Hello, I’m Peter, I’m Welsh and I have been living full-time in this part of France since 2013.
When I first arrived I lived in a house in the centre of Beauville, just two doors away from the Bon Coeur shop. I used to be a hotelier in Wales, so I decided to keep myself occupied by operating a Chambres d’Hôtes at my house.
It wasn’t long before a friend introduced me to Bon Coeur. Being one of the volunteers really suits me: as a hotelier, dealing with people on a daily basis was an important part of my business. Also, of course, I have made lots of new friends.
As well as staffing the shop I’m a member of Bon Coeur’s brocante team at the bazaars. All sorts of objects get donated and occasionally, to be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely certain what some of them are. Nevertheless, they nearly always seem to find a buyer!
I now live in a smaller house some fifteen minutes’ drive from Beauville and, being on my own, I wouldn’t normally get a chance to practise my French – so staffing the shop and helping at the spring and autumn bazaars keeps my linguistic skills up-to-speed.
I’ve loved France ever since I was a teenager. I love the way of life and I adore the food! I feel so very fortunate to be living here and, through Bon Coeur, I have the satisfaction of being able to help others in some small way.
Bon Coeur is a big part of my social life – it’s lots of fun – and it’s also doing a great deal of good!