woolybanana Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 The French have bought and sensitively restored just as many old houses as the Brits, which is why I find the idea that they don't understand restoration to be obnoxious:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertyinfrance/cest-la-folie/7299555/Property-in-France-Why-we-love-living-in-the-past.htmlThere is a huge difference between the elderly couple down the road who want a warm and comfy retirement in a bungalow and the kind of middle-class folks who recover restore places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoddy Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 What a smug piece of self-satisfied nonsense. This has not been my experience at all. Two of my neighbours have recently taken great care in restoring unoccupied houses and turned them into wonderful gites. Hoddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 That is just yet another example of the patronising cr*p that particular author churns out every week.No doubt it helps the stereotypical Torygraph reader, particularly those who are pleased to have left Gordon Brown's Britain for their idea of a better life in France, to justify their own particular feelings of self-superiority. I know that will sound patronising to some, but to me it just reinforces the fact that the average British immigrant in France will never understand the French, however 'intergrated' (sic) they think they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 My (very limited) experience suggests that a Brit immigrant's idea of restoration is to turn a French style home into a British style one. The French owned farmhouses I've visited in my area are invariably in beautiful condition, except where there is a vast shortage of cash when it's understandable that places get a bit scruffy round the edges. It's my belief that the average Brit's perception of how a rural French property is maintained is based upon the fact that, when buying, they only want to look at homes which they can afford and which are therefore "cheap and cheerful", but they expect them to be in perfect nick for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 I just clicked on that link but found it difficult to force myself past the photograph, which really says it all.Just a stupid looking prat trying to be something he's not. One of the things I really love about rural france is the fact that no one is interested in how you dress, what you drive, what your house is like etc. What they do like is politeness, good manners and, of course, food preparation and presentation.A generalization, of course, but it ticks all the boxes for me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 [quote user="Bugsy"]One of the things I really love about rural france is the fact that no one is interested in how you dress, what you drive, what your house is like etc. What they do like is politeness, good manners and, of course, food preparation and presentation.[/quote]How very true Bugsie.No doubt the guy overcomes that cultural difference by telling everyone he meets what car he drives, how much he earns, how much his UK house is worth, and how little he paid for his French pile before sympathetically restoring it.I had a friend stay who has lived in Dublin fo the last 15 years, it was at the time of their property bubble, now he is a relatively culturally sensitive chap and always tries to speak the lingo, he managed to get the lady wife of the Brasserie patron to tutoyer him in 3 days whereas for me the bend over backwards voisin it was more like a year.Anyway all that went to pot when he innocently told them that 3 months ago he had bought his house for €187000 and now it was worth €225000, they just looked bemusedly at him whilst I cringed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5-element Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Will has knocked the nail right on the head. It is when I think how "articles" like these attract a reasonable income for the author, that I feel the need for a sick bag....[+o(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Anything has got to be better than that Wotserface double barreled Frith-Powell or whatever she called herself IMO.Has she done any writing from Dubai? Just in case I should accidentally ingest some poison one day [:-))]Still nice work if you can get it, more fool the rest of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 The nation's favourite columnist seems to be entering into a love affair with India http://helenafrithpowell.com/. We'll have to see how long it lasts, or if it is reciprocated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodle Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 I bought his book c'est un folie a couple of years ago, I didn't enjoy it and didn't read it to the end as I got bored with it, mind you I have bought a couple of other books along the same lines and I think once you've read one you've (give or take) read them all. That said we still watch A Year in Provence from time to time as we still love it even if it has been around for donkey's years!Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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