NEWS FROM LOGIS DU PARADIS – JANUARY 2009
Firstly we would like to extend our best wishes – nos meilleurs vœux - to all friends and clients for an excellent New Year with all Health, Happiness and, who knows, even a little Wealth (even if that is presently unfashionable) along the way. And, of course, we hope to see you here as well!
There was plenty of activity and progress in 2008 here to report. We had lots of guest bookings, and it appears everybody was pleased as the Visitors Book seems to be bulging with agreeable comments, which is always very satisfying for us. The Grand Touring Club section of Grandstand Motorsports also had an excellent and record year and the Circuit des Remparts was held in hot, cloudless weather with the largest crowds we have seen here in 15 years.
Sally and I can report that by our third anniversary here in the Charente in October 2008 we have achieved the first 3 major stages of our renovations and that the Logis and its grounds really look finished and, indeed, ARE finished to receive visitors in the best possible conditions. Ryanair managed to bring 25,000 passengers into Angouleme during their first summer of operation and confirm their low-cost services to our local airport are set to continue this year - and even are to be extended to connections with other airports than Stansted, all of which is excellent news.
Last March Nick was amazed to find himself elected on to the Conseil Municipal of Criteuil la Magdeleine (the election itself was so full of dramatic twists and turns, it merits a volume of its own!) and working with the dynamic new Mayor, Michel Fougère. Great new plans include planting 120 trees in La Magdeleine together with the transformation of the “Place de l’Eglise” into a proper village square and the advancement of the project to create a study centre in the ancient Ecole and to make la Chapelle an exhibition gallery as part of establishing the new nature trails along the river Ne. No sooner was the election over than the equally energetic Francine Forgeron was on her presidential phone insisting I join the Conseil d'Administration of the Comite de Tourisme for the Grande Champagne, as well. Since then it has been Committee Meetings sans cesse...
Returning to the progress within our walls, it was exciting to see the two new guest house conversions completed in the early months of the year. Maison Perroquet and Maison Blanche really are each real achievements and a magnificent team effort. Each house is very different, reflecting the preferences of our partners, but a fascinating contrast in providing two alternative solutions to the same challenge; namely creating a stylish and very comfortable holiday house for 2 couples, each from roughly the same sized former basic Cognac "chai". We intend to put a gallery of renovation pictures on the website soon to chart these superb transformations. Meanwhile you can see the finished results up there already.
Next door the finest classic motorcars now stand within their centrally heated and tiled floored 100 sq metre garage overlooked by the glazed frontage of the new mezzanine office. Two marvellous and equally vintage "maçons" toiled for 2 months with their ancient machinery including a vast compressor, which has to be a museum piece, chipping round each stone and then carefully hand pointing them to produce a magnificent finish of "pierres apparents" that just has to be seen to be believed. It is going to be tough to choose the appropriate memorabilia from the large selection available to cover any of it up!
Latest of the new projects to be completed is the bar, "Le Paradis". I would remind you that a “Paradis” is the building in a Cognac property that houses the oldest and finest spirits and is where only the most honoured guests are invited to enter! In our case the new Cognac/Pineau and piano bar is housed in the former distillery here, which is a remarkable and intact monument to a working Cognac distillery of the early part of the 20th century. We are extremely fortunate that it survived the collapse of the roof just as we were buying the property three years ago!
Our wonderful neighbours and talented artisans Francis and Jean-Louis have fabricated a solid and very appropriate bar and the excellent local plumber Christophe and electrician Claude plus the ever resourceful Jean-Paul and tireless painter Eric have all put in their various efforts to make a very satisfactory result which, we hope, celebrates this special working place as a future meeting point for both the locals and our visitors. We have reconditioned and tuned the family piano, thanks to father in law Dick, and we have an excellent ragtime and boogie-woogie pianist in ample form of the new Mayor, Michel, who played tirelessly during a joyful opening party on December 27th for the locals to thank them all for their work on the finished project. First of many, we trust...
The hire of classic cars was also very successful in 2008. We had some excellent moments. For example the 4 couples who came from London to celebrate a big birthday and took 4 sports cars off on a carefully devised circuit of Nick’s. Then the couple who had courted in a MG TC and enjoyed a renewal of that experience for their Silver Wedding ("Had we got bigger or had the car shrunk?" they wondered). The father (ex-Spitfire pilot) and son who covered most of the Charente in the MGC, not the only Octogenarian who got behind the wheel of an MG in 2008 and returned here a grinning 20 year old...
The family has expanded at the same time and for Christmas 2008 every bed in the entire place was filled by them and close friends from as far away as America. Sally is now a three time grandmother (3 year-old Ben, plus both Alex and Olive Autumn Rose Austin who arrived during 2008). So there were 4 generations as Sally's Dad, Dick Tewson, who will be 93 next month met his latest great grandchildren and we all celebrated with some excellent meals around a newly-extended oval dining table, made by Francis the week before, seating 20!
We shouldn't forget the addition of Henry the fourth (pronounced “Henri Cat”) who is a particularly energetic recent arrival and who made considerable damaging incursions into the magnificent Christmas decorations provided by Sally Bishop and Angy Kirker during the celebrations. He has been (eventually) graciously received by Bracken and Bramble who had early misgivings but now accept this extraordinary animal with a z-shaped tail, (I insist this is a peculiarity only of cats born in Chateauneuf sur Charente) with very good grace...
So what for 2009? More of the same, we trust. The village Fete is scheduled for the weekend 27/28 June in our parc. The Circuit des Remparts will be celebrating its 70th edition on the weekend of 19/20th September and with a recreation of the 1939 grid plus other delights. We have the Blues Passion festival in Cognac the week of 21 – 26 July and of course the launching of Erik Benson's new pleasure boat on the river Charente at some date yet to be announced! And so much more...
A bientôt,
Sally & Nick
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