As the end of September approaches, I’m pleased to say that this year we have been able to spend several weeks in France. It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in the peace and calm of the Brittany countryside without a care in the world. On this trip we stayed in a gite just ten minutes from Saint-Pol-de-Leon, but it felt like we were miles from anywhere. The night sky was clear, the sun rose to silence… it was my France. Just the way I like it.
2019 has been a challenging year, one which I will be pleased to leave behind. My work has taken a back seat to well-being, and I have had a wake up call along the way. This is why I crave simplicity. I have lost a parent this year, and my own health has suffered, but it all this has a silver lining. I find myself faced with a future filled with opportunity and I intend to make choices to improve my daily life. This of course means diving headlong into my passion for writing and travel, something that is a Herbert trait it seems.
My father’s passion in life was his Peugeots, and I feel fortunate to have inherited his love of driving. In fact, back in 2013, I undertook a charity road trip to raise money for MS and then wrote a book which was essentially to allow my father one last trip to France. He was with us for another six years but my goodness, I’m glad a persevered and got that book published – Clancy Goes to France was a labour of love but worth every moment of the writing and editing. Of course, I had to complete the road trip first too!
This was all when Lola, my daughter was three years old. People called me crazy for undertaking that challenge, especially with the added complexity of a 1979 Peugeot 504 with 1 million KM on the clock. Yes, I was a little crazy but more so, naive. I learned a lot, and now understand just how vast France is if you’re trying to traverse it on the back roads. This experience has laid the foundation to this website. My father’s passing has brought the fragility of life back into my awareness, and now I’m determined to do as I promised him – more books, more France. He believed that if I focused I could achieve anything, so as we approach the end of this difficult year I intend to continue enjoying the things we had in common.
I will be sharing our past trips and photos in the hope that a little of my passion for France will rub off on you. I will also be writing more books for both children and adults, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy the exploration and writing.
It’s been a long time coming but I finally feel that France Pure and Simple is ready to take flight. I hope you’ll join us!