-
Chapter Four – Nightmare On Wolfe Island
It took a while to find a ride from Portneuf, but someone eventually stopped and took me about forty minutes down the highway. The second lift came from a husband and wife pair delivering furniture to their daughter. They took me as far as Montreal and dropped me off on the hard shoulder next to…
-
Chapter Three – Bonne Appetite
Harper dropped me at a gas station a short drive from the farm, wished me good luck and drove off. The gas station was just beside the on-ramp to the Ten, a road running East to West that headed in the general direction of my next stop; a homestead in Portneuf. Before I left the…
-
Chapter Two – Autumn Zucchinis
The Quebec region of Canada, over towards the East side, is French speaking – speaking English there is considered a bit of an affront. Their choice of language is rooted in colonisation of Canada by the French in the fifteen hundreds which resulted in French becoming the dominant language. War with the British in the…
-
Chapter One – Local Customs
London to Montreal was roughly a six and half hour flight, but we never took off. The airline, Air Transat, made a last minute change and took everyone off the plane shortly before departure to put us on a flight to Toronto. In Toronto we were expected to catch a connection to Montreal. From there…
-
Chapter Eight – The House of Straw Balls
Seeking a change from farms, the next stop was a property in a small town, just south of Toulouse. The host, Cecile, was building herself a home out of straw and needed people to help with the construction. After arriving at the bus station, Cecile, her boyfriend sam and dog Lulu picked me up in…
-
Chapter Five – Part Time Ogre
I spent a further week at the Chateau near Chinon. With the school holidays in full swing, my gardening duties were frequently interrupted by child-minding of the three boys. Mostly they kept themselves amused but quickly decided that I needed to contribute to the summer fun too. The eldest, ten year old Charlie, suggested we…
-
Chapter Two – Vines, Wines and Not a Word of French
My second stop was a Chateau in the Loire valley named Bel Ebat. It was owned by Jeff and Oscar, a gay couple with three boys, who had lived in America and London before settling in France. Jeff collected me from the train station in the nearby town of Chinon and we drove through blazing…