Hilary

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="0c0fd5a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Gites at La Vergne</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |   </B><A HREF="gite_holidays_at_la_vergne.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marshes in Charente"><B>Marshes in Charente</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Andrew ">Andrew </A>   |   <B>Hilary</B>   |   <A HREF="alex_s_page.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alex">Alex</A>   |   <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alycia">Alycia</A>   |   <A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Eleonore">Eleonore</A>   |   <A HREF="id72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hannah">Hannah</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=247 style="border-right: 3px solid #000000;" BGCOLOR="#FFFF66" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="mailto:gite@amarsh.claranet.fr" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:gite@amarsh.claranet.fr"><IMG SRC="114cd890.jpg" border=0 width="205" height="137" ALT="Gites at La Vergne Logo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <div> Click photo to contact us</div> <div> <A HREF="about_hilary.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Hilary">About Hilary</A></div> <div> <A HREF="photos.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photos">Photos</A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=310 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Hilary</I></div> <div> In December 1998 big changes came to my life when the family decided to pull up its roots and lay down new roots in the Charente France. The decision was taken after much thought, it was decided to sell the family farm, and buy a Charente dairy farm, Andrew and I farming in partnership.  This enabled us to continue to dairy farm with a government sympathetic to the rural economy.  </div> <div> La Vergne comprises of our farmhouse,  102 hectares of land,  12 hectares of woodland, three houses, and an assortment of traditional barns. We have  restored two of the cottages into <A HREF="gites___chambre_d_hotes.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gite Chambres dHotes">Gites</A> and since summer 1999 we have been  welcoming guests and sending them home refreshed, sun tanned, relaxed and ready to return to the routine of work.  I enjoy welcoming all guests both old and new and look forward to seeing <B>you</B> <B>soon</B>. Andrew and I  spent the summer of 2004 converting our annexe into a <A HREF="gites___chambre_d_hotes.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gite Chambres dHotes">Chambres d'Hotes</A>, which is ready  to accommodate you. </div> <div> It makes me smile to think that we have been here for six years, the time has passed so quickly. Since moving to the Charente I have gained numerous new skills and abilities, I often find my nurses training coming in handy.   We have had to put  a great deal of time, money and effort in to making our life a success and the business as strong as it is today.   When we first came, the farm had been allowed to run down and the stock was anything but well fed and healthy. Time has seen us gradually change the herd from Holstein to predominantly Montbéliarde, which I feel from women's view are gorgeous and from a business point of view,  a breed of cows which are rustic, strong,  with a long life expectancy and high milk yields rich in protein. Over these last two years we have seen the first of our own heifers calve, and at the moment are  milking strongly in the herd. </div> <div> My hope for the future is to see the business go form strength to strength, welcoming ever more of our friends to our Gites and our four girls blossom into bright young women.  </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0b7fa591dkelyh.jpg"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>