Villa la Rive

02/09/2026

We Inspired 28 People to Move to France… Was It a Mistake?

We Inspired 28 People to Move to France… Was It a Mistake?YouTube...

23/08/2026

🇫🇷 We’ve lived in France for years… and somehow we’d NEVER discovered this!

This week started with a fabulous French night market, involved a rather underwhelming eclipse, and then rain forced us somewhere we’d been avoiding for years.

A museum.

About prunes.

We weren’t exactly trembling with excitement. 😂

What happened next involved monks, ancient ovens, Armagnac, fruit from 1857 and Maria making a discovery about prunes that frankly should have happened several decades ago.

Welcome to SECRET FRANCE! 🇫🇷

Our brand new episode is live now. Come and join us, and please tell us we’re not the only people who didn’t know some of this stuff!

https://youtu.be/dgJwOaZF55Y

A New Life in France takes another slightly unexpected turn this we...

20/08/2026

Ten years of pushing boundaries.

And now one of those machines has arrived on the banks of the River Lot.

We thought Mowgli would simply cut the grass.

What we didn’t expect was how much time he would give back to us.

Less mowing. Less noise. Less time working.

More time for the river, our guests, each other, and the life we came to France to enjoy. 🇫🇷❤️

The LUBA 3 AWD has become part of our new life in France rather quicker than we expected.

Watch the full story of Mowgli on our YouTube channel


Interested in LUBA 3 AWD?
Link in bio 👆

16/08/2026

🇫🇷 GOT A BIG GARDEN IN FRANCE?

Then you probably know the joy of spending hours bouncing around on a sit on mower, wondering exactly when retirement went wrong. 😂

Tonight at 5pm, we discover whether there’s another way.

We thought we’d been sent a robot lawnmower.

What we may actually have been given is TIME. 🥂

Plus, you gave us more than 75 names for our new arrival. Whose did we choose? 🤖

🎬 Watch from 5pm today on YouTube
A New Life in France with Maria and Richard 🇫🇷. https://youtu.be/GuQF83B3E4Q

And if you’re already thinking about one for your own French jungle:

👉 https://geni.us/LUBA3AWD_Richard

MAMMOTION’s 10th Anniversary offers are running until 31 August.

09/08/2026

🇫🇷 CAN WE ACTUALLY STAY IN FRANCE?

This week we’re talking visas, residency and our journey from arriving in France to where we are today.

There’s also B&B life, our continuing battle with the French language and the arrival of a rather enormous box containing our new LUBA 3 AWD robot mower. 🤖

Mammotion have very kindly sent it to us, but there is one fairly serious problem…

It doesn’t have a name.

So grab a glass of something appropriate, join us for another week in southwest France and PLEASE help us name the robot. 😂🍷🇫🇷

Watch the new episode here 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs-GOVLzXeY

02/08/2026

Who knew there was such a thing as a World Prune Stone Spitting Championship? 🍑😂

We certainly didn’t… until we found ourselves in Saint Livrade, surrounded by hundreds of cheering people, a glorious sunset over the River Lot, and competitors from around the world launching prune stones with remarkable enthusiasm.

Only in France could something this wonderfully bonkers become a serious sporting event.

If you’ve ever wondered what real life in southwest France is actually like, this episode is for you.

Would you have had a go… or would you have stayed well out of range? 😅🇫🇷

26/07/2026

We never expected a normal Sunday in rural France to end with an orange sky and smoke you could literally taste.

This week’s episode starts with a simple drive in a courtesy car, a haircut, Albie’s latest adventure and a village night market… before nature completely changes the script.

We’d love to know… have you ever experienced wildfire smoke where you live?

Watch here 👇
https://youtu.be/EK07q_y2VuQ

Please feel free to share if you think others might find it interesting. ❤️🇫🇷

This week begins with smoke in the air, stinging eyes and an orange...

25/07/2026

Yesterday, we shared photos of smoke drifting across the River Lot.

Tonight, the smoke remains, but the situation has become more serious.

The Prefect of Lot et Garonne has now activated an official air pollution alert for the entire department due to smoke particles from the devastating wildfires in the Gironde and Landes.

Looking across the river this evening, the sky glows with an eerie orange light. It’s strangely beautiful, yet deeply unsettling, knowing what lies behind it.

If you’ve experienced stinging eyes, a sore throat or difficulty breathing, you’re not imagining it. The smoke is now affecting air quality across our entire department.

Our thoughts remain with the families forced to leave their homes, the firefighters working tirelessly in impossible conditions, and the wildlife that has nowhere to escape.

We hope for rain, calmer winds and, above all, the safety of everyone in the path of these terrible fires. ❤️🔥

24/07/2026

Three photos from our garden at Villa La Rive this evening.

At first glance, it almost looks like mist over the River Lot.

But it isn’t.

It’s smoke.

The air is thick enough to sting our eyes, the familiar views across the river have faded, and even our resident egrets seem unsettled, flying unusually low over the water.

We’ve since learned that the smoke has drifted across from the devastating wildfires further west in Nouvelle Aquitaine. It’s both surreal and sobering to realise just how far the effects of these fires can travel.

The Prefect of Lot et Garonne has confirmed that the smoke and smell of burning affecting the western parts of the department are the result of the forest fires in the Landes and Gironde. Residents are asked to call the emergency services on 18 only if they actually spot a fire, helping to keep the lines free for genuine emergencies.

Our thoughts are with everyone whose homes, businesses and communities are being affected, and especially with the firefighters working tirelessly to bring these terrible fires under control.

Is anyone else in Lot et Garonne experiencing the same smoky conditions this evening? Stay safe, everyone. ❤️🔥