The book was written in celebration of our family’s 40 years in the Ardèche, and of La Clède’s 10 years as a gîte, as well as being a record of the work done to the house, firstly with my parents, Peggy and Alan, and then with Mike. I certainly couldn’t have done it all without them, especially Mike, and the book is my special tribute to him, too. Peg and Alan had sold a piece of garden next to the house we all lived in for around £1,000 in 1962 and they paid 10,000FF for La Clède in 1963 (when there were around 12-13FF to the £). From then on, they agreed, it was to be Peg’s project. They never again had a lump sum for all the building work that was required. My mum saved like mad while she was working – sacrificing other things like a car and clothes which she loved. She made them instead and scoured charity shops to find bargains for herself and La Clède. And she collected books and books of Green Shield stamps! She wrote about her experiences in "Lilac and Roses", which I edited for publication after she died.

The thing about La Clède is that it's never had a great deal of money poured into it - just a lot of love, blood, sweat and tears. It’s two houses really, each roughly the same size, L-shaped, and linked by a communal door in the corner where they join each other. Peg and Alan renovated the larger building and used the other older one as a store. Mike and I have now restored this part, the original la clède where the chestnuts were dried. We live there and rent out the newer part as holiday accommodation.

The property's set in about three-quarters of an acre of terraced mountain land on four levels, in a small village near Joyeuse (about 25km from Aubenas). We are fully accepted as part of the community and have many friends here. The book describes our experiences and our French life in all its many facets.