Why DIY is better than fell walking

Are you sitting comfortably?  Do you have a nice cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit?  Good, because I'm about to let you into a secret.  DIY is in NO WAY better than walking the fells.  DIY is a hateful waste of time and I'm only embroiled in it because I can't afford to shell out for painters and decorators.  Of course I'm blaming all of you for this because if more people bought our books then I wouldn't currently be sitting at the laptop, swathed in the aroma of Deep Heat and trying to explain a 4 foot painted daisy to Steve.  (😉) but, I'm getting ahead of myself...

The last time I was up a fell was on 31st March when I joined the fabulous Debs & Andy from Access TOG for a romp up Blencathra to see the new summit stone unveiled. Since then work, a nasty cold and even nastier home improvements have kept me away from the green stuff.  Don't get me wrong, our builders are wonderful but don't be fooled by all those grinning lunatics on Homes Under the Hammer of Grand Designs - DIY is the work of Satan himself!

Those of you who have followed this blog from the start will recall that back in March 2011, when we eventually moved out of the camper van and into a real home, we knew we had some DIY work ahead of us.  At that point I didn't realise how far ahead it would be nor how much of it there was!  In a nutshell we moved into a bungalow with, what they call up here, an "undercroft", which is basically a full height downstairs (affectionately nicknamed "the dungeon") which we always planned to expand into.  It looked like this.

The builders arrived in late January and it's been undergoing a transformation.  I was all for making a feature of the cement mixer but Steve said no...

We were *incredibly* excited when the stairs went in!

Of course what they don't show you on these TV shows is what a complete pain in the backside it all is.  Yes, I know "it will look lovely when it's finished" but I want it finished within the hour.  You know, like it is on the telly...  Instead we've had days with the utilities switched off and, at one point last week, we were without gas, electric and water all at the same time.  And my desk was here...

And then there's all the stuff I don't understand.  Skirting boards?  Why?  "So they finish the wall off nicely" is the best anyone can tell me so far.  Hateful little strips of wood that gather dust is my view. 

Then "what sort of light switches do you want?" Ones that turn the lights on and off, so long as they do that, I'm happy.  The decisions are endless - what sort of doors, what taps, where should the plugs go, and "do you have any more bourbon creams?"

I'll be honest, we have zero idea about decorating and DIY but our good friends Sarah and Stewart (from Crumble Cottages) have been on hand to advise us, though I am sure our attempts fall woefully short of their levels of attention to detail.

Still, it's coming along nicely, if very, very slowly. And don't peer too closely at anything.  (Also Steve may have been right, the table is definitely more practical than the cement mixer!)

As well as being inept at DIY I am also incredibly messy and have the patience of an over-tired toddler.  Having thrown paint around the walls, floors and me Steve suggested I hone my painting craft in the cupboard under the stairs (Why does that even need painting?  So the hoover can admire my fine brushwork on long lonely nights?  Honestly the only reason I have agreed to paint it is in case anyone ever peers in there and we become known as "those people who didn't paint under the stairs.") 

Anyway,  Steve banished me to my little cell with the famous words "There's not much mischief you can get into in there."  I beg to differ.

It will keep the hoover company and I'm sure Steve will learn to love it eventually.

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE GENEROUSLY TO MY "I SERIOUSLY NEED TO GET PROPER PAINTERS AND DECORATORS IN BEFORE THE ENTIRE HOUSE IS COVERED IN DAISIES" CAMPAIGN.  😀  

Buying our books is easy. Click on the link below each picture and you'll go straight to our "Buy the Book" page.  In addition I've just released a book of 10 short stories, all set in real Cumbrian locations and all illustrated with photos.  Each story also has a short overview of the setting to help you plan your visit.

£4.99 Paperback£2.99 KindleFREE for Kindle Unlimited Subscribers

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The A-Z of starting a new life

The first Monday in February is popularly known as being the day most people throw a sickie.  Many of us have done it at some point in time - it's not that we're not sick, but we just don't feel up to it.  Ground down by work, life, family, finances and the relentless stream of bad news pouring in, who wouldn't want to spend a day hiding away from it all under a duvet?  Sometimes making a fresh start is exactly what you need; in January 2011 we upped sticks and moved 300 miles from our home in Southeast England to return to Steve's roots in South Cumbria so, now we're well settled into our new lives, here's a run down of the things we learned along the way.

A is for Ask. Before you start not only will you not know all the answers, you won't know many of the questions, so don't be afraid to ask, no matter how dumb it sounds.

B is for Be Bold. Starting a new life is scary, and there will be many occasions when you'll wonder if it's worth it, but just keep reminding yourself why you're doing it and you'll get there.

C is for Creativity. You always have more options than you think you do, so write down all the reasons you think you can't do it and challenge yourself to find answers.

D is for De-clutter. If your house is anything like ours then it's full of junk. Boxes of papers and bits and bobs put safely away "just in case". Well now's the time to get rid of them, unburden yourself at the recycling centre and the local charity store. New life, new habits!

E is for Evaluate: what's really important in your life. Money? Time to relax and do stuff? Family? Friends? Would those priorities shift if you knew you were on the clock? Well you are on the clock, so make sure you get them in the order that's right for you.

F is for Face the Facts. Often, as in our case, the initial impetus for the move isn't a good one, however the sooner you face up to the new challenge life has hurled at you the quicker you'll be able to turn it into a positive. Face the facts and find the information you need from financial advisers, estate agents and employers.

G is for Get Ahead. There will be a million and one things to do at the last moment so start early and tick off as many jobs as you can as quickly as you can - don't leave things till the last minute. 

H is for Harass People. This move might be the most important thing in your life but to the estate agents, financial advisers and mortgage companies you're just another account so, in the nicest possible way, be a thorn in their side. Please resist the urge to yell at them, this may be tough at times, but you'll get a lot further a lot more quickly if they're on your side and want to help you.

I is for Ignore the Naysayers! There will be plenty of them. People who don't have the nerve to do what you're doing, people who are jealous, and people who are genuinely concerned and don't know how else to tell you. We heard them all, and some of them could be quite persuasive, but we stuck to our guns and saw it through and now many of them have told us how they wish they had the nerve to do what we did. How many people have you heard say they'd love to start a new life? And how many have actually done it? I rest my case.

J is for Join Join online communities where you'll find loads of useful advice. Join social networks so you can more easily keep in touch with the friends and family you're leaving behind. When you arrive join clubs and societies to make new friends. Just take every opportunity to join things!

K is for Kit. Make sure you're well kitted out with all the tech you'll need. The first few weeks can be pretty lonely so you want to make sure you can remain in contact with everyone as easily as possible. It doesn't need to be expensive, older versions of smartphones or laptops will do everything you need at a fraction of the cost of their original sale price.

L is for Lose your cat! I'm not suggesting this is something you should do on purpose, but it happened to us during our first couple of weeks and it meant we got to know all our neighbours really quickly. Luckily he came home again a couple of weeks later, but it certainly broke the ice with people!

M is for Make time to Relax. This is one of the most stressful things you'll do, so don't be too hard on yourself. Pace yourself and take time to "not do moving stuff". Watch a movie, read a book, take a walk, anything to take your mind off things for an hour or two.

N is for Network. You know more people than you think you do, and you'll need most of them. Don't try to do this alone, talk to people, be honest about the highs and lows, you'll be amazed how many will have been through something similar and have some invaluable gems of advice.

O is for OMG we did it! Celebrate your achievements along the way. Getting the mortgage deal, finding the perfect house, figuring out where to store your stuff, locating the nearest cattery. There will be plenty of things that will go wrong and drive you to distraction, so make sure you celebrate all the good stuff.

P is for Prepare your Paperwork. A new life comes with lots of paperwork. I'm not a paperwork person so this was a tough one for me, but there will be a mountain of paperwork so set up a system and make sure you keep it all organised. You'll be juggling official documents from estate agents, removal firms, insurance companies, mortgage companies, utilities companies, local councils etc. etc. etc. For a couple of quid you can get an expanding wallet file from the stationery store which should see you through.

Q is for Question your sanity! 'm not saying you should do this, I'm saying you will do this, so better be prepared for it. My best advice is to refer back to M and do something different to take your mind of things for a while.

R is for Reconnaissance. In this digital age you can find out everything you need to know virtually. Before we moved I'd checked out all the local bus and train times, located the nearest doctors, tracked down all the supermarkets within a 10 mile radius and even virtually walked the route from my new home to the local railway station. Many towns and villages now have their own websites so you can really get a feel for the place before you move there.

S is for Smile. Cheesy, but the quickest and easiest way to start making new friends. Chat to people, pass the time of day, ask questions, read notice boards, take an interest, but most of all, do it with a smile.

T is for Try something new and exciting. This is all about doing something new and exciting so try to embrace all the set backs as challenges to be overcome not barriers to success. So much went wrong for us along the way and we spent the first three months of our new life living in a small camper van whilst we sorted out the house situation, but we had fun and learned new things every day. Of course there were times when we felt utterly despondent and tempted to give up and that's OK occasionally, it's just not a good idea to make a habit of it.

U is for the Unexpected. You may be the most meticulous planner in the world, but I guarantee that at some point during a move like this, several things will ambush you that you'd never even considered. During our first week the clutch went on the car, we had no idea where the local garages were and didn't really know many people to ask, but we figured it out. Just keep on your toes and expect the unexpected.

V is for Vital bits and pieces. I found it really useful to keep a small stash of vital, personal bits and pieces around me at all times. Photos, a few keepsakes even, I'm not ashamed to admit, my teddy bear. When you're thrusting yourself headlong into the unfamiliar a few familiar things can be a real help to hang on to.

W is for Wine. Or whatever your favourite tipple is, even if it's non-alcoholic. Whenever I felt like going into meltdown a large glass of red and a bit of a giggle popped me back on the straight and narrow.

X is for Xenophobia. Xenophobia is a fear of strangers or foreigners and there's no room for it in a move like this. Seek out all the strangers you can and start to build new friendships, the sooner you manage that the sooner you'll start to feel part of the community.

Y is for Yet another setback. Despite how lovely they always make it look on the TV, starting a new life will be fraught with difficulties but you will be able to overcome them. As they saying goes "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger", so learn from the setbacks. When they happen don't be afraid to ask for help or support, most people will be only too happy to lend a hand.

Z is for Zeal! Approach your new life with a generous helping of zeal and any setbacks you face will soon be a thing of the past. I lost count of the number of things people told me couldn't be done, we couldn't live in a motorhome for 3 months, we couldn't push a house purchase through in 4 weeks, we'd never find employment in the current job market and so on. Just dig deep, find your energy and focus it all on the task in hand and you'll be happily settled in your new life before you know it.

BEFORE YOU GO!  Did you notice that this blog isn't swamped with adverts or pop-ups pestering you to sign up for a newsletter?  That's because we hate that sort of thing BUT we still need to earn a living!  Part of our 'new life' dream was to write books and we've been lucky enough to do that - the fun part is writing them and the hard part is selling them. Yes, you can get them all on Amazon too, but we make next to nothing that way - plus if you buy from us we'll be happy to sign them for you.  Just click the pictures below to find out more.  Cheers! 😀

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I would really love to, but...

You see that photo - the one of the footpath sign with the sun behind it? It's not the greatest photo but for me it means so much.

Six years ago on March 7th 2011 we'd been living in a campervan for 2 1/2 months. We were desperately trying to find a house but, as often happens with these things, it was turning into a catalogue of disasters.

The day before that photo was taken so much had gone wrong that we honestly thought we'd have to give up on our dream and go home. It had been a rough & sleepless night with many tears of frustration. In the morning I was walking to Silverdale station to catch my train to work - the weather was perfect & the views sublime. I was so moved that I took this picture & vowed to fight on, determined that nothing would stop us achieving the things we wanted.

Spool forward 6 years and here we are; one book already published, two more out next month with two different publishers - both of whom have indicated they want to work with us again in the future - and, most importantly, we have a roof over our heads.

Each year this photo pops up and reminds me how desperate we were and how deep we had to dig and each year, wherever my head is, it inspires me to keep fighting.  Especially whenever I catch myself saying "I would really love to, but..."  Dreams don't come true all by themselves, and they certainly don't come true without a little blood, sweat & tears.

Published 3rd April 2017

Published 15th April 2017

Published October 2015

How to write a book

Our book - in Waterstone's!

It's only now we've finally written and published a book that I realise every book on every bookshelf contains two stories - the story within the book and the story of how the book came to be written.  If you ask Google "How to write a book" you'll get over 26 million results - many of them will tell you about the structure and the process of writing a book but few will tell you about the journey the author has been on - so let me tell you our story (and don't worry, I'm only going to cover the highlights).

Childhood:  My addiction to books began early - prompted by older bookworm siblings, aged 4, I nagged my mum to teach me to read before I started school.  Throughout my childhood I progressed from Janet and John to pretty much anything Enid Blyton ever wrote.

I clearly recall visits to the local library - I remember how it smelled with its wooden floors and miles of wooden bookshelves.  I remember being fascinated by the "trains with the faces" books (Thomas the Tank engine long before the cartoon series) and I remember the excitement of clutching 6 library tickets and knowing I could pick any 6 books I wanted (within reason!).  I also remember the HUGE carousel of library tickets behind the checkout counter, the swoosh it made as the librarian spun it to find the ticket for my book and the "kerthump-chink" of the date stamp on the inside cover.

Teen years:  Still reading and Malcolm Saville's "Lone Pine" series entered the mix.  I also tackled Gone With the Wind, All Quiet on the Western Front and Z for Zachariah.  Then there were the books we were forced to read for exams:  Lord of the Flies (hated it!), Midsummer Night's Dream (at least it was funny) and the World War 1 poets (absolutely loved them and still do).

My first foray into real life adventure books began with "The Dove" by Robin Lee Graham - the story of the round the world sailing trip he made when he was just a teenager.

To be honest I read a lot less at Uni as I was a) too busy studying and b) too busy drinking... (hope my mum isn't reading this)

The working years...  Books came back into my life in a big way at roughly the same time commuting did and Richmond Library was my supplier of choice.  It was there that one day I borrowed "The Turquoise Mountain" by Brian Blessed (who I vaguely remembered from Z-Cars).  He introduced me to the mystery of Mallory and Irvine, so I borrowed books about them, which led me to Heinrich Harrer, Edmund Hilary, Joe Tasker, Scott, Bonington, Shipton and a passion for mountaineering books that continues to this day.

My fav spot around Fleet Pond

Steve:  We met in 2002 and married in 2003 having bonded while solving the problem of 24 sausages on a BBQ and no bread roles.  We started off living in his tiny bachelor pad before saving enough to finally move to our "if not forever then at least for a really long time" home in Fleet in Hampshire.  Steve was happily working away in IT and I took my first steps into freelance training with a lovely part time job to keep me ticking over.  Life was good!

In September 2009 the dark clouds of the recession and job losses began to gather; by summer 2010 the writing was on the wall and it became clear that we had some big decisions to make. We headed off for 6 weeks in our camper van to get our heads together (and I will be forever grateful to my boss of the time for allowing me that essential sabbatical).

Having explored Northumberland and Dumfries & Galloway we ended up in Cumbria - while I'd been busy reading my way around the West Midlands Steve had been preoccupied with growing up in Kents Bank and wanted to show me his old stomping ground, which was when the idea hit us - let's start a whole new life.  You can read the details of how all that unfolded here - below I'm now going to tell the rest of our story via my social media updates which pop up in my "on this day in history" type app.

Nov 2010 following a house hunting trip
to Cumbria

We ended up living in our campervan for 3 months while our house in Fleet failed to sell.  I was working full time for Lancashire County Council and doing a spot of blogging on the side.  We eventually moved into a tiny bungalow with bags of potential while the tenant from hell took over our house in Fleet - it took us well over a year of absolute desperation on the money front while we got him out and eventually sold the house.

Our plan now was to build up the writing side of things using my words and Steve's pics so we began working (for free at first) with anyone who'd have us.

By November 2012 things had begun to pick up and this happened.

This was the new profile pic I mention in the post:

There then followed a couple of bumpy years - summarised here - where we got involved in anything and everything we could and learned loads about ourselves, the world of writing and Cumbria.  Then on 5th August 2014 this email popped in:

"Dear Beth Pipe,

I work for Amberley Publishing, and came across your blog about Life and Hiking in Cumbria.

I was wondering if you’d be interested in producing a book ..."

Naturally I was convinced it was a wind up, but apparently not.  By the time content was agreed and contracts were signed it was November.  I'd kept the secret from my friends for 3 months (a miracle really) but now was the time to break the news...

Reading back I fear I sound a little grouchy about the deal - not so - the message I was trying to convey to my friends was that we weren't about to become overnight millionaires rather than any dissatisfaction with the contract.  Believe me, we were over the blooming moon that anyone was prepared to take a chance on us!

There then followed many months of me hiding away in libraries while Steve was out and about taking the photos. before we delivered the final draft of the book at the end of June 2015 - all we had to do now was wait...

The day it finally arrived my over-riding emotion before I saw it was, believe it or not, fear.  What if it looked awful?  What if there were loads of typos?  What if people hated it?  What if I'd got all my facts wrong?  I've seen other writers talk about their delight and excitement when they first saw their first book for the first time - I was more overwhelmed in a "Really?  Did we just actually do this?" kind of a way.

It's gradually sinking in now as sales are taking off and most days see us off to drop books into a small local shop or send them out in the post - and the feedback so far has been good so I may even open that long awaited bottle of fizz to celebrate this weekend.

As coincidence would have it a friend from Fleet sent us some photos of our old house a few days ago.  The new owners are doing the extension we'd always planned to and it's looking great.  We had a moment when we saw the photos as we peered around our still small bungalow with half our stuff still in boxes in the undercroft (and by "half our stuff" I mean several dozen boxes of books for me and three thousand miles of computer cable for Steve), but the reality is, if we'd stayed there we'd have missed out on all the adventures we've had together over the past few years and, most importantly, we'd never have learned how to write a book.

PS You can buy the book here. :-)

The Expensive Bottle of Whisky

The last time we took an extended break in Delores we ended up moving 300 miles north to Cumbria and changing our lives completely.  This time the break was slightly shorter and the life change(s) are correspondingly smaller.  Well, individually they are, together they add up a bit.

I love whisky.  I particularly love a good single malt.  My long time favourite has been Laphroaig, but following our recent trip there's a new kid in town.   Meet Tomatin - a small but perfectly formed distillery just south of Inverness.  I'd been on the lookout for a small distillery to visit and this fitted the bill perfectly.

We were sadly unable to take the full tour and, owing to the fact I was driving, I couldn't taste much either, but we did have a lovely long chat to the folks there and I tried the teeniest small sip of a version of the bottle pictured above.  A whole lot less peaty than Laphroaig but smooth and slightly spicy with a wonderful hint of peat right at the end.  I was smitten.  So smitten in fact that the miniature bottle I intended to buy somehow morphed into the bottle in the photo, setting me back £50 on account of the fact it's a limited edition finished off in Bourbon casks.  (The lady who sold it to me told me folks usually bought the limited editions to keep rather than drink.  I laughed before I realised she was serious...)

While not eye watering in the whole "expensive bottle of whisky" world, it was certainly expensive for us, so much so that I feel I need to justify drinking it, so here's the deal.  In a little under 2 years I will be 50 years old (??!!!!) - I promise that I will keep the whisky to drink on my 50th birthday but ONLY if I fulfil the following life changing criteria.  (And if you doubt my resolve may I refer you to this blog where we began our new life in the north, in a campervan, in January.)

1.  By the time I am 50 I will have a library.  Not a big library, but a library nevertheless.  I love books almost as much as I love whisky and have always dreamed of my very own library.

We have planning permission to extend our bungalow and the photo above is where my library will be.  Bit draughty at the moment. We need to work hard to raise more funds and take the plunge.

2.  I will finally sort out my veg plots and grow lots more of my own veg.

As you can see we've made a start but we plan to add 4 -5 more plots and get to grips with veg growing and being more self sufficient.  We already have heaps of fruit trees, now we need more veg.  My fingers are not remotely green.  This will be fun!

3.  I will make more use of the fruits and veg that we grow.

I've had a stab at making a few jams in the past.  Failed at pickles and chutneys and slam dunked sloe gins etc.  The cupboard in the picture will be emptied, de-cluttered and filled with jars of jams and pickles by christmas and kept topped up throughout the year as I learn how to make the most of the free fodder around me.

4.  I'll do more creative stuff.  Our first book is out in October this year so that should help.  Just today we've seen the first draft of the cover and we're over the moon.  No photos here yet, but there will be when it's finalised.  I've come away from the writing recently as I've had so many requests for training delivery, which I love but it takes me away from home more.  By the time I'm 50 I'll be doing a LOT more writing and creative stuff.

5.  We'll explore a lot more of the UK.

Delores at Rosemarkie

While we were away I grabbed a map of the UK and, though mildly intoxicated, I felt sure that we'd seen loads.  Turns out we've barely scratched the surface - so my mission is to spend more time exploring all the amazing stuff across the British Isles.  The world is a huge and exciting place, but so often we miss the spectacular sights right on our doorstep.


So that's it - I've got a lot to learn and do in the next 22 months and now I've said it publicly I'd better get on and do it!  (If I'm honest, I'm pretty sure I can manage the 5 things above but somewhat less confident of my ability to keep my grubby mitts off the whisky...)

9 1/2 things I've learned from the past 12 months.

On 16th Nov 2012 I left full time permanent employment to launch into the next phase of our new life, full time freelance with no safety net of regular employment so, was I four parts bonkers afterall?  Here's what I've learned in the past 12 months.

1. Your fortunes can change on the ping of an email.  Over the past 12 months I've had emails cancelling courses, slashing budgets, offering me life changing writing commissions, inviting me to take part in daring adventures and telling me about a huge tax rebate.  Turns out the last one was spam (which I twigged before I clicked) but it was a nice feeling for 30 seconds.  The only time I get a good news from HMRC and it's fake.  Figures.

Do stuff that scares you.

2.  You can live off a lot less than you think you can.  Mortgage, heating and food were our priorities and everything else was a luxury.  Less meat and more vegetables makes a meal go a lot further and is probably a lot healthier too.  Nights out were a distant memory and fish and chips on expenses were the highlight of many a week.

3.  Say "yes" to things even if they scare you.  When people asked if I could do something that would take me way outside my comfort zone my response has always been to say "yes" and then work out how to do it.  Once you've committed to doing something it focuses the mind and you invariably figure it out.  Steve has said that "I'll think of something" should be put on my headstone. (I've since learned that Richard Branson says the same thing, so I'm in good company!)

4.  Don't underestimate what you can achieve.  A year ago I expected to be making my money from delivering training courses which would fund my writing habit.  Turns out now I earn most of my money from writing with 2 - 3 training days a month topping up the coffers.  I am utterly delighted about this as it's more than I ever dared to dream for.  I clearly need bigger dreams.

Random badger photo, because he's lovely.

5.  Keep plugging away.  There have been many days when I've wondered if it's all worth it and a few where I've thought of packing it all in and scanning the local job pages.  I keep the grim stuff away from the blog because a) it doesn't makes pleasant reading and b) there are millions of people dealing with stuff way worse than the stresses I have and that's what keeps me going.  I look around at the people who love and support me, count my blessings and get back on the horse.  (Though this is usually preceded by tears of frustration and a few large glasses of wine.)

6.  Stay focused on your own plan.  I learned this from watching the Olympics where athlete after athlete said in interviews that their key to success was keeping focused on their own performance rather than worrying about what everyone else was doing.  Keep an eye on other folks and learn from them if you need to but don't get distracted by whatever it is they're up to; you'll have enough on your plate achieving your own goals without worrying about what everyone else is doing.

Don't know who wrote this. Happy
to credit if anyone can help.

7.  Celebrate the small stuff.  Don't keep waiting for the big contracts to land before you do the happy dance, get excited about the small things too - it all adds up and before you know it you'll be happy dancing all over the place.  I've even had a quick shimmy along the aisles in Asda much to Steve's despair.

8.  It's OK to take a day off occasionally.  When you work for yourself there's a temptation to work every hour god sends but all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Beth a very grouchy girl.  The world will not end if you take 1 day off.  The smart phone and the lap top both have "off" buttons and it's important to know where they are.  Finding your own "off" button however is an entirely different matter and I'm still not 100% sure where mine is.

9.  Keep your sense of humour.  This above all else is essential. We have been let down, rained on, almost conned, covered in mud, terrified, ignored and frustrated over the past 12 months though admittedly not usually all on the same day.  The ability to laugh at yourself and find the absurd in every situation will do wonders for your stress levels and confuse everyone around you.

9 1/2 And lastly, just half a lesson here as it's one we've always tried to live our life by, and no-one says it better then this man...

When a "new life" simply becomes a "life"

I've been nagged by a few folks who have noticed that there has been very little in the way of updates about progress on our new life for a while.  I guess that’s partly because after a couple of years a “new life” has simply become a “life” albeit a very different one to the one we were living before we moved up here.

As things are now taking off for me professionally I need to walk a fine line between giving a “warts & all” account of starting over and painting a saccharine vision of living in one of the most beautiful parts of England and earning a living doing what I love.  There have been some tremendous highs and some extraordinary lows, so let’s start with the bad stuff first so we can end on a high.

One of the biggest challenges over the past couple of years has been building a network of friends and business contacts.  During the first year in particular I felt incredibly isolated and lonely on occasion and during those periods I relied on my wonderful network of virtual friends to get me through.  I also got off my backside and joined clubs, groups and social gatherings; basically anyone who would have me! 

There were some false starts and some groups were definitely more welcoming than others, but I now have a lovely group of new friends up here which is growing all the time.  What I learned from the experience is that most folks are just as worried about new encounters as you are and a smile goes a long way to breaking the ice.  I also learned not to stress over the less welcoming groups, if I don’t happen to be someone’s cup of tea for whatever reason then so be it; smile and move on.

Financially things remain frugal but work is now picking up at such a rate that I can’t see it remaining that way for long now – there’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel and I’m pretty sure it’s not the headlights of an approaching train.  Luckily I’m not someone with expensive tastes and a glass of wine and a good book are still my idea of a great night in, though a few more nights out would be rather nice.

The plans for work on the house are currently on hold on account of the fact the builder’s quote is double what the architect said it would be, but we still have some cash set aside so maybe we’ll do it a bit at a time and learn how to do some of it ourselves; getting my hands on a large lump hammer and knocking chunks out of a wall does hold a certain appeal…

On the positive side the writing work is now starting to come in nicely with several really interesting (and more importantly profitable) writing commissions in place over the next couple of months.  We’re also in the exciting but very early stages of launching our own outdoors product, I don’t want to say too much just yet but obviously, as it’s me, we’re trying to do something a little bit different.  The test runs have surpassed our expectations and the feedback from everyone involved is glowing.  We are lucky enough to be receiving the most amazing support from a wide variety of professionals and hope to be in a position to launch something around mid October so, as they say, “watch this space”. (Seriously, watch this exact space; we’ll be making all our launch announcements on this blog.)

And that’s about it really, no major dramas, well there was the incident involving a pair of children’s undies finding their way down the toilet and blocking our drains to the extent that the basement walls began to ooze raw sewage, but other than that it’s been a pretty quiet week.

"Depends what the weather's like."

Paulo Coelho

That was my smart alec answer when someone asked what I'd be doing on my first day of freedom from full time permanent work and, to some extent, it's true though as with all things it's never quite that simple is it?  I may be free of the constraints of a permanent work contract but we are sadly not free of the constraints of a mortgage, or petrol, or food...  Turning into a couch potato was never on the cards because a) daytime TV is an abomination and b) well, there's no need for a b) is there?  I think a) says it all.  Jeremy Kyle holds zero appeal and I've never seen an episode of Loose Women; I really don't feel as if I'm missing anything.

I've been mulling over the mindset of those of us who launch into the world of self employment and I reckon we're 1 part confident, 1 part ambitious, 1 part bonkers and 1 part scared, but we use that fear to drive us.  For many people the fear stops them doing stuff, for us it drives us to do something different because we're scared of different things.  Speaking for myself I'm scared of routine and predictability, I'm scared of not having a go and I'm scared of getting to my old age and wondering "what if".  I also think our definition of "comfort zones" is quite different to other peoples.

At my leaving do on Friday evening I was asked about how much work I had lined up.  I replied (truthfully) that I was pleased because I had more than enough work to pay the mortgage until next June, which I thought was a good thing; in my experience freelancers trainers don't usually get to book much further ahead than that.  The 2 people I was talking to looked horrified "But what about July?" they asked.  "Well, I'll be working on that next year" I answered, though I could tell it didn't appear to do much to convince them I wasn't 4 parts bonkers.  In some ways I can see their point, you see we don't have the luxury of a second salary propping us up; true, we have a modest amount of savings but as soon as we start relying on those we're in big trouble so our goal is to keep the savings safely in the bank for now and pay the bills through hard graft, and it's looking good so far.

"If it's sunny, head for the hills"
Beth & Steve

The other thing in our favour is our desire for a modest, but happy, life.  On Friday the conversation turned to "what would you do with £1m?" to which most people replied that it wasn't enough to completely change their life because "after you've bought a new house and a couple of cars there wouldn't be an awful lot left".  For us it would be way more than enough - pay off the mortgage, buy a car that goes and stash the rest.  Also, it's not that I don't want £1m, but I'm pretty sure that lots of money could stifle creativity, at the moment the need to to keep a roof over our heads is a pretty powerful motivator - seems Maslow may have had a point afterall.

So, after all that, what did Day 1 hold in store for me?  The thinking behind my flippant answer above was that if the weather was nice we'd be able to head for the hills and if it was tipping it down we could crack on with developing the website and writing stuff.  Turns out it was tipping it down so lists were made and meetings were held, and pretty good meetings they were too as it happens; I caught up with an old friend, swapped writing and tourism tips and and made plans with those lovely folks at The Herdy Company to write some content for their website.  Suffice to say that Day 1 was a good day, even if it was raining; so here's to paying the mortgage, and eating, in July 2013.  Cheers!

Peter Mayle has a lot to answer for.

Two days ago there was no path

Some of you probably know who Peter Mayle is but are wondering why I have it in for him, others perhaps don't know who he is and are curious as to what he's done to me.  For the record Peter Mayle wrote "A Year in Provence", one of the first "new life abroad books" and from him came dozens of others; "Driving over Lemons" (Chris Stewart) and "Extra Virgin" (Annie Hawes) to name but two.  Like thousands of other people I read those books and longed for the chance to live such a dream myself; and then we moved to the Lake District and I got my chance and that's when I learned it's not quite the same as they tell you in the books.

Trust me, this is the "after" shot.

We've been here just short of 18 months now and, if this were one of those books we'd have tamed the wilderness that is the garden, gotten ourselves a goat or two, harvested our first crop of olives/ tomatoes/ other home grown produce and be spending our evenings sitting around on the patio enjoying home grown meals with our neighbours, supplemented by local wine and freshly baked bread, whilst swapping amusing anecdotes about our experiences with the local tradespeople.

So what's the reality and how is it so different?  Well for a start I wouldn't exactly describe the garden as "tamed" just yet.  Where Peter, Annie et al seemed to have endless days at their disposal for creating their corner of pardise, I'm having to fit it in around 1 and 1/2 jobs and alongside my attempts at breaking into freelance writing.  They clearly had some sort of steady but undisclosed financial income to support their new lives; we had to sell our CD collection for our monthly shop. (I'm not complaining, just saying.  Well, actually I'm making excuses for not having done the garden properly yet.)

My favourite little nook.  Site of a spring in
wet weather (see Steve's pics below.)

Anyway, back to the garden.  We bought this place as it had the largest garden we could afford because we like a little space around us; but you know what they say, "with great gardens come great responsibility".  We'd been told that it was a "low maintenance" garden but I don't believe such a thing really exists; with each season comes a new challenge.  At the moment I'm battling sycamore saplings which pop up at an astounding rate accompanied by a rich assortment of weeds.  It doesn't help that I'm horticulturally inept,  When I visit the local garden centre in search of weedkiller and they ask what sort of weeds I have, the best I can come up with is "red ones, you know, the ones with the small green leaves..." Their pitying look says it all.  I've actually come up with  few rules for weeds which would help me enormously.

1. Weeds should be ugly and easily discernible from flowers.  We are the proud owners of some very pretty weeds, but they all have to come out apparently.

2.  Only one weed at a time per garden.  Along with our blue weeds and red weeds we also have bindweed and sticky weed and I only have one pair of hands.

Just need to train them to only eat the weeds.

3.  Weeds should grow at a discrete distance from all other flora.  Embedding themselves in amongst "proper" plants is not playing fair, neither is wrapping themselves around them.  You hear me bindweed?

To help reduce the amount of weeding I need to do I've reclassified some borderline weeds.  For example Wild Garlic and Wild Strawberries are allowed to grow along my paths so long as they don't mind sacrificing themselves for the odd meal or two.  I've also decided that the tall grass with the interesting stem is an "Ornamental Grass" and thus can remain, at least for now.

Our very own spring; well, occasionally.

On the bright side we have managed to grow some of our own produce.  Last year we produced an inedible crop of runner beans and a crop of peas which, although very tasty, could barely be eeked out to half a portion. We also inherited 4 prolific apple trees which quickly exhausted my supply of apple recipes, so this year we'll be making cider, lots of cider.  Who knows, maybe this time next year we'll have caught up with the Mayles/ Stewarts/ Hawes of this world and will be enjoying dinner in the garden with our neighbours or, more likely, we'll all be indoors getting roaring drunk on cider whilst the rain pours down and the weeds run riot unchecked.  Perhaps not quite so inspiring to write about, but nevertheless idyllic in its own way.