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bbc 2 the france prog tues pm

15 replies

edgarcat · 29/04/2003 21:27

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Meanmum · 29/04/2003 21:55

Was that the one tonight where they moved to France with their 3 kids?

Hughsie · 29/04/2003 21:57

I got really upset at that - he looked really like ds1 too so that didn't help

tamum · 29/04/2003 22:25

I did too; really felt for the girl aswell, she looked so at sea the first day.

Linnet · 29/04/2003 22:58

I love this programme, watch it every week and it's always a battle to get dd into bed before it starts. I missed the first 15 mintues tonight because of that.
I felt so sorry for Joe not wanting to go in on his first day and the daughter looked so lost and lonely at school as well.

edgarcat · 30/04/2003 09:34

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grommit · 30/04/2003 09:50

I thought the parents had lost touch with reality! I felt sorry for the kids - they didn't really have any choice int he matter. The mother seemed to be playing at being French and the father is a laugh - couldn't speak a word of French! I know the Dordogne really well as have family there - it is a very nice place to live in the summer but sooo boring in the winter. Good luck to them anyway!

Lindy · 30/04/2003 10:29

I enjoyed watching this as we are going to Sarlat this Summer.

However I agree that it was crazy that they spoke so little French - particularly as they said they had holidayed there for years.

Still, good luck to them, I think its great when people make an active choice to change their lifestyle, the children will soon adapt.

edgarcat · 30/04/2003 10:34

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Finbar · 30/04/2003 15:35

Wasn't that Jo a real sweetie - I was welling up when his friend finally turned up for tea and he took him to meet his sister saying "here's Victor - he's French" How lovely was that? Am getting very sentimental over things...hope I'm not pregnant!

jessi · 30/04/2003 16:33

Did they decide to stay then? I watched it on video and missed the ending. Joe was a little cutie, was in tears when he was howling outside nursery though... also cried when daughters best friend sent her message on video. I am pregnant, so I guess thats why!

sezza · 01/05/2003 11:53

I was in tears through most of the programme as I moved to France when I was 10 (for 4 years) with my parents & younger sis, so this brought it all back to me. My parents spoke a little French, me & sis spoke none! My parents decided it would be best (??!)to put us staight into french school. It was terrifying & an awful experience although my father still thinks he really enriched our lives by moving there (he decided we should move for financial reasons - long story!) but I can truthfully say that it didn't and it had a major effect on my emotional, social & psychological development. Although I do have to say that after about a year I was fully fluent in french and was top of the french language class which really pi*d off the other kids!

Personally I could never do that to my child, not unless they were really, really young.

Anyway back to the prog, just wanted to hit the parents, they were so arrogant believing they'd get by without speaking french and the dad was a right wet blanket!! And the way the mum was with the kids at school, especially Joe, she just seemed cold & inconvenienced!

Personally I could never put my own children through the experience, although I suppose it wouldn't be too bad to move with young babies.

tamum · 01/05/2003 13:14

Sezza, how interesting! I was trying hard not to be too judgemental about the parents, but really, the mother seemed to be prepared to put the children through all that anguish just so that she could buy food (v. inefficiently) in the local market. The key moment was when the little boy was crying his eyes out not wanting to go to school and she was saying that she was very worried about what the other mothers thought of her. I was moved around a few times within England when I was a child, and that was traumatic enough, let alone coping with a language barrier.

Melly · 01/05/2003 13:30

I agree, thought the parents were very selfish, they seemed to want to live out "their" dream based on the memory of a lovely holiday they had in France and the children just had to fit in. I felt really sorry for the children and would never put mine through anything like that.

jessi · 01/05/2003 17:40

So did they stay then?!

PamT · 01/05/2003 18:20

Yes, they stayed. It reported again about 2 months later and the husband had just found work.

I thought they should have done a bit more to learn the language - how on earth did he expect to find a job when he wasn't even willing to try speaking french? I also felt really sorry for the daughter being sent to sort out the school on her own and not understanding a word of it. They said that the little boy always made a fuss when he started somewhere new so it didn't upset me too much.

My friend went to live in France about 16 months ago, taking her then 8 and 10 year old children with her. Her husband stayed here to run the business until it was sold (and is still here most of the time) but she loves it and when she visited this weekend both children said that there was nothing that they missed about England except their friends but they had made lots of new friends in france anyway. They are a very environmentally friendly family and love the greener, slower pace of life in the french countryside.

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