Letter from the editors

Welcome to the first issue of House Sitting Magazine for 2021. Are you, like us, hopeful for a better year ahead than last year turned out to be? I imagine, like most, you'll be glad to see the back of 2020?

It was a pretty challenging year for us all, but having flexibility was a major key to getting through these very strange times. The year ahead is also going to be filled with surprises and challenges, and who knows how things will play out over the coming months.

Vanessa and I do feel, however, that we made the best of the past 12 months, and hope you managed to do so too.

At the start of October, with a possible new lockdown on the horizon for the UK, we decided to head south into France, in our newly converted campervan, where we had a great month of safe and isolated touring along the Normandy coastline.

Then in early November France beat the UK to implement a second lockdown, and we had to make a dash across the country to our new home base in the Burgundy region. We'd very generously been offered an empty holiday property by a UK home owner, and were extremely grateful to have a warm and cozy home to ride out the 6 weeks of strict lockdown.

Ned ready for a snowshoeing adventure

To leave the house we had to create and take an "attestation" , declaring why we were away from home, and what time we had departed. For us, the only valid reasons to be out and about were either going shopping, or to get some exercise up to 1 hour maximum just 1km from home.

In December the rules were relaxed a little, and we were allowed to wander as far as 20 kms for a maximum of 3 hours. Our world opened up significantly and we had some wonderful cycle trips exploring the local area.

Living without pets made us realize how much we missed having animals around, and with France potentially opening up again on 15th December, we applied to and were accepted for a couple of Christmas sits.

It helped that we were already in the country and close by. But everything still depended on the home owners being allowed to travel, and getting negative results from their mandatory covid tests before leaving.

Thankfully everything fell into place, and on the 15th we set off for Chamonix, high in the French Alps, for what would be an amazing Christmas house sit, looking after two dogs and two cats. We stayed in a beautiful chalet with an awesome view out onto Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain.

We enjoyed some fantastic clear winter weather in the mountains, and took the younger dog on some long hikes through the forests and up into the foothills. We even had a go at snowshoeing, but ski lifts were closed.

The home owners returned after Christmas, and as a bonus we got to stay on in Chamonix for a few extra days in the family's little studio.

Our New Year sit wasn't too far away, but we had to battle snowy conditions to get there, and couldn't make the final climb up the steep hill to the house. Instead we parked the van in the cemetery car park at the edge of town for the first night.

Ned and Vanessa in the snow

This second winter sit was fun too. We looked after two more dogs who both loved to be out and about in the snowy conditions, so we all got plenty of exercise.

On our way "home" we spent a couple of days in the campervan during cold conditions, with night-time temperatures dropping as low as -5 degrees (C). But the heater system in the van performed admirably, and the sheepswool insulation meant we had a couple of very comfortable nights.

Still not on full lock-down in France, we were permitted to visit two wintry lake towns. We stayed one night at Lake Annecy, and another at Aix-le-Bains. Our almost-month-long mini trip over the holidays had allowed us to see a few places we haven't been to before, to look after some lovely pets, and to meet some wonderful home owners.

Once again, we feel we have made the most of what is currently available to us. I do think that is going to be the key to enjoying what the coming year has to offer too.

Although for now many of us have lost a lot of our freedoms, and travel is incredibly restricted, it is as important as ever to remain optimistic, and try to find the positives in whatever situation we find ourselves in.

We've had all had our horizons narrowed, so we must try to find the joy in the little adventures we can still create for ourselves.

Here's hoping for a happy 2021 for you all, however you choose to live it.

Ian & Vanessa

On the edge of Lake Annecy