Tag Archives: tripadvisor

French House Party, Carcassonne – How it Began By Owner Moira Martingale

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By Margaret Graham with news of an exciting offer exclusive to Frost readers.

** A very special offer for Frost readers:  sign up for the House Party Creative Writing Retreat in June at this great venue, and  save £150. Just email Moira Martingale quoting the code: ‘Frost’. This is a rare opportunity to find time to finish that manuscript or short story in the company of others. A professional will be on hand to help when needed. There will be great food, wine, a swimming pool, sunshine… Read more to find out the where, what and why. 

French House Party, Carcassonne – how it began By owner Moira Martingale1

‘So,’ owner Moira Martingale ponders, ‘where did the idea of French House Party come from in the first place?’

One sultry August evening, sitting around the table in Carcassonne with friends, it turned out that all of us had read Yann Martel‘s Booker-winning ‘Life of Pi’ and everyone had a view about it. The book-talk went on for ages, punctuated only by the uncorking of further bottles of the lovely local wines from this region of southern France, which is Languedoc-Roussillon.

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We were all arty folk: a successful ceramicist, an early-retired theatre director, teachers, artists and writers, one of the latter being myself.  A journalist-turned-author, I also had a teaching qualification and a doctorate in English literature.

Suddenly it dawned on me: why not set up holiday courses for people to come and do precisely what we were doing: discussing books with each other during a holiday in the sun with lovely food and wine laid on.

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At that time there were five en suite bedrooms in this 200-year-old farmhouse, so in theory there was room for ten people. My friends were all skilled and enthusiastic artists and within minutes I had my Ceramics, Arts and Creative Writing tutors with a planned Books and Drama course run jointly by myself and my theatre director friend, Chris. It was as easy as that.

Or was it? Marketing? Promotion? Advertising? Annual accounts? Business plans? What did I know about forecasts and profits and losses? I found I knew nothing the moment the website went up. Because NOTHING happened. The enquiries@frenchhouseparty mailbox  was empty.

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Slowly I learned, and things picked up. My break-even point was five people per course and at six I was in profit, although I was clearly in no danger of being named in the Sunday Times Rich List.  Frequently we had three or four people booked onto a course and I still ran it. Ruthless businesswoman I was not.

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Eventually I made all the arts courses groups-only, other than Sarah Hymas’s Creative Writing, which was regularly over-subscribed. In 2009 I extended the house to eight bedrooms. Things were cooking, literally, because French House Party offered additional courses which individuals could join – various cookery breaks tutored by first-class French chefs and our Summer Songwriting course run by the respected singer-songwriter and 1970s/80s chart-topper Dean Friedman.

Along with Creative Writing, these remain the most popular, and are effortlessly filled year after year. Other arts courses continue to operate and the demand is, in fact, increasing, but now these are on a groups-only or privately-booked tailor-made basis.

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Dedicated writers have an additional option now. Sarah Hymas, who is a professional mentor at her publishing company, is for the first time, offering a Writing Retreat for authors whose work is either complete or in progress.  There will be no formal lessons, but individual one-to-one sessions for manuscript inspection, advice, help and ideas-input from someone with a pedigree in such expertise and who is fearless when it comes to sharing it.

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This course – ‘Pen & Think’ starts on 15 June and ends on 20 June. The all-inclusive price is £895. As with all our courses, we provide free airport transfers and include extras such as a couple of dinners, including wine, out at lovely restaurants. (See  our French house Party offer above)

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In the years since that first inspirational nudge from ‘Life of Pi’, French House Party has been named one of the top ten learning retreats in a National Geographic book ‘The 100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life’ and we have a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, reflecting customer satisfaction. This year the Daily Telegraph named us as one of the top ten cookery holidays in France.

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You see, it might have taken eight years, but finally I’m starting to sound like a businesswoman, aren’t I?

Moira Martingale

The French House Party, Carcassonne.

Email: enquiries@frenchhouseparty.co.uk    or    moiramartingale@me.com

Website: www.frenchhouseparty.eu

UK Mobile: 07900 322791

UK Landline:  01299 896819

 

 

Top ‘Road Trip’ tips – How To Have The Perfect Road Trip.

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Top ‘Road Trip’ tips – Emma O’Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson

In The Open Road, out on DVD 25th April, Carlton (Justin Timberlake) and his friend Lucy go on a road trip across America to find his estranged father and bring him home. Long car journeys with family and friends can be tough going at the best of times, so whether you’ve got a long drive to a festival or a summer adventure coming up, here are some top tips for avoiding the many potential road trip pit falls.

Prepare your car – have your car inspected before you go, change your oil and check fluid levels. Make sure you have all relevant documents – including licence, insurance and registration – and that you know where they are all at all times. Keep a cool bag with drinks and snacks and re-fill this at rest stops. Bring a first aid kit.

Keep small change in several currencies – be prepared for road tolls. Most toll booths will accept coins only, so avoid an embarrassing reversing-out-the-queue moment and make sure you have change to hand.

Bring suncream – you can and you will get sunburn through the car window

Beware roaming charges – check with your mobile provider before you leave to find out what charges you could incur and how best to avoid these

Bring zone-out material – you’ll be in close quarters and ‘alone time’ will be difficult to come by when your fellow road-trippers start getting on your nerves. Stock up your iPod, tablet, laptop etc. with your favourite TV shows and DVDs so you can block everyone else out when needs be.

Miles and Kilometres – Be aware that your speedometer may be in miles, but the speed limit measured in kilometres depending what country you’re in. Know the conversion (1 mile = 1.6 km) or you could end up with a nasty speeding ticket

Be ready for sleep – bring a blanket and pillow to make yourself more comfortable in between driving shifts and, if you’ve booked a hotel, remember that most check-in times are between noon and 2pm, so plan your driving schedules accordingly

Prepare a good and very extensive playlist – you will have difficulty finding a radio station in many locations, so bring your own music. Make sure you playlist is at least a few hours long so you don’t find yourself listening to the same ten songs on repeat

Go to the bathroom at every rest stop – even if you don’t need to because the next one could be very far away. This will avoid any uncomfortable and embarrassing roadside stops.

Bring embassy and government contact numbers with you – in case you lose your passport or any other important documentation, be sure you know where your nearest embassy or consulate is at all times so you can you rectify the situation as soon as possible

Share the driving and do it in shifts – a tired driver is an unsafe driver

“The Open Road is out on DVD 25th April.”