Bartonangel

Merry Christmas and Newsletter from Plaigne by Sarah Pritchard

2011-12-24T07:47:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Sarah Pritchard par Sarah_Pritchard

Christmas 2011 Newsletter from Plaigne

Hello,

I made a little vlog for those of you who are looking at my newsletter online. Thank you for the gifts, cards and greetings. I hope this letter finds you all in good health.

The year seems to have flown by. I’ll give you a brief tour through time from last Christmas to this one.

In March David and Johnathan went to stay with Sue and Ken and did their bathroom for them. I kicked myself later on in the year when I visited Sue and Ken because I forgot to have a look at the bathroom. I guess I was too engrossed in the family history research with Sue.

David and I went to Bordeaux at the end of May. Verity had just completed her work experience in a hotel there. At the same time as collecting Verity I wanted to explore Bordeaux as I hadn’t been there before. The hotel offered free room, breakfast and drinks in the bar for the weekend. It was very close to our 25^th wedding anniversary so that was a lovely treat for us. We enjoyed wonderful weather (I got sunburnt) and Bordeaux is a beautiful city to explore. Here’s a photo I took. I had to wait for the moment the spectrum appeared. I was sure it would, with all that sun and water, and I was not let down.

Later in the year David and Johnathan went to help Nigel in the Alps with some work on the house. Verity, Raymonde, Isabelle and I joined them for the second half of August, along with Deb and Zoe. We had a great time as per usual despite the house being a building site this time. Raymonde and Isabelle always love to see their cousin Zoe. Verity and Johnathan left a day earlier than us and we did a slow journey home, stopping overnight and exploring Montélimar, which is another city well worth discovering.

In September David and I drove to Girona in Spain where I had rented a riverside apartment. We stayed there one night on our own and then the next day we collected Steph and Tom from the airport. The apartment was in the old town; right on the river and we had great views up and down. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. On the return journey David and I visited the Dali Museum and then Collioure, once we got back in France. We like Collioure. We sat on a bench with the old people, looking at the sea and didn’t move til the sun started going down. Then we thought we’d better eat before going home. We had the best pizza I’ve ever eaten, in a restaurant in Argèles. It made an excellent ending to a great long weekend break.

David spent most of October at his mum’s. Raymonde, Isabelle and I flew over and visited for a week, catching up with family and friends, which was rather lovely, and then we visited Ann and Bert’s in London (thank you to Enid, Ann and Bert). Raymonde and Isabelle enjoyed being tourists. The Tower Bridge exhibition was their favourite. We had a bit of an experience on the underground when Isabelle and I got on the train and then turned round to see the train door shut on Raymonde’s fingers, the train starting to move, and David and Raymonde still on the platform. Raymonde pulled her hand out and we eventually met up again at Baker Street.

Everyone was here on Christmas Day and for the New Year celebrations, David, Raymonde, Isabelle and I are going to Bordeaux to spend the long weekend at Verity’s. We’re taking the trailer with some furniture in for her.

We still often have a full house especially at the weekend. I love it when they are all here so that’s fine by me.

Raymonde is still mad about Polly and horses in general. She has made plans for a stable complex and has asked David when he will be finished at the chateau so that he can start on her project! Isabelle is still a fairy and makes lots of fairyland encampments, no matter where she is, indoors or outside.

Demelza is home and works at the clinic and is doing a correspondence course at the same time, to work with small children. In October, she used two weeks of her holidays to do work experience at Belpech School. Raymonde and Isabelle loved having their big sister at school with them. Verity completed her course and was presented with her diploma. We went to the presentation. Demelza came too and confused everyone at first. She had fun telling everyone that she was not Verity. The hotel where Verity did her work experience offered her a contract which she accepted. She has now found an apartment in Bordeaux. She comes to visit when she can and is in contact very often with her twin.

Johnathan decided to upgrade his qualifications. He works for EDF and is also doing a higher apprenticeship and is working towards a professional Bac. He spends some of his time during the week in Bordeaux and some in Pau. At the weekends he is here, along with his washing!

Benjamin is here. He took on a contract with the logistics company where he has worked on and off for the past few years. He travels to Toulouse.

Geoffrey is here or with Alice. He has just completed a course and received an attestation for driving the biggest engine (sounds like Thomas the Tank Engine doesn’t it?) At the moment he is doing the experience part of the training to eventually receive his certificate. This should open up opportunities for him in logistics.

It has been very mild here which pleases me but does not please Raymonde, David and Benjamin who want some snow on the Pyrenees for their skiing and snowboarding.

I have focused on using my writing skills, this year, doing more ghostwriting and I have recently started my own PLR store, but there isn’t much there yet. I am making plans to create the PLR every week of next year to boost up my stock and form a thorough service for my clients. I’m also planning on creating a lot more of my own products. In writing this down I am committing myself.

I will love you and leave you and wish you all the best for the coming year with much success and abundance in every form. Have you made your plans yet? Oh! Don’t forget to find me on Facebook and find my cause, Pritchard family in aid of UNICEF UEP vortex. We did complete a whole vortex this year and I was able to send a cheque to UNICEF, so I would like to say thank you to those of you who participated. Together we make a great difference.

Angel cuddles,

Sarah (& co.)

UBIEE ENVIRO Project, helping you, me, the environment and UNICEF

2011-01-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

Newsletter from Plaigne 2010

2011-01-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

Plaigne Newsletter December 2010

Another year is coming to an end. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. I hope you are well and would like to thank you for the cards, presies and wishes.

At the end of February we visited my Barton family in Solihul. Deb and Nigel were kind enough to welcome us, so that I could visit family and see the area where Daddy was born and continue my family research. It was lovely to see the family and visit historical places in and around Birmingham. The Black Country Musuem and the Back to Backs were very interesting and useful in providing background to my research. Raymonde and Isabelle loved being with their cousin, Zoe too.

We extended our England visit a few days so that we could visit David's father, Dennis as he was unwell. Our unexpected Sittingbourne visit was made easier by Simon and Kim, who put us up after my surprise phonecall.

I've also extended the family research to the Pritchard Family. David couldn't understand my enthusiasm for genealogy so I decided to involve him by researching his family. He soon became very interested in his ancestors!

David returned to England later in the year to do Deb's bathroom and he took the opportunity to visit his parents again. I held the fort here in Plaigne, through tempest and snow storm (and I am not exaggerating ha ha!). We had a rather devastated garden after the freak weather conditions.

In the summer, we stayed at home and visited places that we hadn't explored before and re-visited places that had pleased the first five children and we thought would please the last two. We were correct. Raymonde and Isabelle loved the African Safari at Sigean. We visited the mountains and the wolf park. Two of the wolves wanted to play with Raymonde and Isabelle. That was my treat to go to see the wolves. I love them. I want one!!

The cousins, Emily and Jemma (aka Jemily) came to stay and the girls enjoyed being together. It was a working holiday in the maize fields. I think they enjoyed it despite the hard work, especially as many tears had to be mopped up at the good bye time!

In September, David went back to England again to spend some time with his father and say good bye. Dennis passed on and David stayed til after the funeral. The "boys" went over together and Verity had already gone over and was staying at Simon and Kim's. We have to thank them again for stepping in and helping out. Verity was supposed to be going to London, but that is another story. David and Verity flew home together the day after the boys.

Demelza and Verity finished school this year after both obtaining their Bacs (with very similar results as per usual). Verity started at the same hotellerie school that Benjamin passed through and obtained his diploma. She has just finished two months work experience in Bordeaux. Demelza is working part-time in a clinic and doing a correspondance course at the same time. My babes are all growing up which is really quite frightening at times! However, the two younger ones are keeping us young, especially Isabelle who is a real live wire. We call her Tinkerbell. She tinkers and creates fairy houses and camps (in and outdoors -- we have a tree in our bedroom at the moment full of little fairies and creatures of all sorts!). She even looks like Tinkerbell, especially when the twins give her the Tinkerbell hairdo.

Raymonde and Isabelle sang "Fly to your Heart" from the Tinkerbell film, in the Amicale spectacle in April. Their mother sang "Super Trouper" with her Amicale friends, Suzanne, Adrian and Perman. We had a lot of laughs practising and we got an encore! We have received a request to do another one next year at the spectacle. I must put my thinking cap on.

Raymonde and Isabelle are continuing the Pritchard tradition and both do tennis training. When they are not at school and the weather is fine, Isabelle is found in bushes and trees with the fairies and Raymonde disappears with Polly and Loupio.

I have been doing some private tuition and have registered as an auto-entrepreneur, which is a new regime that started here for people who want to do a little business and pay charges only as you earn. Yes, it was about time they came up with that one!! They say it is simple but it is more complicated with more paperwork than one would think, but I am persevering with it. I registered for the gîte and IM. I haven't really been doing much advertising for the gîte, but we still get enquiries, so that is cool and I can go along with that.

I was asked to do a couple of videos on YouTube. The one you see above (if you are reading the newsletter on the blog) is about the UBIEE ENVIRO Project and the Pritchard Family Vortex in aid of UNICEF. You can see the video by going to YouTube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMFgwFAFiVA

As part of my sharing angel cuddles mission I also set up a cause on FaceBook; if you would like to join the Support the Pritchard Family in aid of UNICEF Cause, you can do so here: http://www.causes.com/causes/510841

I would appreciate your help in supporting our forgotten children in this world. Thank you to those who have already joined the cause and even better, joined the vortex
(http://ubiee.com/enviro/?tag=pritchardinaidofUNICEF).

Now, it is time to wish you a happy new year, many blessings, angel cuddles, love, light and peace.

Sarah xxx

Newsletter from Plaigne, December 2009

2009-12-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

Hello one and all.
It’s that time again. It seems to come round so quickly! Hope you are all well. Thank you to those who have sent Xmas greetings and presies. Now for a rapid tour of our year.
In February, we took the four girls to Spain for a week, in Santa Susanna. I had done a late booking offer in a self-catering apartment not far from the beach. The day before we were to go, I received a phone call to say the apartment wasn’t available. They offered us two rooms in a 4 star hotel right on the beach. Bang went our self-catering food budget. The hotel was great. The girls all wanted to stay for another week! We were about 45 km away from Barcelona, so we went there on the train, along the coastline (remembering our last visit to Barcelona with the car). Barcelona is a wonderful city and we visited as much as we could. On the way home at the end of the week, we visited Gerona. Again, the old part of Gerona is beautiful.
April saw David and I meeting up with Steph and Tom in Dublin’s fair city and it really is a fair city. We had a great time and we have photos to prove that it isn’t always raining in Ireland and that the sun does shine sometimes. We had a whole mixture of weather and got wet, warm and cold over the short period we were there. As per usual on our trips, we did much walking and exploring. Like to see as much of the places we visit as poss!
In June, we took Raymonde and Isabelle to England for ten days. We flew from Carcassonne to Bournemouth on the first day that Ryanair were starting that route. The flight cost 1€ each! We stayed with David’s parents, Enid and Dennis (thank you), and visited family and places that we like, such as Broadstairs. I managed to fit in a bit of family research in the cemetery. We went to Ann and Bert’s, in London and stayed for a long weekend. We all enjoyed it very much. Raymonde and Isabelle had done research before we went, looking in books and watching DVDs. Raymonde drew a picture of all the things they wanted to see. We decided that a boat trip on the Thames would be a good plan to cover everything. Tower Bridge was very cooperative for us and they saw it going up and down. Mummy was instructed to take lots of photos as their camera had run out. We spent the last day, which happened to be Raymonde’s birthday, in Bournemouth. Her treat was a visit in the oceanarium. I nearly had a fit when I found both girls with hands in the piranha tank! LOL.
In the summer, it was lovely to have family visitors and meet up with family. Simon and family came, and cousin Deb and family came. The cousins on two levels all enjoyed each other’s company. We actually did an impromptu visit to Deb and Nigel’s in the Alps so that David could help Nigel with the guttering. We had a really active but relaxing time. The weather was very good then and all summer long too.
In September, we did our annual trip to London. We stayed at Ann and Bert’s again (thank you for your kind hospitality and sorry about our departure time!), after a couple of nights at Den and Enid’s (and visiting recuperating Simon after his back op). We visited Buckingham Palace again and the National Gallery and spent a day in Greenwich.
In October, David and I, who were both rather stressed (you will see why later), escaped to Brussels. We did much walking and discovering, eating of Belgian chocs and, of course, I had moules and frites. Brussels is a wonderful city to discover and the Grand Place is delightful.
From the end of August to October, I spent a lot of time at the hospital. Three of our darlings were admitted to hospital, one after the other. Firstly, Isabelle went to children’s emergency. She was rather poorly and very thin. Her umbilical hernia which she’d had since birth, decided to go inside. This caused distress and pain to her insides. Couple that with swollen stomach glands caused by a virus, and you get a child in a lot of pain who can’t eat or drink. A blood anomaly was found at the same time. She’s okay now, although she still has an anomaly with her blood, but this doesn’t seem to bother her.
Next in hospital was Johnathan. He had a very bad car accident. He fell asleep at the wheel and ended up in the middle of a field after rolling over. He was discovered, two hours later, in an unconscious state, by a hunter. The rescue team had to cut him out of the car. He was in intensive care for a while before going to the normal service. His injuries included a fractured skull, shoulder and collar bones, bruised lungs and air trapped in his chest cavity. One of the rescue team phoned me to see how he was and said that he was very lucky to be alive, and it was probably due to him driving a VW, a strong car. After a couple of operations, and recuperation, Jn is fine.
Two days after Jn came out of hospital, Geoffrey went in, in the same service, for a hernia operation. The heavy work he’d been doing had taken its toll. Everyone is now recovered and back to “normal.” Yes, I know; what is normal? LOL.
As for activities, GC is continuing his correspondence course and is doing work experience. Benjamin is at a hotel school and has just returned from a hotel in Bordeaux where he was on marked work experience. He received top marks. Well done! Jn finished his apprenticeship and is a qualified electrician. Well done too! He is taking a year out before continuing with his BAC Pro. He is looking for a big enough enterprise to take him on so that he can continue his studies for the BAC. Demelza and Verity have started their last year of the Bac at the lycée. They have been looking at their options and choices for the future.
David continues with helping people with their renovations and is getting a good reputation for lime washing and tiling. He has found time to make quite a lot of progress in the chateau and Jn has been a great help in there too. We no longer rent out the apartment and he has knocked an entrance through from the rest of the house. As for me, I have been writing a lot and devoting much of my time to world peace solutions and healing the environment. You can see what I am up to on http://angelcuddlepublishing.com and http://6-musketeers-agency.multidomainrotator.com and one of my green blogs is: http://sarahpritchard.wordpress.com There aren’t enough hours in the day especially as I am only on dial-up and everything takes so long to do! We’ve been told that we may get adsl in 2010 so I am ever hopeful, but not holding my breath!
I have created a Peace Dot page on a sub domain, http://peace.angelcuddlepublishing.com and I would like to encourage you to e-sign the FUTURO-Plan world peace petition. You will find the link on that page. It won’t cost you anything but a little time. I will leave you with the link to the UBIEE ENVIRO Project Pritchard Family in Aid of UNICEF vortex which I have set up. I invite you to join us in supporting UNICEF, and at the same time, the environment, yourself and your children. Here is the link: http://ubiee.com/enviro/?tag=pritchardinaidofUNICEF I gave each of the kids a one time contribution in that vortex for Christmas.
If you want to contact me, my Skype ID is: sarahprit
Email: questions@sarahp.earthgreenmail.com
I wish you all a Merry Christmas tide and a Happy New Year, full of abundance in all its forms.
Many blessings,
Sarah

What does Christmas mean to you and the forgotten children

2009-12-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

http://community.adlandpro.com/forums/post/907456/WhatdoesChristmasmeantoyouandLesEnfantsOublies/11.aspx

Bonjour and Merry Christmas to one and all.

I have revived this forum thread because it is very relevant to my recent activities.

The Christmas wreath symbolizes true love. Real love never ceases; it is a continuous neverending ring.

One of my missions is to remind people about the forgotten children on our Planet Earth and to help our forgotten children. Spare a thought for them and send them some positive energy. They will feel it, even if they don't know where it has come from.

On this line of thought I would like to bring your attention to UNICEF. This organization does a great deal to help the forgotten children, les enfants oubliés in our world.

I have set up a Pritchard Family UBIEE Vortex in aid of UNICEF. As a Christmas present to my children, I have done a One Time Contribution for each of them in the vortex. This means that I have given them a Christmas gift that will never stop giving, because once you make a one time contribution you stay in the system. UNICEF and the forgotten children will receive this never ending gift too.

If you make a one time contribution to this vortex for yourself or a loved one, you will be helping UNICEF and the forgotten children. At the same time you will be setting up an ongoing residual income for yourself or the person on whose behalf you make the contribution. You may even like to do a contribution on behalf of a charity or for a fundraiser. There are a number of possibilities.

Here is the link for the vortex: http://ubiee.com/enviro/?tag=pritchardinaidofUNICEF

If you would like a full explanation of the UBIEE ENVIRO Project, you can download a copy in pdf format from this link: http://www.sarahswritingdesk.com/uepUNICEF.pdf

Love for each other and our planet goes hand in hand with peace on Earth. May peace prevail on Earth. Please join me in signing the FUTURO-Plan Peace Petition for a better Earth for our children and their children. With world peace, using this formula there will be no forgotten children.

Just click on the scroll at the top of the post and you will be taken to the petition sign up page.

I would also like to draw your attention to my peace page which has been registered in the Peace Dot directory. I set it up on a sub domain on Angel Cuddle Publishing. This is the link:

http://peace.angelcuddlepublishing.com

Thank you for taking the time to have a look.

Angel cuddles,

Sarah

Newsletter from Plaigne, December 2008

2008-12-28T08:32:00.000-08:00

Entertainment at the banquet, Bunratty Castle

Plaigne Newsletter, December 2008

Hello and I hope this finds you all well. We’re all well, including the 3 cats and Polly and Loupio. Thank you to all who’ve sent cards, letters, emails and presies.

We have projects for our house. We are continuing with the Grange rental (and have bookings for next year already), but the apartment is going to become the main entrance to our house. David has almost completed the new bathroom in there. It’s looking really good. Next step will be to knock through into my cave so that we can get into the apartment without going outside. We’ll then use that bathroom while D does the family bathroom upstairs. So it is ongoing work.

This year, David and I decided to have some adventures and discover a bit of the world we live in. In February, we took the four girls to England. On the way up we stayed in Paris, surprised them by going to EuroDisney and then stayed the night in Paris again.

When we arrived in England we found it cold and misty. As we approached Caister, the freezing mist was very worrying and made us lose our way a little. We rang John and he came to find us. We had a very nice stay with John and Jane. We went to the sea front at Great Yarmouth (which brought back memories for me of our family hol there). John and Jane treated us to chips in the market place and ice creams down by the sea front. Yum Yum! Thanks John and Jane; we enjoyed our little stay in Caister.

Next stage was to drive to D’s parents, leave the car there and take the train to London where we stayed for 3 nights in a hotel. We did a lot of walking and sight seeing and were all exhausted in the evenings!

Next stage was to stay at D’s sister’s in Maidstone. We thank Sue and Ken for their hospitality. Much appreciated. We were able to visit family and take Mum to Broadstairs. It’s a place that D and I have always liked and the girls seem to like it too. Mum treated us to fish and chips so we had our fix. When asked what they liked best about their hol, the twins said that it was seeing the family. They were certainly very happy at D’s parent’s and enjoyed Nanny’s cooking.

In July, I suddenly decided to visit Rome. I offered to take the girls, but the twins told me to just take Daddy and they’d look after the little ones for me. I think they knew that I wasn’t going to Rome to relax. I’d write out an itinerary every evening and then make sure that we did everything on the list. D still managed to go swimming every day. I joined him once. It was very hot in Rome, more than 40°. We went to Italy on a cruise ship from Barcelona. That was a great start to the hol. We stayed one night in a hotel right in Rome. Driving in Rome is rather hazardous. They are mad! Walking across the road is taking your life in your hands. I was limping due to a cricket injury, so I used the zebra crossings. Do they take any notice of them? No, not even with red lights. They even bib you to get off the crossing and out of their way!

The rest of our stay in Rome was in a bungalow in Village Roma. We left the car parked at the bungalow and used the shuttle to the Vaticun every day. We loved Rome and intend to return. We took the cruise ship back to Barcelona again. D didn’t want to get off! That is someone who doesn’t like to travel by water. Ha Ha! It certainly makes us want to go on a longer cruise.

Also in July, we took the girls camping at St Nazaire on the Med. We all had a great, relaxing time. We visited Colioure. We all like it there. At the beginning of September, we took the two little ones back to St Nazaire again. I got a virus in my puter which actually slowly killed it off. GC brought life back to it, but I lost many of your email addresses. I haven’t managed to find them all, so forgive me if I haven’t contacted you.

Later in September, D and I flew to London and took the train to Sittingbourne to stay a few nights with Den and Enid (thank you), and then we returned to London. We went to the theatre twice, to see Mama Mia and The 39 Steps. Buckingham Palace was great, of course. We got in for free which was a bonus. There was a state banquet set up. It was a wonderful sight. I still think the Queen needs to sort some of her net curtains!

In October, D and I went to Bunratty, Ireland. It rained nearly all the time we were there, but it was beautiful, all the same. I took lots of photos with my new camera and a couple of them won in the photo fun competition at Adlandpro. We went to a medieval banquet in Bunratty Castle, one evening and were greeted by the butler, as My Lord and My Lady. I could get very used to that, so you know how to address me from now on!

We plan on exploring more and taking our discoveries further afield as and when we are able (as much as poss).

For Xmas, us females all sang in a concert at Orsans. Ray and Isa joined in with “Away in a Manger.” On 20^th Dec, some of us villagers put on an Xmas meal for friends of Plaigne. We had a Father Christmas for the kids. Chris, who played FC, was almost melted to tears by Isa, who gave him a big cuddle. He had a large lump in his throat and could hardly speak.

On Xmas Eve, at 6 pm, I was asked to lead carol singing in the village, down by the mairie. It was cold but we had mulled wine to warm us up. At 8 pm, we had some friends, Karen and Adrian and their kids here for a meal. All the Pritchards were present (which doesn’t happen very often these days). We had to add an extra table and chairs. It was a lovely evening and we saw in Xmas Day. Xmas Day was spent as a family day and I didn’t go anywhere near my puter (which can’t be said for GC, but he did hold out til 10 pm).

I’m finding it very difficult with only an extra slow dial-up connection, but my Internet business is progressing and Angel Cuddle Publishing is official. I have an office in London and am registered in England. This complicates matters sometimes when I’m filling in electronic forms. I’m living in France, but have a business address in England and the forms can’t always cope with me. Ooooh la la. I’m putting my best foot forward and overcoming all obstacles.

Well, dear people, here’s to an abundant 2009 and beyond for us all, full of love and joy and peace. Please sign our peace petition: http://angelcuddlesforpeace.com

Many blessings and of course, angel cuddles (my signature),

Sarah & co

Ps weather report: 26^th woke up to land covered in white stuff and kids used sledge. 27^th no white stuff anywhere and sun shining, but windy.

Season's Greetings

2008-12-24T04:47:00.000-08:00

Bonjour!

I wish you all a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

May it be a new year of abundance in every sense, a year of adventures and discoveries, and of comfort and love.

Angel cuddles,

Sarah

Angel Cuddle Publishing

Winning Streak......

2008-12-18T09:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been a happy bunny lately.

My photographs won two weeks running over at Adlandpro.

They were both from my visit to Bunratty, Ireland.

Here is the first one:

Pretty farmhouse windowsill, Bunratty, Ireland

Here is the second:

Oh is this pose ok? Bunratty House, Ireland

My prize was to have my photo displayed in a prominent position in Adland for the week.

Earlier in the year, I won a short story competition over at Facebook. My prize was a writing course book.

Last weekend, I won second prize of $150 in the Comments Contest at Blognet Awards.

I’ve been commenting again. Also my blog is one of the nominated blogs in the Best Literary Blog category.

Here is the link: http://blognetawards.com/angel-cuddles-writing for you to pay a visit, and once you have voted, why don’t you make some comments and perhaps you’ll be a winner like I was.

Mine was the second prize. You may do better!!

The Angel Cuddle Publishing blog, is also nominated in the Best Internet Marketing Blog category.

You can take a look here: http://blognetawards.com/angel-cuddle-publishing

Why not go along and vote and then leave some comments. Perhaps you will win in the comments contest, like I did.

Lastly, have you seen Best Forum of the Year Award voting at Adlandpro? My forum, Sarah’s Emporium, was one of the nominated forums. My forum won Best Forum of the Month earlier in the year with $200 winnings, so it was automatically nominated in the Best Forum of the Year competition.

Here is the link: http://community.adlandpro.com/forums/thread/1166912.aspx

Angel cuddles,

Sarah

ps I'd love to welcome you in my forum too. You can pay a visit by clicking here.

Blog update and let this be a warning to you

2008-11-06T01:24:00.000-08:00

I’ve neglected all my blogs. There are a number of reasons.

I was at St Nazaire, South France, on the Mediterranean. I used a wifi passcard. This isn’t a secure system, unfortunately. My computer caught a virus and when I returned home, at first I couldn’t get IE or Firefox to work, but Crazy Browser worked. Then, that wouldn’t work and gradually my computer died. It didn’t know that it was a computer anymore! My son managed to save some data, but I lost a great deal of data.

My son re-installed Windows, but it is now Vista instead of XP and I’m having to learn how to use it. Certain things that worked before, don’t now, but I’m coping and gradually improving the situation.

Take this as a warning to always backup. I had planned to buy an external hard disk to save everything on when I returned from St Nazaire, but I was unlucky and got the virus at St Nazaire.

I’ve got a hard disk now and save everything as I go along. It is a very slow process getting things back to ‘normal’ (especially on dial-up).

Focus has been put on setting up Angel Cuddle Publishing on and offline. That isn’t completely done yet but I’m slowly sorting that.

I’ve also been doing some travelling and exploring. I went to London and Bunratty, Ireland. Earlier in the summer, I went to Rome. I plan to visit and explore as many places as I can on this planet, starting with Europe, but setting my sights further afield.

What else has happened?

I was one of the winners in a short story competition, an event run by Jim Green on Facebook, at Creative Writers Hangout. Click here to take a look.

I’ve been nominated for the Just Perfect Award at Adlandpro. This isn’t the first time I’ve been nominated. I guess I’ll have to work on being more perfect, if I want to win. LOL.

Who is it that said that there is no such thing as a perfect person, just people with perfect intentions? Anyway, being nominated makes me feel good.

I’ve signed a world peace solution petition and have actually set up a petition for you to esign. If you wish to sign a petition for world peace, please go to http://angelcuddlesforpeace.com

Well, I’ll sign off now. I intend to keep my blogs more up to date, now that my computer is more sorted.

Oh, before I go, if you feel that I should have your email address, then let me know at address@sarahp.earthgreenmail.com as I lost my address book when the computer went down.

Angel cuddles,

Sarah

Countdown to Earth Day

2008-03-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

For the history of Earth Day take a look here.

About Earth Day Network

Founded by the organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network (EDN) promotes environmental citizenship and year round progressive action worldwide.

Earth Day Network is a driving force steering environmental awareness around the world. Through Earth Day Network, activists connect, interact, and have an impact on their communities, and create positive change in local, national, and global policies. EDN's international network reaches over 17,000 organizations in 174 countries, while the domestic program engages 5,000 groups and over 25,000 educators coordinating millions of community development and environmental protection activities throughout the year. Earth Day is the only event celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities. More than a half billion people participate in our campaigns every year.

Our mission is to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. We pursue our mission through education, politics, events, and consumer activism.

Earth Day Network’s Mission Statement

EDN seeks to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. We pursue these goals through education, politics, events, and consumer activism.

The Rose

2008-01-28T02:36:00.000-08:00

I sang The Rose with my twin daughters, Demelza & Verity, in a concert last April.

They didn't know the Rose, so I showed them a video of a very dear friend singing it, when we did a concert in England, a good number of years ago.

My friend died just a few months after singing the song, from a brain tumour. When she first sang it in rehearsals just about everyone in the room had a tear in their eyes. There was so much communal emotion in the air. So, when I hear the Rose after some time of not hearing it, I have a tear in my eye.

I often think of my friend Peggy. She was like a mother to me. Peggy told me once, that I should follow my heart and follow my dreams. "Don't leave it too late or you will regret it," she said. I'm following her advice.

When I hear the Rose, it is stimulation and inspiration, albeit a tear at my heart too.

Here's to following our dreams.

Angel cuddles,

Sarah

for the inspiration.

Thank you

2008-01-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

A Simple Poem from the Heart

2008-01-03T14:20:00.000-08:00

A Simple Poem from the Heart

Daddy, I don’t want you to suffer,

But Daddy, I don’t want you to go.

Sarah, I won’t be gone, ever,

But my suffering has to go, you know.

Daddy! I love you my Daddy.

My Sarah, I love you too.

Daddy, please don’t ever leave me.

Sarah, that I will never do.

Sarah, it’s almost his time.

We’re all with him; I’ll give you a call.

I’m waiting, waiting; it’s just a matter of time.

Daddy, Daddy, can you hear me call?

Sarah, are you there? Please take my hand.

I’m here Daddy; here’s a cuddle for you Pop.

I’m just about ready to go to the other land.

Daddy, keep me in your heart; don’t ever stop.

Oh Daddy, your angel guides have come.

Don’t worry Daddy; just follow their light.

Here, place your hands in their hands. “Welcome.”

Oh Daddy, you look so peaceful and, like them, so bright.

Daddy, I love you; you’ll always be a smile in my heart.

Sarah, I love you; I’ll always be here for you, your guiding light.

The Angels, take care of Daddy; put the strength back in his heart.

We’ll always be united in angel cuddles, love and light.

By Sarah & Raymond Barton

Newsletter from Plaigne Jan 2008

2008-01-03T13:20:00.001-08:00

The winning photo of Dodo

Away in a manger

La famille

Loupio and Polly

Bonjour from Plaigne, 2007

Yes, another year has gone by, and I hope this newsletter finds you in good health. Thank you to those who sent cards, presies, messages, wishes.

At the beginning of this year, we added two animals to our family, Polly the pony and Loupio the donkey. David converted the wood shelter into a stable for them. We are greeted with eeaws and winnies every morning. They are lovely.

In February, David and I did a couple of days business/pleasure trip to London. Had a great time, despite it being freezing cold. Went to the theatre to see Billy Eliot. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend that you get tickets.

The tennis team now includes Raymonde. She now has a collection of medallions which she won at tournaments. For her age, she’s a very good player (but she does have her personal, resident coach to train her). Johnny and Benjamin had to play each other in the local finals. Jn won. In the same competition finals, they played together as the doubles team and won. So the Pritchards were famous in the local news! David and BJ have started skiing again. D bought some new skis. They thoroughly enjoy it.

GC usually spends the week in Toulouse and the weekends here (along with his washing!). He didn’t like uni, so he left at the end of the first year and is now doing a correspondence course, while working as a temp.

BJ is working in Mazères and studying at home for his Bac. He’s still the tennis coach at Belpech Tennis Club. He also still does jobs for the ‘fat lady,’ the handicapped lady in the village. He even went to help her on Christmas morning.

Jn declared that he was leaving school and the last school year spent a lot of time awol!! He has now become an apprentice electrician. He found a very good boss in Belpech (who also happens to play tennis). He spends one week per month at the CFA in Toulouse (so stays with GC), and the other weeks he works. He is having fun. At last, he has found his niche.

D & V have finished first term at the lycée in Pamiers, but they don’t like school and are trying to find their niche. Watch this space!

Raymonde has started proper school and came home with an excellent report. Apparently, the teacher tells her to cover her work so that the others don’t copy her. Oooohooo!

Isabelle started in the maternelle in September, Lord bless them all. She is a real ‘character.’ She does mornings only, so goes off on the bus and I collect her at midday. She loves it. She sometimes has “no” days, when she doesn’t want to do anything on offer, but she’s so sweet that she gets away with it, and does her own thing. Wonder who she takes after!

I still do choir and drama with the amicale. For Easter, I was asked to write and produce a sketch for the amicale annual meal. They wanted something very English, so I wrote a mini panto, with an Easter twist, in English and then translated it into French. It was difficult to convert the humour. Everything about a panto was new to the French and I had to do an explanation of panto and cross dressing, before they watched it. I had to teach them that audience participation was required, but they really enjoyed it, and I’ve been asked to do another for next Easter. I’m contemplating publishing the English version. Ray, V & D were in the panto and I was the Fairy Queen. Little did I know that I was getting into practise for being a queen.

I’ve been working on the net and this week I was voted Person of the Week on Adlandpro, a business social networking site. Not bad, as there are over 66000 members. They are addressing me as Queen Sarah (don’t that sound grand). Last week, I won $50 in the photo competition, with a photo of Dodo on the creeper. So, I’m a happy bunny!

Been writing. Have a number of projects on the go to be finished off. Am working on a website, www.angelcuddlepublishing.com and have started some forums. Still teach English on Thursday afternoons. Sadly, one of my students, Edmonde, who was a very great friend, passed on, this year. I miss her a great deal, as do the other students. She is with the angels now, as is Daddy. (I was recently inspired to write a poem about that). You can read it on my blog. It is a poem of love and comfort, written from the heart.

David is a team captain at the tennis club, and as I said earlier, he likes his skiing. He continues to do building and maintenance work. He gets a lot of work via word of mouth, and has so much work that the chateau renovation has slowed up, but it now has windows on the ground floor.

We did well with the gites this year, despite a slow start. An American gent has been in the Grange since October, while his house is being renovated. David is down to work there in the new year too. D is going to do improvements in the apartment bathroom, including putting in a new window, so we’re not taking bookings for that one at the mo, but we’ve started taking bookings for the Grange.

We didn’t manage a holiday together this year. Missed taking the caravan to the seaside, but bookings, work for David, and D&V and a number of other issues meant that we didn’t manage it. I took the girls out for daytrips and David joined us when he could or wanted to. Sometimes we did girly things! We visited all sorts of interesting places. Had a good time.

David & I flew to London for a 5 day break, in September. We had beautiful weather and a great time. Visited Buckingham Palace, St James’ Park (every day!), Foreign & Commonwealth Office (like a palace), the theatre to see “Wicked” (and it was wicked), pub lunches, were invited to lunch with some friends, Karen & Adrian (we had a lovely time, thanks) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We love the children, but it was wonderful to have some time just for us. That doesn’t happen very often.

We plan a visit to England with the 4 girls, in February. Visiting friends at Caister, London and family. Looking forward to it. Hope it won’t be too cold!

For Xmas, we did the usual evening in the village church. The girls sang (including Isa) Away in a Manger, in English and French and they were in a sketch. The little ones were tramps, as you can see in the photo on my blog.

I hope you all had a merry Xmas and wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year.

Angel cuddles,

Sarah

Organic gardening

2008-01-03T13:14:00.001-08:00

I came across this news item. I found this very interesting, especially as I've started a forum about taking care of Mother Earth.

If you would like to see my beautiful forum, or should I say Mother Earth's beautiful forum (as it is she who creates the beauty for us to wonder at and be peaceful with), or better still, contribute some beauty yourself, go here. Please note that if you wish to contribute you need to join the social network first. Here is an invitation where you can join.

This article applies to all of us.

I found it interesting that the article says that the farm workers on an organic farm are working in a healthier environment too. As you know, my children work for an organic farmer in the holidays and some weekends. They used to work for a non-organic farmer and David sometimes helped out there too.

One summer, a few years ago, whilst doing the maize, GC collapsed in the field. I had to take him to hospital. B and D were also unwell and had breathing probs, along with some other workers on the farm. At the hospital, they couldn't find out what the problem was, but I have my suspicions that it was something to do with the products that had been sprayed on the fields.

Here's the article:

In my mission to take care of my bit of Mother Earth, I've joined an online gardening club, Green Wiz.

Perhaps you'd like to join too. You can take a look here.

Angel cuddles,

Sarah

Rennes-Le-Château revisited

2007-07-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

Nearly two years after promising Raymonde that I'd take her back to Rennes-Le-Château, I took the four girls and the twins' friends (who are also twins), yesterday.

It was a beautiful sunny day with not a cloud in sight.

We visited the museum in the Villa Bethania and the Tour Magdala. In the corner of the garden of the villa, you can enter the first of Saunière's two towers. This one in the picture above is known as the "Glass Tower" because it has the greenhouse on the top. It was once full of tropical plants and little animals, but in the picture I took, there are no longer any plants and the only animals or little monkies were my children and their friends!

Isabelle and Raymonde are of course, the little monkies, although later they were little angels or butterflies flying above the wall and the mountains. I find it a shame that there are no longer any plants in the greenhouse. It now seems rather harsh and 'cold,' but not literally, of course; it was extremely hot in there. You could feel the heat rising as you mounted the narrow, spiral, stone stairway.

From the greenhouse you walk out on to the raised walkway. It is said that Saunière's body was placed here before the burial, so that the mourners could file by. It is also said that each mourner plucked a tassel from his robe.

The Tour Magdala is at the end of the walkway. There are wonderful views from the top of this tower. I was lucky to have the tower to myself for some time and was able to contemplate the fascinating mystery of Saunière and Rennes-Le-Château, Saunière's visitors that had been there before me, and of course look at the breathtaking views.

For more photos of Rennes-Le-Château, you can look at my previous post about our trip there, or there is an official site dedicated to this subject here.

I must now go and rest. Due to a bad fall on the stairs yesterday I am in pain and feeling unwell. Nothing too serious. Nasty bruises in places that can't all be shown to other people, cuts and grazes and a muggy head (due to me jarring my spine, I think). I have nothing broken but the stairs now have a broken step!

I'm off to repose.

Angel Cuddles,

Sarah

I've written a little report you may like to download

2007-07-22T04:08:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I was reminded by someone that I hadn't updated my blogs for a while.

Been so busy that I have neglected my blogs and I smack my wrist.

Here is a little report that I wrote which is also a business in a box.

You may like to download it and feel free to give it away to anyone that you feel may benefit from it.

You can download it here. Don't forget to save your copy.

Best wishes,
Sarah

Newsletter from Plaigne, Dec. 2006

2006-12-27T10:31:00.000-08:00

Isabelle having a quiet moment

Isawitch

Witchray

Well, it’s Christmas again. I hope this letter finds you all well. I’m rather late getting this one typed and out. So busy. Got so many projects on the go. Must learn to focus, I think, to become more efficient.

On to our news……

GC got his Bac and is now at university, but he’s not enjoying it that much and is looking to find another course. He lives in Toulouse, in an apartment, during the week and comes home at the weekends, with his washing, of course! He drives a very nice, silver VW Golf which he bought with his savings from working at Siemens this year, before taking time out to study for his Bac.

GC and Benj visited England with 2 French friends, Cedric and Romain. They stayed at Westminster University and visited London for a few days and then they descended upon their grandparents, Dennis & Enid (thank you). They enjoyed seeing family. Apparently, Broadstairs is -400°! Went there on the wrong day, obviously!

David, Ben, Jn & Ray do tennis. Yes, Ray has started training and she plays very well for someone so young. (In fact, anything that Ray tries her hand at seems to be a success; she really is a ray in the monde). Her trainer is Ben. He went to do the next level of training to continue to be a tennis trainer, for which he gets paid. Benj passed his driving test and now drives the old girl (Renault 21 which we inherited from Jo & Trevor when they moved back to England).

Two sets of friends moved in early summer. John & Liz returned to Huntingdon and J & T moved back to Dorchester. J & T left their cats, Koffee & Coco with us. They both grew into big, cuddly pussycats, but unfortunately, this Xmas Day, Verity found Coco dead in the pool. He is still there as he is frozen in. David has put a cover over him. Rather upsetting for us. I miss Coco’s morning welcome and cuddles, poor darling.

D & V are continuing with piano lessons. It’s so lovely to hear them playing. We have a piano and two keyboards around the house and it often seems like it doesn’t matter where you go in the house, but you hear music. Wonderful. They both sing with me in the choir and do some drama with me. We’ve all been in various things this year. Ray was very cross that she hadn’t been included in the spectacle in April “as you know that I sing well, Mummy” (this is very true). She sang very well, along with a little boy called Oli, at our Plaigne Xmas evening. Us females were all involved in a sketch too.

We went to Argelès again with the caravan, and the girls. I took the girls back home, half way through, as they had some farm work to do. The boys had had parties etc in our absence and I didn’t report back to David when I got back to the camping. I wanted to finish my hol in peace!
GC went camping on the Med coast too. Benj is going on hols, in the mountains, this Saturday. Loves snowboarding and has fingers crossed that there will be enough snow (it’s rather late in coming this year). David & Benj both love skiing.

Cousin Stephen & Deb came to visit us with Sam & Rachel. It was lovely to see them and we enjoyed their company so much that we joined them in the Alps, at Deb & Nigel’s house (thanks D & N). It was wonderful to have breakfast on the patio with the sun shining on the snowy mountain tops. Inspiring and refreshing experience.

Seven is a magical number and our number seven is a belle. Isa is still quite small, but due to the fact that she doesn’t seem to stop eating, she’s quite a little podgy poo at the moment. She is and has a real character. She bosses us about all the time. I can confirm that there is nothing wrong with her voice box. She is so loud! We thought that perhaps she might be a bit deaf, but no, she is just LOUD. Perhaps she thinks that she has to be loud to compete with everyone else. She is extremely mischievous and cannot be left alone for one minute. I don’t know where she gets it from, but if looks could kill, there would be many people dropping down around her! When GC teases her, she gives him what can only be described as the evil eye.

We enjoyed receiving our guests, new and repeat visitors. I set up a website for the gites. Take a look at www.sdpgitesinfrance.bravehost.com

For those of you who haven’t let me know their e-mail address, you can send us an e-mail at: pritchard.geoffrey@libertysurf.fr

Love to you all and here’s to a successful 2007 full of abundance in every sense,
Sarah & Co

p.s. If you have time, browse the rest of my blog, especially "Remember." If you've got adsl the video will load much quicker for you than us out of the way country folk on dial-up.

2006-12-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

Josh Groban

Here is "Remember"

Remember

2006-12-05T07:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening, I was checking my e-mails and I started thinking about Daddy and I pictured him smiling at me. As I was picturing him, I opened an e-mail, inviting me to go along to a forum where the Greek host, Georgios, had posted a message about Homer, Achilles and Troy. Georgios had written out the words to « Remember », the theme tune/song to the film, « Troy » and had included a Youtube link to the song and video clip.

Firstly, I read the lyrics and I was still picturing Daddy. It was as if he was speaking to me. I decided to watch the video. I had tears in my eyes. Yes, I'm a big softy! I’d like to share this video with you. I’ve also written out the words for you; well, actually I cheated and copied and pasted the lyric’s from Georgios’ posting.

I hope you enjoy the video and can see and fully understand the message from our ancestors and loved ones. It is truly inspiring, warming and comforting. Our ancestors, now our angels, are guiding and supporting us, if we let them. They have much wisdom to hand on to us.

« Troy » is, of course, about the Trojan War and I don’t usually advise people to watch something about fighting and war, but there is so much depth to this message in the song and the tale of Troy. We have to look beyond.

Homer was a great epic writer and his hero, Achilles was the greatest of all warriors. The mother of Achilles had told him of his destiny. He was fully aware. He wanted to die glorious. He did. As my friend Georgios pointed out, what made Achilles special was when the King of Troy asked for the body of his dead son, Hector. Achilles went to the body and shed tears; he remembered his mother saying: « respect and honour the elders and your ‘enemies‘. »

I will finish with a quote from Homer:

« Be always the best; excel among the others. »

REMEMBER

Remember, I will still be here,
As long as you hold me, in your memory

Remember, when your dreams have ended,
Time can be transcended,
Just remember me

I am the one star that keeps burning, so brightly,
It is the last light, to fade into the rising sun

I'm with you,
Whenever you tell,
My story,
For I am all I've done

Remember, I will still be here,
As long as you hold me, in your memory,
Remember me

I am that one voice, in the cold wind,
That whispers,
And if you listen, you'll hear me call across the sky

As long as,
I still can reach out, and touch you,
Then I will never die

Remember, I'll never leave you,
If you will only,
Remember me

Remember me...

Remember, I will still be here,
As long as you hold me,
In your memory

Remember,
When your dreams have ended,
Time can be transcended,
I live forever,
Remember me

Remember me,
Remember... me...

Artist:Josh Groban with Tanja Tzarovska Lyrics Song: Remember Lyrics

Reiki 2 Attunement

2006-05-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Great news.
I've found a Reiki Master Teacher and I'm going to be attuned at level 2 in May.
This is good news for the visitors to our gites from now on.
Why?
Because I can now offer Reiki to anyone who requests it while they stay in the holiday accommodation.
Speak to you soon.
Sarah
www.SPritchard1.successuniversity.com/slim

Calling Reiki Masters

2006-03-22T03:05:00.000-08:00

I have been attuned at Reiki Level One and would like to be attuned to Level Two.
For a number of reasons, I cannot come to England in the near future.
I had an inspiration to try to do an ‘exchange.’ We have a gîte and apartment here, at our home, in South France. I would like to find a Reiki master who would like to come here (any time out of high season [July & August]) at a special price. During their stay, the Reiki master could attune me at Level Two and I would charge the rental price less the usual cost of the attunement and preparation.

Are you interested? Or do you know of someone who would be interested?

A bientôt!

Sarah
www.sdpgitesinfrance.bravehost.com

New Internet Business

2006-03-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

I have recently launched my own Internet Business to earn some extra money from home and things are going great!

If you get some time, check out my website at:

www.SarahsWritingDesk.com

The service which I used to get started online is here:

www.SarahsWritingDesk.com/pips.html

New website

2006-02-13T07:58:00.000-08:00

I've neglected my blog somewhat as I've been working on a new website for the gites.
Take a look at it:

http://sdpgitesinfrance.bravehost.com

Hope u like it.

Barton family

2005-12-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

Genealogy Spot
Barton Family History

Please note that I have taken the precaution of deleting certain info for my parents and I which I do know, but the paranoia of certain genealogists has rubbed off on me! This is a sad sign of the times, but never mind, I have included as much info as poss apart from these details.

Sarah Jane BARTON: b. --/--/1960 Milton Regis, Sittingbourne, Kent
Father: Raymond John BARTON: b. --/--/1927 Ladywood, Birmingham
d. --/--/2005 Sittingbourne, Kent
Occupation: Fire/ambulance/security officer
Mother: (......) (....) SMITH: b. --/--/1928 Milton Regis, Kent
m. --/--/1948 Birmingham
Grandfather: Harold BARTON: b. 07/07/1902 Ladywood, Birmingham
d. 17/09/1992 Birmingham
Occupation: Park Ranger
Grandmother: Alice DAVIES (né SHELDON): b. 06/05/1891 Oldbury, Worc
m. 22/12/1923 Birmingham
d. 16/11/1987 Birmingham
G. Grandfather: David BARTON: b. 25/11/1875 Ladywood, Birmingham
d. ?
Occupation: Horse Carter
G. Grandmother: Hetty FOSTER: b. 17/10/1872 St. Nicholas, Glouc.
m. 20/01/1896 Birmingham
d. 23/09/1948
G. Grandfather: George Henry SHELDON: b. 1856? Oldbury, Worc
d. ?
Occupation: Iron puddler, carriage works
G. Grandmother: Maria BANNISTER: b. 1858? Oldbury, Worc
m. ?/09/1883 Dudley, Birmingham
d. ?
G.G. Grandfather: David BARTON: bpt. 24/11/1839 Wicken, Camb
d. ?
Occupation: Horse Carter
G.G. Grandmother: Eliza FULLER: bpt. 16/04/1837 Ely, Camb
m. 01/01/1860 Wicken, Camb
d. ?
G.G. Grandfather: William Edmund FOSTER: b. ?
d. ?
Occupation: Plumber
G.G. Grandmother: Mary Ann EWINGS: b. 1850? Exeter, Devon
m. ?
d. ?
G.G. Grandfather: Thomas SHELDON: b. 1829? Tipton, Horsley
d. ?
Occupation: Iron puddler
G.G. Grandmother: Elizabeth FREEMAN: b. 1827? Arbersharts Lane, Staff
m. 25/12/1855 Rushall, Staff
d. ?
G.G. Grandfather: Frederick BANNISTER: b. ?
d. ?
Occupation: ?
G.G. Grandmother: Hannah ROBINSON: b. 1832? Forest of Dean, Glouc
m. 1858?
d. ?
G.G.G. Grandfather: John BARTON: bpt. 17/06/1800 Tuddenham St Mary, Suffolk
d. ?
Occupation: ?
G.G.G. Grandmother: Sarah SHAW: b. 1803? Wicken, Camb
m. 27/03/1828 Wicken, Camb
d. ?
G.G.G. Grandfather: James FULLER: b. 1805? Ely, Camb
d. ?
Occupation: ?
G.G.G. Grandmother: Esther ? b. 1811? Ely, Camb
m. ?
d. ?
G.G.G.G. Grandfather: John BARTON: b. ?
d. ?
Occupation: ?
G.G.G.G. Grandmother: Caroline MIDDLEDITCH: b. ?
m. 04/11/1798 Tuddenham St Mary, SFK

Xmas photos

2005-12-28T06:44:00.000-08:00

Some photos from Plaigne Xmas 2005

This is the best one. They became rapidly fed up of posing and I was having problems with too much light!

Not enough light for this one, but u can see the Xmas pixies!

JUST!!

Sarah's newsletter

2005-12-15T02:41:00.000-08:00

Newsletter from Plaigne, December 2005
Yes, time has flown round to that time again! This year, I’m writing this one with my new portable Dell (acted upon the advice of my ‘little’ brother, Simon when I bought Dell-boy). Dell-boy is a very useful friend, for taking to lessons etc. or even when Pritchard folk are queuing up to use the computer downstairs. I’ve set up an office area in our bedroom, where I can work in peace and quiet. If you take a look around on my blog (www.bartonangel.blogspot.com), you will see that I’ve been doing some proofreading and translation work as well as the private English tuition and I’m still at La Loupiote. David has been working with Martin, a friend of ours and doing all sorts of things, including house removals. He is advancing with the petit chateau; the roof and top floor are done and he is working downwards.
As some of you know, it has partly been an annus horribilis. My lovely Daddy passed on in July, after much suffering. David & I had been to England with the girls, to see him and a week after we left, Daddy passed on. The last thing that each of us said to the other, whilst cuddling, was « I love you ». He is comfortable now and no longer suffering, and is one of our guardian angels. According to a poem someone sent me, when our father died, our sun shifted forever and we now walk in his light. My feeling is that it is a warm, golden light.
The year started off with me having a car accident early one cold, frosty morning on the way to GC’s driving lesson. GC had no damage; my knee was damaged, black, blue, green and purple; the Twingo had a bad headache! The man who had pulled out of a side road in front of me, was extremely horrible at the scene of the crime, whoops, accident (to put it nicely) and lied to the insurance people. Apparently, he was driving along the straight road and I just drove into him. Never mind, he’ll get his come-uppance one day and if one of my guardian angels had not whispered in my ear that it is better to get somewhere a bit late rather than not get there at all, (thus making me slow down) the accident could have been much worse. I was very nervous of driving afterwards and am still ‘jittery’ when I seen a car going towards a junction up ahead of me.
R had to have an operation on both of her ears, in May. I will not go into details, but it is an experience that I will not forget. She is terrified of hospitals and doctors and there were some real dramas!
Apart from that we have had a good year and we enjoyed having our guests in the gites this year, regulars and new and hope to have as nice a group of gentle folk this coming year. We enjoyed having our animal guests in the field too. Polly, the pony and Loupio, the donkey were real stars. We also had some other big and beautiful horses and another horse that was taken from the field, but that is a long drama to tell on another occasion. I also have a fluffy cat tail to tell, sorry, tale! Fluffy is a little, tabby kitten who looks very much like a ball of fluff. He was abandoned and took refuge in our garage. We fed him in the garden when he followed B home from the garage. The next day the ball of fluff was in the kitchen, sitting on the shoes and looking at me so sweetly that I made a deal with him that he could stay until I found him a good home. I have. We are going to Liz & Martin’s for dinner on Saturday and Fluffy is coming too. The kids will miss him, but I’ve agreed to take in Jo & Trev’s cats when they move back to England. There is a limit to what one can do for these beautiful little beasts.
Activities: Jn and B still do tennis. They’ve both done well this year and B has become a tennis trainer, for which he took a course and he now works on Wednesdays at the Belpech club. They do tournaments along with David, the vintage player. All the boys worked hard on an organic farm when they were not at school. Jn started at the lycée in Pamiers and has had to be a little less lazy! B is doing the scientific course which involves a lot of hard work. GC did not get the results that he wanted to go to uni, so he is working for a year and going to retake. As he was thinking of taking a year out anyway, he was not too worried about this. He passed his driving test and we hardly ever see the Twingo now, but there are now three taxi drivers in the house, instead of two, which makes a big difference! D & V still do piano and sometimes come singing and ‘drama-ing’ with me. We did the usual end of year dinner and entertainment session, in April which was it’s usual success. We get invited to entertain for different associations and retirement homes etc and even get paid sometimes (the group, that is). I am slowly continuing with the genealogy course, when I can fit it in (usually late at night). I still do Reiki and would like to go on to level two, but have yet to find a nearby Reiki master to attune me. D & V have given up tennis; it’s not their thing! R goes to school all day, doing the journey by bus morning and evening. Apparently, she now talks in class, after spending a whole year without saying anything! At home, her brothers and sisters are always telling her to be quiet, often in no uncertain terms! Isabelle is now walking which is really funny and cute to see as she is still tiny.
Holidaywise, GC did his own thing and went to an apartment and camping on the Med coast with friends. We went to England with the girls and stayed with David’s parents, for which, many thanks. We took the girls camping with the caravan at Argelèse. It was D’s first camping caravanning experience. I had coded all the frame poles to the awning but it still took us a while of head scratching before it was up, but nerves did not get too frayed and once up, we thoroughly enjoyed the holiday and had glorious weather the whole time. Wonderful and so relaxing. The day trip to Barcelona cannot be described as relaxing but it is a beautiful city and is a must for anyone travelling to that area. Everyone came to Bourg St Maurice, in the Alps except GC who was working. It was lovely to see Derek, June, Deb, Nigel and baby Zoe. Thanks to them all for their hospitality.
There were village activities throughout the year, including a trip to the bison farm and the auberge meal there was delicious. Am busy preparing for the Xmas evening here and so must sign off. I have two messages on my portable phone from Daddy which I’ll pass on: Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to you all. XXX

More Intentions

2005-11-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

Hello,

I have been ultra-busy and have not yet managed to do the genealogy message, but I have opened a new hotmail address just for genealogy. It is: bartonfamily@hotmail.fr
I will be using my other addresses for the gites, proofreading, translating work and general (ie pritchard.geoffrey@libertysurf.fr or sarahpritchard@hotmail.fr

Am preparing for the different Xmas activities at the mo, but I hope to be able to dedicate some time to the Barton family history and will get back to you soon.

Best wishes, love and light
from Sarah and co.

My intentions

2005-10-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hello folks,

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to dedicate to my blog! Amongst other things, I've been making soft toys for our American visitors in the gite and apartment to take home as Xmas presies. I have now discovered that it is extremely difficult to buy felt and even more difficult to buy fluffy fabric in France (at least in our vicinity!).

My intentions are to do a Barton genealogy message and to put some more photos on, with a diary of events that have happened or are going to happen. Watch this space.

Quick detail: David won the village petanque competition and will be awarded his prize at the closing down aperitif tomorrow evening (closing down for the winter, of the getting together).

Unfortunately, the Mounjetade has been cancelled due to ill health of two of the main organizers. Will we ever have a village Mounjetade again, is the question. I hope so!

In a rush, so must go!

A bientôt,

Sarah

Holiday notes Argelès

2005-09-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

Two pictures of Gaudi's work in Parc Güell, Barcelona (Wednesday's visit).

Holiday notes Argelès-sur-Mer

Camping Le Texas Plot 145. Second site we looked at from the outside. Couldn’t actually go on pitch that we’d been given as a car was parked in the way. Owner gave us the choice of two other plots and we picked the sunniest one. Lovely, with trees – poplars, pines, acacias. To the side there is a view over fields and the river (not much water). Small, quiet site with pool. Girls doing washing up all the time – great! Relaxing.

First Day: Arrived end of afternoon. Set up camp – worked out how awning went up!

Second Day: Lazy day but had to find supermarket (open on Sunday morning). Walked around site and Raymond played in play area. In the evening – long promenade along sea front. Very pleasant. (David’s and my legs were hurting [must be our age]).

Third Day: Petanque (Verity won)/lunch/pool/Pixie Land (English translations were very amusing!)/St Cyprien – promenade along sea front/Raymonde fell down (shaking with shock)/Tea/Scrabble (I won)

Fourth Day: Petanque (David won)/lunch/beach (rather windy)/Tea/Artisanal market (David bought me a late birthday present [painting]; I bought Demelza and Verity a leather bracelet each with their names on/carousel and magic mountain.

Fifth Day: Wed. 31st Aug. Barcelona. 37° What a beautiful place. Charming and magnificent buildings. First thing we did when we arrived was to buy a plan. Antoni Gaudi. Parc Güell – very difficult to find. Even the car park for the parc didn’t have a sign indicating where the parc was! Supper in the dark. Then looked around. Great panoramic views lit up at night. Virtually had parc to ourselves which was a plus, but a minus was that we couldn’t pick out all the colours in the mosaics.
Saw Sagrada Familia temple from the car and the Casa Batllo. Visited the arch and sat watching the pigeons and of course, Raymonde fed them.
Still in parc at 11 o’clock in evening. Sign posting very difficult and almost non-existent. Asked my angel to guide us home and David just drove the car (following a bus) and we came out on the right road. Got back to caravan at 1.30 am

Sixth Day: Lazy day at site. Walking/swimming/BBQ/in the evening, carousel (Booing horses)/evening market down by sea front.

Seventh Day: Elne Cloisters/cathedral/art gallery – Maillol and Terrus, watercolours by Simone Gay. Took Isabelle for walk – old chateau ruins near site Châteaux des Comptals de Tetzo. Petanque (Got dark with score at 5/5/5/0)/Scrabble (David won)

Eighth Day: Finished petanque (David won). Walked to neighbouring campsite. Paid. Others went to pool while I did some packing and knitting. Left at about 7.15 in the evening feeling thoroughly relaxed and recharged.

The Library

2005-08-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

The Library

The library contains books that I either possess or have read/used or which have been recommended to me. If you wish to purchase any of them, take a look on Amazon, using the link on the left. You will also find other books about the same and other subjects listed on Amazon. Happy hunting and happy reading!

Genealogy/History:

Cottle, B. “The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames” 1978 Penguin
Hanks, P & Hodges, F “A Dictionary of First Names” 1990 Guild Publishing
Christian, P “The Genealogist’s Internet” 2003 The National Archives
Blatchford, R “The Family and Local History Handbook” 7th Edition 2003 BALH
Cole, J & Titford, J “Tracing Your Family Tree” 1998 Countryside Books
Richley, P “The Everything Online Genealogy Book” 2000 Adams Media Corp.
Colwell, S “The Family Records Centre A User’s Guide” 2002 The National Archives
Herber, M “Ancestral Trails” Second Edition 2004 Sutton Publishing
Priestly, H “The What it Cost the Day Before Yesterday Book” 1979 Kenneth Mason
Wilshier, P “The Pound in Your Pocket 1870-1970” 1970 Cassell
McGrandle, L “The Cost of Living in Britain” 1973 Wayland
Fitzhugh, T “How to Write a Family History” 1988 A&C Black
Hey, D “Family History and Local History in England” 1987 Longman
Munby, L “How Much is That Worth” 1996 BALH
Palgrave-Moore, P “How to Record Your Family Tree” 1986
Titford, J “Writing and Publishing Your Family History” 1996 Countryside Books
Tyrwhitt-Drake, B “Value of the Pound Computer Program 1999 Drake Software
Kamm, A & Poulet, C “Britain and Her People” 1990 Colour Library Books

Proofreading/Translating/Education/Writing:

Horwood, T “Freelance Proofreading and Copy-editing A Guide” 1997 ActionPrint
Butcher, J “Copy-editing The Cambridge Handbook” 1978 Cambridge Univ. Press
Ritter, R “The Oxford Dictionary for Writers & Editors” 2000 Oxford Univ. Press
Ritter, R “Oxford Style Manual” 2003 Oxford Univ.Press
Kahn, J & Ilson, R “Reader’s Digest Reverse Dictionary” 1989 Reader’s Digest Assoc.
“Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook” A&C Black (published annually)
Le Robert & Collins “Senior Dictionnaire français-anglais/anglais-français 2003
Roget’s « Thesaurus » Longman

Healing/Angels/Spirituality/Unusual Phenomena/Religions:

Brennan, B “Hands of Light” 1988 Bantam
Angelo, J “Your Healing Power” 1995 Piatkus
Spear, W “Feng Shui Made Easy” 1995 Thorsons
Honervogt, T “Reiki” 1998 Gaia
Cainer, J & Rider, C “The Psychic Explorer” 1997 Piatkus
Cooper, D “Angel Inspiration” 2001 Hodder & Stoughton
Knight, C & Lomas, R “The Hiram Key” 1996 Century/Random House
Weinman, R “Your Hands Can Heal” 1989 Thorsons
Virtue, D “The Lightworker’s Way” 2002 Hay House
Virtue, D “Healing with the Angels” 2001 Hay House
Tachi-ren, T “What is Lightbody?” 1999 New Leaf
Hancock, G “Fingerprints of the Gods” 1995 BCA
Wilson, C “From Atlantis to the Sphinx” 1996 Virgin
Hope, M “The Sirius Connection” 1996 BCA
Gilbert, A “Magi” 1996 BCA
Lubeck, W “Reiki for First Aid” 1995 Lotus Light
Irwin, N “Understanding Crystals” 1991 Aquarian Press
Norris, S “Colour Healing” 2001 Dorling Kindersley
Sugrue, T “The Story of Edgar Cayce” 1997 A.R.E. Press
Lampert, V “Angel Messages” 2001 Cico Books
Winer, R “Le Nouveau Dossier du Triangle des Bermudes” 1976 J’ai Lu
Fowler, R “UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors” 1979 Bantam
Patton, G & Mackness, R “Sacred Treasure, Secret Power” 2001 Pan Books
Baigent, M, Leigh, R & Lincoln, H “The Holy Blood & the Holy Grail” 1996 Arrow
Baigent, M, Leigh, R & Lincoln, H “The Messianic Legacy” 1996 Arrow
Gardner, L “Bloodline of the Holy Grail”
Whiting, J “Religions of Man” 1984 Stanley Thornes
Aubarbier, J, Binet,M & Bouchard, J "Wonderful Cathar Country" 1994 Editions Ouest-France
Charlewood, S "Greening the Laurel" 'These few poems are a tribute to those Bons Hommes and Bons Femmes, who still serve the Good God, as they always have done.' (Sylvia, author).

Rennes-Le-Château visit

2005-08-14T03:15:00.000-07:00

Raymonde flying!

Demelza, Verity & Raymonde in front of the Tour

Thursday 11th August, I took the girls to Rennes-Le-Château. I had read about it in various books including the one I am reading now, “Bloodline of the Holy Grail” by Laurence Gardner. Over the last few years, I have been meaning to go there and we live but an hour away. I woke up in the morning and thought: “I’m going to Rennes-Le-Château today”.

Upon entering the church of St. Marie Madelaine, we immediately met the devil, such a charming chap! My attention was mostly drawn to the stained glass window showing Mary Magdalene drying Jesus’ feet with her hair, after having anointed them with spikenard, as we are told in John 12:3. This, of course, is very significant to ‘those with ears to hear’. This was presumably the act of Jesus’ bride, as only she would have been allowed to do this. More of that line of thought another time………

We went to look at some crystals and one of the twins pointed out some pendulums. Looking at them, I had a choice between a rose quartz and an amethyst one. Knowing that it is important to hold the crystals, I first held the rose quartz pendulum to get the feel of it. When I hung it back up, it began swinging rather a lot while I was holding the amethyst one. The latter felt very cold in my palm and just did not feel right. I put it back and it too started to swing, which seemed to make the rose quartz swing even more, as if it was asking me to choose it. I did.

Rennes-Le-Château is steeped in history, mystery and significance. I will not go into that now.

I took some photographs with my ordinary camera as well as my digi-camera, as I have been experiencing problems with the digicam (since I dropped it on some stone steps). I have included some photos taken with the digicam; the other photographs are still on the film in my other camera, so you and I will have to be patient for those. I have also found some on the internet.

We saw the tower, La Tour Magdala, where l’abbé Saunière had his office and library, but we did not do the paid museum visit. I was not there as the full tourist and wanted to look beyond the tourist trappings and perhaps be inspired – I was inspired, but that is for another time…….

Incidentally, the twins, Demelza and Verity, being true teenage girls, enjoyed the book and gift shops and bought themselves some rings with semi-precious stones, and Raymonde, our four year old, was fascinated by and fell in love with the mountains and the beautiful scenery. She did not want to leave, but came along reluctantly once I had taken some photographs of her with the mountains in the background, while she stood on a wall pretending to fly over the mountains. I promised to take her back another day. I will keep to my promise.

Completed availability template

2005-08-11T03:44:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be wondering what the title of this post means.
I was an associate member of a society for proofreaders and editors.
This is my résumé template which I sent two times a month to the society, letting people know that I was available for work.......

> Contact name: Sarah Jane Pritchard>
> Contact email address: pritchard(dot)geoffrey(at)libertysurf(dot)fr>
> Town: Plaigne, France>
> Telephone number: 0033 468606490>
> Qualifications and previous experience: BA Hons in RS & Education,
PGCE in RS & English,
Attestion from Académie de Montpellier stating that I can be an English lecturer in French schools;
Status: Qualified teacher Ref: RP83/70237
“Basic Editing: A Practical Course” Nicola Harris
> I have lived and worked in France since 1995, mainly teaching English, but increasingly doing private translation work and proofreading. Have work experience including proofreading in the accounts departments of a paper company and the Public Trustee Office, London.
> Skills: Proofreading (including proofreading of translations from French to English)
Typing
Translation (French to English)
Fact checking/research>
> Subjects: History/genealogy, religions, education, language, translations (French to English), general, handcrafts, theatre/drama/entertainment, children's books, tourist information, fiction/non-fiction, Reiki, accounts (single entry book keeping).>
> Details of work undertaken: Written and electronic media: books, journals, articles, essays, manuscripts, brochures, letters etc.

Proofreading and translating

2005-08-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

I am dedicated to the pursuit of correctness!

Can you see the 4 deliberate mistakes in the introductory paragraph?

What is a proofreader?

A proofreader usually reads a manuscript after it has been edited and type set. They check for and correct any grammer, spelling, punctuation, word usage or sense, and printing errors. Often the proof, as it is called, is compared with the copy editor’s copy, making sure that corrections have been properly carried out. Other times they have nothing to compare it to. In both cases, they mark the copy with standard proofreader marks that are understood by writers and printers. When they read copy from a computer screan, they make the corections themselves. If you have a second language, as I do, such as French, you can do proofreading of translations from the second langauge into English. As I have patience, an eye for detail and a passion for books, I enjoy proofreading. Perhaps it is the teacher in me!

To be a proofreader, you need a love of books and to enjoy reading and to be good at spelling and grammar, but this is not enough. You also require mental stamina, a lot of patience, logic, application, organisation, concentration and the tools of the trade (red and blue pens, pencils, rubber...).

What is a translator?

A translator is a professional person who converts texts from one language to another, but also translates the message in the text and reproduces it for an audience with a different language, as well as a different social and cultural background. So, to be a translator one must be able to do more than just be able to read, speak and write another language. Many translators specialize; that is, they concentrate on certain subjects, areas or markets. Some of these translators have qualifications such as degrees that qualify them to do a certain type of translation, while others have gained relevant experience whilst working in specific subjects or occupations.

Why bother to proofread?

Did you see my statement at the top of the page? That sums it up! Accuracy is so important. The days of embarrassing mistake-ridden texts must come to an end! I am sure that everyone, like me spots mistakes in newspapers, books (I have even spotted them in books about proofreading), brochures, magazines and so on. These mistakes take my attention away from what is being said to me in the text, and therefore the text is not doing its job properly. Accuracy in any business documentation, in any language, is essential because it reflects that organization’s commitment to quality.

The world could be in a bit of a mess without proofreaders! A great amount of information is published today, from books, magazines, newspapers, manuals, newsletters, brochures and leaflets to online books, newsletters, e-zines, and of course, websites. The English language is too complicated for your computer chips and your spellchecker is not enough. I read an amusing poem recently which showed this to be very true. The computer has, however, opened up avenues for proofreaders and most businesses print literature in one form or another so a proofreader is a very necessary human being.

In the case of translations, the proofreader is needed to insure that the translations have been done correctly. A proofreader can improve the quality of a translation. The combination of a translator and a proofreader insures that cultural and grammatical skills are always considered. One should have the same experience reading a translated document as reading the original. So, the proofreader reads and compares the original and the translation to verify the translators work, making sure that the target language is accurate grammatically, but also socially and culturally.

(Deliberate mistakes corrected: grammar, screen, language, corrections)

Plaigne

2005-07-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

The girls enjoying the pool

Plaigne

Plaigne is a small hilltop village, steeped in history. Part of the church dates back to Roman times. We had a medium stay here and she thinks that she saw a Cathar ceremony being held on the site of our house.
The house is hundreds of years old, but we do not know how old. The stone built walls are very thick. The house is designed to keep warm in the winter and cool in summer.
The village may be very small, but there is a great community spirit or ambiance about it. In summer, various activities are organized and every two weeks, members of the village and friends of the village get together for a game of petanque and a glass of wine (or two!). Some of the participants take it quite seriously and others, like me, go along for fun. On 14th July, Bastille Day, there is a village picnic in the old school yard. Anyone and Everyone is welcome. We have a thoroughly pleasant afternoon (and evening as people drift off to various houses in the village). The following weekend there is the Fête de Plaigne. On the Friday night there is entertainment and dancing for the teenagers and anyone else who wishes to come along. On the Sunday, it's the Maire's aperitif, after the Mess and the placing of the wreath or flowers on the war memorial. This is followed in the evening by a ball for the 'oldies' and anyone who wants to join in. The country folk work hard, but they also 'play' hard and know how to have a thoroughly good time. Last weekend, it was the paella evening which was followed by a ball which went on into the night. Next week, a village trip has been organized to the bison farm at Lapenne, including a meal in the auberge. Throughout the year there are other events including mounjetade, cooked by a Plaigne farmer, and Lotto....... At Christmas and Easter, there is usually a little friendly service in the church. We usually try to get as many children involved as possible, participating in slide shows of their drawings, acting, singing (which I'm in charge of), playing musical instruments etc. We usually have mulled wine, mince pies, french nibbles and at Easter, hot cross buns were introduced to the French. They loved them. These events are usually a coming together of the different cultures and traditions in a friendly, relaxed and pleasant way.
Despite these activities, Plaigne remains a calm, tranquil village in the middle of rolling countryside, far from the 'busy' world and yet withing easy travelling distance to it. I love it.
Best wishes from Plaigne

The view

2005-07-28T03:37:00.000-07:00

Here we are on a country walk back from the river, with some of our guests.

Plaigne can be seen on the hill in the background.

This is one of the beautiful views from a bedroom window.

Best wishes from Plaigne.

Sarah

La Grange & apartment accommodation chez nous

2005-07-28T02:21:00.000-07:00

La grange (sleeps 6)

Situation: It is a two storey converted barn attached to a stone built farmhouse on the edge of a small rural village which is surrounded by lovely rolling countryside. Local village shopping and amenities are within less than a 10 minute drive.
It is approximately 15 minutes drive to the medieval town of Mirepoix where there are most ameneties including tennis, cinema and swimming pool. The towns of Saverdun, Castelnaudary and Villefranche-de Lauragais are about 20-30 minutes drive and each has motorway intersections giving easy access to Toulouse, Carcassonne or the coast.
Swimming, sailing, windsurfing and fishing can be enjoyed on the large reservoirs of Montbel or La Ganguise, each being about half an hour away. It is an ideal touring base for the traditional historical attractions, the Mediterranean and Andorra (where, in winter skiing can be enjoyed).
The distance from Calais to Plaigne is approximately 750 miles.
Property: La Grange is a converted stone built barn beside the farmhouse set in about 1 1/2 hectares of garden and arable land.
Ground floor: Lounge/dinette with kitchen area. There is a sofabed in the lounge. The kitchen is fully equipped including a microwave oven and washing machine. There is a full inventory for six persons. Bedlinen and tea towels are included, but bath towels can be hired for a small fee.
First floor: Bedroom with two single beds.
Bedroom with two single beds.
Cot available.
Bathroom has shower, washbasin and WC.
In the grounds, the pool sits on one of the garden terraces overlooking a wonderful view of the Lauragais countryside. Our visitors have their own garden furniture, complete with parasol and barbeque.

Apartment (sleeps 4)

Situation: It is a ground-floor apartment in our renovated stone built farmhouse.
Description: There is a lounge/dinette with a kitchen area. There is a sofabed in the lounge. The kitchen is fully equipped including a microwave oven. There is a full inventory for 4 persons. Bedlinen and tea towels are included, but bath towels can be hired for a small fee.
In the bedroom there is a double bed.
The bathroom has a bath, shower, washbasin and WC.
In the garden, our guests have their own garden furniture, complete with parasol and barbeque.

Representation:
We, the owners are resident in the farmhouse and will offer you a friendly family welcome, summer and winter and provide you with guides and information if you wish to do some sightseeing. Or you may wish to relax in the garden enjoying the sun and some local wine or having a dip in the pool with tranquil surroundings and beautiful views.

A bientôt
Sarah

Gîte and apartment in South France

2005-07-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

French holiday for the independent traveller:
Plaigne (near Mirepoix)
Restored farmhouse
House-sleeps 6+
Apartment-sleeps 4+
With pool

Charming converted barn and self-contained ground floor apartment in a traditional farmhouse, set in spacious grounds. Plaigne is a small, tranquil village surrounded by rolling countryside. Perfect for sightseeing the historical Cathar country, the Med and Andorra (winter skiing), it is within easy reach of many amenities. Toulouse, Carcassonne or the coast are easily accessible. Swimming, sailing, windsurfing, fishing can be enjoyed on nearby lakes, or just relax with wine, sun, pool and beautiful views. The Pritchard Family is ready to give you a warm welcome.
For further details, please contact: Sarah
Tel/fax: 0033 468606490
pritchard.geoffrey@libertysurf.fr

Hello again!

2005-07-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd put photo of me so that you can see who is talking to you.....