As all fans of Escape to the Chateau are well aware, when the family showed up with the key to the Chateau, Arthur was a toddler and Dorothy was a baby. It was an ideal time to relocate a family from their home country into an exciting new adventure. So what has life been like for these youngsters living the dream in their own fantasy playground?
Both of them attend a French primary school and both speak French like natives (much to the chagrin of their parents! According to Angel “. . . she hasn’t got as far with the language as her husband, and that, for her, going out and ordering something simple feels like an achievement”). In fact Dick and Angel shared in a Daily Mail Article that Dorothy speaks English with an French accent to quote “you wouldn’t even know that Dorothy was English”.
Dick and Angel talk about the school ritual (pre covid of course) when you collect your children at the end of the day and you kiss all the Mums and Dads in traditional French greeting then the children come home and watch British TV. Bi lingual – what better gift can you bestow upon your children!
As in any family Christmas is a magical time of the year but for the Strawbridge family it means hanging out in the cosy basement kitchen with Dorothy in her personal kitchen and Arthur chopping and assisting with the cooking. Christmas at French schools means oysters and foie gras and Arthur, rapidly following in his MasterChef finalist Father’s footsteps, has been nicknamed the “Junior Gastronome”.
What an idyllic childhood they are enjoying in their own French Chateau.
