Swallows and Robins by Susie Kelly: Memoirs of a French holiday rental!

15Aug
by Cherryl

If any of you own a holiday home that you rent out to guests, you might laugh knowingly at some of the real life ups and downs recounted by Susie Kelly in Swallows and Robins.

The vision

It all sounded idyllic, exciting.

Putting some inheritance money to good use by escaping the UK to set up a holiday rental abroad in a remote part of rural France surrounded by trees, nature and sunflower fields. Freedom.

Susie does it all by herself while her husband is still back in the UK working.

The reality

Dodgy builders, kind furniture suppliers, eccentric guests, and seemingly spoilt –  having had a ‘servant’ in her younger years whilst living in Kenya, and known to possess a lack of domestic skills, with a hatred for cleaning, to the point of tears – what could go wrong!

Susie: “There is some deep psychological hang up which causes me immense stress when faced with a vacuum cleaner, duster and cleaning products. My heart beat increases, my head starts to spin. I feel panicky and totally incompetent.”

Now I’m not being funny, but that sounds a tad extreme. There are far more ‘immense-stress’ worthy things in life, surely! Unless cleaning is linked to some deep rooted traumatic childhood experience she had – perhaps! Anyway….

She even dedicates the book to “everyone who hates housework”.

Throughout the years she welcomes a variety of holiday-makers, each with their own quirks and oddities. Some were a nightmare, and others became life-long friends.

Over a four year span, Susie grows particularly fond of some of her guests, and very happy to see the back of others.

Never a dull moment.

I did wonder whether her husband ever came out to visit  – didn’t sound like he was really involved in any of it. 🤔

Verdict

If you fancy an armchair trip to rural France for a fly on the wall account of making it as a holiday let landlord/lady and host – Swallows and Robins might be worth a read. You’ll smile and smirk throughout.

This one’s staying firmly on the shelf.

 

13 thoughts on “Swallows and Robins by Susie Kelly: Memoirs of a French holiday rental!”

  1. junedesilva – I am a total Francophile. I love the language, the food, the culture, the fashion, the wine and that’s just for starters! With an anticipated move to France, on the horizon, I intend to share my passion for everything French and my prospective journey from suburban Surrey to lively Languedoc Roussillon. Do I think France is perfect? Of course not! The French can be arrogant, chauvinistic and rude but equally, they can be charming, passionate and engaging. My first visit to France, an exchange trip to Paris, laid the foundations for my future studies and career. I also fell in love for the first time. Or thought I had! Gilles, a Marc Bolan look-alike, broke my heart but did not diminish my affection for his birthplace. After a career teaching French and having lived, for two years, in France previously, I am beginning to plan for the next stage. As a student, I lived in Tours and a decade later, I exchanged my job in London for a collège in Metz. However, it is the Canal du Midi that has stolen my heart. This UNESCO World Heritage site, joining the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, is where we (luckily, my husband loves France as much as I do!) hope to settle. Specifically, in or close to Capéstang. This where we are concentrating our search, although there are so many wonderful villages in the area. We have already looked at some properties in between Narbonne and Beziers. I wonder if anyone reading this – hoping that someone might be! – is living or has lived in the area and can offer some suggestions. For house hunters the power of the internet cannot be underestimated. I spend (waste?!) many happy hours reviewing property for sale in our chosen area and embarking on virtual tours. This saves considerable time and enables a shortlist to be drawn up prior to any visit to France. In the meantime, I enjoy annual visits to France, reading blogs with a French focus and eating out in French restaurants. I also have a passion for French films! I endeavour to maintain my own language skills by attending a conversation class – if you don’t use it you lose it. Through my blog, as well as being a personal record, I hope to make contact with fellow Francophiles and would love to read your thoughts and comments.

    junedesilva

    I think I would enjoy this book very much indeed! Thanks for the heads up.

    Reply
  2. Liz Dexter – Birmingham, UK – Book blog is at http://www.librofulltime.wordpress.com Writer, proofreader, editor, transcriber. Also runner, gym-goer, volunteer and BookCrosser! My married name is Liz Dexter but my maiden name and the name on the books I write is Liz Broomfield.

    Liz Dexter

    This sounds fun – I do have a weakness for books about running hotels and the like, and a small collection of them – and books about moving country.

    Reply
    1. Cherryl – UK – This and that, an all rounder!! If it amuses, entertains, inspires or proves useful to just one person then it's doing its job! God bless x 💛🔆🌴🎨🌼✈️

      Cherryl

      It’s definitely a fun read, these sorts of books appeal to me too, I’ve read a few about hotels come to think of it (might make a good future blog post!!). Maybe it’s because they indulge us in things that interest us 🔆

      Reply
  3. 100 Country Trek – Hello. Nice to meet you. My journey to cover as much of the world as possible began in Costa Rica in 2003. This is a story in itself, but for now I'll tell the short version . On a hike around Manuel Antonio I started chatting with a fellow hiker from Belgium. He told me he had a trip planned to visit Borneo within a few weeks of his return home. He then went on to say he had been to at least fifty different countries. That was when the travel bug bit me. I haven't stopped going since and the journey has been so incredible . It is here that I will share some of the incredible travel experiences .

    100 Country Trek

    This would be a great read.thanks

    Reply
  6. NattyTravels – Hi! I'm Natalie a solo traveller who is on a journey to travel to as many places as possible even if it means doing the whole thing alone. It was never a plan to travel alone, however I have found myself to be in this situation. It has now become my mission to encourage people to travel and live life to the full, regardless of the situation their in. Get inspired and follow me on this sometimes frightening but magical journey. You will frequently see links in my posts where I recommend some very useful cool items at my Amazon store https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/nattytravels17

    NattyTravels

    I don’t really read many books, but I quite like the sound of this one. Sounds like a good read 👍🏾

    Reply

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