal time now so I had better start cooking , we have fish tonight, so à demain!

TWITTER DISGRACE!

I am outraged, so much so I feel I have to talk about TWITTER in this post instead of resuming my tale....

I awoke this morning a bright and happy person looking forward to all that the day had to bring, and looking forward to resuming my post about the farm.

Sitting at my computer I thought I would, first of all, check into my Twitter site which I had only begun two weeks ago! To be perfectly honest I was not quite getting into it , and also was not understanding why it is so popular. My daughter and her husband are on it so I thought I would give a reasonable try. My initial problem was uploading a photo! I tried numerous shots but they were all rejected, mainly because they were too big, but even after I re-sized one or two, they were rejected; not wishing to give up I persevered and finally got one through --

BINGO!

I was on --so I sent a few messages - nothing! Read a few twitters - it did nothing for me to know that A was having a cup of cocoa - or B was going to blow her wages on a pair of shoes. I tried contacting a few stars ( famous people) - received no replies----- what am I doing wrong? So this is how I went on for that first week, feeling let down and dejected but slightly amused at me determination to succeed--

UNTIL THIS MORNING!

I logged on to my home site, and there was a new lady smiling back at me!! One that I had not seen for 3 years! It was actually me in that picture, but it was not the photo that I had posted. The picture that I had put up was a recent one and I was quite demure in a white dress and a red jacket! This new 'me' was wearing a low strappy white tee-shirt and looked three years younger ! I am making light of it now , but I was really angry when the facts hit me!!

'THEY',presumably the ' Twitter' company or whatever you would call them, had actually delved quite happily into my computer photo files ( and goodness knows what else) and had looked through all my photos deciding which one to choose to post up on my site -

WITHOUT MY PERMISSION OR KNOWLEDGE !

Can they do that and get away with it?

The photo that was put up was in a totally differnt folder and file to the one I had chosen! They had hacked into my computer -- I am still furious.

Needless to say I have sent them an irate email, demanding an explanation. I have also deleted my site totally.

Has this happened to any of you, my friends? If so, what was the outcome?

Do you think I am over-reacting?

DEATH IN THE GROUNDS

As recorded yesterday in my other blog, we are having tree problems which has interupted my blogging for today-- Have any of you had any similar problems following last Winter? Even back to last Spring our Horse Chestnut trees were looking sad and did not produce any healthy conkers. Take a look at our devastation! http://thoughtsaboutlifefrombeyondthegrave.blogspot.com

Back tomorrow....

BIRTHDAY TODAY

In war-torn London, on the 27th. April 1942 , Priscilla gave birth to a 7lb 4oz girl! She had waited for 12 years for this moment..... she looked at the little screwed-up yelling bundle with a red face and instantly changed her mind on the choice of name! Her and Frank's choice had been 'Bonita' but this little wriggling thing, could never have been nicknamed ' Bonnie' so she re-named her first-born ( and last) Loretta Delphine ! Yes that was me.... 67 years ago...... and today is my

BIRTHDAY!

wee me and mum

So feeling nostalgic, here are a few old photos, sorry about the quality...

I think that I was standing on a table here! I do remember that this was taken in Jersey. I bet it was a nightmare for my mum to comb my hair out--I know it was for me!

on the beach, I remember that costume it used to fill up with water whenever I went into the sea- I would come out looking like Michelin Man!

my first boyfirend - I rember his name- it was Peter . Great cornets!I wonder now who the legs belonged to?

Couldn't resist putting this one up- what bathing belles they were, with costumes not leaving a lot to the imagination; Mum is the one on the left with her friend Lou-I think it was before she became a Mum!

This is me as an aspiring dancer at the age of 17, it came to nothing, although I have always loved to dance, and still do!

Taurus as from Google archives.....

" Personal Traits Taureans tend to be slow, methodical, practical and reserved. They are also stolid, tenacious and determined. Possessing tremendous willpower and self-discipline, they are inclined to stick to tried and traditional methods. Their greatest satisfaction derives from results produced directly by their own personal efforts rather than by others.

Roots are very important to the Taurean. A sense of permanence, a feeling of security is essential. Generally an easygoing person, slow to anger, but once roused is known for a ferocious temper. Very difficult to deal with when angry. Usually set off by jealousy due to a possessive nature. Loyalty is important to a Taurus, and a true friend of a Taurean will speak well of their great generosity. Honesty, integrity and dependability are notable Taurean characteristics. The calm, pleasant, and well intentioned Taurus exterior belies the volcanic temper that can erupt when sufficiently aroused. The bright side of the stubborn bull's nature is, they are incredibly and uncompromisingly loyal to their friends. Established slowly, a Taurus friendship can, and often lasts a lifetime

Positive Traits
Taureans are warm, loving, gentle and charming most of the time. Motivated by self preservation, the Taurean is not a risk taker and weighs every decision carefully, in a slow and methodical manner. To more impulsive people, the Taurean is a bore. Opinionated and stubborn, once a Taurean makes a decision, it is written in stone. nobody can alter it.Basically physical people, they prefer the known to the unknown and the tried to the new. They love the earth, possessions, and generally treat those they love as sacred possessions.
Main positive traits: Stable, dependable, practical, conventional,determined and patient.
Negative Traits
Taureans can be very caring and warmhearted but there is a tendency to be extremely jealous, possessive and very stubborn. Taurus must strive to keep an open mind because his strong personal convictions can blind him to the ideas of others. Risks are taken only if it is absolutely necessary and only after much consideration. This is a sign that's slow to change and would prefer a steady routine in life.me
Main negative traits: Possessive, stubborn, materialistic, lazy. "

Not sure if I would agree with all that! Some of it is correct particuarly the stubborn bit!

Finally a picture of as I am today, sorry it is a bit posey, directed and taken by Chris - Bless him!

A DARING IDEA

Winter arrived again at La Roche Hue, loaded with snow, cold, but, oh so pretty!


Our french was really improving and we found that we could both converse now without difficulty, and make ourselves understood! I found that, sometimes, I would dream in french - that felt weird. The love we felt for France ensured our well-being , and in spite of missing our children and grandchildren , it really felt like home. We would take time out each year to visit our family and loved being with them , but, every time we stepped back onto french soil we would smile, breathe deeply, and be so glad to be back after the hustle and bustle of England!


Passing those Winter months was fun with all the jobs around the property to do, plus the upkeep of the animals and the marketing of the business, but the initial buzz of the huge transition we'd made, had disappeared , and Alex and I began to get itchy feet with a desire to break into another venture! But what? We didn't know what!

Every time I went out riding on my beloved Hortensia,

I used to leave Roche Hue by the bottom gate, take a track through the farmers crop field , cross a road and take a lane through farmland on which stood a derelict farmhouse and outbuildings.....



The lane was about 1.5kms long which led to over a 100ha of woodland , scattered with bridal paths -- great for hacking out!




The farmhouse and 170 acres of farmland belonged to our neighbours, whose ancestors had previously owned Roche Hue, and had , at one time, all had belonged to the Chateau.


Talking to Jean, the farmer, one day he mentioned that he was thinking of selling the farmhouse with the 170 acres of land, and suggested that it would be an ideal situation for a golfcourse!!



DING!!

The idea was born!

A GOLFCOURSE -- BUT......we didn't have the cash!!

....but we did have the enthusiasm-- a lot of serious thinking was neededand A PLAN!

ON BOARD THE Q.E.2.

It is now a year later following Alex's TIA, and we find ourselves totally settled into ' la Vie Française'! There had been no futher major health shocks in the interim, as Alex had finally signed on with a good french Doctor who prescribed a permanent blood thinner and life returned to normal for us.

The second trading season of 1992 had been a good one, however the pound had started to slide against the franc , which was not good for us as we had decided to charge in pounds instead of francs, and we were losing on the exchange. On the other hand it was good for increased bookings, so it balanced out that year.

Our camper holiday destination for that year was decided when our daughterMichaela telephoned us to say that she would be docking at Naples around late September ! Michaela was a petty officer on the Q.E.2.-- Italy was one of our favourite places so we arranged to be at the docks on that particular day. Finding the docks was easy but finding a parking place for the camper was difficult however .....

...............we made it just in time to see the magnificent ship come rolling up to the quay!

The first thing that grabbed me was just how massive this ship was as you can see in the next picture......

It seems bizarre that it actually has to be tied to its post by the ' handlers' the same as any small boat! How tiny the people seem !

Here is our lovely daughter with her Dad. She had got the Captain's permission for us to be aboard the ship for that day, and that we could could ' take a tour ' of the facilities.

On deck there were squash courts, tennis courts , golf practice and putting, and swimming pools, and a jogging track etc. In fact everything for the sporty people.

There were two main restaurants ( one of them above) apart from the many 'eateries', bars and cafes etc.

I was not impressed however with the corridors leading to the cabins and suites etc., I found them quite narrow and claustraphobic. We weren't able to see inside the cabins as they were all occupied, however we saw inside Michaela's cabin and it was really so limited "you couldn't even swing a cat"-- now where on earth did that horrible expression originate I wonder?

Finally here is a picture of Michaela looking down on to the stage and main dance floor. as you can see , the upper balcony houses all the designer shops ( money, money,money) for the rich!!

There turned out to be a special reason for our invitation, Michaela introduced us to Darren, another petty officer , in the engineering department of the ship-- they had become inseparable on board AHHH ' aint luv grand'! He was ( and is ) a lovely boy who is now her husband and father of their three children!!! Happy days!

As you probably already know the beautiful old ship has now been sold to retire gracefully as an Hotel in the upmarket tourist resort of "Palm Jumeirah" in Dubai.

and here she is.... I think she deserves the rest!