The chronicle of a house in France
By Tom Scott
There are few places that hold huge significance in ISTA’s life. Not to disregard all the amazing parts of the world ISTA finds itself each year and has for the last 42 years – but Ted’s place in the south of France has been a constant source of inspiration and comfort for so many of the ISTA family since he purchased it with his friend Rob Ferguson in March 2001.
From board meetings and retreats to staff meetings and holidays, his villa in Saint-Jeannet, a short drive north of Nice, has seen it all and provided space and atmosphere for ISTA’s greatest ideas to be born and most cherished memories to be created. ISTA is lucky to still return for our biannual staff and management meetings, offering a moment of luxury. There is no better place for us to get together and be a physical team for a week – a rarity in our virtual world.
It’s very hard to describe the feeling you get when you arrive there. It’s almost like déjà vu and you soon find yourself watching the sun come up over the Baou de la Gaude, laughing with friends under the oak tree or rustling up some of Ted’s famous pasta. It’s a magical place with a beautiful energy.
Ted is sadly no longer with us and in departing he left a huge irreplaceable tear in the tapestry of ISTA. His place survived him and the legacy is continued through his friend Rob and Martha Cant (the mother of Ted’s former student Sarah Cant), and it now stands as a memory and testament to him and to the good times shared over the years. It reminds us that although things in the world can be turbulent and unknown – there are places we can go to take stock and recharge.