Seven Lovely Years in Varen

 Bonjour Val & Malcolm

Please find attached our response to "Life After France", hope it's not too long.

We enjoy keeping up with all the news via Tagline.  Still have all the Tagline Magazines you produced in 2003/4.

Kindest Regards

Jean and Geoff

We spent many happy years in France but never intended to end our lives in that lovely country.  Our decision in 2008 to return to England was a good move and made at exactly the right time – by 1 February 2009 we were back in the old country. In fact back in our  home town of Sandwich which we had left 7 years earlier for a taste of adventure in France.  Apart from a few minor blips like the stroke which Geoff suffered in 2010 (now fully recovered) and me injuring my leg in an accident (now fully recovered), life has been very good to us.

We found a very manageable property in Sandwich (near Dover) and have an easy to cope with garden which receives a lot of TLC from me. Geoff does miss his annual concerts which used to take place in our garden in Varen, but he is still very much involved in music;  playing piano in an orchestra, and has also formed a small dance band which is in the rehearsal stage.  Two years ago he bought an  accordéon  and is now an accomplished player (French style) and doing a few gigs with a Folk Dance Music group. (Does anyone remember him announcing at his last concert that he was going to retire?!!) He also finds time to play snooker each week.  All in all not bad for 81. His motto is “keep busy and stay alive”.

Over the past 3 years I have received private tuition in la langue français (just to keep my hand in), which has kept me very busy indeed, and I have again taken up my genealogy research. Having completed my own family tree I now help other people sort out their ancestors. A sort of “Who Do You Think You Are?”.

We both talk often about our experiences in Varen and the kindness we received from everyone in the village, particularly our neighbours, and we cherish our memories.

Best wishes to anyone who remembers us.   Jean and Geoff Lipscomb