helena frith powell

  • Lifestyle
  • Women
  • Beauty
  • France
  • Contact

Back at Sainte Cecile

1st August 2012 by Helena 1 Comment  

In one of my past jobs I had a particularly irritating boss who used to make me send her a daily itinerary of what I was up to. So when I wasn’t sitting at my desk where she could see me I would have to let her know where I was. This itinerary was usually extremely tedious, consisting of items like a visit to the dentist, or some meeting or other.
I am pleased to say my daily itinerary here at Sainte Cecile is just as uneventful, if a little more pleasant. I get up and walk onto my terrace to look out over our valley where the sun is rising. I go down to our pool (with Rupes if he is awake) and have a swim in the cool clear water. Breakfast is succulent peaches from the local peach man and possibly a full-fat croissant or two. The rest of the day is punctuated by meals; lunches are always long, taken in the shade of the terrace at the source, and possibly with a bottle of chilled rose or two. Dinner is usually with friends on the terrace by the kitchen where we can watch the children play in the pool and run around the countryside. In between meals we have time for some work, the Olympics and (of course) a daily tennis match.
I was all for selling Sainte Cecile and moving to la belle maison. But having spent a holiday here, I am utterly relieved no one had the sense to buy it. It is such a special place, with so many memories, that are all priceless. Even my stepchildren, now practically grown-up, who have been coming here since they were children wander around saying things like ‘oh look that’s where Bea fell in the ditch’ or ‘this is Julia’s look-out’.
It is no secret that this is not my favourite region in France, but once we are at Sainte Cecile we are in our own world. There is no light pollution, not another house to be seen for miles and no barking dogs to annoy us. It is a bit like being on a ship, but the views are more interesting.
Of course when it became clear that Sainte Cecile was not selling and the belle maison (with tennis court) was promptly sold I was heartbroken. But having spent time off here for the first time in my life I now realise that it really is the perfect holiday home for us. With the exception of one thing of course. There is no tennis court. I must remember to include adding one to my daily activity report.

Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2012


Filed Under: France, Sainte Cecile, blog --> Tagged With: cecile, sainte

One thought on Back at Sainte Cecile

  • Rosemary says:
    2nd August 2012 at 10:07 pm

    Soglad you are having such a great time there H. A perfect place to escape to !!! Are you able tobuild a tennis court anywhere ??? Enjoy your holiday, how long are you there for ?
    Love R xx

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.

Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi-based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor-in-chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.

Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. She is working on a thriller set in Sweden as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.

In 2022 her short story The Japanese Gardener came second in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. One of her stories was also shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize. When she’s not writing, she works as a headhunter for the media and entertainment industry for the Sucherman Group. 

Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.

Bibliography

More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004

Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)

All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006

Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007

So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)

More, More France; Gibson Square 2009

To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)

The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009

Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011

The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016

The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018

The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019

 

 

© 2023 Helena Frith Powell
Website by Web Inclusion
/* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: content-template-for-layout-for-header-and-footer-layout - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ .helenaHero .mainTitle h1{ font-size:3em; -webkit-transition: all 0.8s; -moz-transition: all 0.8s; -ms-transition: all 0.8s; -o-transition: all 0.8s; transition: all 0.8s; margin-top:-100%; padding-top:100px; padding-bottom:50px; margin:0; } .scrolled .helenaHero .mainTitle h1{ font-size:1.2em; padding-top:30px; padding-bottom:20px; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: content-template-for-layout-for-header-and-footer-layout - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: 17hfp_about - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ .HFPA-section{ width:100%; background:#eee; } .HFPA-Image{ background-position:center right; background-repeat:no-repeat; height:276px; width:100%; -webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */ filter: grayscale(100%); } .HFPA-Text{ padding:20px 10px; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: 17hfp_about - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: 17footer - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ .footIt{ background:#222; padding:20px 10px; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: 17footer - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */