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My Good Life in France
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C'est la Folie
- One Man's Quest for a More Meaningful Life
- By: Michael Wright
- Narrated by: Michael Wright
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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One day in late summer, Michael Wright gave up his comfortable South London existence and, with only his long-suffering cat for company, set out to begin a new life. His destination was "La Folie", a dilapidated 15th century farmhouse in need of love and renovation in the heart of rural France.
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C'est formidable !
- By Timothy on 23-12-12
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The Olive Farm
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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For many, Carol Drinkwater will be forever remembered for her part as the wholesome Helen Herriot in the television series 'All Creatures Great and Small'. But since being a successful actress in England, she has spent the past thirteen years in France with her husband Michel.
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A charming easy listener
- By chris on 14-04-11
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Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools
- By: Victoria Twead
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
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If Joe and Vicky had known what relocating to a tiny mountain village in Andalucía would really be like, they might have hesitated. They can have no idea of the culture shock in store for them...no idea they'll become reluctant chicken farmers and own the most dangerous cockerel in Spain...no idea they'll help capture a vulture and be rescued by a mule. Will they stay, or will they return to the relative sanity of England?
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More Ketchup Than Salsa
- Confessions of a Tenerife Barman
- By: Joe Cawley
- Narrated by: Nicholas Camm
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
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When Joe and his girlfriend Joy decide to trade in their life on a cold Lancashire fish market to run a bar in the Tenerife sunshine, they anticipate a paradise of sea, sand, and siestas. Little did they expect their foreign fantasy to turn out to be about as exotic as Bolton on a wet Monday morning.
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ok
- By Gary on 21-07-17
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À La Mod
- My So-Called Tranquil Family Life in Rural France
- By: Ian Moore
- Narrated by: Ian Moore
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Ian Moore is a stand-up comedian in the UK and a husband, father of three boys, farmhand and chutney-maker in France. He is a mod in both walks of life and most of his time is spent travelling grumpily between the two. Comedian, mod and professional grump Ian Moore has had enough. Tired of being unable to park anywhere near his cramped house in a noisy town he doesn’t like, he hatches a plan to move his wife and young son to a remote corner of the Loire Valley in search of serenity and space.
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tale of ex pat Brit in France with a Parka & pets
- By Jane Viccars -Axelrad on 11-08-14
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One Sip at a Time
- Learning to Live in Provence
- By: Keith Van Sickle
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Can a two-career couple really pick up stakes and move to Provence? Keith and Val had a dream - to live in Provence, the land of brilliant sunlight, charming hilltop villages, and the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean. But there were two problems: they weren't French speakers and they had full-time jobs. So they came up with a plan....
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C'est la Folie
- One Man's Quest for a More Meaningful Life
- By: Michael Wright
- Narrated by: Michael Wright
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One day in late summer, Michael Wright gave up his comfortable South London existence and, with only his long-suffering cat for company, set out to begin a new life. His destination was "La Folie", a dilapidated 15th century farmhouse in need of love and renovation in the heart of rural France.
-
-
C'est formidable !
- By Timothy on 23-12-12
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The Olive Farm
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For many, Carol Drinkwater will be forever remembered for her part as the wholesome Helen Herriot in the television series 'All Creatures Great and Small'. But since being a successful actress in England, she has spent the past thirteen years in France with her husband Michel.
-
-
A charming easy listener
- By chris on 14-04-11
-
Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools
- By: Victoria Twead
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If Joe and Vicky had known what relocating to a tiny mountain village in Andalucía would really be like, they might have hesitated. They can have no idea of the culture shock in store for them...no idea they'll become reluctant chicken farmers and own the most dangerous cockerel in Spain...no idea they'll help capture a vulture and be rescued by a mule. Will they stay, or will they return to the relative sanity of England?
-
More Ketchup Than Salsa
- Confessions of a Tenerife Barman
- By: Joe Cawley
- Narrated by: Nicholas Camm
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Joe and his girlfriend Joy decide to trade in their life on a cold Lancashire fish market to run a bar in the Tenerife sunshine, they anticipate a paradise of sea, sand, and siestas. Little did they expect their foreign fantasy to turn out to be about as exotic as Bolton on a wet Monday morning.
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-
ok
- By Gary on 21-07-17
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À La Mod
- My So-Called Tranquil Family Life in Rural France
- By: Ian Moore
- Narrated by: Ian Moore
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ian Moore is a stand-up comedian in the UK and a husband, father of three boys, farmhand and chutney-maker in France. He is a mod in both walks of life and most of his time is spent travelling grumpily between the two. Comedian, mod and professional grump Ian Moore has had enough. Tired of being unable to park anywhere near his cramped house in a noisy town he doesn’t like, he hatches a plan to move his wife and young son to a remote corner of the Loire Valley in search of serenity and space.
-
-
tale of ex pat Brit in France with a Parka & pets
- By Jane Viccars -Axelrad on 11-08-14
-
One Sip at a Time
- Learning to Live in Provence
- By: Keith Van Sickle
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can a two-career couple really pick up stakes and move to Provence? Keith and Val had a dream - to live in Provence, the land of brilliant sunlight, charming hilltop villages, and the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean. But there were two problems: they weren't French speakers and they had full-time jobs. So they came up with a plan....
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Je t'aime à La Folie
- By: Michael Wright
- Narrated by: Michael Wright
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Three years into his solo adventure in rural France, Michael Wright believes he has everything he ever wanted: a ramshackle house, several manly power tools, a cat, a grand piano and a vintage aircraft. Three unfulfilled wishes from his childhood begin to haunt him. He wants to grow one perfect potato. He wants to know how it feels to fly a Spitfire. And, more than anything, he wants to meet his soulmate.
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Beautiful listening, could listen again easily.
- By Sheila V. on 06-07-13
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C'est Modnifique!
- Adventures of an English Grump in Rural France
- By: Ian Moore
- Narrated by: Ian Moore
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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After six years in the idyllic Loire Valley, comedian Ian Moore, his family, and his ever-expanding menagerie are beginning to feel like they're on the cusp of the peace and tranquility they hoped for when they moved from dreary Crawley to la belle France. Their grand project, a writing school called Les Champs Créatifs, is finally complete - only, nobody's signed up.
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Lovely listen/read!
- By Ann D on 26-04-15
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On the Road with Kids
- By: John Ahern
- Narrated by: Michael Veitch
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It's a life-changing trip. Take it! John Ahern had a high-flying job, big house, loving wife and two great kids. But if this was success, why did he sense he was failing as a husband and father? So John did something insane. He quit the corporate world and bought a busted-up camper-van online to chase an improbable dream: a year travelling together as a family...on the road with kids.
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so very funny,
- By Gareth burgess on 31-10-16
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Pardon My French
- How a Grumpy American Fell in Love with France
- By: Allen Johnson
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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In France, Johnson is like an alien from another planet. Everything is strange to him. His goal is to speak French without going to prison, drive without being squashed like a bug, dance the tango without losing his marriage, and belt out a tune with a world-class jazz combo without being booed off the stage. Repeatedly, the author fearlessly steps into harm's way. He joins a summer acting troop and witnesses the French version of sexual liberation.
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A Van of One's Own
- By: Biddy Wells
- Narrated by: Janine Cooper-Marshall
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In her debut memoir, A Van of One's Own, Biddy Wells tells the story of how, propelled by a thirst for peace and quiet, for a modest adventure and, perhaps, for freedom, she left for Portugal on her own, with only her old campervan, Myfanwy, and her GPS, Tanya, for company. Having left just about everything behind, her solo trip forces her to face her fears, her past and herself.
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A Piano in the Pyrenees
- The Ups and Downs of an Englishman in the French Mountains
- By: Tony Hawks
- Narrated by: Tony Hawks
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Inspired by breathtaking views, and dreaming of finding love and romance in the mountains, Tony Hawks impulsively buys a house in the French Pyrenees. Here he imagines he will finally fulfil his childhood fantasy of mastering the piano, untroubled by the problems of the world. However, Tony's account of stumbling into the world of overseas home ownership is perhaps best heard as a useful manual of how not to go about buying a house abroad.
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Truly a true story!
- By Penny on 30-12-07
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Best Foot Forward
- A 500-Mile Walk Through Hidden France
- By: Susie Kelly
- Narrated by: Anne Day-Jones
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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When Susie Kelly decides, on a whim, to trek alone across France from La Rochelle to Lake Geneva, she entrusts her French farmhouse full of assorted animals to a total stranger from San Antonio, Texas. For each of them it is a life-changing experience. Both find their resourcefulness and ingenuity tested to the limit as, in their own ways, they explore and enjoy the culture, cuisine and people of Europe's most fascinating country.
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OK, I suppose
- By Mr. P. D. Selman on 25-04-15
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The Olive Harvest
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Returning to their home after an extended absence, Carol and her husband, Michel, are looking forward to summer together on the farm. Then a shocking blow leaves Carol alone, and the future looks uncertain. The Olive Harvest takes us beyond the perimeters of her olive groves to where hunters, poets, beekeepers, boars and gypsies abide. In search of the language of troubadours, the dark and sometimes barbarous heart of Provence is revealed.
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Against the Current
- Au Revoir to Corporate Life and Bonjour to a Life Afloat in France!
- By: Mike Bodnar
- Narrated by: Mike Bodnar
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Would you leave your job, sell your house, abandon your family and friends, and move to France to live on a boat? With no income, and no idea what the next day would bring? Probably not. But that's what Mike and Liz did, choosing to cast off from corporate life to live on and travel the waterways of France.
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I suppose they enjoyed it
- By Rose on 23-04-17
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Pigs in Clover
- Or How I Accidentally Fell in Love with the Good Life
- By: Simon Dawson
- Narrated by: Ben Allen
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the true story of a Londoner who gives up his job as an estate agent in the city, moves to the wilds of Exmoor, starts a smallholding and becomes self-sufficient, with a few bumps along the way. Simon's journey from urbanite to self-sufficient smallholder is brimming with incidents - some funny and some tragic - leading him to question Mother Nature, himself, the food he eats and his role in it all.
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The Good Life?
- By Mr William Dewar on 15-01-16
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Return to the Olive Farm
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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After 16 months of travelling round the Mediterranean in search of the ancient secrets of the olive tree, Carol returns to her beloved olive farm in the south of France. However, the homecoming celebrations are overshadowed by disturbing discoveries.
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Not as good as The Olive Farm but worth the read
- By jacqui on 18-10-17
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Grape Expectations
- By: Caro Feely
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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When Caro and Sean find the perfect ten-hectare vineyard in Saussignac, it seems their dreams of becoming wine-makers in the south of France are about to come true. But they arrive in France with their young family (a toddler and a new-born) to be faced with a dilapidated eighteenth-century farmhouse and an enterprise that may never, ever make them a living.
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Makes you think twice
- By Sarah Summers on 28-12-12
Summary
One grey dismal day, Janine Marsh was on a trip to northern France to pick up some cheap wine. She returned to England a few hours later having put in an offer on a rundown old barn in the rural Seven Valleys area of Pas de Calais. This was not something she'd expected or planned for.
Janine eventually gave up her job in London to move with her husband to live the good life in France. Or so she hoped. While getting to grips with the locals and la vie Française, and renovating her dilapidated new house, a building lacking the comforts of mains drainage, heating, or proper rooms, and with little money and less of a clue, she started to realize there was lot more to her new home than she could ever have imagined.
Ten years ago, Janine Marsh decided to leave her corporate life behind to fix up a run-down barn in northern France. This is the true story of her rollercoaster ride, in many ways a love story, with her sharp observations on the very different way of life, culture, and etiquette of France.
From her early struggles and homesickness through personal tragedy, to her attempts to become self-sufficient and to breed "the fattest chickens in the village", Janine learned that there was more to her new home than she could ever have imagined.
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- Donna mackay
- 30-10-18
Loved it
Absolutely brilliant
Great writing and loved the narrative.
Made me laugh and cry almost makes me want to move to France
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- Anne H.
- 16-08-18
A little bit bland
I thought the narrator spoiled this book,she wasn’t very expressive and and a bit bland,the story of Janine’s life in France was a bit tedious and a wee bit boring,but I stuck with it.
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- Mayne Meals
- 08-06-18
Francophile's Jackanory
Lovely story, you don't have to want to live in France or live there already, it's just a nice tale of a journey. Really enjoyed hearing how such a townie can be captured by the animal rescue bug and thumbs up for the way they both embraced this, great stories I can totally relate to!
If you are looking for a more in depth 'how to move to France and survive the bureaucracy' type of book, this isn't it. In fact the 'Allo 'Allo type narration is a little bit cringe worthy in places, I think i'd have preferred the author to actually narrate this herself but c'est la vie (see what I did there).
All in all, a lovely book, some sad parts with the loss of family members but on the whole, a lovely read, thank you.
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- Alastair Davies
- 12-04-18
This isn't my normal type of read and I loved it
Interesting, funny and inspiring are a few words that I can think of when listening to this story.
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- mz
- 02-10-18
Really funny, delightful, informative
I really enjoyed the book. Great sense of humor throughout. She talks about the process of moving there, life events, customs, local traditions, in a casual story-telling style that keeps my attention.
This is about living in and fixing up a several-hundred-year-old house with a small area of land in a small village in the north of France. The couple moved there from England on a normal budget, not the Peter Mayle well-off Provence type. So it is more realistic for a normal couple.
I read Peter Mayle's books on Provence a while ago and wanted to find similar books about country living. While there are plenty of books about France, most of them are about the big city and/or not so interesting. This book was the type I was after.
Check out her modern website with the same name, you'll find a ton of information for expats and travelers!
2 of 2 people found this review helpful