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AIBU?

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Original poster

To get a bit annoyed when Dick and Angel Strawbridge insist they're "normal"

312 replies

Frankola · 01/12/2019 13:34

I love Escape To The Chateau. I love Dick and Angel. I really do.

However, it really annoys me when they frequently insist that they are "every day people" and that "anyone can do it".

They ARE NOT every day people! Dick is a respected engineering and environmental expert who has appeared on tele for years before ETC. He's done Scrap Heap Challenge, Coast and all sorts!

Angel is actually a qualified chartered accountant with a professional background in business studies. She was a successful businesswoman in London, creating The Vintage Patisserie hospitality business and also appeared on Dragons Den - where she secured funding for her latest investment.

They were introduced by their agent. Does that sound "normal" to you?

Do every day couples pitch their search for a new life to production companies? Channel 4 even funded their house searching France for them to find the Chateau as they approached them from the very beginning of their project to maximise the potential they saw in this.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for their success. But I find it a bit insulting almost to expect the doting British public to just buy that these people could be any Tom, Dick or Harry (pun intended).

Any one else feel like this?

OP posts:
SunsetBoulevard3 · 01/12/2019 21:12

I read I. A previous thread that Brigid has remarried and is very happy. Everyone has moved on! No suggestion he was at fault. Marriages end.
I do find the Angel thing annoying and the way she drifts around in kaftans etc. She is however very talented and they both work in credibly hard.
I agree with whoever said Dick is a heart attack waiting to happen. Arthur is going the same way and all of them are overweight. Dicks whole family are huge.

housinghelp101 · 01/12/2019 21:12

Bolly for someone who is claiming others are overinvested you seem to know every episode inside out Grin I'm quite sure I have heard the 'down to last pennies' a few times any way.

Jesuisclaude · 01/12/2019 21:12

I love them. We are renovating our way up the property ladder with two small kids, super easy straightforward jobs and it is sooooo exhausting. They really do work hard. Also I have a friend who lives in France and does a very simplified version of what they do (big farmhouse with a few acres and a nice barn, they have been renovating and holding simple parties and small weddings, it has taken them a decade to get it sorted and they have some family money behind them, so it is def not easy.

One of the reasons they talk about running out of cash/into issues in the early series is that to create interest and drama in the ‘narrative’ of the episode each one has to follow a bit of a formula like most tv series: ‘dick and angel want to do xyz. They try this that and the other. Include local interest. Oh look it’s going really well. Oh no there’s a big problem. Oh phew they’ve sorted it out. Okay see you next time!!’

At the end of the day they are being paid by channel 4 and that is subsidising their renovation so quite rightly they provide great stories and experiences and a lot of boring crap is probably hidden away. As for her persona... do you think ‘I’m a pragmatic accountant looking for a return on expenditure’ is as appealing as ‘I’m a creative maverick who’s always got a surprise in store’ to TV commissioners?

I love them. Rock on, Dick and Angel.

hsegfiugseskufh · 01/12/2019 21:13

I dont think anyone could say theyre hard up when they own a chateu. They have been temporarily cash poor though certainly.

Tax specifically? I dont know tbh.

hsegfiugseskufh · 01/12/2019 21:14

housing ive watched them all v recently. I didnt watch series 1 to 5 when they were on tele ive watched them at all once so theyre fresh in my mind.

jbfletcher1 · 01/12/2019 21:15

One of the reasons they talk about running out of cash/into issues in the early series is that to create interest and drama in the ‘narrative’ of the episode each one has to follow a bit of a formula like most tv series: ‘dick and angel want to do xyz. They try this that and the other. Include local interest. Oh look it’s going really well. Oh no there’s a big problem. Oh phew they’ve sorted it out. Okay see you next time!!’

Exactly that's the narrative & like I said I enjoy the show, I just don't particularly buy into the narrative.

Sagradafamiliar · 01/12/2019 21:19

Being down to their last pennies on a project means they are pushing their budget in regards to that one thing, not that they're now claiming poverty and don't think they'll ever earn again.

jbfletcher1 · 01/12/2019 21:22

Buying a chateau for 250k is the easy part. Turning it into a profitable business & affording the upkeep is another matter entirely.

Like I said my parents own a farmhouse (have done for over 30 yrs), they speak French & have French family & friends. It was a wreck when bought, no water, electricity & has slowly been done up with them doing lots of DIY (my mum is incredible handy). It's never been a business & is just for private use but I know the realities of the bureaucracy & the costs of materials, labour etc. I'm not sure if I even want to keep it when I inherit it even though I love it!

dayswithaY · 01/12/2019 21:28

I do love them but I cringed when the whole family sat down to tarte tatin with ice cream. Then last week gooseberry crumble with ice cream. Maybe it was just for show.

hsegfiugseskufh · 01/12/2019 21:29

days i was just envious because between ds and dss one of them would have proclaimed they didnt like it Grin

Northernsoullover · 01/12/2019 21:34

I like them and the kids are ridiculously cute.

CurbsideProphet · 01/12/2019 21:48

Surely it's clear where their money comes from? Dick and Angel/Angela have been running weddings and foodie holidays etc for 4 years now, plus the fee from ch4, and their fee for their appearances / Dick's voice-over on the DIY series.

On the DIY series the other "ordinary" château owners are very open about the cost of works / furnishing / worries about money etc, so I imagine Dick and Angel were in a similar situation 5 years ago.

Fluffypyjamas · 01/12/2019 21:51

I like them and it's always an easy watch for Sunday evening. However, I agree that the stupid small avaries seem unbelievably cruel. Especially as the next week they mentioned it was over 40 degrees. Even with the shrubs in there I can't imagine there is much protection from the heat. It has really spoilt my enjoyment of the program!

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 01/12/2019 21:59

I do wonder about the finances, and as for saying 'anyone can do it' IMO that's frankly bollocks.

There's a very good reason why chateaux seem so relatively cheap for what you get. There are an awful lot of them, and very few people can afford to maintain them.

A relative of dh has one. It's beautiful, and not as large as some, but it costs a fortune to maintain. He told me once that the heating oil alone (cold winters in that part of France) cost €50,000 a year. Just as well it's not a problem for him.
You need exceedingly deep pockets.

ChardonnaysDistantCousin · 01/12/2019 22:01

Those poor birds.

It does seem unnecessary and it does spoil the fun.

PotteryWheel · 01/12/2019 23:16

Well, the appeal of the programme is surely that it isn’t a warts and all account of grim struggles for survival in rural France, but a sunny, equable affair that depicts things going well, and nothing coming up the couple can’t handle? If the wedding business hadn’t taken off, I doubt Channel 4 would have commissioned subsequent series. It was never going to depict them shivering over a single gas fire all winter while weeping over their lack of bookings as the children go down with flu again.

JolieOBrien · 02/12/2019 03:43

This is Angela before she met Dick at her Vintage Patisserie

To get a bit annoyed when Dick and Angel Strawbridge insist they're "normal"
JolieOBrien · 02/12/2019 03:48

@Bartlet

I am just being honest ... I have watched Dick over the years and don't really like the man. Angela seems ok and loves her children but I honestly don't know what she sees in him ... but if that is what she wants who am I to criticize.

I would not want to live in France myself even though my husband does speak French ... I do know a little French but I would struggle living there. I would like to go Paris for a short break because I have only been to the south of France for a beach holiday.

JolieOBrien · 02/12/2019 03:51

@SunsetBoulevard3

I agree Dick is grossly overweight and at 60 needs to lose some weight. I had a second cousin who was overweight like Dick and he died of a stroke at 62. Dick should take some tips from the hairy bikers about weight loss.

Juliette20 · 02/12/2019 03:56

I'm surprised to hear they would even want to be described as "normal".

JolieOBrien · 02/12/2019 03:57

@Julliette20

They are normal millionaires Wink

SunsetBoulevard3 · 02/12/2019 05:56

@JolieOBrien
They don’t seem to be able to speak French really which after years of living there is a bit strange. I get the impression they live in a bit of a bubble and didn’t mix with their neighbours all the much unless it’s with workmen.

JolieOBrien · 02/12/2019 06:11

@SunsetBoulevard3

I thought I heard Angela speaking french to a shop keeper in an earlier series. The children must speak french if they attend a french school.

Fl1mF1am · 02/12/2019 06:51

Dick’s French sounds superb, you hear him speak to all the delivery people and shop keepers in French. Wish mine was as good. You heard the little girl speak Frenchduring the party episode, her pronunciation was gorgeous and she’s only 3.She sounded very French.

housinghelp101 · 02/12/2019 07:03

The children go to a French school so it would be very shocking if after living there for 3 years they didn't speak excellent French. Dick's language is clearly very good too, I'm sure Angel's is too but it's all part of the ditzy persona she's trying to pull off.

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