Surrey Homes | SH13 | November 2015 | Gift supplement inside

This page: The open-plan living room and office have original Arts and Crafts windows which capture the morning sun. On the walls are paintings and
drawings by Francine’s husband Jean-Francois and her French-Canadian father-in-law, Maurice, who painted the portrait above the fireplace
life, and nothing feels static. Under the bench topped
by the model boat is a crate full of the grandchildren’s
toys with a large plastic dinosaur nearby. Upstairs, one
of the two spare rooms is a child’s paradise, known
as ‘the Lego room’, complete with a tree made from
driftwood, by the woodworker Martin Pammant.
So, I ask, how does her ‘new’ home compare to her
home in Suffolk? “I like this house now. It’s much
more comfortable and warmer than my old house. I
do miss the Suffolk countryside – there’s something
about Suffolk – although I love Kent too.” It sounds
as if Francine had little trouble settling in and making
friends: “There’s lots going on here, and lots of different
sorts of people. I have friends of all different ages.
“Because of my old business [in Suffolk] I knew
hundreds of people, a person in each village. When
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