Blog

What I see from my desk.

Actually, it is the other way round. My desk is up there on the mezzanine that you can see at the back of the picture.  It would be lovely to look out over fields or mountains, but looking out over my living room, which my husband and I built/restored with our own bare hands, is […]

Posted 12 years ago

Thoughts on how to run a business. Part 2.

– In my previous post I mentioned that it is essential to look the part – if you are meeting your clients, that is.  It made me remember a young couple, back in the Uk, who came round to our house to offer their services.  The house we had bought (just) was one of the […]

Posted 12 years ago

Thoughts on how to run a business. Part One.

–          You need to produce the best possible of your product, given your abilities, your finances and your general situation –          Bear in mind that, generally speaking, your client is not interested in you. Clients can frequently be stunningly selfish and will even unwittingly walk all over you. But your role is to sell your […]

Posted 12 years ago

Mimosa

Every year at some point in February or perhaps March (depending on the weather) the two islands off the coast here, the Ile de Re and the Ile d’Oleron, have a Mimosa festival.  The French word is the same – mimosa.  Say it with a French accent ! The plant is so abundant on these […]

Posted 12 years ago

“Saying Nothing” – a novel.

“Saying Nothing” has now overtaken “The Man With Green Fingers” in sales ! How would you cope if you were kidnapped ?  You are not rich, you are not famous, you are not influential and, furthermore, you know nobody who is.  “Saying Nothing” is the story of a young English woman on holiday in Spain. […]

Posted 12 years ago

We restored a huge old house in France. Part 9.

The ceiling of this first bedroom, which became our own bedroom, was utterly black.  Most of it was soot, which was odd because the fireplace surround had been moved from the wall where the chimney is, over to the other side of the room where there is no chimney, and left there simply as a […]

Posted 12 years ago

We restored a huge old house in France. Part 8.

  The property had originally owned all the surrounding land for many miles in each direction, but the previous incumbents had sold off most of it, leaving just 3 or 4 hectares immediately around the house and in the woods behind. There is a 12’ wall around the entire perimeter (though not in the woods), […]

Posted 12 years ago

Guatemala – Travels with a Biro

  At the Guatemalan border they wouldn’t let us through. We queued for what seemed like ages (my husband tells me that everything always seems like ages to me!) in a crowded room in intense heat.  We were surrounded by the sounds of Guatemalan workers heading home after a work stint in Belize, male and […]

Posted 12 years ago

Thoughts on how to run a business. Part 4.

Dealing with bad reviews. It is unfair, isn’t it ?  Mr Jo Public can go online and write a nasty review about you and your business and – usually – you cannot respond.  On the whole people just do not realize the damage they can do, especially to a small business. Places like Trip Advisor, […]

Posted 12 years ago

Gossip

Conversation with my cleaning lady:- (but in French) “Me, Madame, I’m no gossip.  Not never.” “No, of course not, Marie.” “That’s just me, it is. I knows when to keep me trap shut.” “Yes, of course, Marie.” “That’s always bin my policy, Madame.  Never say nothink about nobody. Best that way.” “Yes, yes, quite right […]

Posted 12 years ago

Books now available on Amazon:

A Call From France
French Sand
Kefani: An African Childhood
The Man With Green Fingers
Saying Nothing