George East – författare

In the bestselling tradition of Peter Mayle, the second hilarious instalment of George and Donella East''s adventures in Normandy.In FRENCH KISSES the Easts continue their adventures in a land where time is cheap, good friends priceless, and reluctant tractors are brought to life on a frosty morning with a shot of moonshine brandy. During an eventful year at the Mill of the Flea, we encounter a host of new improbable characters including the moustache-growing champion of Northern France and the vegetarian couple who discover they have set up residence next to a veal farm.But the clock is ticking as the couple struggle to make ends meet at the Mill of the Flea and placate their ever despairing bank manager. A series of survival schemes are increasingly ill-fated, and a plan to set up a programme of exchange visits threatens to flood Britain with illegal immigrants. Soon it appears that the Mill of the Flea will be lost and George and Donella find themselves forced into leaving their small corner of Paradise. Will this spell the end of the couple''s adventures in France, or will the Easts once again survive the casual backhands of cruel fate? If you''re a fan of France, life and laughter, you cannot fail to be enchanted by FRENCH KISSES ...

The brilliantly entertaining true story of how one couple set out with a dream of moving to France - and got far more than they ever bargained for.HOME & DRY IN NORMANDY is the first of two books following the adventures of George and Donella East as they try to realise their dream of living the good life in rural France. After months of property-hunting, the couple arrive at The Mill of the Flea, a dilapidated and long-abandoned eighteenth-century water mill set in ten acres of fields, woods, streams and mud in the heart of the magical Cotentin peninsula of Normandy. There, the Easts set about renovating the farmhouse and tiny mill cottage on a shoestring budget.As they struggle to adapt to a very different life and culture, the Easts find themselves with an unofficial estate manager as René Ribet moves on to their land in his ancient caravan. René will, he says, help them learn the ways of the countryside while returning the mill to its former glory. To the innocents abroad he appears a godsend. To the locals in the nearby village of Néhou, however, René Ribet is known as The Fox of Cotentin, notorious for his wily money-making schemes. Financial success eludes the couple but they gradually find their place amongst the characterful locals and develop an unlikely and enduring friendship with René. As the seasons pass, the couple finally realise that the real treasure has been around them all the time...