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In the heart of the
French countryside,
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a magnificent chateau stood
uncared for and abandoned.
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Then five years ago,
everything changed...
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EVERYONE EXCLAIMS
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Wow, look at that!
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..when an intrepid British couple...
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Turn, turn, turn, turn.
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Wow!
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..unlocked its front door...
Everything is gorgeous.
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..fell in love with its grandeur and
embarked on an adventure.
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Oh, boy!
SHE LAUGHS
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Now, over three unique episodes,
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engineer Dick Strawbridge and
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his wife, designer Angel, look back
at how their dream became a reality.
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We never went into this project
thinking it was going to be
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an easy project.
It was a massive, massive job.
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The years of epic engineering.
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Engineering happens before beauty.
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The monumental transformations.
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I'm taking, like, everything
that I think is eye candy,
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and bringing it back to life.
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And their decision to
move their family to France.
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I love that the kids are so happy.
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CHEERING
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When Dick and Angel first
thought about living in France,
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a rundown chateau was the last thing
they wanted.
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Let us live in France
where it is very simple.
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We can buy a little house,
have children and no mortgage.
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No worries at all.
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We'll just go and live the perfect
dream in a little, tiny house. Yes.
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There is a bit of irony to this
because that was how it started.
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That's how it started. Yeah.
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But an abandoned chateau captured
their hearts,
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and they dedicated their lives
to restoring it.
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HE LAUGHS
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From engineering and electrics...
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But whoa, whoa, whoa!
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We have electricity.
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..to salons and suites...
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I think we've done well on not
a lot of money.
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..the chateau slowly
but surely came back to life.
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Hello.
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Aaargh!
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And today they have created
an extraordinary
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home for their children...
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Thank you, darling.
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..six-year-old Arthur and
five-year-old Dorothy.
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Dorothy first.
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SHOUTING
OK, now, now.
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What we have to do, feet together.
Hands by your sides, look forward.
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Look all the way forward. See the
castle on the other side.
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Very good. I think that's us,
Dottie.
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There we go. Move away.
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Oh! That's Dorothy's Mark. She's
too big. She's beautiful.
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Arthur and Dorothy - they know
nothing else other than living in
France.
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Yeah. Living in the chateau.
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Arthur pretends he remembers London
but he don't.
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That is phenomenal, Arthur. Look!
You and Dorothy have both grown.
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But to appreciate just how much has
changed, we journeyed back with
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Dick and Angel to the very beginning
of their French fairy tale.
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In the summer of 2014, Dick and
Angel were living in a rented flat
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in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.
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Are you ready? Yep.
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Arthur was just 18 months old
and Dorothy, a mere babe in arms.
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ARTHUR SQUEAKS
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I'd been working hard for about
15 years.
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And I realised there is a little bit
more to life than just working so
hard.
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I'm a country boy.
Angel's an East End girl.
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What we want to do is we want a
quality of life,
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and having a happy family.
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We just couldn't think of anywhere
we wanted to live in England.
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We went on holiday to France
together.
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It was in a beautiful gite, it had
four storeys, a big stone staircase.
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A big log fire.
It was so French and so charming.
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And then you said,
"Why don't we move to France?
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"If we can buy a property this
cheap."
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So, straight on the internet.
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To be fair, it didn't take you long
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before you were looking at chateaux,
did it? About five minutes.
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That's the, erm, the book de vente.
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Once their plans had expanded
from cottage to castle, it was
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clear that Dick and Angel were
preparing to take a huge risk.
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We're actually in search
of living the dream that
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everyone actually does want,
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but everyone is a little bit scared
to do it.
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..and this is an orangery.
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It's an orangery, stable,
double garage and an office. Yes.
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So it's a lovely building.
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We are thinking, if we are going
to have a place that's lovely,
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we are going to be able to continue
working and we can run courses,
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we can do weddings,
we can do various things.
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Ideas we are not short of. This is
the staircase, staircase of castles.
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It just allows you to have all
the things you dream of.
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Decent wine, decent food,
a really nice place to live
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and smiling a lot.
That's what it's about.
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A chateau in France, it's too fairy
tale, isn't? But it's achievable.
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It could be an endless pit of money.
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That's my biggest worry.
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To find their future family home,
Dick and Angel travelled the length
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and breadth of France.
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Fromagerie is to the left. Right.
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What's fromagerie? Cheese.
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Almost 100 individual chateaux were
checked out and assessed. That's it.
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Wow. Wow, wow!
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But none perfectly
fitted their strict criteria,
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nor their rather limited budget.
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This isn't the French
kitchen that we had in our mind.
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There is work here, there's a lot
of work here. There's the heating.
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There's the electrics, there's
the plumbing, there's the en-suite.
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I think it might be a bit
overpriced.
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How long had we been
shopping for chateaux for?
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Well, it was near on four years.
We looked at an awful, awful lot of
chateaux as well.
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That sort of a trip... It's
interesting how much you learn about
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what you want and what you don't
want.
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I think the thing I find
the funniest is the fact that you
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wouldn't have been happy if
you didn't have an orangery.
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And then...but several weeks before,
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you didn't even know what
an orangery was.
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Of course, when you're growing up,
you've got the fairy-tale castle
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with turrets and it's all very nice
but you never really think,
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as a kid,
"Oh, I'd really like an orangery."
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In October 2014,
a chateau came onto the market
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that on paper at least appeared to
be everything they wanted.
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You'll see a chateau
coming into view in second.
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So the whole family, including
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Angel's parents, Jenny and Steve,
piled into the car.
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It's Chateau-de-la-Motte Husson.
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Can't turn in there. No.
What's here? What does this say?
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Something! I'm going to go...
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..pony club. No, no,
it's the next one.
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Ahhhh...
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HE MUTTERS FRENCH NAMES
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This is... Yes! Oh, wow!
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ALL EXCLAIM
Look at that.
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Well, I think... Whoa, whoa, whoa.
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Did you have any doubts
you were going to live here?
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No, I honestly, I lost my breath.
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I mean all of us,
I remember just going, ohhhhh!
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It was a beautiful moment,
wasn't it? Quite special.
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It's a bit fantasy, look at that
moat.
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Look at these, that's my workshops.
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Ahhhh!
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And this one was a good price,
had the orangery,
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it had the walled garden, it had
a moat cos you know,
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you don't like people.
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And it was just beautiful,
it was fairy tale.
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Located 160 miles south-west
of Paris,
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the Chateau-de-la-Motte Husson
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was built between 1868 and 1874 for
the Count and Countess de Baglion.
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First impressions
are ridiculously positive.
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Angel wants to make an offer and
we haven't even seen anything yet.
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This is truly beautiful.
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Darling, darling, I love it.
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I love it, I love it more.
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But having said that, we haven't
looked inside yet.
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Common sense,
just think for a little bit.
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But from the moment the key
was turned,
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there was no going back. Right.
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When we walked through that front
door, it was love at first sight.
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There was so much detailing that was
original and hadn't changed.
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I'd never ever seen a floor like
this, the parquet floorings in my
life.
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I could go on forever about all
the... The stairs going up.
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The lines on the stairs.
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It went all the way to the servants.
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Basically, the chateau sold itself
to you as you came through
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the door.
Ah, there was... Apart from
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that you know, it had no electric
water, heating... Sewage.
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..sewage, it was perfect.
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This is the main salon.
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Oh, it's amazing.
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Aaah, it's pretty incredible.
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I've no idea how I'm going to get
up there to water the flowers.
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The amount of light that is in here
and the view and things.
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OK, master bedroom. 45 rooms
were spread over five levels.
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Each floor an enormous
215 square metres.
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The whole chateau could fit nine
modern British homes
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within its four stone walls.
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It also meant there was
plenty of space to entertain,
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and as Dick and Angel were hoping to
set up a wedding and events
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business, exactly what
they were looking for.
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Hold on. No way!
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The dumb waiter. Yep.
Darling, we're in business.
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SHE LAUGHS
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BELL RINGS
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Dick and Angel were head over heels
in love,
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but they also knew the chateau was
far from perfect.
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I'm trying to be sensible.
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This is a huge house, it's got
the orangery, the walled garden,
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it's got all these
things going for it
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but we are talking a lot of money to
get back to where it should be.
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It is so doable
and it is so beautiful.
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It's almost too good because
we've seen a lot of chateaux,
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we've seen a lot of houses,
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I think both of us are
like little children being excited.
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When you're looking for wives
and husbands and houses, you know,
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really important things
in your life, there's lots of...
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I don't know what
you're going to say next.
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There's lots of times
when it could nearly work.
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But then you meet the one.
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Dad, can you take picture of us?
Go on, nice big smile, please.
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I hereby declare that we have
found our property.
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I had a similar feeling to
when I met Dick
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and I felt a bit sick with
excitement so...
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THEY LAUGH
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She's found the one she wants,
we're in trouble.
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Within a few weeks,
they were the chateau's new owners,
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its purchase the beginning of an
epic adventure for the whole family.
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We're going to start a new
generation of
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Strawbridges in France.
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Do you think they are ready for us?
Les petits Strawbridges.
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But to make their new home
habitable,
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Dick was faced with an enormous
amount of engineering.
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So we chose France for all the long
lunches, the relaxed lifestyle,
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the having a small house without
much work, what else?
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00:12:00,935 --> 00:12:02,695
LAUGHTER CONTINUES
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From the moment they bought
the chateau in 2015,
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Dick and Angel faced
an enormous challenge.
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00:12:19,535 --> 00:12:22,415
We're looking back at how
Dick's engineering feats
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have miraculously transformed the
chateau over the last four years.
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Come out this way a little bit,
Steve.
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At the beginning of 2019,
he and builder mate Steve
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turned their attention
to his 150-year-old pissoire.
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00:12:36,135 --> 00:12:38,655
There's more water than I expected.
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And it's clear. And it is clear.
Well, it's pretty still.
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It's not been disturbed.
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I want to look for treasure.
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I just want to see if there's
anything at the bottom of this.
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When we arrived, this old building,
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00:12:52,375 --> 00:12:56,895
this old room,
had two side-by-side loos on it.
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That means it was two holes,
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which over a period of a century
and a half...
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00:13:01,455 --> 00:13:04,255
Somebody could have been here
and thrown anything down there,
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00:13:04,255 --> 00:13:05,695
dropped anything down the loo.
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00:13:05,695 --> 00:13:07,735
So in this little bit at the bottom,
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if you look down, amongst
those stones, could be anything.
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Sadly, I'm looking at the gap
between there and the wall,
237
00:13:15,095 --> 00:13:17,335
and I may not fit in that gap.
Steve.
238
00:13:17,335 --> 00:13:18,415
Ha-ha, give up!
239
00:13:20,615 --> 00:13:23,975
Whether it contained treasure or
not, the outside loo did
240
00:13:23,975 --> 00:13:28,255
reflective the chateau's original,
but rather basic, facilities.
241
00:13:28,255 --> 00:13:31,735
When we first arrived,
our plumbing involved going to the
242
00:13:31,735 --> 00:13:35,855
bottom of the tower, downstairs to a
tap, filling a couple of jugs up...
243
00:13:37,575 --> 00:13:40,095
..and bringing it up
and filling up the loo.
244
00:13:40,095 --> 00:13:41,215
That was our plumbing.
245
00:13:42,775 --> 00:13:47,295
Getting from that to being a fully
plumbed-in chateau with...
246
00:13:47,295 --> 00:13:50,575
Hot water. ..hot and cold water,
it was a massive, massive job.
247
00:13:57,015 --> 00:14:02,135
In January 2015, Dick and Angel got
the keys to the chateau.
248
00:14:02,135 --> 00:14:04,695
It's -4 outside,
it's not very warm inside.
249
00:14:05,895 --> 00:14:08,855
As their new home was far
from habitable...
250
00:14:10,335 --> 00:14:13,095
There's been
an electrical fire here.
251
00:14:13,095 --> 00:14:15,055
..a nearby cottage was rented.
252
00:14:16,455 --> 00:14:21,415
While Dick worked out the quickest
and most economical way
253
00:14:21,415 --> 00:14:23,135
to heat a 45-room building.
254
00:14:26,215 --> 00:14:27,655
For 150 years,
255
00:14:27,655 --> 00:14:32,455
the chateau's 13 fireplaces had
been its only form of heating.
256
00:14:33,855 --> 00:14:37,735
Running hot and cold water had been
introduced at some point,
257
00:14:37,735 --> 00:14:42,215
but the plumbing was rather
rudimentary, to say the least.
258
00:14:43,815 --> 00:14:46,055
This is good.
It's practically a bathroom.
259
00:14:47,135 --> 00:14:49,935
That's going to need a
good, good scrub.
260
00:14:49,935 --> 00:14:51,375
Then we can actually... Ugh!
261
00:14:53,335 --> 00:14:54,935
That's very, very unpleasant.
262
00:14:57,135 --> 00:14:59,495
One of those things that always
makes me smile is just
263
00:14:59,495 --> 00:15:04,175
remembering you, when you had a look
in our only loo for the first time.
264
00:15:04,175 --> 00:15:05,975
It wasn't the first time I saw it,
265
00:15:05,975 --> 00:15:09,135
it was the first time I saw it and
you lifted the lid up, actually.
266
00:15:13,055 --> 00:15:16,415
There's a difference, isn't there?
There's a massive difference.
267
00:15:19,135 --> 00:15:21,375
As they were moving
in during the winter...
268
00:15:21,375 --> 00:15:22,655
Wow!
269
00:15:22,655 --> 00:15:25,455
..Dick's priority was installing
a reliable
270
00:15:25,455 --> 00:15:27,295
hot water and heating system.
271
00:15:28,615 --> 00:15:31,175
The hot water coming out here.
272
00:15:31,175 --> 00:15:34,855
Dick's cunning plan was to use
two wood burners
273
00:15:34,855 --> 00:15:37,055
and a gas boiler to heat up
the water,
274
00:15:37,055 --> 00:15:40,415
and then a thermal store
in the attic to keep it warm.
275
00:15:41,735 --> 00:15:44,535
It all comes
down from the thermal store.
276
00:15:44,535 --> 00:15:47,655
For baths, for showers,
for sinks for the kitchens.
277
00:15:47,655 --> 00:15:49,855
And as well as that,
the heat in the thermal store
278
00:15:49,855 --> 00:15:52,295
provides the hot water
to run around our radiators.
279
00:15:52,295 --> 00:15:55,695
The difficult thing here is
the scale of the job.
280
00:15:55,695 --> 00:15:56,855
The chateau is huge.
281
00:16:02,055 --> 00:16:03,975
As Dick needed to start somewhere,
282
00:16:03,975 --> 00:16:07,295
he turned his attention first to the
chateau's chimneys.
283
00:16:08,695 --> 00:16:09,735
Over six feet high
284
00:16:09,735 --> 00:16:12,895
and decorated with the de Baglion
family's initials,
285
00:16:12,895 --> 00:16:17,055
the 19th-century brick chimneys had
been out of use for years.
286
00:16:18,495 --> 00:16:21,815
Now, Dick wanted to bring them
back to life by lining them
287
00:16:21,815 --> 00:16:24,255
with a flue for the wood burners.
288
00:16:24,255 --> 00:16:26,375
Ha-ha! Bonjour, ca-va?
289
00:16:26,375 --> 00:16:30,215
Pascal, a local heating engineer,
was hired to help.
290
00:16:32,415 --> 00:16:34,495
Les trois chiminees. Ouais.
La cuisine...
291
00:16:34,495 --> 00:16:37,935
But Dick soon discovered planning
the plumbing was one thing,
292
00:16:37,935 --> 00:16:40,095
speaking French, quite another.
293
00:16:40,095 --> 00:16:41,335
OK? Merci, monsieur.
294
00:16:44,295 --> 00:16:48,415
The last time I studied French
was 39 years ago.
295
00:16:48,415 --> 00:16:51,455
I speak a lot more French
now than I did.
296
00:16:51,455 --> 00:16:55,455
And your vocabulary is quite
reasonable now.
297
00:16:55,455 --> 00:16:57,415
The grammar may not be great,
298
00:16:57,415 --> 00:16:59,695
but you speak a lot more
than you used to.
299
00:16:59,695 --> 00:17:03,615
I know a lot of words, and I just
don't know how to put them together
300
00:17:03,615 --> 00:17:08,375
in an accent that doesn't sound like
it's not from Only Fools And Horses.
301
00:17:11,135 --> 00:17:14,575
Nous avons une grande...
Erm... Store!
302
00:17:14,575 --> 00:17:19,255
C'est une thermal store, en Anglais.
Mais, c'est... Erm... Chaud...
303
00:17:19,255 --> 00:17:20,735
Ah, un chauffe-eau.
304
00:17:20,735 --> 00:17:22,895
Chauffe-eau? Un chauffe-eau.
Un chauffe-eau!
305
00:17:22,895 --> 00:17:26,095
OK, allons!
We're going to have a chauffe-eau.
306
00:17:26,095 --> 00:17:30,695
Dick only needed to line three of
the chateau's six chimneys.
307
00:17:30,695 --> 00:17:35,335
But when they're 17m up, it's
definitely a job for the experts.
308
00:17:35,335 --> 00:17:37,735
No problem, no problem. No problem.
309
00:17:37,735 --> 00:17:40,375
I just assumed there was going to be
some sort of a cherry picker
310
00:17:40,375 --> 00:17:42,455
or a lift going up there.
Or lots of scaffolding.
311
00:17:42,455 --> 00:17:46,775
Je sors mon echelle sur le toit.
Ouais? Et je monte.
312
00:17:46,775 --> 00:17:48,135
Pascal's going on the roof.
313
00:17:58,775 --> 00:18:01,415
It is a bit scary,
because I don't think anybody's
314
00:18:01,415 --> 00:18:03,575
been up on that roof for
a very long time.
315
00:18:08,575 --> 00:18:11,815
He's gone out the window, he's got
his special harness on, he's going
316
00:18:11,815 --> 00:18:15,135
to attach himself and if he falls,
it stops him hitting the ground.
317
00:18:21,535 --> 00:18:26,015
Depending solely on a rope
and good balance, Pascal was soon
318
00:18:26,015 --> 00:18:29,655
out of the access window and on top
of Dick and Angel's chateau.
319
00:18:29,655 --> 00:18:32,335
He just stands on our roof
quite happily.
320
00:18:32,335 --> 00:18:35,255
He's actually dropping a rope down,
and his friend, Sylvain,
321
00:18:35,255 --> 00:18:37,695
he's down there,
he's feeding it up the chimney,
322
00:18:37,695 --> 00:18:40,295
that's why he's lifting
it up there. Right.
323
00:18:43,255 --> 00:18:45,655
DISTANT WHISTLING
324
00:18:47,535 --> 00:18:50,295
That's the singing Frenchman.
Or rather, he's whistling.
325
00:18:50,295 --> 00:18:53,495
He looks great. He's the
Roger Whittaker of the French world.
326
00:19:06,415 --> 00:19:10,135
Once the chimneys were lined, the
heating system could be installed.
327
00:19:13,695 --> 00:19:16,495
As the removal van was
due at the end of the month,
328
00:19:16,495 --> 00:19:17,935
Dick called in the troops.
329
00:19:19,815 --> 00:19:22,135
You need mates,
and mates who are plumbers
330
00:19:22,135 --> 00:19:24,455
and electricians understand
what's going on.
331
00:19:24,455 --> 00:19:28,535
Friends of the family Lee and Kyle
came over from London
332
00:19:28,535 --> 00:19:30,775
to offer their expert advice.
333
00:19:30,775 --> 00:19:34,215
But even they were phased
by the scale of the endeavour.
334
00:19:34,215 --> 00:19:37,895
Effectively, you're re-piping this
house from top to bottom.
335
00:19:37,895 --> 00:19:41,455
I think they're crazy, because it's
very real. The deadlines are a mess.
336
00:19:41,455 --> 00:19:44,455
Nevertheless, Dick's epic plan
was put into action,
337
00:19:44,455 --> 00:19:47,815
and over half a kilometre
of new pipe
338
00:19:47,815 --> 00:19:50,655
fitted between a tap in the basement
and the attic.
339
00:19:56,175 --> 00:19:59,135
Today, this is one of Dick's
proudest achievements.
340
00:20:00,935 --> 00:20:02,335
Look, there you go.
341
00:20:02,335 --> 00:20:04,415
So, this is our first tap.
342
00:20:04,415 --> 00:20:06,215
Our main input to the chateau.
343
00:20:06,215 --> 00:20:08,615
Then comes through here.
344
00:20:08,615 --> 00:20:10,575
Up we go.
345
00:20:10,575 --> 00:20:12,575
Across the next workshop.
346
00:20:12,575 --> 00:20:14,655
When it goes into the cav,
it goes up.
347
00:20:27,455 --> 00:20:29,495
The salon's got the wood burner.
348
00:20:29,495 --> 00:20:31,975
Basically, provide most of our heat
from the wood.
349
00:20:31,975 --> 00:20:34,575
Then, children's playroom.
350
00:20:34,575 --> 00:20:37,215
It's a playroom,
it's supposed to look like this.
351
00:20:37,215 --> 00:20:40,335
And the pipes have to disappear,
so they're boxed in.
352
00:20:40,335 --> 00:20:42,455
They go all the way up.
353
00:20:42,455 --> 00:20:45,095
Pipes come up
the other side of this wall.
354
00:20:48,975 --> 00:20:50,055
There we go.
355
00:20:51,135 --> 00:20:54,935
Nobody knows it's here now,
but for a long, long time,
356
00:20:54,935 --> 00:20:57,575
there was just pipes
and cables and all sorts here.
357
00:20:59,175 --> 00:21:01,215
But from here, they go up.
358
00:21:04,815 --> 00:21:07,935
So, here we go,
the pipes keep coming up.
359
00:21:07,935 --> 00:21:11,495
This is only about 75 steps
to this point.
360
00:21:11,495 --> 00:21:13,535
Ta-da!
361
00:21:13,535 --> 00:21:14,655
The pipes go up.
362
00:21:14,655 --> 00:21:16,055
There's a vent pipe there,
363
00:21:16,055 --> 00:21:20,015
there's also pipes and electricity
going up to the hot water tank.
364
00:21:20,015 --> 00:21:23,335
But this little bad boy,
the junction comes off it
365
00:21:23,335 --> 00:21:26,215
and it joins in the suite,
366
00:21:26,215 --> 00:21:28,135
which was the last battle we did.
367
00:21:29,215 --> 00:21:32,975
It's so satisfying, connecting
to the very first thing you did.
368
00:21:32,975 --> 00:21:35,415
The fact it works is all
I really care about.
369
00:21:36,575 --> 00:21:38,495
Who would have thought
these colours?
370
00:21:45,255 --> 00:21:48,815
But back in 2015,
with just days to go
371
00:21:48,815 --> 00:21:53,055
until the removal van arrived,
Dick hit a snag.
372
00:21:53,055 --> 00:21:55,655
These walls are thick.
373
00:21:55,655 --> 00:22:00,255
Going through the wall is going
to be a major nightmare.
374
00:22:00,255 --> 00:22:03,815
To feed the pipes into the rooms,
holes had to be drilled
375
00:22:03,815 --> 00:22:06,495
through three-foot-thick
stone walls.
376
00:22:07,775 --> 00:22:09,735
See, that's what we need,
isn't it? Come on.
377
00:22:12,935 --> 00:22:15,095
So Dick brought in the big guns.
378
00:22:15,095 --> 00:22:17,135
I came to France
and I bought the biggest drill
379
00:22:17,135 --> 00:22:19,055
they had in the equipment store.
380
00:22:19,055 --> 00:22:21,015
If this works,
it'll make our life easy.
381
00:22:27,375 --> 00:22:30,415
But the 21st-century drill soon
met its match
382
00:22:30,415 --> 00:22:33,255
in the 19th-century stonework.
383
00:22:33,255 --> 00:22:35,495
I'm going to call a stop on this.
384
00:22:35,495 --> 00:22:37,775
You know, best will in the world,
the wall won.
385
00:22:40,775 --> 00:22:43,615
Declaring defeat,
and with no time to spare,
386
00:22:43,615 --> 00:22:48,415
Dick's only option was to chisel
out the holes by hand.
387
00:22:48,415 --> 00:22:51,815
The clock's ticking, the removals
are coming, there's no heat.
388
00:22:51,815 --> 00:22:55,415
So all in all, erm...yeah.
389
00:22:55,415 --> 00:22:57,975
Soon though, Dick's deadline was up.
390
00:23:01,335 --> 00:23:02,775
HORN
391
00:23:05,335 --> 00:23:07,255
It's all happening now.
392
00:23:07,255 --> 00:23:09,415
It was time for
the Strawbridge family
393
00:23:09,415 --> 00:23:12,535
to move into their new French home.
394
00:23:12,535 --> 00:23:14,415
Is it really going to fit through?
395
00:23:14,415 --> 00:23:16,495
I've got to say, absolutely amazing.
396
00:23:16,495 --> 00:23:19,295
It's a bit rudimentary inside,
but it's good, it is good.
397
00:23:25,215 --> 00:23:27,335
Umbrellas,
they stay just over there.
398
00:23:27,335 --> 00:23:28,855
There's an umbrella stand.
399
00:23:28,855 --> 00:23:30,855
Darling, do you want this full-size?
400
00:23:30,855 --> 00:23:31,855
Yep, lovely.
401
00:23:33,175 --> 00:23:36,015
Bird cage is going in the
petite-salon, please.
402
00:23:36,015 --> 00:23:39,015
And when the delivery men come,
every time I said,
403
00:23:39,015 --> 00:23:43,295
"Oh, can that go in the salon."
Or the salle-a-manger.
404
00:23:43,295 --> 00:23:46,815
I just felt like a 12-year-old.
405
00:23:46,815 --> 00:23:49,095
Speaking French?
Yeah, speaking French,
406
00:23:49,095 --> 00:23:54,935
but also a little bit giggly that
I'd said those words.
407
00:23:54,935 --> 00:23:59,735
Yeah, it was great. It was just
a real novelty saying those words.
408
00:23:59,735 --> 00:24:01,535
Baby, all our stuff's here now.
409
00:24:01,535 --> 00:24:03,055
We live in France.
410
00:24:11,975 --> 00:24:14,255
Now his family had safely moved in,
411
00:24:14,255 --> 00:24:17,095
there was just one more thing
for Dick to do...
412
00:24:17,095 --> 00:24:18,655
Here we go!
413
00:24:18,655 --> 00:24:20,535
WATER FLOWING
414
00:24:20,535 --> 00:24:22,655
I can hear it coming.
415
00:24:22,655 --> 00:24:25,135
..check whether they had hot water.
416
00:24:25,135 --> 00:24:26,135
OK.
417
00:24:28,335 --> 00:24:29,335
Brilliant.
418
00:24:33,175 --> 00:24:35,295
First fire done. Wow.
419
00:24:35,295 --> 00:24:36,295
Heat!
420
00:24:38,855 --> 00:24:41,455
Look at that! Ha-ha!
421
00:24:41,455 --> 00:24:43,935
And it's warm water, hooray!
422
00:24:45,615 --> 00:24:48,415
This floor is the comfortable floor
for the family.
423
00:24:48,415 --> 00:24:50,095
And our suite is important.
424
00:24:50,095 --> 00:24:52,695
But the temperature actually
falls off as you go up.
425
00:24:52,695 --> 00:24:57,375
There's no reason to keep
the top at 20 degrees all the time.
426
00:24:57,375 --> 00:24:59,615
I've learned about jumpers.
427
00:24:59,615 --> 00:25:01,015
And layers.
428
00:25:01,015 --> 00:25:02,895
We're getting more heating.
429
00:25:02,895 --> 00:25:04,815
We don't really need it.
430
00:25:04,815 --> 00:25:06,935
Do you hear that?
That's what she said.
431
00:25:06,935 --> 00:25:09,615
Sometimes it's too hot. Sometimes I
have to take my jumpers off.
432
00:25:09,615 --> 00:25:10,935
We've got some massive...
433
00:25:27,575 --> 00:25:29,655
Over the past four years,
434
00:25:29,655 --> 00:25:34,495
Dick and Angel have made some major
structural changes at the chateau.
435
00:25:34,495 --> 00:25:36,215
Yay!
436
00:25:38,735 --> 00:25:42,815
Now we're looking back at one of
their most ambitious projects -
437
00:25:42,815 --> 00:25:47,215
transforming a 19m high turret
into a 21st-century lift.
438
00:25:48,295 --> 00:25:50,615
Putting the lift in was huge.
It was a lot of work.
439
00:25:50,615 --> 00:25:52,015
We had to start at the bottom,
440
00:25:52,015 --> 00:25:53,895
get a horizontal floor
and go up to the top,
441
00:25:53,895 --> 00:25:56,295
which meant you went all the way,
floor upon floor,
442
00:25:56,295 --> 00:25:59,135
cutting holes, making more mess,
more holes, more mess,
443
00:25:59,135 --> 00:26:00,415
more holes, more mess. Yeah.
444
00:26:00,415 --> 00:26:04,015
Messy up, clean coming down
and froufrou, make me pretty.
445
00:26:04,015 --> 00:26:05,695
What's difficult with that?
446
00:26:10,415 --> 00:26:15,415
It was in autumn 2016
that Dick came up with the plan.
447
00:26:16,775 --> 00:26:20,295
Our lift is going in this tower.
448
00:26:20,295 --> 00:26:21,975
This is to the west.
449
00:26:21,975 --> 00:26:24,055
And it's going to go
from the basement
450
00:26:24,055 --> 00:26:26,895
all the way up the tower.
451
00:26:26,895 --> 00:26:30,855
The lift is actually in the tube.
452
00:26:30,855 --> 00:26:32,855
This is really simple.
453
00:26:32,855 --> 00:26:38,095
At the top, there's a big fan and
this fan sucks air out of the tube.
454
00:26:38,095 --> 00:26:41,055
This is a very simple thing to
demonstrate. Look at this.
455
00:26:41,055 --> 00:26:43,135
This is my tube.
456
00:26:43,135 --> 00:26:45,215
This is my lift capsule.
457
00:26:46,775 --> 00:26:48,055
VACUUM CLEANER WHIRS
458
00:26:48,055 --> 00:26:50,495
"Are you ready to come upstairs,
Angela?" "Yes, Dick."
459
00:26:56,895 --> 00:26:59,935
To create Dick's vacuum elevator,
460
00:26:59,935 --> 00:27:05,295
the turret itself had to be turned
into an almost 14m high lift shaft.
461
00:27:08,095 --> 00:27:10,895
That meant first clearing
the basement room
462
00:27:10,895 --> 00:27:13,935
and then cutting through
the three floors above it.
463
00:27:20,535 --> 00:27:25,855
To save money, Dick and Angel
decided to do it themselves.
464
00:27:25,855 --> 00:27:29,535
Whenever we work together...
Manual jobs together are hilarious.
465
00:27:29,535 --> 00:27:30,615
I love it.
466
00:27:30,615 --> 00:27:33,055
Giving her a sledgehammer,
saying, "Take down this wall,
467
00:27:33,055 --> 00:27:36,175
"break up these pipes,"
it's nice, isn't it? Oh!
468
00:27:36,175 --> 00:27:39,415
And I love it because...
She's got her lippy on.
469
00:27:39,415 --> 00:27:43,055
And looking gorgeous knocking
down walls and breaking up pipes.
470
00:27:43,055 --> 00:27:46,055
Well, when we work together,
it's like a date,
471
00:27:46,055 --> 00:27:48,215
so I like to make an effort.
472
00:27:50,015 --> 00:27:53,295
Oh, it stinks!
THEY LAUGH
473
00:28:04,935 --> 00:28:06,775
Once the floors were cleared,
474
00:28:06,775 --> 00:28:10,935
Dick and builder mate Steve had to
start cutting holes,
475
00:28:10,935 --> 00:28:12,495
or at least try to.
476
00:28:13,655 --> 00:28:15,975
It has to be exactly perpendicular.
477
00:28:15,975 --> 00:28:18,215
Which means
if we're slightly out here,
478
00:28:18,215 --> 00:28:20,935
it'll look a bit silly
in each floor.
479
00:28:20,935 --> 00:28:24,295
But perfectly aligning holes
on three different floors
480
00:28:24,295 --> 00:28:26,175
is rather hard.
481
00:28:26,175 --> 00:28:28,095
I've got 75.
482
00:28:28,095 --> 00:28:29,855
I've got 695.
483
00:28:31,695 --> 00:28:33,655
700. 695.
484
00:28:33,655 --> 00:28:35,415
About 693.
485
00:28:35,415 --> 00:28:37,415
That is the right place for it.
486
00:28:38,695 --> 00:28:39,855
Isn't it?
487
00:28:42,175 --> 00:28:43,375
Yeah.
488
00:28:46,655 --> 00:28:49,895
Once they'd measured
and measured again for luck,
489
00:28:49,895 --> 00:28:51,295
there was nothing else to do
490
00:28:51,295 --> 00:28:53,655
but start cutting through
the solid oak flooring.
491
00:28:59,175 --> 00:29:02,855
Past the point of no return.
No return.
492
00:29:02,855 --> 00:29:05,295
As they moved higher up the tower,
though,
493
00:29:05,295 --> 00:29:07,415
the more jittery Dick became.
494
00:29:09,095 --> 00:29:11,135
I hope that's where
we were supposed to cut.
495
00:29:11,135 --> 00:29:12,415
DICK LAUGHS
496
00:29:12,415 --> 00:29:14,855
It's giving me the willies
at the minute.
497
00:29:14,855 --> 00:29:17,375
I really hope
we line this up properly.
498
00:29:19,175 --> 00:29:21,575
By the time they reach
the top floor,
499
00:29:21,575 --> 00:29:24,335
Dick's blood pressure was
almost as high.
500
00:29:24,335 --> 00:29:26,935
This is not taken lightly.
501
00:29:26,935 --> 00:29:29,375
It's a serious job,
I've got to tell you.
502
00:29:30,495 --> 00:29:32,455
I remember going up to the top
and looking.
503
00:29:32,455 --> 00:29:33,815
It's almost like vertigo
504
00:29:33,815 --> 00:29:36,055
when you sort of feel like
you're drawn to the edge
505
00:29:36,055 --> 00:29:37,415
to fall in the hole.
506
00:29:37,415 --> 00:29:39,935
DICK LAUGHS NERVOUSLY
Bloody hell, Steve.
507
00:29:39,935 --> 00:29:42,015
When you're looking through a hole,
looking down,
508
00:29:42,015 --> 00:29:45,015
you're sort of, "I'm going to fall,
the world's sucking me."
509
00:29:57,655 --> 00:29:59,695
Before the lift was delivered,
though,
510
00:29:59,695 --> 00:30:03,095
the elevator company sent
one of their technicians Jesus...
511
00:30:03,095 --> 00:30:05,935
Good to see you.
..to check their hard work.
512
00:30:07,135 --> 00:30:09,495
I think we've done everything
we have to do.
513
00:30:10,615 --> 00:30:13,095
Drop down a bob line. OK.
514
00:30:13,095 --> 00:30:14,775
OK.
515
00:30:14,775 --> 00:30:16,375
So, let's take it.
516
00:30:18,175 --> 00:30:21,735
First, Jesus measured the angle
of the dangle.
517
00:30:21,735 --> 00:30:23,335
Yeah, it's OK.
518
00:30:23,335 --> 00:30:26,575
Oh, yes, he said it's good!
He said it's good!
519
00:30:26,575 --> 00:30:28,375
As an engineering job,
520
00:30:28,375 --> 00:30:32,055
Jesus said we had to be
absolutely 100% accurate.
521
00:30:32,055 --> 00:30:34,255
Steve and I,
never mind the plumb line,
522
00:30:34,255 --> 00:30:36,255
we had lasers out,
all sorts of things,
523
00:30:36,255 --> 00:30:38,975
to make sure that it was perfect
all over.
524
00:30:38,975 --> 00:30:41,255
And we were millimetric
sort of accurate.
525
00:30:41,255 --> 00:30:43,855
I think we were probably
within 2mm on the plumb.
526
00:30:45,215 --> 00:30:46,695
For Angel, though,
527
00:30:46,695 --> 00:30:50,495
the lift shaft was never just
somewhere to keep an elevator.
528
00:30:51,775 --> 00:30:56,735
To her, it was always going to be
the tower of curiosity,
529
00:30:56,735 --> 00:30:59,655
where, with the help of friends
Sam and Sophie,
530
00:30:59,655 --> 00:31:03,695
art and items from the chateau
would adorn the walls.
531
00:31:07,655 --> 00:31:09,775
There was a very basic brief,
532
00:31:09,775 --> 00:31:13,455
and the brief was
it's a botanical suite tower
533
00:31:13,455 --> 00:31:16,455
and we want to incorporate
something from the garden.
534
00:31:16,455 --> 00:31:18,015
On the top floor,
535
00:31:18,015 --> 00:31:22,335
the walls echo the botanical
guest suite's horticultural theme,
536
00:31:22,335 --> 00:31:24,215
whilst outside the dining room,
537
00:31:24,215 --> 00:31:27,055
some rather familiar figures
could be found.
538
00:31:32,015 --> 00:31:34,215
The night before the lift arrived,
though,
539
00:31:34,215 --> 00:31:37,495
Dick and Angel were still busy
preparing for it.
540
00:31:42,455 --> 00:31:44,135
And there would be no sleep...
541
00:31:46,015 --> 00:31:49,655
..until everything was
sparkly clean.
542
00:31:55,135 --> 00:31:59,495
Jesus told us that the house
had to be totally spotless
543
00:31:59,495 --> 00:32:01,575
because when they put the lift in,
544
00:32:01,575 --> 00:32:05,215
one bit of dust
could stop it all from working.
545
00:32:05,215 --> 00:32:08,255
You get electrostatic charge
which means dust will come
546
00:32:08,255 --> 00:32:12,455
and stick to it and if you get that
on the inside of the actual tube
547
00:32:12,455 --> 00:32:14,375
when you're doing it,
you'll never get it off.
548
00:32:14,375 --> 00:32:16,975
But there isn't anything
that you can say to me
549
00:32:16,975 --> 00:32:18,575
that will make me smile more
550
00:32:18,575 --> 00:32:21,575
than there is a technical reason
why you have to tidy
551
00:32:21,575 --> 00:32:23,295
and make the house dust-free.
552
00:32:23,295 --> 00:32:27,135
I love cleaning. I hate dust. Yeah.
553
00:32:33,895 --> 00:32:38,095
The next morning,
Dick was up, ready and waiting.
554
00:32:38,095 --> 00:32:39,655
bonjour! Hello!
555
00:32:41,495 --> 00:32:43,615
Jesus, good to see you.
Good to see you. I'm Dick.
556
00:32:43,615 --> 00:32:46,895
The Chateau's lift
had finally arrived.
557
00:32:49,575 --> 00:32:53,695
Made up of six aluminium
and polycarbonate cylinders,
558
00:32:53,695 --> 00:32:57,255
each one had to be first squeezed
into the bottom of the tower...
559
00:32:57,255 --> 00:32:59,295
Made for it.
560
00:33:03,415 --> 00:33:06,135
..attached to a winch
secured at the top...
561
00:33:10,495 --> 00:33:12,495
It doesn't look wonky, does it?
562
00:33:14,935 --> 00:33:18,735
..and then carefully hauled up
before being fastened into place.
563
00:33:22,535 --> 00:33:24,495
JESUS SPEAK SPANISH
564
00:33:26,575 --> 00:33:29,215
It fits. That's all we care about.
DICK LAUGHS
565
00:33:31,695 --> 00:33:36,015
Finally, the elevator's base unit
was carefully carried in.
566
00:33:45,055 --> 00:33:49,415
In just seven hours, Dick
and Angel's 19th-century chateau
567
00:33:49,415 --> 00:33:52,055
had received a 21st-century upgrade.
568
00:33:53,735 --> 00:33:56,455
And Angel... In you go.
569
00:33:56,455 --> 00:33:59,695
..was its very first passenger.
570
00:33:59,695 --> 00:34:03,335
Shut the door properly. Ooh.
OK. Choose the floor.
571
00:34:06,255 --> 00:34:08,335
Woo!
DICK LAUGHS
572
00:34:08,335 --> 00:34:10,375
Yay!
573
00:34:13,815 --> 00:34:16,855
I thought it wasn't going to work
there, for a second. She's gone.
574
00:34:16,855 --> 00:34:19,895
Ooh!
SHE LAUGHS
575
00:34:19,895 --> 00:34:22,895
Been in a lot of lifts
but this is fun.
576
00:34:22,895 --> 00:34:25,775
Willy Wonka would have been happy
with this.
577
00:34:28,775 --> 00:34:35,135
That lift, albeit not the cheapest
investment that we've ever done,
578
00:34:35,135 --> 00:34:37,455
I think it's been priceless to us.
579
00:34:37,455 --> 00:34:39,415
It definitely has.
580
00:34:39,415 --> 00:34:42,335
The lift is not the only
success story,
581
00:34:42,335 --> 00:34:45,255
so is Angel's towel of curiosity
582
00:34:45,255 --> 00:34:50,135
which has grown in size and colour
since we saw it three years ago.
583
00:34:55,135 --> 00:34:58,575
The room, it just... It's changing.
584
00:34:58,575 --> 00:35:01,735
Every year,
I've added something new to it,
585
00:35:01,735 --> 00:35:04,175
it's been a little bit more painted,
586
00:35:04,175 --> 00:35:06,855
things are sometimes coming out
cos they've fallen off.
587
00:35:06,855 --> 00:35:10,375
I remember finding this letter
up in the Potagerie suite, actually,
588
00:35:10,375 --> 00:35:11,775
this little envelope.
589
00:35:11,775 --> 00:35:13,335
Aw, Dick bought me that.
590
00:35:13,335 --> 00:35:16,735
It's a little matchbox holder
which I love.
591
00:35:16,735 --> 00:35:18,455
It's...
592
00:35:18,455 --> 00:35:20,575
Our lives are coming together.
593
00:35:22,695 --> 00:35:26,375
All of these little things
found up in the attic
594
00:35:26,375 --> 00:35:28,895
in the early days.
595
00:35:28,895 --> 00:35:33,015
It was in a sort of
lady's travelling case.
596
00:35:33,015 --> 00:35:37,735
You know, I've got these memories,
Dick's got these memories,
597
00:35:37,735 --> 00:35:39,335
we're building memories.
598
00:35:39,335 --> 00:35:43,135
You know, when we found
all of the old gramophone records
599
00:35:43,135 --> 00:35:46,295
upstairs in the attic.
600
00:35:49,655 --> 00:35:53,855
Oh, he's done a cracking job
of Arthur. Arthur just looks...
601
00:35:53,855 --> 00:35:56,895
Aw, he just looks like
my little boy.
602
00:35:56,895 --> 00:36:01,175
And that sword, we found it
in one of the outbuildings,
603
00:36:01,175 --> 00:36:03,455
Dick and I,
and it was a horse sword,
604
00:36:03,455 --> 00:36:06,215
like a horse fighting sword
cos it was twisted on the side,
605
00:36:06,215 --> 00:36:07,815
and I did not know that trivia.
606
00:36:07,815 --> 00:36:12,615
It's part of the Baglionis
and the Strawbridges together.
607
00:36:12,615 --> 00:36:15,015
It's just gorgeous.
608
00:36:15,015 --> 00:36:17,295
And my very handsome husband.
609
00:36:19,055 --> 00:36:25,135
In a similar outfit
to what we had for our wedding.
610
00:36:25,135 --> 00:36:28,135
And I bought him this
back in the early days, actually,
611
00:36:28,135 --> 00:36:31,215
this slightly manky sporran.
612
00:36:34,615 --> 00:36:37,495
And me. Well, what do you think?
613
00:36:37,495 --> 00:36:39,815
SHE LAUGHS
614
00:36:39,815 --> 00:36:41,735
I'm looking quite good.
615
00:36:41,735 --> 00:36:44,975
I'm looking quite svelte,
my hair's perfect.
616
00:36:44,975 --> 00:36:46,455
I've got a full head of hair.
617
00:36:46,455 --> 00:36:48,375
You've got a full head of hair.
Just saying.
618
00:36:48,375 --> 00:36:52,095
Being immortalised is totally
the way forward.
619
00:36:52,095 --> 00:36:53,495
I love it!
620
00:37:04,295 --> 00:37:08,135
Owning a 19th-century chateau
inevitably means
621
00:37:08,135 --> 00:37:10,495
massive maintenance bills.
622
00:37:10,495 --> 00:37:13,295
And the most daunting
of them all is the roof.
623
00:37:14,575 --> 00:37:19,255
If you're looking at big
challenges and scary things,
624
00:37:19,255 --> 00:37:21,935
the roof of any chateau
is always there as a big problem.
625
00:37:26,095 --> 00:37:31,335
In 2014 when Dick and Angel were
still looking for the perfect home,
626
00:37:31,335 --> 00:37:34,815
they were already aware
that a crumbling chateau roof
627
00:37:34,815 --> 00:37:38,255
was a one-way ticket
to financial ruin.
628
00:37:38,255 --> 00:37:41,135
It was done in 1909.
629
00:37:41,135 --> 00:37:44,655
So the roof was always one
of the first things they checked.
630
00:37:44,655 --> 00:37:45,935
If you look out the window,
631
00:37:45,935 --> 00:37:49,375
you'll see that the shape of the
roof, there are some major issues.
632
00:37:49,375 --> 00:37:51,615
This still needs a lot of,
lot of work.
633
00:37:51,615 --> 00:37:55,295
So on their first visit
to the Chateau de la Motte Husson,
634
00:37:55,295 --> 00:37:57,335
Dick headed straight upstairs.
635
00:37:57,335 --> 00:38:01,055
The roof here,
part of it is very old?
636
00:38:01,055 --> 00:38:05,935
The roof is the age of the chateau.
So this is original roof here.
637
00:38:05,935 --> 00:38:08,815
The tower roofs
aren't in bad nick there.
638
00:38:08,815 --> 00:38:10,735
The guttering looks new,
we like that.
639
00:38:13,095 --> 00:38:16,895
There was a good sign when we got
here, they had actually fixed
640
00:38:16,895 --> 00:38:19,215
the guttering
rather than just leaving it.
641
00:38:19,215 --> 00:38:22,295
Because we looked at other chateau
in our time where the neglect
642
00:38:22,295 --> 00:38:24,375
builds up and builds up
and builds up to the point
643
00:38:24,375 --> 00:38:26,895
where they're sort of destroyed.
644
00:38:26,895 --> 00:38:33,215
But in March 2017 the north-west
of France was put on orange alert
645
00:38:33,215 --> 00:38:36,855
as a fierce storm headed in
from the Atlantic.
646
00:38:38,095 --> 00:38:40,415
2,000 homes lost power.
647
00:38:43,295 --> 00:38:48,415
And the chateau itself
was blasted by 75mph winds.
648
00:39:03,175 --> 00:39:05,935
The next morning,
Dick braced himself for the damage.
649
00:39:07,615 --> 00:39:12,135
This is a slate
that's come off the roof.
650
00:39:12,135 --> 00:39:15,255
Losing one slate is not
the end of the world.
651
00:39:15,255 --> 00:39:18,935
The big thing is what does that
say about the condition of the roof?
652
00:39:23,895 --> 00:39:27,175
While the roof of an average
semidetached house in Britain
653
00:39:27,175 --> 00:39:32,855
is 75 square metres,
the chateau's is a whopping 340.
654
00:39:34,215 --> 00:39:38,935
Which could add up
to 4.5 times as many problems.
655
00:39:41,175 --> 00:39:45,335
You should not be able to see
the sky out of your roof.
656
00:39:46,735 --> 00:39:50,695
It is quite a serious problem.
657
00:39:50,695 --> 00:39:52,735
I need to get some advice on this.
658
00:39:54,855 --> 00:39:56,535
Oh, bugger!
659
00:39:56,535 --> 00:39:59,335
You've got to know
where your limits are.
660
00:39:59,335 --> 00:40:04,975
Dick and I both feel that we could
probably give everything a go.
661
00:40:04,975 --> 00:40:08,815
But there are certain areas
of expertise where you just think,
662
00:40:08,815 --> 00:40:11,855
leave it to the people
that have been doing it forever.
663
00:40:11,855 --> 00:40:14,815
Some things you have to acknowledge,
it's best somebody else does it.
664
00:40:14,815 --> 00:40:16,015
Yeah.
665
00:40:21,335 --> 00:40:26,135
That someone else was
a local expat roofer called Ian.
666
00:40:29,335 --> 00:40:30,855
Watch your top end. OK, yeah.
667
00:40:36,375 --> 00:40:40,455
It's a bit awkward.
It's a bit steep.
668
00:40:40,455 --> 00:40:42,495
Bit more. That's it.
669
00:40:48,335 --> 00:40:51,535
That's it. That's it.
670
00:40:51,535 --> 00:40:54,295
There's one thing for sure, I was
never meant to go on that roof.
671
00:40:54,295 --> 00:40:56,375
Have you seen the size
of that hole?!
672
00:40:57,375 --> 00:40:59,495
Dick might not have fitted
through the hole,
673
00:40:59,495 --> 00:41:02,855
but as Ian wore a body camera,
he did get a live tour.
674
00:41:07,335 --> 00:41:11,615
Careful of the slates. Yeah.
Don't want to knock any more off.
675
00:41:11,615 --> 00:41:13,335
No, exactly.
676
00:41:14,815 --> 00:41:19,455
This is the scary mystery
about buying any property.
677
00:41:19,455 --> 00:41:22,255
It's a lot of engineering
making a roof like this
678
00:41:22,255 --> 00:41:25,575
and chateau roofs are renowned
for being the problem areas.
679
00:41:31,775 --> 00:41:34,215
As Ian peeled back the lead lining,
680
00:41:34,215 --> 00:41:38,015
the extent of the damage
was fully revealed.
681
00:41:38,015 --> 00:41:40,495
That's better.
we can see what we're doing.
682
00:41:45,655 --> 00:41:49,335
It looks a bit manky, doesn't it?
Looks a bit old.
683
00:41:49,335 --> 00:41:52,415
The top slates under
the lead were crushed.
684
00:41:52,415 --> 00:41:54,935
We've got new slates,
so I'll put them on.
685
00:41:56,175 --> 00:41:59,495
When the chateau was built in 1868,
686
00:41:59,495 --> 00:42:06,735
14 skilled labourers were needed
to nail down over 29,000 tiles.
687
00:42:06,735 --> 00:42:10,895
150 years later,
Ian was using exactly the same tools
688
00:42:10,895 --> 00:42:13,215
and technique to fix them.
689
00:42:30,175 --> 00:42:33,535
Brilliant job. Thank you.
Come down and be safe.
690
00:42:33,535 --> 00:42:37,775
Dick knew though that Ian's work was
just a mere plaster over a wound.
691
00:42:37,775 --> 00:42:42,335
One that could one day
need major surgery.
692
00:42:42,335 --> 00:42:43,495
Well done.
693
00:42:44,935 --> 00:42:48,575
I think when you take on something
like this, you know,
694
00:42:48,575 --> 00:42:51,775
you know what you're getting.
And if you don't, you know.
695
00:42:51,775 --> 00:42:54,495
We never went into this project
thinking it was going to be
696
00:42:54,495 --> 00:42:56,775
an easy project. No.
697
00:42:59,015 --> 00:43:03,455
By October 2018 more slates
had fallen off.
698
00:43:03,455 --> 00:43:05,415
And Ian once more ventured out.
699
00:43:09,455 --> 00:43:13,535
This time, Dick supervised
from the other side of the moat.
700
00:43:15,575 --> 00:43:17,775
I can see missing slates.
701
00:43:17,775 --> 00:43:20,095
Even though Ian could fix
the missing tiles,
702
00:43:20,095 --> 00:43:25,215
there was no avoiding the fact that
the chateau would need a new roof.
703
00:43:25,215 --> 00:43:27,695
We've got a ballpark sort of quote,
704
00:43:27,695 --> 00:43:32,375
people have talked about our roof
and they've said £140-160,000.
705
00:43:33,815 --> 00:43:37,375
That's a lot of euros
to be spending out, OK?
706
00:43:37,375 --> 00:43:41,535
The scaffolding is probably
going to cost us 30 or 40 K.
707
00:43:41,535 --> 00:43:42,735
If I said to you,
708
00:43:42,735 --> 00:43:45,215
"Darling, this summer we're
going to be scaffolded up,"
709
00:43:45,215 --> 00:43:48,855
do you think people would mind?
I think scaffolding the whole thing
710
00:43:48,855 --> 00:43:53,015
would be an issue in a wedding
season because, you know, you...
711
00:43:53,015 --> 00:43:55,095
Out of season's
not such a big issue?
712
00:43:55,095 --> 00:43:57,695
Out of season, but then out of
season... Nobody wants to work. No.
713
00:43:57,695 --> 00:43:59,855
Well, you know, you haven't got
the good weather.
714
00:43:59,855 --> 00:44:02,655
And actually, the weddings
and events are...
715
00:44:02,655 --> 00:44:04,375
They're what's paying for the roof.
716
00:44:04,375 --> 00:44:06,495
..Is what's paying it,
it's our biggest revenue.
717
00:44:08,615 --> 00:44:11,935
As major roof work can't be done
over winter,
718
00:44:11,935 --> 00:44:15,295
and they didn't want any scaffolding
during the wedding season,
719
00:44:15,295 --> 00:44:18,895
Dick was forced to come up
with another solution.
720
00:44:18,895 --> 00:44:21,135
I can see a hook.
721
00:44:21,135 --> 00:44:24,175
I think I've convinced myself
we need another window up there.
722
00:44:24,175 --> 00:44:26,255
Because that whole face
on the left-hand side
723
00:44:26,255 --> 00:44:29,535
with the chimney on it
has got no access to it.
724
00:44:29,535 --> 00:44:31,975
You have to climb around
or climb over.
725
00:44:31,975 --> 00:44:34,575
Putting a window in on that side
means we've got access
726
00:44:34,575 --> 00:44:37,735
to every side of the chateau.
727
00:44:37,735 --> 00:44:42,255
And if Ian had easy access,
no scaffolding would be needed,
728
00:44:42,255 --> 00:44:45,895
already saving Dick £40,000.
729
00:44:45,895 --> 00:44:49,415
Now it was just
a matter of finding the time.
730
00:44:49,415 --> 00:44:52,255
Last wedding in September
we say right, October.
731
00:44:52,255 --> 00:44:55,935
Bump straight in from the last
wedding in September
732
00:44:55,935 --> 00:45:01,655
and see if we can do a face
of this roof per autumn.
733
00:45:01,655 --> 00:45:07,135
So 2019, 2020, 21, 22...
734
00:45:07,135 --> 00:45:08,855
It might take six years,
735
00:45:08,855 --> 00:45:12,015
but it would mean the chateau
would get a new roof.
736
00:45:12,015 --> 00:45:14,375
And because their wedding
business wouldn't be affected,
737
00:45:14,375 --> 00:45:16,135
Angel would be happy.
738
00:45:18,935 --> 00:45:23,375
This, if it works,
is a brilliant idea!
739
00:45:23,375 --> 00:45:25,655
Yeah!
740
00:45:25,655 --> 00:45:30,695
Over the past four years, Dick and
Angel have slowly and carefully...
741
00:45:30,695 --> 00:45:32,975
I wanted this to feel
a bit different.
742
00:45:32,975 --> 00:45:35,655
..Brought their abandoned chateau
back to life.
743
00:45:37,335 --> 00:45:38,975
But despite their hard work...
744
00:45:40,575 --> 00:45:43,935
Brilliant!
..There will always be jobs to do.
745
00:45:43,935 --> 00:45:48,295
A job as big as restoring a chateau
with nothing, no heating,
746
00:45:48,295 --> 00:45:51,735
water, electricity, sewage,
it's a massive big job.
747
00:45:51,735 --> 00:45:53,575
But with anything,
you need a bit of logic.
748
00:45:53,575 --> 00:45:55,575
It's like you eat an elephant
a bite at a time.
749
00:45:55,575 --> 00:45:57,935
And you have to just work out
where you're going to start
750
00:45:57,935 --> 00:45:59,655
and where you're going to finish.
751
00:45:59,655 --> 00:46:01,415
And bring enough mayonnaise!
752
00:46:04,095 --> 00:46:08,455
Next time, we look back
at how Angel's creativity
753
00:46:08,455 --> 00:46:11,135
has helped transform the chateau
with her light touch...
754
00:46:13,215 --> 00:46:15,575
..Immeasurable imagination...
755
00:46:15,575 --> 00:46:19,655
My pineapple light from America
has arrived. I love it!
756
00:46:19,655 --> 00:46:22,815
..And her extraordinary
attention to detail...
757
00:46:22,815 --> 00:46:25,335
I always like doing things bespoke.
758
00:46:25,335 --> 00:46:28,495
It's something that's unique,
like Dick!
759
00:46:28,495 --> 00:46:31,215
He's so unique, one-of-a-kind!
62494
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