Two Lewis's in France

In April 2010 we made an impulsive (rash?) decision to spend the 2010/2011 Winter in France. The idea was to rent out our house in Piccotts End and rent a house in France. So we cleared out the house (30 or so years of children's toys, books, 'antiques', and just plain rubbish) - Ebay and Freecycle were buzzing with Lewis junk - did all the household jobs that should have been done over the last 23 years.

We rented five houses over three winters. This gave us the experience to decide what sort of house we might buy: well-insulated / easy to heat; outside space on the same level as the main living rooms; at least three bedroms and two or three bathrooms so friends and family can visit; located in a village near boulangerie (at least) and with lots of activities like badminton, scrabble, library, clay modelling, sewing.

In 2013 we bought a house in Gabian with the potential to meet our needs and renovated until 2015 (though there is still some work to do!):

• the house we bought
• taking possession
• work in progress
• the house now

Over this time we have let our house five times through Sabbatical Homes.