Chat Ed : Welcome to this evening's 'No Going Back' chat with Paul and Angela Fryatt and Series Producer Billy Paulett! For years teacher Angela Fryatt and IT worker Paul have dreamt of escaping the rat race and living the good life in France. After falling in love with a 64-acre hazelnut farm in the Dordogne - complete with barn, meadows, woodland and lake - they take the plunge, selling their £260,000 Preston home, and, with their young children, Georgina and Lucy, pack up and say goodbye to a hectic life of commuting, school runs and long working weeks. The plan? To survive by harvesting hazelnuts and turning part of their land into a campsite…
Angela Fryatt : Hi everyone, we're really, really excited about the life that we have here. We are very pleased that we got involved in the programme and there is No Going Back for us!
Billy Paulett : Hello everyone. I'm the Series Producer and hooray for the great harvest!
Paul Fryatt : Thanks!
johanna : How frustrating was that 1st meeting to try and get the go ahead for yr plans?
Angela Fryatt : The first meeting to try and get the go ahead was extremely frustrating. Paul was in England and I was alone in a meeting with 14 other men trying to battle my way through French bureaucracy! It was extremely hard work!
Julia : How have the girls got 9on with the language? Would you suggest lang training in the uk first, before moving across?
Angela Fryatt : When we decided that we were going to move to France we had the girls do language lessons but it doesn't work...
Paul Fryatt : The best thing is to throw them in at the deep end and to immerse yourself and your children in it. It's easier the younger you are.
Angela Fryatt : Yes, definitely, but now the girls are bi-lingual.
Jay Franks : Are you still looking for an investor for the log cabin development?
david_croft : how is the caravan park going now?
Angela Fryatt : We are yes. Full plans will be in at the end of this month david. We have been assured that planning permission will be forthcoming.
Paul Fryatt : We should get the final decision at the beginning of February and we plan to start as soon as we have that decision.
Loo : Wasn't that the planning permissions you got during the programme?
Paul Fryatt : That was the outline planning. We're getting the nitty gritty of the final stages of the planning dossier soon - dotting the i's and crossing the t's. That will involve what the cabins look like and a routine of the infrastructure requirements.
Gail : why did you decide to go to France, how did you find this land and how did you go about planning your future income ................ I ask because it seems to be the ideal life style
Angela Fryatt : This is certainly the ideal lifestyle. We made a decision to leave a very materialistic lifestyle. We turned our backs on a lot of money and we think we made the right decision. Paul was working 60 hours a week. I was teaching full-time. The children were with child minders. We wanted to watch our children grow up. That was the over-riding reason.
Paul Fryatt : This particular part of France - we knew it well before we came to live here as we had been on holidays here before - we just thought it was absolutely beautiful.
Dan : Did the first harvest disaster make you think it was all a horrible mistake at any point?
DDevil : How close were you to saying 'Ah nuts...' to the whole thing?
Paul Fryatt laughs
Angela Fryatt : We were very close after the first harvest to saying 'Ah nuts!' but we had made the commitment and we knew that we both wanted to be here. So therefore, yes the first harvest was a disaster but we knew that we were going to make the second harvest a success and we did that.
Paul Fryatt : We were confident after that first harvest that we could make a go of it, that helped.
Loo : If there is a disaster like that, financial... would the programme makers ever step in to help, or is the hardship the most entertaining part?
Billy Paulett : No we'd never step in. We follow people's lives as they are, not as they want it to be or what we want it to be. As far as it's entertaining that's entirely up to the viewers that are watching it. I would only add that we aim to reflect what it's like to make an incredible move and with all the financial and emotional implications tied in with that. We can't possibly predict what could happen to any of the people that we decide to film.
Dee : You must have been a bit worried when the guy had a serious accident in one of the previous programmes, did you think about not showing that?
Billy Paulett : No, not at all. In fact that was last week and William and Miranda, who filmed a lot of that footage themselves, gave us full permission to show the footage because that is what happened in their lives.
steve : Buying property in France seems enough to put you off as u said they are so bureaucratic how did u find the process and what advice would u give?
Angela Fryatt : Appoint a solicitor. Buying property is easy in France but have a solicitor and make sure the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed and do NOT listen to anyone who says you do not need a solicitor. Ours saved us a fortune.
Julia : A solicitor in France? or an English one?
Angela Fryatt : We used an English solicitor, Julia. He was based in Leeds. He was based in France for eight years though so he knows the French legal system inside out and back to front.
Dee : Have you decided on the long-term future of the orchard, will you stay with the squirrel impressions each year or find some more profitable use for the land?
Angela Fryatt : No, we will stay with the orchard.
Paul Fryatt : Now that we are on top of it it's not such hard work to maintain it. It was very hard in its first year though.
Angela Fryatt : And it's a very good source of income.
bobrizla : did any of your mates laugh when your nuts fell off early in 1st harvest
Paul Fryatt : I've had a lot of my mates laugh at me I must admit. You have to be prepared to take the jokes in this business!
Angela Fryatt : At least Paul found his nuts! It took him a while but he did find them.
Paul Fryatt : I don't think anybody can tell me a nut joke that I don't already know.
Fluffy : What about the French - it seems Bruno really was your saviour in some ways - speaking English etc?
Julia : He's quite gorgeous too that Bruno!
Katie : *cackles*
Angela Fryatt : We found that, for the purposes of the programme, Bruno spoke English but under normal circumstances we speak French when we meet Bruno. We have also found that if you make an attempt to speak French then the French will make a very valiant attempt to speak English.
Angela Fryatt chuckles, I think so too Julia! But don't tell my husband!
neville : when will you know about investors in your 'park'?
Steve : How r u marketing the campsite?
Angela Fryatt : We are hoping that we will get a good response as a result of the show this evening. We are also marketing the park to local estate agents in France. We also hope to place ads in journals that are sold in England but that are specifically marketing French properties.
steve : Fig jam looked good is that gonna be a sideline ?
Angela Fryatt : We're hoping so yes. As well as our apple and blackberry jam. We think that diversification is the word here!
Benj : How did your son do in his ALevels yet, and will he join you there at all or go on to Uni?
Angela Fryatt : Richard is taking his A levels in the summer of 2004. He hopes to go to Uni in England. Should he choose to join us we would be very happy but he has his own life and he must make his own decisions. Whatever his decisions are we will stand by him and support him all the way.
Chat Ed : Our time is almost up, last few questions now...
AndynSarah : What do you miss most about the uk?
Paul Fryatt : I miss real ale.
Angela Fryatt : I miss friends, the theatre and steak pudding chips and gravy!
spy : On hindsight, if you were to start over, what would you have done differently?
Julia : Right, we'll bring a keg over for you!!
Paul Fryatt : Thank you Julia!
Angela Fryatt : With hindsight...no we wouldn't. We think we have done the right thing. We took a big decision but we did our research beforehand and we knew what we were letting ourselves in for, to an extent.
Fluffy : What advice would you give others intending to abandon the UK and move to another country?
Angela Fryatt : Do your homework. It isn't easy.
Paul Fryatt : Work out your finances.
Angela Fryatt : Consider the possible challenges of a language difference and go for it.
Chat Ed : That's it! Thanks for joining us!
Julia : I feel very excited now at the future, your prog has made me really want to get going and do some more investigating!
Katty Katrina : bye
FireGoddess : Thanks for chatting with us!
AndynSarah : Byeeee
digitalskittles : bye guys and thanks xx
Angela Fryatt : Thank you to everyone that has watched the programme this evening and to our friends and family who have supported us. There is No Going Back and here's to Calfour!
Julia : bye and good luck!!
Billy Paulett : Thank you to the Fryatt family who were fantastic to film. Bon nuit everybody and don't forget to tune in next week for another episode of No Going Back!
Paul Fryatt leaves the room
Angela Fryatt leaves the room
Billy Paulett leaves the room
