Paradise in the Loire Valley and a tribute to Rex Barnett

TALK about far from the madding crowd, but the French town of Montreuil-Bellay, which sits on the western edge of the Loire Valley, is like stepping back a generation.
The 11th century chateau sits high on the hill, surrounded by medieval walls overlooking the tranquil River Thouet.
It is a picture postcard scene with buildings in the area sympathetically designed in keeping with the heritage of this fabulous fortified town which lies just ten miles south of equally beautiful Samur.
There's a fantastic boulangerie which serves an amazing array of breads and cakes, a florists, an impressive charcuterie, plus a host of restaurants and bars.
And yet there is an old-fashioned air about the place, just as there is in much of France.
Shops shut on a Sunday, and many for Monday as well - and lunchtimes the store doors carry the sign fermez. One of the main supermarkets in the town is called 8 a huit - eight till eight - but it is anything but, and even the bigger Super U has restricted hours.
It's a hail back to a different era when we were used to Wednesday half days and when most shops shut on the Sabbath in Blighty. That all changed with the Sunday Trading Act in 1994, when suddenly Sundays no longer became special.
Of course, the internet has changed all of our shopping habits, but there was something very relaxing about the shops being shut in France on Sunday and Monday, when the only sounds in the town were from the occasional passing cars, and the hourly tolling of the church bells.

Home for the week was La Maison Aubelle which is owned by English couple, Peter and Sally Smith. It was a slice of England in the heart of France at a beautiful residence which has been carefully restored by the couple over 15 years ago.
The house itself, which is built from the local tufa limestone, was restored using local craftsmen, a restoration which has gone down extremely well with the villagers who have come to love "Les Anglaise".
There are now five wonderful apartments, a secluded walled garden, a heated swimming pool and a games room. Armed with paperbacks and deckchairs, it was the perfect sanctuary.
When Britain entered the Common Market in 1973, the couple decided to head across the Channel and to exploit the opportunities which a new Europe offers. Theirs is an amazing success story which has seen them settling in the heart of a UNESCO world heritage site.
They've been approached a couple of times by television documentary makers wanting to feature them - but only for the wrong reasons. They have wanted to exploit any rifts between the English and French, the cultural misunderstandings and blow open the typical stereotypes.
Both Peter and Sally are charming and amiable people, who speak French fluently and have a passion for France.
Theirs is a success story we rarely hear.

Driving through France, I was struck how quiet the roads are, both the Route Nationale and the motorways with the tolls or peage. The French are building new roads, and yet you have to wonder why.
Every time I have visited France the lack of traffic jams and the quiet roads have been a regular theme.
It's a far cry from the car park which is the M25 and the lack of green space in Blighty.
France is two-and-a-half times bigger than the UK. With Europe struggling to cope with the increasing tide of displaced people from across the world, it is bewildering why every bit of green space in the UK is taken up with building development.
Yet, drive down the relatively traffic-free roads of France all you see are swathes upon swathes of unspoilt countryside.

While in France, I learnt about the sad death of my good friend, Rex Barnett.
Rex died on Tuesday at the age of 74 from the asbestos-related condition, mesothelioma, which Rex picked up while working for the Great Western Railway at the Swindon Works.
I got to know Rex and his wife Sandra well during his amazing year as Mayor of Swindon, during which Rex managed to raise a record-breaking £68,000 for three local charities. At a time of economic struggle, it was an amazing result achieved in no short measure to the fact that Rex was admired, respected and loved by those who he met.
Rex was a truly lovely man who even during the two years he battled with lung cancer kept a smiling and happy face. He always underplayed in condition, and was unselfish in his care and concern for others.
I visited Rex and Sandra at their Haydon Wick home just five weeks ago. Rex wasn't feeling his best and was a little off his food, but he was still bubbly and infectious with his enthusiasm as ever. We caught up on the latest gossip, chatted about his family and recalled a couple of stories from his mayoral year.
He and Sandra were the dream team, a loving couple devoted to each other - married for 52 years.
I will miss Rex enormously but feel very privileged to have counted this amazing man as my friend.