A Year at the Chateau: As seen on the hit Channel 4 show

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I was expecting a book about a families first year at a chateau, the ins and out of renovating a chateau and maybe even a little history about the historic building. I found Fizz, the youngest, to be the most amusing with her attempts to build a You Tube channel and to become an influencer. the only way to seat eighty people in the orangery was to have five tables, each of sixteen, equally spaced. Sharing their full journey for the first time, A Year at the Chateau follows Dick and Angel from when they first moved to France in the depths of winter and found bedrooms infested with flies, turrets inhabited by bats, the wind rattling through cracked windows, and just one working toilet, which flushed into the moat, through to the monumental efforts that went into readying the chateau for their unforgettable wedding and their incredibly special first Christmas. I loved this aspect of the book together with the artistic inspiration I felt on following Angels decorating projects.

This is more or less what I was hoping for when I read Downton Shabby, I think—a light read that is chock full of personality and, you know, castle.Dick and Angel take turns describing their experiences in the first year, so we get both of their perspectives. Watching their children Arthur and Dorothy grow and the whole family thrive has been an absolute pleasure, you can see the love they have for each other and come across really well. Well-written, extremely engaging, and peppered with details and anecdotes from behind the scenes, anyone with even the smallest admiration for or interest in the Strawbridges will enjoy spending a few days poring over this book. Biography: Born in Burma, but raised and educated in Northern Ireland, Dick Strawbridge retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2001 before becoming a full-time television presenter and author (with arguably the best moustache in showbusiness).

Along the way we'll read glorious descriptions of rural life in France, with charming characters, delicious food and wonderful seasonal produce, together with the extraordinary list of renovations and restorations Dick and Angel completed, many of which were never shown on TV. I hate it when some reviews tell you what the story is about so I won't do that but a 10 out of 10 book. Examples of these include not being able to start or maintain a fire, struggling to change a gas bottle and being completely hopeless when it came to getting rid of a bat. Channel 4 has been following and documenting their journey since 2015 when they bought the derelict château.Dick and Angel are optimistic troopers who take everything in stride and seem to actually enjoy the myriad challenges along the way. Along the way we\x27ll read glorious descriptions of rural life in France, with charming characters, delicious food and wonderful seasonal produce, together with the extraordinary list of renovations and restorations Dick and Angel completed, many of which were never shown on TV. They did talk of a few meetings with their neighbors, but there were very few details, which may have been at the neighbor’s request since she wouldn’t allow her children on TV.

Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Finland, France, French Guiana, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Republic of Croatia, Republic of the Congo, Reunion, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U. The book tells the story of their first year at the chateau, with all the trials, tribulations and challenges they faced. While there are certain insights that are interesting (such as expat life in France) but too much is devoted to describing wedding preparations and gushing about how "special" their life is (seriously, three times in one paragraph!From watching the show, you know that anything they are involved in will be brilliant and worthwhile so I couldn't wait for the book. I have never seen this show before, and I didn’t think watching it would be a prerequisite, but I think this book is better suited to show watchers who are looking for more behind the scenes information. It actually makes me think of how my husband Paul and I also differ sometimes in how we react or tackle a situation.