Full-timing family: Party time!
In the next part of our series following Karen Binedell and family as they spend a year volunteering in Europe, they take a break to celebrate
This month, Karen and Warren Binedell and their children head to a nursery in central France, to learn all about permaculture – but only after helping their host celebrate his birthday in style
‘The party was a two-day affair, with 150 guests arriving from all over France and Belgium’
THIS MONTH WE’RE really thanking our lucky stars!
In the days leading up to our departure from Camping du Bois de St Hilaire, in western France, we noticed a ‘wobble’ in our Hyundai Santa Fe.
Warren removed all of the wheels, didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, put it down to tracking or wheel alignment, and decided we would book the car in for a service at our next destination, in Limousin.
On arrival, when he once again inspected the car, he realised the problem wasn’t tracking, but a small tear and rather large bulge in the back left tyre.
We were fortunate enough not to have a blow-out on the motorway, but will definitely be doing more checks in future.
The heart of France
Since our previous update, we have travelled 92 miles from Chalandray to the beautiful Saint-dizier-les-domaines, in Limousin, central France. We are staying with the most incredible Belgian/french family and our caravan is now parked up on the edge of the property, in the shade of a large oak tree, with fine views of their orchards in all directions.
The family owns an organic nursery, Atmosvert, which ships plants and trees throughout Europe. We were welcomed with open arms and told that although there was plenty of work to do in the nursery, our first volunteer project would be to help prepare for our host, Walt’s, 40th birthday party!
Birthday fun
Over the course of the next week, we laid gravel on the patio, collected and chopped wood for the spit roast, built a bonfire, and decorated the barn, setting up large banquetstyle tables and assisting with food and drink preparation.
The party was a two-day affair, with more than 150 guests arriving from all over France and Belgium.
There was singing, dancing, fancy dress and more food than you could ever imagine.
After the excitement died down, our focus moved to the nursery. Walt gave us a crash course in permaculture and set us loose with secateurs, compost and instructions to prune the natural canopy, weed the potted plants, repot ones that were struggling and dispose of any that hadn’t made it through the summer.
One of the highlights was seeing how much the children learned, becoming confident in their ability to prune, as well as identify weeds!
Tomorrow it’s time to hitch up and, for the first time since leaving the UK, we’re retracing our steps – a previous host has asked us back to lend a hand for a few more weeks.