A tale of two trees and twenty years

Our Cypress trees today

A tale of two trees and twenty years

We have reached a French life milestone, and tonight, we will be popping the cork on a bottle to celebrate twenty years living in a rural village in the Deux-Sèvres. 

The week we moved in, trees in their pots

 

When we arrived in France in August 2004, part of our lorry load of worldly possessions included four potted Cypress trees, all rather spindly and under two metres tall. This was back in the pre-Brexit days when moving plants was as easy as moving people, but from the Burke Bros Global Relocation company website, I can see it’s nowhere near as easy now. With each pot requiring a phytosanitary certificate issued by DEFRA, at a minimum of £186.68, I’m quite sure we wouldn’t have bothered. It was Burke Bros who we used when we moved, and although our furniture had been in storage with them for a month, they made a special stop on their way to the ferry just to load up the plants that had been sitting in Adrian’s parents’ garden – we certainly couldn’t fault their service. You can read their full article on the new rules for moving plants to France here.

Summer 2005, the new terrace

The first few summers in France, our trees sat proudly in their pots, two marking the double doors leading from the lounge and two by a bench at the side of the garden, under the plum and hazelnut trees. 

 

Once we’d cleared a corner of the courtyard to create a terrace space, ironically by removing a lot of ivy and a huge bushy pine tree, we discovered a pretty stone wall and decided just in front of it would be the perfect forever place for the trees. In hindsight, potting all four into the new bed meant they were way too close together, so not surprisingly, nature sorted out the two strongest and the other two died off.

 

Look at them now. Not only are they tall and majestic, but they are full of life. As we enjoy a cup of lemon and ginger tea in bed each morning, we watch bird after bird landing on the branches, before hopping inside. This creates a scruffy shape which Adrian isn’t so keen on, but knowing sparrows, chaffinch, goldfinch, blackbird and more, are all happily nesting, safely within their tight foliage, never fails to make me smile.

 

These trees are just one reminder that we have put roots down here, we too have created new lives for ourselves, and this is especially true for Ed. He was tiny like the trees when we arrived but has now flown our nest and is happily living his own life. He is working full time in a job where he is surrounded by music, a young and dynamic team, and working for a company who are supportive of his musical dreams. He is in a band who rehearse for two hours every Monday evening, writing their own material as well as creating their own take on cover versions. They have an energy and chemistry on stage and a ‘bring the house down’ atmosphere at gigs. He has also been with Pearl for five years now, and we couldn’t be prouder parents. 

 

Our lives have changed a lot, but I still can’t believe it’s been twenty years, especially as if you look closely in the photos, you will see we are still using the same green plastic table on the terrace.

 

There have been many times when it has been hard work, challenging, frustrating and scary (think Brexit – the repercussions of which are still rippling under the surface). Above all, however, it’s been rewarding and a fantastic experience, that has enabled us to achieve so many things I could never have imagined when we set off on our dream adventure, middle-aged and naïve, twenty years ago.

 

I wouldn’t change a thing. This week, like many, has been one where our feet haven’t touched the ground, and I can’t wait to share our latest adventure in my next post. As a teaser, here is a pic from a photoshoot taken by Stella who just happens to work for the tourism section of the Deux-Sèvres Departement.

In the Marais Poitevin, © S.Bonnet

 

You can read my older posts about our first days in France here:

Our first night in France 

Arriving in Poitou-Charentes 

At the Notaires 

Moving into our new home in France