#Escape to the chateau full#
#Escape to the chateau free#

вЂњI think my background took a more conventional approach to business,вЂќ Dick adds. To be honest, IвЂ™ve always loved working, itвЂ™s just something that defines me.вЂќ вЂњThe desire to earn a living was planted at an early age. вЂњWe both grew up in hard-working families,вЂќ Angela says. It wasnвЂ™t long before Dick Strawbridge became a household name and even today, his book Practical Self Sufficiency is considered the ultimate DIY bible.ДЄngela may be the more artistic of the two, but itвЂ™s obvious that she and her husband share the same brand of work ethic. The discovery that he had a flair for the screen led to a string of successful shows such as, Scrapheap Challenge, ItвЂ™s not Easy Being Green and Coast. No doubt itвЂ™s this drive that led the multi-talented military man to explore other avenues, eventually carving a niche in television. There is no way to explain it, no way to work out how it all came to be. But somehow our paths crossed, and we found each other, got married, live in a castle and have two beautiful children. вЂњI mean, in 1959 I was born in Burma, twenty years later Angel was just being born. вЂњItвЂ™s incredible when you think about it,вЂќ Dick says. вЂњDick has always had a wonderful energy and is so passionate about everything he does, I love that about him.вЂќ However, the determined redhead was having none of it, her heart and mind were set on the moustachioed Irish man. вЂњBut then I told Angela it was time for her to find a young man have children because I felt I shouldnвЂ™t keep her from that.вЂќ вЂњWe fell in love very quickly and had a wonderful time,вЂќ he says.

In previous interviews Dick has made no secret of the fact that, in the early stages of their relationship, he was concerned the 19-year age gap would be impossible to bridge. вЂњWe didnвЂ™t get much of a chance to talk that evening but we both knew there was something special between us.вЂќ вЂњSheвЂ™s gorgeous, and her smile is phenomenal so as you can imagine, I was completely bowled over. вЂњI was introduced to Angela at a party,вЂќ he recalls. Angela sings them too, although to be honest, the only version she knows is mine!вЂќДЄs well as two grown-up children from DickвЂ™s first marriage, the couple have a nine-year-old son called Arthur and an-eight-year-old daughter named Dorothy.Д«ack in 2010 when they first met, Dick had been single for six years and had no idea his future would include a second marriage, two more children and a move to France. ItвЂ™s always old Irish songs like Wild Colonial Boy. вЂњIвЂ™ve been singing to Dorothy since she was no age. вЂњOh, thatвЂ™s not quite true!вЂќ Angela laughingly interrupts. вЂњI was singing away when a few minutes later, I saw her turn her hearing aid off completely! I still canвЂ™t sing.вЂќ

#Escape to the chateau free#

Receive today's headlines directly to your inbox every morning and evening, with our free daily newsletter.Д®nter email address This field is required Sign Up So, I thought IвЂ™d better join in after all.Дaily Headlines & Evening Telegraph Newsletter But then I noticed an elderly lady who was seated beside me was fiddling with her hearing aid, obviously wondering why she couldnвЂ™t hear me. вЂњAnyway, I decided that instead of singing, IвЂ™d mime. I was tone deaf, so I didnвЂ™t want to go but, as our group was quite small, I had to make up the numbers.

вЂњIвЂ™ve some very vivid memories of my early school days but especially the year our class was invited to sing for the old folk at Christmastime. Then my dad got a job in Ankalon, so we moved up to Antrim where I enrolled at Ballyclare Preparatory school. вЂњWe lived near Ward House down by the Old Pond but no doubt thatвЂ™s long gone now. вЂњInitially, we had a place in Bangor, Co Down,вЂќ Dick says, his Northern Irish accent undiminished by years of living abroad. Three years later the family moved to Northern Ireland.

#Escape to the chateau full#

Friends and viewers know him as Dick but to give him his full title, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Francis Strawbridge MBE was born in Burma in 1959.