Hello Ladies

I am very happy to be invited to introduce myself. I met my husband and we married within a year, that was 46 years ago! We have two wonderful sons, who fully supported our move to France and they say we are so much happier and healthier since leaving work in the U.K.!

My first job was with NatWest Bank, which I thoroughly enjoyed due to the many and varied opportunities it gave me. I enjoyed working in that environment so much, that I went back to work part time when my second son went to school.

We have moved a few times, usually for work. The final move in the UK was to Hampshire, and I continued my career with the bank, until I decided I didn't care for the focus on sales, so I looked for another role. This took me to a secondary school of 1300 pupils. As I'm sure you can imagine, there was never a dull moment. After our youngest son left home, I needed something to do to fill my time. I decided to pick up my business studies which I had put to one side when we moved house. So, with the support of my employer, I resumed my studies and gained my MBA IN 2004. It was a real sense of achievement for me when I was able to put my new knowledge and skills to work, benefiting the daily work life in school.

We were looking for a holiday home in France, but following an illness which meant I had to leave my position, my husband took early retirement and we decided to make the move a permanent one. That was in 2007, and it was definitely the right thing to do. Our friends were surprised, and rather worried; most of them asked the same question : "But what are you going to do with yourselves?" and indeed, we had always been busy. However, we knew exactly what we were going to do - immerse ourselves in the French countryside, the people, and the culture, and as well as this my husband was going to learn to play keyboard and I was going to learn to play my saxophone; we had heaps of books to read, all the things we didn't have time for when we were working. We were lucky, in that our french house didn't need any renovation, so we moved in and started living the French life immediately.

We'd been here two or three years, when a new friend introduced me to the Dordogne Ladies Club. Within a year or so, I was elected onto the Committee as Secretary, and before my term ended I was delighted to be Vice President as well. At the time, I was also Secretary for an amateur music and dramatic society, so I didn't quite let go of the work ethic immediately!

So, almost 14 years later, have we achieved these targets? Well, truthfully, some. The first few years we revelled in being able to jump in the car and just head off, exploring the diversity of South West France. I still love that we find different countryside in every direction. We still go to French classes, I haven't learned to play the saxophone, my husband hasn't learned the keyboard, but I would say everything else has been achieved, and I have picked up my paintbrush after many decades and started to paint in acrylics! My first attempt was our son's house for their wedding anniversary, and I think there will be others to come.