Winter Closure.....sorry peeps!

So winter is finally upon us.  As with last year Jackie and I have decided to close up the Treatment room and The Retreat itself until the new year (February).  Firstly its too cold here (and we are not near enough to the SKI resorts!) secondly we have a full year of new ventures planned for next year! 

SPA...there will be new product ranges available from ESSIE nails.

RECORDING STUDIO...new equipment and possible new premises for the studio including a LIVE room to accomodate full band set ups.

GUEST HOUSE...we will be refurbing the bathroom upstairs during the closed season for more confort for our guests.

For now though Jackie myself and Marli wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy new year.

xx

Music, Relaxation and Fun!

Over the past few weeks we have had some musicians staying at the Retreat.  It's been a chance to see the Studio being used and the house being used as a creative space.  As a result we are now going to be offering scholarship tours for talented musicians AND breaks for music lovers as well as the Spa breaks and family holidays!

Scholarships:
These will be offered to musicians who would like to tour here in France.  Simply put we will cover your accommodation and organise some gigs in the surrounding area.  Feel free to recommend this scheme to anybody you feel may be suitable.

Music lover breaks:
In conjuction with this we are also going to start organising holidays with concerts and music shows incorporated within your stay giving a small amount of structure to your stay with us.  email mail@theretreatfrance.com for more details.

enjoy the sun and come on ENGLAND!!

Things to do in the Limousin

What seems to be a common theme over here is that alot of people consistently argue that there is not alot to do here in the Limousin........I suppose some may rightly argue that that's the point!  If you choose to live in the rural countryside then surely you are choosing a simpler lifestyle?  Country walks and the like.

Myself and Jax are both young and full of energy, we like trying new things and we try and get a balance of the quiet life with keeping things interesting.

What we have definitely found out here is this.  ADVERTISING FOR EVENTS,TOURIST ATTRACTIONS, PARTIES E.T.C ARE HERE BUT THEY ARE IN FRENCH!!

This might sound very expat but its not meant to.  We have simply found that in order to find out about things its best alot of the time to look in the French papers like Le Populaire.  Alot of the British mags out here are great but they simply don't have the information about Vides (Car boots) Fetes and other events that the French go to.

Similarly I am sure the French don't know much about English events going on locally.

We have found that within one hour of our guest house www.theretreatfrance.com  there is everything from canoeing,horse riding,shooting, archery,tennis to Theme parks, cultural cities like Poitier and plenty of lakes for sailing in!

So if you want a relaxed holiday think about coming out and seeing us,  but also should you want to do loads of activities here then you can do that too!!!

vince and jax

Ryan Air updates..

After last weeks ash cloud we thought we would write a little bit about good ol Ryan Air.  Not sure how many of you know this but Ryan Air has a newsletter and if you take regular flights or just like taking spur of the minute holidays its a MUST.

Go to Ryan Air and sign up to the newsletter.....they will tell you every time they put a flight sale on!!!  Currently and until midnight they are doing £3 one way flights.....grab yourself a cheapy holiday!!!
 www.ryanair.com

Lazy Days at the retreat

Here a couple of pics from our last guest visit here at the retreat.  Local attractions include Saut de la Brame and Lac St Pardoux:

Music Holidays at the Retreat

So a quick bit about me and what I do at the Retreat...I'm Vince by the way.  Me and my fiancee Jackie run The Retreat France here and we both have different skills.

I am a full-time musician and have been for 10 years.  I have played with music legends like Jocelyn Brown and new pop stars like Beth Rowley, James Morrison and Nizlopi!  I also had the privelage of winning two awards in 2008 at the UK INDY AWARDS (Best male Solo and Peoples Choice)

What I do at the Retreat:
Well I have a small writing studio where I offer songwriting courses or just recording holidays for the more expereinced musician.

I use Logic 8 (9 to be installed) with various different bits of kit that help to create quality recordings (you can see a kit list on the website) www.theretreatfrance.com

EVERYTHING we do here at The Retreat is bespoke as we know that most people coming here want different experiences from their stay!!!

So wether it be a family holiday, peaceful break away, recording/songwriting trip or a Pamper weekend in the Spa....GET IN TOUCH and see what we can do for you.

Vince and Jax

www.theretreatfrance.com
www.vincefreeman.com  (MY MUSIC)

Better weather and Mans work!

The weather has been getting better in the last week or so (apart from rain yesturday).  We have been in the garden getting the vegetable patch ready for the summer.  We are complete novices but had a great crop last year from the garden.
For our visitors the garden is available anytime to chill out in.  We have BBQ and hammocks available.  (the picture below is of Stevies Garden not ours!!)  but it looks just like that honest!

The plan this year is to have a marquee up in the garden for the summer so our guests and us can enjoy evening parties and Jam sessions.

ta ta for now!

Away but returning for Chakra alignment and Ladies evenings!!

So we are back in the land of hussle and bussle! (Blighty!) This time just for a week.  Vince has some shows to do during Cheltenham race week and I have returned to purchase some equipment for the Spa.  For your information when we return I will be advertising a series of Ladies evenings with free demonstrations of new treatments like 'non-surgical facials' 'hot-stones' and hopi-ear candles.

These are going to be free evenings for up to 8 ladies to experience what these new treatments have to offer.

Stay tuned for the next blog on Chakkra alignment.

Jax x

First log fire!!!

So we decided to break out the unused fireplace in the front room.....and....we havent killed ourselves!!  yey for us!:)
The house is still sanding too!  yey for you!:)

When will it all end?????!!!!

So this is out first post for our Retreat in Le Dorat France.  I thought the weather was bad in England but here it is absolutely freezing!!!  Last year Jax and I got burnt on a couple of lovely walks!!  As you can see from the pic...spring is definately in the air!  Oh well I sure it'll turn t some point.

We are making in roads into grasping the language and have a meeting today with a French teacher in Bellac!  For anyone who is interested in almost FREE lessons and live out here please email us and we will do our best to explain how to do it..it involves a letter in French to Limoges and a form to fill out but at the end you get a government voucher for 100 or so hours of French lessons subsidised  €10 for a lesson will cost you €4!!!!!!!!!!

more soon

Vince and Jax
www.theretreatfrance.com
mail@theretreatfrance.om