Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 20
Goodbye Château?
Sean and I agonised about what to do yet again. My wine tourism had started but wasn't
making any money. I was offering classes free to accommodation owners to build up my
reputation, hoping it would pay off later in guests sent my way. The feedback was excellent
but there was no return yet. The Wine Cottage gîte was bringing in much-needed money but
nothing like what we needed to live on. Our wine sales were going well; Dave had ordered
another 600 bottles and our direct business was growing. But even if we sold out it wouldn't
cover the costs of operating the vineyard. We scrutinised our finance spreadsheet hoping for
a miracle. Alas, nothing had changed.
'We have to tighten our belts,' said Sean.
'They're so tight I'm getting gangrene.'
'I know, Carolinus, but we're still in start-up mode, we have to expect the first few years to
be tough.'
'We can't buy shoes for the girls. Look at poor Ellie: all she has are hand-me-downs. Hand-
me-down clothes are fine, but shoes? She should have at least one good pair of shoes. Look
at me - the cheapest body lotion I can find on my face.'
'But look at the life we have, Carolinus. Look how much fun the girls have being outside
with the chickens. Look how fulfilling it is following our passion rather than doing a job.
I'm working harder than I ever have but I love it.'
'I know, SF, but we can't live on fresh air. We have to make enough money to live and look-
ing at these projections doesn't fill me with hope.'
Our dream was not working out the way I had expected. I knew it would be tough but not
nearly this tough. At least, for all the sacrifices, I thought we would eventually begin to reap
enough rewards to feed our family.
The following day the social services organisation inspector came around. I had spoken to
him about wanting to work a couple of days a week when Ellie started school. At the time I
was researching the wine classes and tours and put off finding out more about what he said.
Now he was back for his pound of flesh. He explained that regardless of the circumstances
