On the 17th October 2009, it will be exactly five years since we moved to France. It has been a huge excursion. One that at times seemed to want to overwhelm us but mostly has produced some wonderful memories - memories that money cannot buy.
One of the lasting memories was the first house we stayed in, owned by our friends Judi and Roger Meadows. Le Mas was and is the idyllic French farm house with old stonework, exposed beams and traditional features. It wasn't contrived and had not, apart from essential sanitation, changed a great deal over the decades.
Donna and I had stayed in Le Mas on many occasions previously when holidaying in the Dordogne. Far from the madding crowds and close to Monpazier, it was the perfect sanctuary from our hectic gardening business.
Inside, there were happy family photos of the Meadows family adorning the walls. You could not help but to feel this happiness rub off and be absorbed in its atmosphere.
Most of all, one could feel that the house was loved. The style was understated but not in a dowdy uncaring way but in a deliberate sense and it felt like home whenever we walked through the door.
Judi, sadly and most tragically, took her own life on the 1st June 2009 after a period of depression.
Depression and mental health can effect anyone, in any walk of life and at any age. Judi's husband, Roger and Daughters Amy and Lucy have started a memorial site to help raise awareness and collect money to fund research into certain aspects of mental health that there is still a lot that is not known.
Judi loved gardening and it is appropriate that the image I have used is a painting by Judi's Sister-in-law Tiffa called Blue Lily Teardrop.
Tiffa's painting is just one of fifty donated by thirty artists, to be auctioned online to raise money for the research fund.
For more about Judi and information on mental health, visit the Judi Meadows Memorial Fund website.
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