lorkin life - Spring 2007

June 2005 -- One Year On!

Hi everyone,

Well can you believe it? We’ve been here a year now. We don’t know where the time has gone. Yes, we’ve been sweltering in the heat but I’m sure it’s only about April. It can’t be June already, surely!!

In some ways, we still feel quite new over here, in the respect that we’re just settling in and doing our first ever vegetable patch and yet we really feel that we belong here.

We have no regrets whatsoever about moving over here. Physically it’s harder work as we are always on the go, gardening, strimming, mowing, cleaning out the animals etc. etc. etc. But it’s great to fall into bed physically tired. It certainly helps you sleep well and it’s been a great way to lose weight.

I’ve been busier than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m loving the gardening, trying to bake and cook more things at home and I’ve started working in my friends bar. (Apparently, when I was 9, my ambition was to be a barmaid! – My parents must be so proud that I’ve fulfilled my ambition!!!) Juggled with that is the administration for the business, creating and printing all the publicity for the bar. Redesigning our websites/stationery and designing websites for other people…..We moved over here for a slower pace of life!!

Simon’s just started his French lessons and he’s doing well. I’ve just been picking it up as I go, by listening to the radio and people in shops. My friend Estelle is the teacher at the primary school where Conor will be going to school in August (24th early start to the year!) and we have a great time together as she wants to improve her English (although it’s very good already) and I talk to her in French so that she can correct me when I’m wrong. Estelle has two children the same age as our two boys and they love playing together.

Yes, we’ve bought more animals! Well, birds to be precise. We’ve stocked up on a dozen turkeys for ourselves and to sell for Christmas.

It has been fantastic for the boys. They’re completely settled into school and to here them chattering away in French is just incredible. (Isn’t the human brain amazing!) They’re so much fitter than they were as well because they’re always outside playing or helping in the garden.

Simon’s business is doing well. The administrative side of re-registering the antiques business over here was long, laborious and certainly tested my French skills, but we’re there now. Simon’s regularly going back to England, sometimes for a few days, sometimes just for a day, to quote, deliver and collect items of furniture. He has three new customers over here. They’re all expats, as at the moment we’re not advertising to the French as our language skills aren’t up to the job! Our next job for the business is to look into Jersey and the Channel islands to see if there is a market for Simon’s Antiques and dashboard restoration services over there as we’re really not that far away.

The only progress we’ve made to the buildings themselves is that we’ve found a young architect who is helping us design the layout for the big barn. That’s going to be our first major project (after saving up for a tractor to easy the strain for our 8 acres). It will take us years and years to do, as we’ll be doing the work ourselves. We decided against turning the back barn into two Gîtes for the time being as Simon has his workshop there and from what we can gather from our friends with Gîtes it’s a better idea to concentrate on Simon’s business as that it much more likely to make more money than two Gîtes. We will still end up with one gite as when we move into the barn we will have this three bedroom house to rent out and that should only need a few thousand spent on it to bring it up to standard (unlike the other barn that would have needed tens of thousands.

Well, this is us, one year on. Happier, healthier and with no regrets. If you’re not sure whether to take on a new challenge or a fresh start…we’d say “go for it”. It’s the best thing we’ve ever done.

Love to you all

Sabina, Simon, Conor & Archie

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