A Year in Provence

- Season 1

(1993)

Annie and Peter Mayle decide, in their own words, to take the plunge: they quit their jobs as a tax investigator and an advertising executive and move to Provence in the south of France. Their experience in their first month go from outstanding to downright puzzling. They adore the food and wine but do encounter amusing cultural barriers from the lengthy discussion every time they for to the butcher to the plumber who promises to come back but is unseen for the the next month. They also learn that their old friends in England are lining up to visit them in the summer.

Now into their second month in Provence, the Mayles continue to learn about local customs and culture. They track down Columbani the plumber and electrician and agree on an upgrade to the kitchen. He promptly shows up with a rather large work crew, but not necessarily to work. They meet their neighbor Antoine Rivière who promises them a fox and sure enough, they soon find one hanging in their garden shed. The man soon shows up with recipe for his gift.

Peter enters the mysterious world of truffles when his friend Harry calls from England and asks him to find two kilos of the stuff. He first approaches his neighbor Amédée who sends him off in the right direction. The whole trade verges on black market dealing as the locals are trying to avoid taxes. The Mayles are still waiting for their workers to return to finish their kitchen and they learn that a Parisienne, Madame Hermonville, has them working in her home.

It's April and the weather has turned nice but the Mayles still have their uninvited house guest, the boorish Tony. Annie puts her foot down and says it's either Tony or her. When Tony says he will be leaving if he doesn't buy a property soon Peter offers to be his interpreter and ensures that none of the properties they visit are suitable. Things begin to fall into place when Mr. Colombani shows up to start work on the central heating as do the plasterer and the pool man.

May rolls around and the Mayles get two pieces of bad news. The first is that Tony, their visitor who overstayed his visit, has bought Rivière's property. Thinking the Mayles had something to to with it, Rivière brings them a live rabbit for their lunch. The second bit of news is that they seem to have a burglar in the neighborhood. First, Peter's pool chair disappears and then their mailbox. Their neighbor Amédée is convinced that it has to be Rivière or his cousin and they set off on consecutive nights to explore what may be hidden on their properties. A bit of ...

Annie gets a letter from an old friend asking if she and Peter would like to write an article on Provence for her magazine. They soon realize that they need an angle or a human interest story to make their article more interesting. Mr. Columbani refers them to his brother-in-law who is a renowned gastronome, but that doesn't work out. They soon find the perfect story when the village baker's wife leaves him and suddenly the quality of the bread falls off dramatically. They realize they have to get them to reconcile and Annie is convinced that she knows exactly what to...

It's July and Peter mixes up their visitors schedules. The result is that they suddenly find themselves with a houseful of guests. They are an interesting lot: one fancies himself a handyman an sets about repairing anything in sight while his wife can't help bu calculate the cost of every meal; another is a lush whose wife is constantly ill; while a third couple are quintessential tourists who expect to be escorted everywhere. The Mayles soon develop a plan to get them all to move on. Peter is still after Rivière over the frozen truffles he sold him but all he wants ...

The heat of August proves to a bit much but in the village on a Sunday afternoon, the Mayles learn there is to be the annual goat race. They get a hot tip and decide to take a bit of a flutter. Peter also decides to challenge the village champion at boules but he and Annie proves to be less than good at the game. Peter finds a ringer however in Mr. Parrott. Columbani finally finishes installing the central heating and then tells them they have to leave it on for two days.

With the arrival of September, Peter's attention is now focused on his vineyard and the upcoming harvest. He has an agreement with Amedee Clement where he will do all of the work and Peter, as the owner, will get one third of the product. Peter becomes concerned when last year's vintage seems not to meet with the approval of the local workmen working in the kitchen. He's disappointed to learn that his grapes are mixed with everyone else's and turned to wine at a local factory. He sets about to learn about wine making and is referred to Père Edouard who proves to be a ...

The Mayle's kitchen remains unfinished and Zanetti the carpenter hasn't returned for a month. It finally dawns on him that the man has probably been snatched by Madame Hermonville but all they end up with is an invitation to a party for her visiting Parisian friends. She again calls on the Mayles to help her quiet Mr. Coulon's rooster. Madame Hermonville wants to call the police but Annie suggests a more civilized approach: just ask him to do something about it. It doesn't quite go as planned. When Coulon complains about the noise from her party, it becomes open ...

Annie has been giving English lesson to the local school children twice a week so is distressed when she reads in the local newspaper that the school may be forced to shut its doors. In addition to having only 9 pupils, the bathrooms are in dire need of repair. Colombani and is fellow tradesmen are prepared to provide the labor for free but still require 22,000 francs for material. The local priest, Father Pain, has a plan - get the locals to contribute some of their truffles which they can use to raise the necessary funds. It turns out that Rivière is the solution to...

December arrives and the Mayles are now approaching their first anniversary in Provence. Annie however is fed up at the never finished work in their house. The latest problem is a schism in the village as to who will play Father Christmas this year since the elderly gentleman who normally did the honors has recently died. Annie decides to invite all the tradesmen and their wives to a party in order to ensure the work is done. The village also finds a solution to the Father Christmas problem.