I don’t feel like I’ve been at home for the last few weeks, and when I have been at home it’s been to sleep or do as much as I possibly can for the next time I’m out.
The days of last week of my two weeks off slipped away very quickly after we got back from Brean, without anything much feeling like it happened.
On the Wednesday I went to a carboot in the ‘big city’ as part of my de-cluttering plan, and sadly came back with all but a few things that I took and a pitch fee lighter. Still I have tried it and I didn’t let the temptation of staying in bed get the better of me. I would so like to become an early morning person, I seem to enjoy the day so much more than if I let myself sleep in but bed seems such a nice place to be in the morning, especially now that the mornings are chillier. Then that evening me and Rhys went out for dinner as it was his birthday.
On Thursday I spent most of the day driving round trying to get home after a road being closed after an accident, I don’t know where I was meant to end up but I did ended up over the other side on Gloucestershire after making my way through lots of little lanes trying to find somewhere I knew or had heard of to head towards.
On the Friday we went to Wales for a night’s camping, we stay on a wonderful camp site in the middle of no where. The camping field was on a smallholding, Gwalia, where they produce most of their own fruit and vegetables, eggs, meat and milk. It is always nice to have a look around other peoples holdings to see what they are doing and pick up ideas. They have a lot more land than us, about nine and a half acres, some of which is put down to food production but there is also a lake that they have dug with a long list of wildlife that it attracts, including Otters, and on the edge there is a small turf roofed hut which they very kindly let us stay in as it was raining and getting late when we got there. Inside the hut is big enough for two single beds down either side of the room and then room in the middle for moving around and a chair. Outside it the roof has an over hang with a wooden step running the length of it, where me and Rhys step the night reading by fire and lamp light. On some more of the land, and around the lake partly, they have planted a mix wood land that includes willow which they harvest for winter feed for their goats. They also make their own haylege in barrels.
Apart from having a look round someone else smallholding and having a nice night camping, the trip to Wales was to visit the Centre for Alternative Technology, I hadn’t ever visited before. The day that we went on they were holding a food event which had some very interesting sounding talks, unfortunately none of the staff seemed to know where they were so I didn’t get to see any of them.
After Wales it was back home, and I decided to skip the local food festival in favour of spending the afternoon on the allotment. Even though it is very much the end of the growing season there are still lots of bits and piece that can be done. I am bring on some more ‘raab 60’ plants at home to transplant when they are a little bigger for an early harvest in the spring, I have some pea seeds that can be sown this month for an early crop next year, which I will do if I can ever find the packet again and of course it will soon be time for broad beans (yuck!) which I think I will try fresh and home grown ones but have never liked them.
On Monday it was back to work, and it is very disheartening how quickly it gets dark after I get home, then after my week at work I have travelled down to London to stay with family for a funeral.
And tomorrow it all starts again… Half way through October already!
A Life Less Simple 