Regular readers will know that my youngest daughter is a keen Monopoly player. A career following in her father's illustrious footsteps beckons perhaps!
Recently we borrowed the "Charente" version and it was fascinating to see which towns & villages were deemed as the Whitechapel & Old Kent Road clones and which were deemed to be Mayfair & Park Lane. I have no idea who took the final decisions but I'm guessing that a few local mayors got involved in the politics.
I have no problem with the two prime areas - Cognac as the highest value (€400) and Angouleme second (€350). I love Cognac - the town not the digestif - and think that it's the perfect size with a real "buzz" all year round. It has beautiful & ancient pedestrian streets, a lovely stretch of river, world class restaurants and a championship golf course.
Jarnac is unlucky not to share the slot next to Cognac but does take the place of Bond Street so you don't want to land there if it has houses or a hotel on it. In real life Jarnac is probably my favourite town in Charente with a simply gorgeous park and pretty riverside walks.
Where I would take issue is the ranking given to the villages of St Simon & Bassac which are in the light blue section just before the dreaded jail cell. In reality these two small jewels sit beside the prettiest stretch of the Charente.
They are both no more than hamlets yet St Simon boasts its own popular bar/restaurant and Bassac hosts two of the best restaurants around - the Auberge de Condé and L'Essille. I have had plenty of splendid meals with clients & friends in both.
That's a great word and so I'm going to use it again as the river between Chateaneuf and Cognac is simply splendid too.
With this in mind, why no place at all for Chateauneuf sur Charente?
Of course it's all good fun and fairly subjective - and the truth is that I get slaughtered by Downie Junior whether we play the traditional version or any of the newer derivatives.
Perhaps I should consider offering her a salaried partner position when she turns 12 next year.....
www.cognacproperty.com
