channel 4 ............. new series.........ESCAPE TO THE CHATEAU

[RTKM]

Sunday nights

7pm

Channel 4

Starting tonight

they always seem to have money £2k for the bus

last night £10k last night for the mini tractor

i know, i was thinking that this week - last week they were concerned about the roof ( admittedly 150 k or whatever it would be, is huge) but then this week he spent 10 k on the tractor and the green house materials must have also cost a few bob. Not to mention all the tiles and glitter grouting ( they have said before that materials are a lot more in France , so they must have to have them delivered from the UK or similar), Dick does go away on business a lot, so he must have other projects ( make money other ways i suppose) it is a mystery and the heating bills alone must be huge ( they cant have wood burners in all the rooms). still, i cant wait to see it when its all done - could be years though as it has 45 rooms !

DH and I were discussing how much it must all cost whilst we watched it last night.

Dick does do ‘other’ stuff eg Cabins in the Wild. And IIRC they mentioned he had an engineering business in the first series. I wonder how much they get paid by C4...

Interesting that they also said the wedding business isn’t yet profitable.

I still love them and the Chateau and the whole concept though. Totally take my hat off to them. That place could so easily be a crippling money pit.

Love the show but the constant narrative about the lack of money and not turning a profit is then really at odds with the fact that they've just spent £10k on a tractor, £2k on the van to make into a mobile bar and clearly visible from the aerial shots was a brand new roof on the barn!

I'd love to have their kind of money issues!

Just be honest, if you've got the money to do it up great, but don't bleet on about not having cash when you clearly do!

I wonder if they are low carbers as i noticed they just had steak and veg on its own. No potato or bread. Also i wonder if the wedding guests all stay in the chateau or elsewhere.

Please could you give a link to Google earth to their location as I have no idea where it is

I noticed that about steak with no pots but then it expanded to show French stick iirc

The camera view I mean

Oh did it. I missed that.

They will be self sufficient soon with the greenhouse up and running and growing their own blooms for the wedding guests. there is a vision there, just takes ages to see it all come together I suppose.
it does seem a bit remote , i couldnt live anywhere like that, but fair play to them and its a great location for weddings and the foodie stays.
i didnt notice the new barn roof - it must have cost loads of money so far with all that they have done.

Kanga. If you go on google maps on your phone and tap in Chateau de la Motte Husson it comes up on there

Thank you @Perigord I thought it was southern France cos of weather - found it

I think the bread was with steak but there is a chance it was different meal, but huge steaks weren't they?

Spectacular steaks.

They seem very happy but I can't help but think that her arty bohemian vibe will wear a bit thin with him eventually .She does have stylish taste in decor , pity poor Dick though doing all the really hard manual labour . I agree about the budget ,one minute they haven't got any and the next Angela buys a van and Dick buys a tractor - presumably every time they need a cash injection they tap up C4 for a new series .
PS Whatever happened to the nice first Mrs Strawbridge ?

I didn't see anything with his previous wife in.
I think the design stuff is as important as the manual stuff really for the weddings and other functions and guests they host, as well as the show. I assume they are both happy with their roles.

I love watching this programme, even though at times both Dick and Angel grate a bit. However their abilities are impressive, her designs are really lovely and his renovation and engineering stuff. I loved the globe's and the boudoir suite, a bit less sure about the stripey bedroom. I wonder if they got that guy to pay for the damage he did unloading the van...

I raised an eyebrow when Angel said their two children would be taking over the chateau one day, as French inheritance law is very strict and Dick's other two children would certainly be entitled to their shares too. But I guess it just made for a better narrative within the programme.

I really admire them for what they've done. 2 toddlers and taking on the Chateaux.

I'd love to do something like that but an too much of a coward.

They obviously love each other to bits but I expect they argue a lot more irl than is portrayed on screen. You can almost see them biting their tongues sometimes.

I agree Périgord, although Angel seems to get off lightly compared to Dick on the surface, I think she's the one who really makes the weddings happen which is their big money spinner. Yes Dick's ability to turn his hand to seemingly anything DIY related is very impressive, but I think it's pretty rare so hardly her fault she isn't as multi-talented as him in that area.

sweetbitter, that is interesting about the inheritance laws in France.
I am guessing that is is different in the UK.
I often wondered about adopted children too - if they found their real parents and they havent left them any money or anything, could they contest the will? I dont watch long lost families, but i wonder if it has ever come up at all?
I love the programme though - i know a few people that have dabbled in buying places in France ( smaller places, barns etc) but they usually discover it s alot of hard work and how expensive it all is and end up selling them on.

Not sure it's their big money spinner given they said it isn't profitable (yet anyway). I had thought the planning for stays etc was Angel's role but then saw Dick does all the cooking for the foodie stays! He's amazing, turns his hand to everything . except measuring door frames

How come nearly all their workmen are English? Surely there are some good local French people they could use? Seems a bit disappointing they go back to get English people all the time when they're supposed to be living in France. Also I wonder if they miss out on proper restorative processes... the locals might be more specialised/used to fixing ancient chateaux!

I'm not convinced that Dick is that hard done by. When they panned out at the end of the episode there were a number of cars parked up, suggesting he has more than a little help. Who are all these English speaking historical buildings specialists that they seem to find on tap.

The cars might belong to the production company, filming needs a lot of equipment.

Experts probably hired by them as well, makes for better viewing.

I don't agree Angel has good taste, it's all going to age badly and looks home decoupaged.

Again, makes viewing relatable.

I'm sure she is a perfectly lovely woman, but I find Angel deeply irritating Me too!! I liked watching his first wife though so maybe my feelings are unfair.

When the trees were being pollarded it was like watching dh and me- every bloody year he gets the chain saw out and tells me the trees need chopping back!!

Was a bit shocked at the tree surgeons not even wearing eye gear when they were working!!

Loathe Angel's style, it's all the wall hangings/ fake foliage etc, there's no way you could keep on top the dust with all the work going on in the house so they must be real dust magnets!

Dh made me laugh last night when we were watching he commented on Dick's moustache,he said "That's huge, isn't it? I bet it....tickles"

I bet it does

Dame my Dh is the same with his chainsaw. I've learnt I need to go out before he starts and talk to him about what he intends to trim. I can then "discuss" what I would rather he did.

We were commenting on Dick's facial hair too. We thought he could trim it a bit so it didn't cover his mouth.
I'm on the ETTC Facebook page and a bloke commented on Angel fannying around while Dick does all the hard work. Bit rude when it is Dick and Angels own fb page. A big discussion ensued with people defending Angel and others chipping in to say the bloke was entitled to his opinion. Angel then posted heself to clarify what she does.