Brian Holden: It'd be barking mad to stay at home

Here we are in France and it's freezing.

Boy, is it cold! We are hunkered down in a 500-year-old villa which literally leans over a narrow cobbled street in Dinan, Brittany. Apart from a few extra rays of sunshine and doubling the temperature we couldn't ask for more.

With so much to see and do, we'll be skipping up and down our incredibly steep Rue du Petit Fort without giving it a thought.

Dinan is considered one of the most attractive and best preserved small towns in Brittany. And that's why we've chosen it for the first part of our holiday. With so many lovely villages in France, why come all this way and settle for less, with a lovely apartment costing around the same as a good hotel in NZ.

Dinan, with its 3km-long ramparts, is well known for its half-timbered houses, cobbled streets filled with art galleries, craft shops and attractive port and waterside restaurants. Certainly worth a day or two of anyone's time!

Actually, another reason for our getaway is to escape the noise of the barking neighbourhood dogs back home.

The problem was reaching crisis point. There's a curious belief that when owners are away at work during day, their pet dog will sit, patiently and quietly waiting until they return in the evening. Well the truth is - they don't. Many dogs will become bored and will go into an all-day, once-every-five-minute barking routine, driving those who stay at home mad. Surprise, surprise when the owners arrive home in the evening their faithful friend goes silent.

Hopefully when we return, it will be to a neighbourhood of relative peace and quiet.

No matter how often one travels to the far corners of the Earth, it's not long before you start thinking about how things are going back home. Right now our thoughts are with two life-long Rotorua friends, Ron and Jo Hall who are closing the doors of their furniture shop after nearly 27 years in business. During our teens, we used to hang out with the same crowd and often now recall the days when life was less sophisticated, with fewer electronic gadgets, but still just as much fun.

Fast forward 50 years and here we are reaching SuperGold card status. That means becoming - or about to become - superannuates, calling for a change in direction that will hopefully not involve the hours that retail trading demands. Ron and Jo took the plunge into business in September 1986, and have not regretted a moment. They have loved their shop, their product, and their loyal customers, right up to this day.

One less memorable incident along the way was when the building had a major fire about 18 years ago. This served to be a good time to move into quality natural wood furniture, which proved popular with customers not only locally but from other districts.

A lesson can be learned here for others who are in business, developing strong relationships with customers (many of whom have become friends), allowing repeated business throughout the years.

The Rotorua community has benefited immensely from Ron and Jo's business which became a household name for many, continuing to forge on through times good and bad.

Hall's Furniture is a story of success and even though the end may be seen as timely, it will take a while to get over.

And like many of Ron and Jo's friends and customers, I will miss dropping in for my weekly chat and coffee.