Are you up for it? (No Going Back)

Member Name: millergirl

Product:	No Going Back
Date:	13/02/02 (2550 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great escapism, Fun to watch others do what I lack the nerve to try myself

Disadvantages: None

I came upon this programme by accident whilst channel hopping but was instantly hooked. You might wonder why I am bothering to tell you about it as the series has just ended but there are a couple of very good reasons. Firstly to advise you to watch out for repeats and the next series that they are making and secondly in case you want to feature on it yourself, more on that at the end of the op though.

No going back is about people that decide they have had enough of their present life style and they plan a totally different one instead. It is about people that sell up their homes, leave their jobs, friends and extended family and set off for fresh pastures. Now I think this is what really appeals to me about the show because I know I could never do it myself, I am not by nature a gambler I like my security. This year I am moving with my husband to Norfolk and that is a big enough adventure for me! I do admire those who do take chances and break free. I will tell you a little about each episode and hope it will give you a taste for it and help you decide if it is your sort of thing or not.

If you are planning a major life change don’t forget to read the very end of this opinion.

SPAIN

The first in the series featured Martin Kirby, his partner Maggie Whitman and two little girls. He had a good job but like so many people his life was stressful and he was very aware that he saw little of their two children. They went on a holiday to Spain and fell in love with a Spanish farmhouse. So although they could not speak the language they decided to buy it and move their family to Spain.

Of course this took some time and they packed up their home and life in England and off they went. The farmhouse needed a lot of improvements and the vineyard and olive groves needed plenty of hard work and TLC. You could see the instant change in the adults as they began what they hoped would be a stress free life becoming as self-sufficien
t as possible.

The show followed them for a year and we saw Martin’s disappointment at not being able to secure a deal for a book he intended to write about their adventure and the sadness when he has to sell a beloved old car he had left in England. Maggie worked hard to get a vegetable garden prepared and planted and she is rewarded with the most beautiful looking vegetables. They get the vineyard in order and again are rewards with the best crop it has ever produced.

The children go to the local school and seem to adjust easily and pick up the language quicker than either of the adults does. They do make a real effort to become a part of the community and as such they are welcomed.

So how do they end the programme, are they happy to stay or will lack of funds send them home? I won’t tell you in case they do repeat it.

NICARAGUA

The second programme followed the Gaskin family as they left their life in England behind to make a new one off the Mosquito Coast. They could never have imagined what lay ahead of them!

They bought an island but soon came to blows with the locals who resented them and claimed the island to belong to them. So the local people took the Gaskin’s to court to try to get the island back.

Mean while they employ some local people to begin work building the chalets and one disaster leads to another. It is insinuated that the site manager made advances to the wife but not clear what if any thing happens. When she discovers he has slept with the cook he is dismissed!

Later still the family are kidnapped and taken away on two boats, but they recognise the voice of one of them to be the sacked manager! They do get away and he is caught and imprisoned.

The husband’s health causes alarm as he develops bad asthma and they have to move to the mainland for his health care. Does he live to see the outcome of the court case? Well wait for the repeat or
mail me if you need to know sooner!

As you can see this was a fascinating story.

BRITTANY

Episode three followed Kevin Snuggs his partner and two children as again they swap life in England but this time for a life in Brittany. They move to an idyllic looking setting with an old farmhouse, acres of woodland and two large lakes.

Kevin’s plan is to make the lakes a centre for English fishermen to come and fish for trout but he does run into problems. He has all the formalities to go through with the local council before he can be granted permission to set up his venture and therefore the whole thing is delayed loosing him much needed revenue.

Eventually he does get started and he has to totally drain the lakes to see what fish are in it already. Now you see I would have fallen at the first fence as I wouldn’t have thought of that but as he said there would be no point spending a fortune on trout to stock the lakes only to see other fish eat them!

It was rumoured locally that a large catfish lived in one of the lakes and were they right it was huge! I imagine it would have eaten his trout as if they were dolly mixtures!

So the lakes are cleared and restocked and the land around the lakes made ready for the fishermen to come. There were sites made ready where they would fish and set up camp, so as to fish all night of course. An old building was made into shower blocks and the couple would provide breakfast to order at the tents.

So at the end of their first year they were behind schedule but were they going to stay or pack up and return, well I for one couldn’t leave a place like that.

You can catch up with the venture at: www.clearwaterlakes.com

ZAMBIA

Barry and Tara Van der Maars move takes them to Zambia where they begin setting up a safari lodge. Unfortunately due to some bad video recording on my part I missed this episode and I won’t preten
d other wise. I have found the web site and it contains a diary of their return to Africa and how things go for them.

Personally I found this quite hard to read due to the print, lay out, colouring etc but if you are interested it is worth a look. It also included a site where you can find property for sale in Africa in case you fancy giving it a go.

Catch up with them at: www.luangwariverlodge.com

WALES

The last in the series was a set a lot nearer to home, in the Black Mountains in Monmouthshire. The Belcher family goes back to their native land of Wales and take over a country hotel and restaurant. The family consists of a middle-aged couple, their daughter (a solicitor) and her fiancé (a businessman) who plan to marry during their first year there.

They begin to make changes almost as soon as they arrive and soon upset the staff. They have a lot of plans and obviously have plenty of cash to put into the business so set modernising the restaurant and the bedrooms.

They each have their own area of responsibility, the food, the bar, the books and the interiors. The Mum is keen to upgrade the menu and eventually upsets and looses the chef, it was interesting to me to see that she replace him with a profoundly deaf young lady.

Things are going well but as we all know last year was not a good one for people running country hotels as Foot and Mouth disease hits their area. The customers stay away in droves and the books suffer accordingly so further improvements are put on hold.

I am sure they talk about the hotel having three stars with the Wales Tourist Board and they hope to get a fourth one but on their web site (www.pantrhiwgoch.co.uk) they are listed as having two so maybe they lost one instead!

Will the foot and forth have scared them all back away from Wales to city life, wait for the repeat and see.



So I would certainly recommend you catch this series if the
y repeat it, it was excellent.

NEXT SERIES

So are you game enough to radically change your life? Do you fancy a fresh start somewhere completely different? Well Channel four are looking for people to feature in the second series so if you are interested and have a plan, get in touch with them: mail@ricochet.co.uk

Who knows I might be writing an op on your move next year!

So as another Dooyooer might say take a look www.channel4.com and tell them Millergirl sent you ;-)

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