Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Preview of Fat Dogs and French Estates
Part II
1
Onwards
Jack took a hasty gulp of his rosé, glanced at the fresh set of property details that our estate
agent, ItsWill, had thrust at him, and groaned.
To understand Jack's attitude, I should explain our present situation. We had decided to
buy a second house in France because our home in England was too small for our retirement
needs. Our grand plan was to buy a small country estate that was large enough to accom-
modate both our individual and joint interests.
Jack has a passion for dismantling and repairing anything electrical or mechanical, in-
cluding stuff that isn't actually broken. These days he feels that most things are rife with
bad workmanship and, if not already broken, they soon will be unless he performs a quality
rebuild.
Any sight of a label
Made in China
brings out a particularly extreme reaction, followed
by a tedious speech about the deplorable decline in manufactured goods from the UK.
He also revels in general do-it-yourself tasks. Anything is fair game, especially if it al-
lows him the use of his various welding and power tools, which invariably results in an oily
aftermath of mess being left behind. My own great passions involve our dogs and gardening.
I also have a special interest in my vegetable plot's role in achieving self-sufficiency.
Sadly each of us takes a pretty dim view of the value of the other's hobbies but we do
both love golf and country pursuits.
Our location search began in Britain but quickly expanded to possibilities in Europe.
We decided on the South of France for its climate and the fact that we spoke the language
fairly well (or so we thought). It was still close enough for family and friends to visit, but
'only if absolutely necessary', as Jack repeatedly reminded me. Our kids, Sarah and Tom,
are grown up and live away so the project involved Jack, me and our two dogs, Sam and
Biff.
Jack is an extraordinarily intelligent man whose abilities as a mechanical engineer and
manager saw him rise to become the Chairman of an international company. His 'no-non-
sense' personality contributed to his business success and huge popularity amongst those
