About The Author

Roger Moss is a freelance photographer and journalist and is a member of the International Advisory Board for Maison de la France. Roger has specialised in writing about France for nearly thirty years and is still finding new and interesting parts of the country to explore. He lives in Poitou-Charentes in western France with his wife Julia who works with him on research, marketing and websites.

Postcards from France...

Originally written as a monthly column in everything France magazine, Roger Moss recounts the story of everyday life, home restoration and the joys of living in France

Signed and Sealed...
Roger Moss and his wife Julia move into their home in south-western France.
"I will never forget arriving to take possession of the house after signing final completion papers at the Notaire's office, just in time to witness the simultaneous arrival of the electricity company's connection team in a large, impressive truck, and a man on a small motorcycle from the water company." READ MORE

l'Art de Vivre...
Roger Moss reflects on a year of improvements to their home in Poitou-Charentes...
"Such thoughts of regional authenticity only serve to underline the fact that there is not one France, but many, each in its own way heartbreakingly seductive. And for me at least, it's a major part of what keeps drawing me from the cosy comfort of village life and off on another journey of discovery." READ MORE

It's The Little Things...
Roger Moss reflects on the task of coaxing an old, characterful French farmhouse into a stylish home, and concludes that it's really the little things which are the big things...
All in all, though, life is good. The work, despite everything, is a labour of love. And with such surroundings in which to enjoy our occasional leisure time, surely it doesn't get much better than that. READ MORE

Worth The Wait...
Roger Moss observes that while summer things are racing ahead, others just won't be hurried.
"We walk among their impressive new replacements, hand-made (in a dusty workshop in the next-but-one village) in newly-seasoned French oak, tap their massive forms sagely and agree that once in place they'll probably be sound for another couple of centuries. When it comes to roofs one cannot be too careful." READ MORE

Take a Break...
It's a quiet, autumnal mid-day much like any other in a small village in Charente Maritime. There's hardly a soul to be seen as I drive past one more house renovation, slowing to admire a freshly-applied coat of lime render. ' Il est beau , eh.?' This sudden interjection takes me by surprise. READ MORE