Fidelma Cook's French Leave (or yes, I'll have another vin rouge, s'il vous plait

THAT fateful night, two friends were commiserating with high-flying journalist, Fidelma Cook after she'd been made redundant from her job with a national Sunday newspaper.
Several bottles of red wine had also been thrown in for good measure.
Then it came to her in a flash - 'I'll just pack my bags and go live in France,' she boldly announced.That was the moment Fidelma threw common sense right out of the fenêtre.
But with no job, a huge mortgage to pay, massive overdraft, several loans and maxed-out credit cards, it seemed like a good idea at the time. 'If I'm going to be poor, I may as well be poor with
the sun on my back in the south of France,' she mused.
The word soon got round that Fidelma was saying au revoir to the big city and bonjour to a new life in the French countryside. There was no turning back.
This is the witty and thought-provoking account of how one woman - with only her pet Afghan hound for company - battled against all odds to make a new life for herself in a foreign country and live the dream we all wish we had the courage to do ourselves.
It is a dream that sometimes borders on a nightmare. But who said it would be easy? Well actually,it was Fidelma who did.
Fidelma Cook writes a weekly column in the Scottish broadsheet, The Herald magazine every Saturday.