Chat Ed : Good evening everyone, welcome to our live webchat with Patrick and Colette from No Going Back: Chaos at the Castle. Married couple Patrick and Colette have gambled everything to turn their dreams into reality. Leaving their high-flying city jobs and a home in suburbia behind, they have exchanged their mortgages, savings and security for a crumbling 17th-century chateau in France, which they hope to convert into a luxury hotel.
min stiles : Hi Patrick and Collete.
Fab : bonjour Patrick et Colette
eon : hi
Patrick : Hello. Thanks for watching.
Colette : Hope you've been enjoying the show
Charly : You two look totally drained - do you feel that the benefits are worth the physical and mental stress you have endured?
Patrick : Yes, definitely.
Colette : I think we have just recovered from the stress and the strain of the start up – it has been a steep learning curve, but when it is all done you enjoy the benefits.
Patrick : Sitting back with a glass of red wine in front of the fire is very nice at the moment.
Colette : And there is no commute in the morning!
Elaine Hogan : Its winter now - are things quieter and will you be able to survive financially?
Karan : What will you do when it is off-season?
Patrick : Things are quieter now in that we have no guests at all and our next booking isn't until May.
Colette : At the moment we are working on the grounds.
Patrick : We are working on the grounds and renovating a gite - which is a villa type thing for renting out in the summer. It is like a small farmhouse.
pete1 : Amazing job guys - you have balls of steel. How can we book a room?
chris2004 : How can we book?
Marcos : P & C - do you have a web site for the hotel?
George Dever : can we book online?
lee : do you have a web site?
David Judd : Do you have a website for bookings
colin 57 : do you have a web site?
dm38 : How can we book the hotel?
Patrick : Nearly all bookings are taken through the website www.chateauribagnac.com but we also take telephone bookings - the number is also on the website. Please do call us!
Colette : We have availability in November and from Valentines Day next year onwards. We have great seasons here - it is very colourful all year round.
Patrick : There is always something to do in the area, no matter when you visit.
Butler : If we book a room, can you guarantee it will have a working toilet??!
Patrick laughs
Colette : You may even have a toilet in the tower complete with musket hole! And we provide toilet roll at no extra cost!
George Dever : lol
Shelly : A musket hole? is it a hotel or the bastille??
Patrick : lol
Colette giggles
JJ : On the programme you were living in a makeshift bedroom - are you still?!!
Patrick : We are currently in the Hydrangea suite.
Colette : Enjoying the guests’ luxury until Patrick finishes our room, which will hopefully be before Christmas!
chris2004 : How did you find having the cameramen following you all the time?
Patrick : Most of the time it was enjoyable. We were on very good terms with them. You have to be for this type of programme. The filming started in November 2003 and finished only two weeks ago and over 450 hours of footage was shot.
yatesy : Did the cameramen ever offer to help out during difficult times ?
jane : did any of the channel 4 crew give you a hand with the DIY ??
leveticus : did the cameraman or crew ever help
catty : Did the TV crew help with the last minute decorating etc?
Patrick : Without getting anyone into trouble...We have learnt that the term boom operator covers a multitude of sins - like Gopher etc!
catty : How is your veg?
Lena : Colette, how can you cope with such a small kitchen?
Patrick laughs
Patrick : The vegetable garden is fantastic and is about to be ploughed. The kitchen is still awful and we hope to renovate it during the closed season.
Colette : Otherwise the staff might walk out!
TimfromStortford : did you really make my bed 5 minutes after I arrived?
Patrick laughs very loudly
Colette cackles
Patrick : YES! Was it ok? Did you join the mile high club in your DC10 casing?
TimfromStortford : I do not intend to say ' a bit squeaky' to the nation...
Colette giggles
natalie : what’s it like looking after your children as well as doing all the renovating and running the hotel?
sadie : Your kids are very well behaved!!
Colette : We had lots of help from their grandparents. They stepped in when we were working, unlike the program suggested they were never packed off to childminders. Eve goes to a local school where she is happy. It is fantastic to step out into the park in our garden. In answer to the good behaviour question - they have their moments!
leveticus : what was the longest time you went without sleep when you were doing it up
Zoey : Did you really think that you would be able to get everything done before the guest came?
Colette sighs
Patrick : Err… For me it was two nights, maybe 72 hours. Several times I had next to no sleep several days in a row.
Colette : In the last episode we will look really exhausted. After we host a marriage party for a friend and have the Chateau filled to the rafters for nearly a week. In that case it was the adrenalin that kept us going.
doc : wow! well done. have the French fire brigade and health inspectors paid their visit yet. our UK experience of such agencies often meant much work and lots of extra expense?
Colette : When we embarked on this project we thought we would be running a hotel so all health types things were done to a 4 star hotel standard but have decided to stay as a chambred'hotes, which has many advantages for both host and guest. The French generally seem to prefer the more personal touch and the warmer welcome that it brings. We have had the Fire Brigade and Mayor to visit us but only to ask us for the use of our lake in the case of forest fires. That is all we have had apart from our basic license to operate.
lucy : What advice do you have for others thinking about doing what you have done
Patrick laughs
Patrick : You need to think very carefully about everything that you can, not only before you take the plunge but before you leave the country and do all you can to hit the ground running.
Colette : The best decision we took was to consult a web designer before we left the country as we were able to have a framework of our website in place. This would have been hard to do when we were busy renovating. We also made sure that our kids had had some contact with the French. Eve had been going to a French club for a while.
Benjamin Gower : The web site you have is very good - well done!
Colette : And Patrick has spoken French to Agnes.
Patrick : We also did research on the viability of the project and had meetings with the mayor.
Colette : You should never underestimate being on the right side of the Mayor. Who is very lovely and helpful.
Chat Ed : Our half hour with Patrick and Colette is almost up, so last few questions now...
dm38 : what's the fishing like in the lakes?
George Dever : is there any fish in the pond
Patrick : We have three types of carp, pike, tench,, roach and crayfish that are nine inches long! and lots more we are not sure about.
Shelly : is it legal to fish them though?
Patrick : If you look on the site there is a section on fishing - you do not need a license.
Colette : We can arrange for licenses if you want to fish in this area though.
Patrick : The fishing here is fantastic.
Jenny Barlass : Do you miss teddington?
Charly : Do you have any regrets with the project - either professionally or socially?
Elaine Hogan : Do you have any regrets?
Patrick laughs
Patrick : I miss having a regular income. Teddington is very nice and we miss our friends, but our garden is bigger that Hampstead Hill!
Colette : I could not imagine living anywhere else. The local community has made us feel very welcome.
Patrick : We wish we had more money as we would have less worries.
Colette : It was better for Eve to go now for her age - it is better to get her into school younger than older. As it is, all is well except she now wants a pony!
becky : hi your home is beautiful you must br very proud of self
Mac : Best of Luck with the Castle, you have your work cut out, but it makes enjoyable TV viewing
Mary Griffiths : I think you guys are both incredible and brave and the programme is the highlight of my week!
Elaine Hogan : bonne chance avec le projet
sadie : Well done to you all, have a great life in France you deserve it!
jo : what was the website address again?
Patrick : Thanks for all your support.
Colette : We appreciate the fact that people are rooting for us. It is hard work but it is worth it.
Patrick : Do come and visit us!
Patrick leaves room
Colette leaves the room
