Off grid. It’s a scary concept for some, but for people like me, it’s an aspiration. Imagine living a self-sufficient life and no longer being beholden to ‘the man’. It sounds quite hippy-trippy-60s anti-establishment, but there is great appeal in disentangling oneself from the clutches of societal expectations. To truly live off grid means digging…
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I’ve been thinking a lot about the poisoned dialogue directly after and since the EU referendum. ‘You lost. Get over it.’ springs to mind and does nothing to reach out to the 48% who voted against this silly catastrophe. In fact, it pushes us further into the margins of resentment and rage. Not the best…
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Vorwerk hens can be quite hard to come by, so I jumped at the chance of owning one when the breeder let me know he had a spare. This breed originated in Germany and is known for being fairly laid back and economical with food. Our vorwerk is a bit of a loner and lays…
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We gutted the linen closet today. Four bags of textiles and two bags of rubbish that neither of us can explain. I’m sure holding on to double-sized bed linen despite the fact we have a king-sized duvet made sense at some point, but we couldn’t take the untidiness any longer. Mr Fig and Pen is…
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It’s done! With no building or woodworking knowledge, I’ve put together a really cute little egg stand from which to sell eggs in front of my house. For the base, I used this ODDVAR stool from IKEA, but instead of fastening the base to the seat of the stool, I attached it to this hen…
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I’m four days into a break from work. My stress levels have been quite high and I’m looking forward to unwinding a bit by being productive. I’ve an egg stand to build, a garden to help sort, and a kitchen that needs a deep clean and reorganisation. Staying busy is key as I can’t tolerate…
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My hens are in overdrive and producing more eggs than we can eat. It’s too hot to bake, so I’ve decided the best way forward is to construct an honesty box for the eggs and place it in front of the house. The fact I’m even considering this is a bit of a miracle. I’m…
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Measuring success – of a person, a business, or a country – seems easy enough. You look at the figures. You check the bank balance. But is it really that simple? What about the things you can’t count? I inherited my first business when I was 20. I lucked into a position managing an insurance…
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It’s been a rough week for my business. On Tuesday, I took the decision to let my organic certification expire. Currently, I’m certified under EU standards, and it’s not clear that this would continue if the UK is no longer a member of the EU. I need these standards to export organic materials to my…
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I’ve never been big on New Year. Coming on the heels of Christmas, it’s a boring affair for those us who don’t drink or stay up past 10pm on a school night. I can’t be bothered with the trappings of starting over because doing so insinuates I’ve failed, and that’s not a positive way to…
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I’ve neglected my blog for the past few weeks. Brexit Blues and middle-age health woes are to blame, and I’m fairly certain the former lead to the latter. Less than six months to go and I have no idea if I can trade past March of next year. Do I stockpile? Do I wind down?…
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The recently released Growth Commission report hasn’t had a universally positive welcome, with some critics arguing it isn’t radical enough. Fair enough – it isn’t possible for a document like this to be all things to all people. But the document, and the response to it, got me thinking. Whose responsibility is it to bring…
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I was surprised last night to come across a tweet from a prominent historian insinuating that the independence movement in Scotland was neither progressive nor liberal. It seems extraordinary to me that any educated person can’t – or won’t – recognise parallels between 2018 Britain and the darker forces on the rise in the 1930s. My own history…
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Back in the early days of Live Journal, one of my friends stated that attention is the currency of the internet. It didn’t sound nice, but she was right. How many times have we thrown our virtual net with the hope of catching comments, likes, and retweets? I’ve done it. I still do it. That…
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A couple of weeks ago, I did something the me of 2014 could never have imagined I’d do: I marched for Scottish independence. Followers of my blog will know I was a no voter in 2014, but you might not know I suffer from social anxiety and the thought of walking with a huge crowd…
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