The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: RUSTYME on December 31, 2011, 06:37:43 pm
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I have been trying to make a list of my plans for the future , and this time of year seems as good as any to have a go.
My main aim is to live a life as free of the system as possible .
In many respects i am off the merry go round already , but the systems control is so deeply embeded , it is hard to avoid at times .
Anyway , food free of poison , is number one on the list .
Apart from the odd problem , i have that covered as far as veg goes .
A larger amount of grain , wheat , oats , barley and rye , will cover my bread and other food grain needs , including animal feed .
It will also cover animal bedding , thatching needs etc .
Growing more hemp , linseed , sunflower , rape seed , will supply oil for fuel , paint , preserving and food , along with fibre for yarn , cloth , string , rope , sacking , as well as animal feed .
The willow beds will supply material for baskets , hurdles , firewood and charcoal . They can also act as a water filter .
The river will provide mechanical power for the woodwork shed , the forge , the grain mill and the saw bench , as well as a small amount of electricity for lights etc .
Chickens for eggs and meat , quail for the same , pigs for meat , sheep for meat and wool and horses for transport mmmmm ?
The resultant manure heap will feed the veg etc and so the cycle continues .
Apart from the leccy , it will be life as was , a couple of hundred years ago .
I will try to keep the odd mod con such as the mobile , but that will depend on how much money i have once things sort out .
Why ? I hear some say , well why not ? I have done the 'normal' life , it wasn't for me .
Many of you already know what my aims are , but the above should explain to newer members what i am up to , sort of anyway .
Cheers Russ
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I love to hear about folks putting the time machine in reverse. What is a willow bed?
If you don't mind answering: how much land do you have?
I also am trying to shift into reverse. However we only have about 2.5 acres of land. I do find as time passes that I can do much more than I ever thought possible on such small acreage.
3 goats, 2 pigs, 17 chichens, 1 young beef cow. Garden, fruit trees. Plans for more. I do have to purchase my hay and feed.
I'm not gaining anything in $ but I am far ahead in quality and happiness.
God Bless and Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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A willow bed is just an area where willows are grown as a crop for a specific purpose ie rods for basket making .
I have 6 acres in 3 fields , one with a small river running through it.
I do have access to more land to grow stuff if and when i need it .
I live 3 miles from the land at present , so just have 3 horses . The chickens , sheep , pigs and cattle will come when i move onto the land .
Pics of the land are on photobucket at rustyme57 , if you can access it ? I am only on an old mobile phone so can't put a link up .
Cheers Russ
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Good luck with your plans Rusty. :thumbsup:
I'm keen to go as off-grid as poss' myself, and if I can get enough land when I get my own place, I'll have a good try at off grid living - I can do the off grid power stuff already, but I'm still a complete newbie when if comes to veg and livestock.
I probably have more confidence in the system than you, but I'd like to be as independent as I can - just in case.
Also, Having contributed to the system for years and received very little return, I have developed a reluctance to contribute more for the benefit of bankers and politcians.
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Pics of the land are on photobucket at rustyme57 , if you can access it ? I am only on an old mobile phone so can't put a link up .
rustyme57 at Photobucket (http://s218.photobucket.com/albums/cc21/rustyme57/)
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it sounds so ideal, except 200 yrs ago there would have been more labour around to help you. its all knackering work! and so many skills to learn too.
if i cud get off grid id be alot richer. our council tax is ridiculous too.
wev used ponies for the farm, from shifting rocks and logs, and carrying equipment whilst doing some job or other, and for riding whilst checking stock. wev used ponies for collecting kids from school, and have a cart too, but the speed and size of traffic where we live is a bit scary when kids are involved.
i wish we cud turn the clock back a few hundred years tho....for all the best bits tho, not illnesses etc!
:D :D :D :wave:
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lol yeah , there as well Dan , cheers mate !
I have no faith in the system at all as long as it is run and controled by people such as Cameron , the bankers and big corps , they are all corrupt to the hilt ! , and i just want no part of it .
I do like leccy though ! , but it is the devils own job to have it and step off the merry go round as well .
So , i will most likely do without in the main , just make enough for lights .
Water , food and clothing , i can grow and make , along with making tools etc . But i wear glasses , so need the optitian for those and i don't fancy filling my own teeth or trying diy surgery , so as i have always said , there is no such thing as total self sufficiency , just self reliance as much as possible .
However , things can go tits up , i think this year may be the one ! I hope i am wrong for other peoples sakes , but for myself , i don't give a toss if it does . It won't make that much difference really , must get my eyes tested and kidnap a surgeon !
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interesting photos and vid russ, what river work were you doing, was that a little trout...
nice bow btw
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Since I started this self-sufficency thing in my head with reading John Seymore as a teen - you are the person living it, politics and all - and I've been watching you, Rusty :wave:. I wish I could do more but with family and bills to pay I am content with what I can do... watch this space :&>
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The river work was meant to be just a slight re-directing , but the neighbour that did it totally buggered it up . So i have spent god knows how many hours shifting stone by hand , to try to get it back as it was !
Yes mate , the fish is a tiny trout , Millie my Weimaraner , who died in May , used to catch and eat them , lovely old girl , i miss her so much.
The bow is only 37 lb draw , but still shoots 3/8"x 31" arrows 120-140 yards . Had to leave it alone the last 2 years due to me buggering up my left arm . Hope to get some practice in this year though .
Yes nfd , i read that book too , but i have since found out that he mainly did the writing , while others did the work ! Nice book all the same .
I do walk the walk as well as talk the talk , although many probably wish i just did the former , lol . It is just my way though .
Living life off of the system , with almost no money or tranport , does make getting things done take so long . But it goes against everything that i am , think , and believe in , to do it any other way .
But things are slowly getting there now , at last , i am patient if nothing else !
It would be unfair , not to mention very hard , to live the way i do , with a family .
We all have different needs as well as goals , so my way suits me , but is no better than yours , just different lol .
One thing i would like to do less though is walking , my old broken body is starting to fight back and say " enough !" .
This year i hope to move down the land , so , less walking and thus more time to work , fingers crossed .
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You are right about the labour pp , but most things are now and then jobs ,like willow . Once planted , it basically just needs cutting , a few hours , and processing a few hours again at a different time . Same with wheat , oats barley etc.
I have been growing veg for 40 odd years , can do woodwork , metalwork (forge and foundry) , basket making , coppicing , cart/wagon making including wheel making , charcoal making , pottery and god knows what else , so most things are at least doable . Plus i can sew , by hand and machine , my mum was a seamstress , and i was making my own clothes from 11 . I can spin wool and weave but can't knit with needles , although i can use Dubied knitting machines .
I have spent years learning all these things , so now i am just doing them as part of my life . Still lots to learn though , how to print money next i think ! lol .
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Rusty, you don't need to print money. There are a lot of folk who would pay good money to learn from you ;)
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Yes Sylvia , people have said that before . However , it would be jumping back on the merry go round to do it even part time .
A number of reasons get in the way .
First would be public liability ins . That means i have to earn x amount of £ before i start ! Then there is access to the land , only 4x4 and nowhere to park on the road .
No toilet facilities , no running water .
No seperate area for camping .
No time to spare from what i am doing .
It is really hard to explain all the reasons , but the above are some of the main ones .
The print money comment , just harks back to my days on the merry go round .
Some money will always be needed , but i really am stepping off the mgr , as near off the system as poss .
I don't want to avoid contact with people , just commercial interaction , that entails full on system rules , laws , compliance , control , the very things i reject and remove myself from .
Hope the above doesn't sound dismissive , it isn't meant to be.
All ideas are welcome , although most entail stepping on the mgr/system .
Cheers Russ
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Well done you, hope everything goes to plan . :hshoe:
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I knew an amazing couple, called Zoe and Fred, who lived in East Sussex. When they got married (before the war) they bought a field two or three miles from the nearest village, because they liked the view (until someone built Dungeness Power Station) and lived in a Romany caravan, planted fruit trees and vegetables and kept a cow for milk. During the war, the powers that be said that the caravan wasn't safe to live it because they were on the flight path from Germany, so they aquired two sea front huts (the type that cups of tea were sold from) and lived in those instead. Not too sure how that was safer but no one questioned it. They reared two daughters. Fred was a conscientious objector but, as a farmer, was classed as in a reserved occupation, and grew veg to feed the nation.
After the war he decided to build a house, bought the bricks from a burnt out farmhouse a mile or so down the road and moved them to his fields in a wheel barrow. It took a while. Once he's build the walls, he had no money for tiles or slates so bought a book on thatching and grew a field of grain to use the straw. Having thatched his own cottege, he found he had a knack for this and ended up as a thatcher which brought in money to pay for the things that had to be paid for.
As a time served plumber, he was able to fit a bathroom but then discovered that the cost of running water from the nearest road (about half a mile) was prohibitive) so they decided to stick with the well that that had had sunk when they first moved there. Likewise elecricity. They had gas lighting instead and a gas cooker all run on calor. Their daughter used to visit weekly and take a collection of rechargeable batteries for the radio. Don't know how they managed before she moved out.
Zoe spun wool on a drop spindle which she could use while walking round the fields checking the animals. She dyed the wool and knitted garments without using a pattern.
The cottage consisted of one big room heated by open fire and two very small bedrooms off. At the other end was a small kitchen and the defunct bathroom with a bath that always held full Kilner jars. The toilet was in a small hut a couple of hundred yards away until the hurricane of 1987 took it into a distant field. They then used an even smaller brick built building that had been erected to house a generator (never used because of the difficulty shifting enough petrol by wheelbarrow. When the toilet was full it was emptied onto the manure heap.
Laundry was done by steeping clothes in a series on buckets under the eaves of the house for two or three days, then rinsing, wringing out and hanging on the line for several days to drip dry. There were sticks near the bucket and every time someone went in or out the house, they would give the washing a quick stir.
When we used to visit they had a cow called Ruby who was well into her twenties at that time. Every year they thought that winter would see her off but every year she survived and presented them with a calf. One calf, Rachel, still lived there but Reuben, the following year's calf, was sold on. As vegetarians they would neither eat nor sell males to market, but sell them as newly weaned calves, knowing how they would end up. Ruby died after getting into the orchard one night, gorging on windfall and, back in her hut, bloating to such a size the hut had to be removed to get the body out. Fred was very upset - he loved his cows - but cheered up when I pointed out that she was probably extremely drunk. As a man who liked a whisky or ten, he could appreciate that. Whe we visited, we would often go home with a bottle of fresh milk, in a whisky bottle, still with a slight taint. We never gave it to the children.
Zoe and Fred were also talented artists and the loft above the cottage was full of paintings. I'm not sure why they didn't sell them.
They died in the mid 1990s, Zoe first but Fred shortly afterwards. He didn't want to go on without her.
I wish I had written down some of their stories and taken more photos. It would have made a wonderful book.
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Have you made any plans for when your either to old or ill or injured to carry on this wonderfull lifestyle?
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Probably a fireside corner of a young relatives kitchen? Doesn't do to look that far ahead. Jump each hurdle as you come to it :)
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Lovely story mgom , as you say , it would make a lovely book .
My little nan (really my gt nan and only about 4'10" tall) , moved from Northolt to Kent , after her husband died in the 40's . She and her brother bought a bungalow and grew and sold flowers to passers by to make any money they needed , and grew veg for food .
Times gone by eh ?
No plans for that cf ! At 54, those days may be nearer than i care to think ? But after the smash i had in '83 , in which i broke my neck , back , sternum , collar bones , hips , legs , wrists , jaw , cheek bones and skull , serious head injuries , taking some 15 years to get over , i now just live for today , and learn how to cope as best i can , with whatever life throws at me .
I don't believe in insurance , i either cope or i don't . 3 months after the smash i was rebuilding the house i had at the time , as well as digging a 100'x40' veg plot , and cutting all my fire wood with a bow saw , i still couldn't lift a chain saw !
Someone said that i just don't know when i am beat ! , sounds about right !
Basically , i will get by and cope till i can't carry on , then i won't be here anymore !
That's the plan , such as it is anyway .
Cheers Russ
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Rusty, what your hoping to do is one ride to hell in a basket that I'm glad we never made . Most of our friends who tried hard for 15 yrs or more were well & truly on their chin straps when they had to give in because of ill health or injuries . Doing it as a one man band is going to be horrific .
Plus it aint no fun trying to feed or tend your stock when you're leaking from pneumonia or suffering a busted leg or arm or you have grafted so hard doing something your hands, back and legs don't play then next day .
All the best with your quest , I'd also suggest you get a P. A. Y .G. phone with a tenner on the card that's using a PV cell charger so you can call help if needed .
One thing I suggest is that you see if you can get the flu vaccines each year and also a single once in your lifetime anti pnumonia shot even if you have to pay for it yourself .
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I think a lot of help can be bartered with neighbours of a similar mind. I scratch your back(when your ill) and you scratch mine. As we have done for ill neighbours, sledging hay to their horses to taking care of whole crofts just because they would for us. As for retirement ,property is a great investment, we will downsize to a little cottage when the time comes.Go for it Rustyme you just need to keep OH working to pay for those bills :thumbsup:
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Plantoid , i have had my land for 8 years and do most of these things already . I have been doing working on farms and smallholdings for 30 years +. I have done everything by hand on my own for the last 8 years , during which time i tore the ligament off in my left knee , still had to walk the 6 mile round trip to the land everyday from november to may , to feed the horses . Cut it back to twice a week for a month then .
Also had a heart attack , managed 3 weeks offthen .
Had pnuemonia (farmers lung actually) , had to carry on .
Dislocated shoulder and wrist , carried on .
I only have a payg mobile , no landline now .i use the mobile to get on to tas . No signal down the land though !
So i know exactly what i am doing , as i more or less do it now anyway lol , but once i move down the land i won't be walking the 6 miles everyday .
I actually live on less than £20 a week , have done for ages now . That will go down to almost 0 once i move .
I have grown and made my own clothes , hemp and linseed , spun and woven wool for clothing . Made string and rope from home grown hemp too . Tanned cow hides , sheep skins , made my own boots etc . The list goes on , i really do know exactly what i am doing . In no way am i looking through rose tinted glasses at some dream existance , as i do it now . I just need to move onto the land to end the walking and do all the work in one place.
The main thing that will be different is no leccy .
My thumb is hurting now , cry cry cry lol .
Cheers Russ
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I wish I lived next door to you Rusty, what a lot I could learn :) I will have to go and live on my land in April, in two little touring caravans. No electricity (don't need it) but mains water(tap in a corner of a field) but feel I will have everything I need. Shelter, water, companionship(my dogs +visiting family) and, most important, occupation. To augment my pension and for further occupation I will tie my fishing flies. Not very lucrative but absorbing and better than sitting and twiddling my thumbs :D
I can't make my own clothes but there are plenty of charity shops in the nearest town, though my younger daughter predicts that she will come to visit and find me wearing sacks sewn with baler twine and with my feet bound in rabbit skins(I will when she visits ;D ;D)
Most of my cooking will be done in a solar oven with a calor gas back-up and I will grow most of my own food, as I do now.
Rusty, you have my utmost admiration :trophy: :trophy: I will be picking your brains over the next six months (Library for internet, half an hour free every day!)
In case anyone is wondering why I have to do this with such a family network----I could live with a dozen or more relatives(or Jim and I could live in a bed-sit) but who would welcome fifteen dogs? ;D ;D
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Have you made any plans for when your either to old or ill or injured to carry on this wonderfull lifestyle?
This is a subjective observation of mine, but it seems that those who retire and relax at 60 seem to lose their health/stamina/confidence within a few years, whereas those who just keep on working with no intention of retiring actually do seem to keep on going into their 80's or 90's.
From the sound of it Rusty, you're definitely the 'keep on going' sort; you've probably got another 30 - 40 years before you have to fall back into the system.
I only wish I had a 1/10th of your expertise - I'll have to stay in the system for the foreseeable future as it's the only way I know to make a living .:-[
mab
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Hello Rusty, hats off to you mate :thumbsup:
I don't know if it's just me but I sense that you are calmer and more at peace than you have been in the past?
I hope so!
If you did have people come to learn from you, you could make them walk the three miles with you to get the full experience ;)
Here's to your continued time travel mate and as previously stated, I hope you have 40 to 50 more years at it.
I know that I have no intention of retiring so I know a bit about how you feel.
Good luck.
Ian
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Zoe and Fred who I wrote about earlier were both well in their 80s when they died so you've got a while yet. I think Fred was still thatching in his 70s.
Where abouts are you Rustyme? I would love to see what you are doing.
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We've a man in our village still does mole-catching and stone walling, amongst other jobs, when asked. He's in his late eighties and mostly walks or cycles around, spotting things that need doing and doing them - sometimes without being asked!
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Sylvia , i have 2 small caravans on the land , so if i don't get the timberframe house up , i can live in them too . Although i lived in a tourer for 3 years , nearly went mental ! So house is number 1 priority , after food .
I will cook on woodburner as i have access to wood , gas costs money i would have to earn , the wood is free .
As for picking my brains , if you can find any , you are welcome to them !
Mab , i doubt i will ever retire . Fade away or just drop dead , but never retire .
I own my land so don't need to earn money to pay a loan or mortgage , thank god !
Just need a few quid for bits and bobs , my living will be growing food and all the other stuff .
Stuff most people earn a living to buy ! , ie clothes etc . I don't mean that in a smug way , just that that is what i am setting up , a different way of life .
Ian , calmer ? mmmm ? , i think it maybe that it just takes me hours to type replies on a mobile , so don't get the chance to kick off ! , lol .
I should have been born in medieval times , although i would have ended up hung , drawn and quartered , but with my mouth it may happen yet !
Mgom , once i shift everything down the land would be the time to see things . But i am in west wales , till they kick me out !
Once all is up and running, anyone who wanted to visit would be welcome .
Thumb just fell off !
Cheers Russ
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Please p.m. us your"address" so we can visit (I'll bring a cake!!) ;)
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Definately been inspired to grow a willowbed. We have some redundant duck runs, ready rabbit fenced in a boggy area by the burn. They will now be willow beds this spring!
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still had to walk the 6 mile round trip to the land everyday from november to may .
Why don't you use a bicycle? I know it's fairly modern development ;), but I used to use mine in the city all the time (until I had children, when I found that pushing a buggy was safer), and even now in the countryside often collect the girls from the school bus by bike...
With a sturdy trailer behind you can carry an awful lot of stuff/feed/produce etc from a to b.
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I have thought of getting a bike Anke , but it is up hill all the way to the land plus i have vertigo . There are the running costs to think about , tyres brakes etc. Not that much out of a normal wage , but a lot if you have almost nothing !
So walking it has to be . Even that isnt free though , 3 pairs of wellies a year, £10 a pair lol.
Cheers Russ
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Mgom , once i shift everything down the land would be the time to see things . But i am in west wales , till they kick me out !
Once all is up and running, anyone who wanted to visit would be welcome .
Thumb just fell off !
Cheers Russ
I'll look forward to it. I'm only in Shropshire so not too far.
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It may help , any interested , to get a picture of what i am aiming at setting up , to look at the website for little woodham . It is a reconstruction of a 17 th century village .
I don't intend to build a village , just that type of house , in a very similar setting .
I doubt i will be walking around in 17 th century garb , but as that era is an interest of mine , never say never ! The garb would go well with my much repaired aviator style specs and ye old mobile phone lol .
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Looks fascinating.
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I know that sort of thing isn't everyones cup of tea mgom , but it fascinates me .
I know it can only give a rose tinted view of life then , based on a modern interpretation of history . But i just like to see a simpler lifestyle , albeit without the grotty side of things back then .
If i visited littie woodham , i would most likely just move into one of the houses !
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Used to love visiting Fred and Zoe and would have liked to have stayed there but not sure I could have lived there. Or maybe I could but I do like my home comforts.
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Is this Little Woodham anywhere near Cloud Cuckoo Land?
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Hi Russ,
I've been reading your posts and have great admiration for your outlook on life; I wish you every success! I have a desire to follow a similar lifestyle whilst taking advantage of technology and feel more comfortable playing the system as opposed to disregarding it altogether. I do not believe the system is sustainable and agree wholeheartedly that it is corrupt.
I am keen to learn how you plan on dealing with the system with regard to 'permission' for building a dwelling on your land and living in it without the planning officers interfering. Will you still be accepting mail?
Best regards,
John
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Near Gosport actually cf !
It is just what is called a 'living museum' . Not everyones cup of tea , but i am interested in that era of history , as are many others , but not you , it would seem !
That's fine , we can't all be the same .
As for ' cloud cuckoo land ' is that such a bad place to be ? , or should we all
be good little sheeple ,live in the 'real world ' and pay even more taxes for even less in return ? And submit to even more control by a totally corrupt elite ?
For those who are happy to do the later , fine , i am sure the likes of Cameron and the rest of the crooks in control , will be very grateful.
Hello slavo, i will do as much as i have to , to keep tptb away , enough said !
I will get any mail via relatives .
As much as i hate the system , i know it can't be avoided completely . But interaction will be kept to the absolute minimum .
Cheers Russ
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I'm afraid I don't agree with your idea of non contribution, that's the trouble with the UK today, to many leeches and not enough blood to go around.
I was brought up rough out in the countryside and still remember the gut ripping cold and wet while trying to get to sleep, it's not for normal people.
I'm not a capitalist and have earned my living in the countryside all my 50 years of working life. I'm still not 'retired' and pay my dues to whichever government that is in charge. For that I expect to go about my daily life without fear. I expect roads to drive down and when I'm ill or injured get medical attention. I have my old age pension every month and live well enough.
It's all very well preaching back to basics, but my friend there were thousands of people over the years in the UK putting into place with sacrifices that saw so many die for it.
Fine go live in a tree house somewhere, but when the s**t hits the fan and it surely, will you will be back to benifit the payments made by other people.
;)
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Enjoyed reading all this Russ. Think the difficulty is balancing the ideals with the practicalities. We've looked at this objective in some detail and we always come back to the same problems -Council Tax and age related limitations. You can mechanise for the age related to some extent but you need to be able to buy spares or replacements so you need some income, which should be low enough to avoid the tax threshold. Problem is our Council Tax is more than my private pension. Still got 12 years to get the state pension I paid for when I was a big earner. Self employed and work has dried up. I pity the young people starting out.
I understand Castle Farm's point of view but all our monitary contributions just seems to have encouraged Government waste. We live in a materialistic and extremely wasteful society now and I personnally don't want to help it along. They've had my money and rather than put it aside for my pension they've squandered it. I am happy to contribute in a practical way -were that possible.
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I have said it before , the mock ridicule attack brigade just can't see any other way than their own . Fair enough , i couldn't give a toss .
As for being a leech ! , not even going bother answering .
As with all things there are things you have to do a different way as you get older and all the tools i need and use are all hand tools that i can both make and repair in the forge myself .
I grew up working my own 2 90'x30' allotments , that i cleared and worked by hand . The other allotments were all worked by old boys , 60-90 years old , all worked by hand .
My horses will help with any heavy stuff , once i get 'all' the gear ! They don't need spares and they can give birth to replacements free . Their fuel is also free , oats , barley and hay .
Oh and CF, if i need anything from society , i will do as i do now , pay for it ! ,or go without . And i grew up in a house with no heat upstairs , so i know the feeling of being cold to , so did everyone else who i knew , and i grew up in London , not for normal people , wtf ?
Cheers Russ
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You lucky bast**d you had an upstairs. :D
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Oh yes , an upstairs and glass in the windows too ! lol
I don't expect anything for nothing , i pay my way . But i am free to choose what i want out of life and how i live it . I don't interfere with other peoples lives and don't accept that they can interfere with mine , because i live a different way to theirs . There are other ways to live , and i would have thought it blatantly obvious , due to state that western society is in , that the 'norm' doesn't work !
I don't invade , bomb and kill , innocent people to gain access to oil , just to keep an unsustainable way of life going or just to make money out of their misery .
I live a simple life , do no harm to people , make most of what i need , grow most of what i eat , do as little harm to the planet as possible , and expect nothing without a reasonable exchange of goods or labour , ie barter .
I don't say that my way is the way everyone should live , it is just 'my' way , right or wrong , good or bad .
Cheers Russ
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I have a friend who lives just up the road. Shes 'travelled' all her life and reared 4 kids in a horse drawn and now lives on a 6acre place in a barn that she managed against all odds to get permission to live in.
She is an ispiration to any woman and I don't think there is anything she cannot do for herself, but at 60 she realises things get harder and without some finacial back up things are going to get harder.
She gave up horses in case they a vet needed calling out and lives without electric, but she managed to get a well in. Runs everything off solar panels.
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The weather has been so wet that i have been unable to dig the grain bed , only 60'x30' or so, to grow the wheat, barley , oats and rye . This means i will have to try to dig it as soon as the weather allows , and grow sping varieties of wheat and barley. Still got loads of digging to do on the veggie plot , so the grain bed way have to wait till later and then sow winter grains later on.
The small grain beds will only supply about 50 lbs of each , wheat , barley etc . But that would give 1 lb per week for food or, enough seed to sow half an acre or so .
The aim is to grow a quarter of an acre of each , to supply my food and that of any animals i keep , growing more if needed.
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Sounds like a plan.
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Well sort of mgm , but the best laid plans of mice and men , and so on (squeak squeak) .
One thing i want to do this year though is rear some silk worms . I did this when i was a kid and have wanted to have another go for years .
Domesticated ones to start with , then have a go at tussar silk (i think thats what it is called) .
Ordinary silk worms only eat mullbery leaves , where as the silk worms that make tussar silk eat hawthorn and oak (i think ?) leaves .
Why i want to do this i have no idea ! lol , but i think it would be nice to be able to make my own silk !
I made a very small handkerchief when i was about 9 . Might try for a shirt now ? (Lots of silk worms ! ) .
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trouble is, youll start with these silk worms, theyll be a success, youll make too many homegrown and made, organic, free range, local handkerchiefs and end up selling 'em, before you know it your a rich man and buying a seafront pad in tenby..... ;)
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Got lots of Mulberry trees on your holding then?????
Are you hand digging all your grain fields and vegetable beds? What does your back say to all this digging??!!!
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nothing wrong with cloud cuckoo land at all :love:
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Russ, big respect for what you are achieving and dreaming to become. IMHO Russ fully supports society. He is supportive consciousness who minimises his impact on his environment, supports others by providing links, engenders questioning, provides practical knowledge and encouragement to all without discrimination. Helping to awaken others is crucial work at this time . Debt paid. There is more to life than acquisition and taxes. If this does not fit your perception then I advise a perceptual shift.
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Yes , sell silk hankies to the Japanese , radiation free hankies , or is that a tad cruel ? 'Oh no it snot !'
there are other things that would make more money i think mate !
Not got any mulberry growing yet , but i have some seeds !
Was it James 1 or 2 , that planted loads of black mulberry to feed silk worms , only to discover that they only eat white mulberry ! (sounds like one of my plans !) .
You can buy dried mulberry leaf to feed them on , not too dear , but that is why i got the seeds !
The other sort of silk moth that produces tussar ? silk , eats hawthorn and oak leaf , which is why i will have a go with them , plenty of that where i am .
As for the grain bed and the veggie plot , all hand dug sadly !, and my back , (unlike the man from Delmonte ), say NO !
The grain bed is 60'x30' and the veggie plot is just under 90'x30' . They are enough for me to dig by hand . Any bigger areas will be ploughed , to old to dig an acre by hand lol , come to think of it , just to old !!
Cheers Russ
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Hitch up a cow to a single furrow plough and do the lot in a day or so , same with harrows to make the tilth.
If your lucky you'll also get instant manure N % of 0.4 , P % of 0.1 & K % of 0.4 % just make the reins long enough so you dont get it as well .
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Hats off to you Russ! I think you could be my hero :D
I try to manage without having to buy more than I need in everyday life. I have kept chickens for eggs and grown our own vegetables for years & am just starting a new fruit garden & orchard. I make my own bread and within the last 6 months have started producing our own meat. I'm planning on planting willow for coppicing this year and strive in more ways than anyone I know to make as little impact on the environment as possible. Oh boy, are you an inspiration! I feel quite lazy in comparison! ;)
My only defence maybe also having 3 children under 5. Who would want to make them live in a caravan (or me, for that matter!) Seriously though, it takes all sorts, and your the sort I aspire to!
Many thanks and good luck! :thumbsup:
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Hitch up a cow to a single furrow plough and do the lot in a day or so , same with harrows to make the tilth.
If your lucky you'll also get instant manure N % of 0.4 , P % of 0.1 & K % of 0.4 % just make the reins long enough so you dont get it as well .
;D ;D
Good luck, Russ. I'll look forward to meting the silk worms when I visit. as a former weaver, I think silk is lovely to work with.
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Plantoid has a good point there. I wonder how difficult it would be to train a bullock to harness :-\ I've trained a pony and a goat (though not to the plough) so I reckon a bullock wouldn't be difficult, though you would probably need two to plough with. ??? :cow: :cow:
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I have thought about using oxen, a couple of dairy short horn bullocks , which i can get cheap .
As with horses , it is just time and gear that are the obstacles.
The young oxen need to be as even in size and build as poss, and then they are kept most of the time in yokes , which have to be made to fit them as they grow .
Lots of work just making them alone .
I have 3 horses already . 1 welsh mountain pony ,11 hands , her son 13 hands ish , and then the big lump , Josie , about 16 hands . So no pairing there !
But no shortage of manure for the veggie plot .
Sadly the possibility of just hitching a cow is not likely , or even something i would like to try plantoid lol . Wouldn't life be easy if it were that simple ?
Digging the veggie plot just has to be done by hand , space being one of the main problems . The headland each end , would be about 20' or so for horses or oxen , not poss .
I do have the backup of owning an Ursus 100 hp 4x4 tractor and a 3 furrow plough and disc harrow , for larger areas though ! No manure from that monster though , just fumes !
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Russ, big respect for what you are achieving and dreaming to become. IMHO Russ fully supports society. He is supportive consciousness who minimises his impact on his environment, supports others by providing links, engenders questioning, provides practical knowledge and encouragement to all without discrimination. Helping to awaken others is crucial work at this time . Debt paid. There is more to life than acquisition and taxes. If this does not fit your perception then I advise a perceptual shift.
very well said julia.
there is a consciousness evolution happening across populations and generations. keep up the good work all. :)
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Among those that really want something different , each will do as much as they can .
Some will do more than others , but individual circumstances will dictate what can or can't be achieved .
The mock , ridicule , attack brigade share little time in my life these days . Live and let live should be the way to go , but they seem to think that everyone has to do as they do .
I accept that not everyone wants what i want , and i try not to interfere with others way of life .
I still think things are going wrong and that we are only at the begging , but even if things carry on as 'normal' , i will plod on as i am now .
I don't think that i can 'save the world ', but i can at least try not to kill it !
The end of the world must be close now though , i actually saw the sun today and it didn't rain ! lol.
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What about this, Rusty? How beautiful is this!!! Spider silk cape!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9674000/9674949.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9674000/9674949.stm)
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and an excellent way of getting round planning regs, 'its going to be a spider farm...'
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Web page won't load up sadly , only using an old nokia lol .
They have now genetically modified silkworms with spider genes , making very strong silk ! Or was it very strong silk jeans ?
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Rustyme, you are soooo much like my brother I wish he would read your posts...I admire you sooooo much and would love to live like you but we do need some £ sadly!!!! My uncle lived off the land and his wits, I am in contact with his daughter who was "rescued" and brought up by an aunt, but I always admired him, gorwind stuff, making his own lobster pots (he as by the sea in N Wales) growing his own food and a hem!! taking livestock but leading them to the edge of the cliff and being there to rescue them!!!! In towns it would be stealing and it is in the country but to me it was living by his wits. I keep meaning to say, you can earn money from you writing on the internet, not too sure how but my daughter earns a lot in austraiia from her writing and I for one value stuff you say as its from the heart!!!!! love it!! :love:
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Cheers Sandy , nice to hear from you , glad you still pop on now and then .
I always speak as i find , say what i feel , crap hits the fan because of it to sometimes lol .
Hope all is well with you x
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Same here..no hidden things with me and we live a simple life too...funny how much we actualy do not need to be happy, just love food, warmth, someone to cuddle and the dogs Oh and some internet to connect people when and if you want!!
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Only a few weeks time now i will be sowing the hemp , linseed and cotton seeds . The hemp and flax grows ok here , but will have to see how the cotton does at 900' above sea level .
If it grows ok , i could get up to 4 oz per bush . Easy to work out from there how many bushes = a shirt , pr of trousers etc.
No great hardship if it fails though , as the flax will do the same job , just that cotton doesn't need retting , just pick and spin really.
The hemp and flax both need retting , but i have the river for that .
I may also cure/tan a few cow hides , if i can get the right size tubs . Footware as well as horse gear , is almost out of my reach now . But if i tan my own leather both will be almost free , i can get hides for £5 each , and there is a lot of leather in a hide.
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Rusty you seem to be able to turn you hand to almost anything. I am very envious.
Sally
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I can visulise it now Russ, you comming out of the clearing in leather and fur with your horse and dogs and beard!!!!! Hard work but it will keep you saine!
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Jack of all trades , master of none , been doing this sort of thing for 30 odd years Sally.
When we first came to Wales , i built a small stone house in the woods (300 acres +) , just a 10'x10' room really ,the stone came from the river , and the reed for the thatch , was nearby . I dug a veggie plot and lived in my little house for a few months , totally self sufficient .
My clothes , boots , belt , were all made by me , from home grown hemp , flax and leather and sheep skins , i had cured and tanned myself .
So you are picturing me in the past Sandy !, been there done that lol .
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The thing with stepping off the merry go round or system , is for me Sandy , an attemp to live an alternative , a simpler way of life .
Grow my own food , make my own clothes , tools etc etc , and to be free of all the corruption , and control that the system needs .
This is very difficult as the system is 'everything' , and almost impossible to avoid . But to a great extent i have almost reached an acceptable distance from it .
The need for " loadsa money " was one of the main things that had to go . The more you earn , the more you need .
I have cut the ' need ' to the quick . This doesn't mean absolutely no money at all , but just enough for the bits and bobs that i can't grow or make .
Stepping back on the merry go round for money is all to easy , but it takes me straight back to the more you earn the more you want .
So if i need a tenner i sell either my time/labour or something i have made . But whatever it is , it is real world actions not virtual world . It is very hard to explain , and i do see the irony of me saying this on the internet !
But i see the system as totally corrupt and like the Titanic , sinking fast . I just want tn be as far away from the ship/system as possible , so it doesn't suck me under when it goes down ! , which it is very close to doing now !
Does that make sense ? lol .
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Me and hubby had a similar conversation, the more you own the more pressure and stress and need to own more, well to have the latest and better. I would be happy in a little shack with the dogs and my husband of course..but to run a car and to visit my daughters who will be in Austrailia next year, we need to earn still.....selling or swapping your skills is ideal, we do not have many skills but we could. I realised manyyears ago just how governments and religion, brian wash people...You should write for the net, not sure about the income but I know my daughter gets paid a bit for writing stuff about science and products etc!!
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talking about the titanic, did you know that the cruise ship that foundered recently did so exactly 99yrs and 9months to the day that the titanic went down.
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What about this, Rusty? How beautiful is this!!! Spider silk cape!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9674000/9674949.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9674000/9674949.stm)
Jesus H Christ, did you see the size of those spiders :o
Nice cape though :)
Keep going Russ. This story is really interesting and I wish you all the luck in the world with what you are doing.
Ian
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And please, please keep a diary so that you can write a book on your experiences. If not for profit then for the sake of future generations who may well have need of your knowledge :thumbsup:
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I have never kept a diary Sylvia , had dozens of them , and the only thing written in them was my name on the front !
Since my smash , i have a next to useless memory , so a diary would be handy , but it just never happens somehow !
I have 2,000+ books, of which 500+ are gardening/crafts/how to do type books . I use these as my memory base.
Although i like reading , i hate writing . It all gets jumbled up in my head , and comes out inside out and back to front , and takes me longer to write than the event actually took to do !
10 minutes of writing and my brain is ready to explode BANG !
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You need a scribe, your are very good and interesting on here, if you had some one to write for you all you would need to do is chat!!
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Sounds like aquired dyslexia to me. What you need is a ghost writer so you can get your life stories written down.
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Sorting through the shed the other day , i found an old cow horn .
All nicely polished with beeswax . It was one that i had done years ago , most likely to use as a drinking horn . I made a few , along with some made into powder horns .
I also used to make toggles and buttons , as well as walking stick handles from horn too .
Working in a knacker yard had some perks , free cow and sheep horn ! Also found a pair of leather boots i made , looked like cowboy boots without the cuban heel . They were in fact copies of 16 th century boots . Sadly after 15 years on a a damp earth floor , they fell to bits when i moved them !
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Sounds like a museum!! intersting..when I watch old films I often wonder about simple things....babies nappies?....contraception?..menstral cycle?////food prep?......and food consercation????? How did they dio it?
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One thing i could never understand was why they used terry toweling for nappies ?talk about sticking like s**t to a blanket !
Before that though i think they used just plain cotton/linen cloth . Sanitary towels were made of cotton pouches filled with any dry material such as hay etc , those were the days eh girls ?
Some wierdy methods of contraception ,think of sausages , but they also popped out sprogs like peas from a pod.
Food was clamped pickled , salted , smoked and dried .
Before those methods they ate whatever was about or went hungry !
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consercation
???? Conservation ;D ;D ;D
I also heard that spagnam moss was used to line baby nappies, that also prevented nappy rash although wathcing a programme about the inuits, thier babies are sewn into thier clothing!!!
The hay thing would certainly be cheaper ;)
As a child we did not get a fridge until I was a teenager, then everything went in it...before that it was usualy put in tins in a pantry..I bet the mice had a hay day!!!
Another thing is, mens shaveing? I suppose blades were always used of some discription but I never understood how beardless faces for men (or women) came about, other than getting food trapped and being a bit hot in summer, I find it strange that men usualy shave!!!
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Sandy,
We didn't have a fridge when I was younger either. I remember my mum putting the bottles of milk in a hole in the ground to keep them cool. Other things just went in the pantry which was always surprisingly cool. I would love to have a pantry these days.
We got our first phone in the house when I was about 10. I was afraid of it and when it rang I used to hide behind the sofa. ;D
Sally
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I think a pantry is wonderful, we sort of have one but use it for other things and there IS one behind the kitchen wall, so a person who lived here over 10 years ago said...we would love to uncover it but the units are not bad etc and we have no money!! I remember my Gran used to visit daily and as my mum worked shifts as a nurse, she often went for an afternoon nap, that led to my Gran going into the wrong door and geting stuck in the pantry as there was no handle on the inside!!!!!!!
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Our family business was food related so we had fridges, pantries, phones etc way back when I was little. we lived in my Grandparent's large Victorian house. But sometimes it just feels good to do without these inventions. But I do feel a little vulnerable when I leave my mobile at home. ::) :-[
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We had a phone when I was a little girl, I think I was about 8, my dad was on call with the water board and I distincly remember my mum threatening to call the RSPCA to take our dog away as it kept running off when we children, left the gate open....I do not think we used it much other than me ringing the speaking clock, in th ose days there was no one much to ring ....
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OMG Sandy ! Ever watched the film 10 Rillington Place ?
Check the pantry fast !
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I read a book once about a couple in Wales, who lived self sufficent ,this was back in the 70s.
When Maggie Thatcher came into power, this was no longer possible.
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I guess the design of the rural house that allows smallholders to live in basic comfort and is suited to living off the land has evolved over years. Or in our area by chance someone got the design right 100 years ago.
Our old house is so typical of the area.
Most are north and south facing with an attached barn and attached piggery.
All have cellars.
On the north west side of the house we have a walk in larder - its outside walls never really feel the sun and it is essentially a large walk in fridge.
The fire and only chimney is on the end of the house with an outside breadoven facility. I guess this allowed neighbours to share the cost and drudge of lighting a summer fire rather than everyone do the same. "your turn on Friday" kind of thing.
To get upstairs there was a ladder from the barn to the first floor that was converted into 2 bedrooms.
The attic area was the granary complete with mill ( grinding stones weigh a tonne !!
We all have cellars ( it's actually warmer in our cellar than it is outside but still cold. Spuds ,carrot and apples are stored by us and neighbours and we all have onions hanging outside under an outbuilding roof. The old ladies bottle veg and meat and every super market sells kit to do this.
In some respects life in this rural area has not changed much in 100 years - I'm sure that all our ( and neighbours) tools are that old.
I guess that I am saying that tried building designs that were suited to smallholding life were built en mass across France but at the same time the focus in the UK was low cost terrace housing in towns.
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MAK,
your place sounds lovely. Do you have any pictures?
Sally
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Picture - as requested :wave:
The house is on the left, with our bedroom in the loft (this was the granary with the mill in it when we arrived). We also have another barn (out of shot). This has a well in the cellar and there is a small stream, fed by a spring, at the side of the property. The spring also feeds the village pecherie (a big pond where villagers can store live fish for later consumption).
Out of picture on the left is a large 'hangar' full of wood, onions, garlic and drying French beans.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v1fCkqPAMrM/TyZg5FAEDZI/AAAAAAAABmM/yj2jQADKW8M/s640/P1010002-1.JPG)
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Blumin' 'eck them piggies ave done some rooting, amazing what the little monsters can do.
Looks a lovely spot.
Mandy :pig:
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It looks lovely Mak
Sally
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I read a book once about a couple in Wales, who lived self sufficent ,this was back in the 70s.
When Maggie Thatcher came into power, this was no longer possible.
Was this book by Elizabeth West? I was inspired by her :)
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Was the book 'hovel in the hills ' ?
Got it here somewhere .
Deep Country , by Neil Ansell looks good too .
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This was some time ago, i think it was LIVEING IN A HOVEL
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I have the book in my hand , it is ' hovel in the hills' . It is for sale on amazon for 1p !
She also wrote 'garden in the hills ' and 'cooking or kitchen in the hills '. All on amazon .
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THat looks lovley, Pigs are the best rotar systems to have, they sort out the land in no time!!
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MAK, I'm jealous. It looks wonderful and I love your piggies.
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Hey RustyMe,
I have been intrigued by your way of life and am currently reading a book written by Mark Boyle. A guy from just outside Bristol who lives (and continues to as far as I know) without money for a year. It's called 'The Moneyless Man - A year of freeconomic living'. Have you read this one? Might you have any other suggested reading material?
There are a lot of ways to survive without money that it describes that may assist you. From bartering to skipping (not with a rope). He has a great philosophy of 'Pay-it-forward', something I greatly admire and believe in!
Many thanks,
John
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Hello John , not read that one , will try a copy when i see one cheap . I am dubious of any form of do for a year things , as doing that can be reletively easy . It is long term that things go tits up . But no doubt he has some better ideas than me !
I have just gradually slid of the system a bit at a time .
Not read any books about off the system type stuff really . Plenty of self sufficiency type books though .
Mention off system life and alarm bells start going off everywhere !
Someone not paying their way etc , how dare you !
The thing they can't/won't comprehend , is i don't want anything off or from the system .
It is as hard for me to explain why i want this to 'them' as it is for 'them' to understand .
Reading things over the years , i find that a lot of people try to keep things sort of normal , i do it too to an extent .
Get a genny to have leccy , then you have to earn money for fuel/spares etc . Thats why i try to take it back another step , if i can .
I lived 3 years without any leccy .all ok , but i hated living by oil lamp, i am a night owl ! . Plus you still have to buy oil and wicks and new lamps etc .
So i try to find a level i can live with .
Make a waterwheel for mechanical power and a small amount of leccy for lights .
Grow as much oil as i can , to run an old lister , and occasional use of lamps .
It seems that a man called Neil Ansell lived for 5 years in an old house without any mod cons or leccy , and wrote a book called ' deep country' . Not read it myself yet , but heard some of it on the radio , it sounds excellent , and is on amazon .
Again though , did he just do it and then go back to the system ?
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Nope, he still lives without money and has done since November 2009, some background info can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Boyle_(Moneyless_Man) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Boyle_(Moneyless_Man))
He constantly reminds his readers that it is not a new idea. His idea is to not receive (or give) ANY money for anything. So he too collects his own fuel, barters (although as a last resort due to his beliefs in 'Pay-it-forward') and generates the very little energy he consumes using a solar panel (this was purchased before he started his lifestyle of no-money. Gathers or grows his own food and clothes too.
I shall take a look at book you suggest, thankyou.
John