Well, not quite! My latest "Adventures in Tigger's parallel universe" have very much begun, with a rather stop-start journey on Friday (useful stops, but it made the day feel like it went on forever) leading to a wonderful couple of days with friends just outside Ludlow. Great company, wonderful food (including an apple, damson and dried fruit puff pastry turnover...and I got one to take away too! Amazing!) and the opportunity to do some Massage in my friend's wonderful "Shed".
On leaving I didn't feel quite ready simply to head off to my first WWOOFing destination of the holiday, and ended up detouring to Berrington Hall II (as it shall always be known in my head), fairly local to my friends and definitely not the Berrington Hall I was at in August (or will be at later this holiday). Absolutely amazing contrast - two very different Berrington Halls, even before you consider their current uses (one's National Trust, the other a community that's been going for almost 40 years). Lots of thoughts at the moment about self sufficiency, what it means and what's possible (I got to pick my first cobnuts yesterday. It was ace!) but generally just overall enjoyment of OutsideNess.
[about 50 hours later] And now I find myself rather amused by the fact I've just used a soap from a tin with a sheep on, in the depths of sheep farming country (the soap and tin I've owned - but only now started using - for well over a decade, if not two). It's the little things that do it for me.
More importantly, however, was the fact that I've just had a wonderful hot shower. Some days I can give or take a shower - but this evening after some unseasonably warm days the cold seemed to descend with the misly misty rain and a warming shower was perfect.
I'm currently in mid-South-Wales (I'm sure there's an official term, but it's the southern bit of Wales, and in the middle - it could also be south Mid-Wales...I'm unsure of the geopolitical boundaries on this one. And now I look at what I've written, I should probably also qualify that it's definitely not New South Wales!) on week one of the aforementioned WWOOFing destinations. A farm that was derelict for 20-30 years, the host I'm staying with has been here for around 25 years and in that time has pretty much started from the ground up (or, in the case of the derelict farmhouse, the oak timber frame that was the only thing still standing).
It's hard to imagine what the site would have been like when they first arrived as they've done a huge amount of work creating planting schemes, vegetable beds, structures and much more besides. There's an old chapel as part of the site and although that has been deconsecrated, the graveyard beside it is still in use (although new additions seem to be few and far between). And, in fact, the chapel was a feature of my work today - given that I spent a few hours this afternoon sitting cross-legged on the slate-flag floor plaiting onions into, well, onion plaits. Not something I've done before but I did find it rather enjoyable - I'm not sure whether I'll get to finish the job (each day's activities are very subject to change so although I have another 3 working days here, I may or may not be back in the chapel) but I certainly made a dint. I also remembered to take some photos but have yet to work out the camera-to-tablet synchronisation, so they may have to wait until my return home!
This host keeps a fair amount of livestock (along with their purely vegetative endeavours) which has provided more food for thought (no pun intended). The other WWWOOFer who's here at the moment is vegetarian, not vegan like me, and she's been enjoying having the opportunity to make butter and cheese, along with milking the cows. The issue of surviving on only what I could produce myself from a plot in the UK is continuing to be an interesting reflection, but being around livestock is highlighting the fact that, for now at least, my desire for a vegan lifestyle is strong and my interest in various vegetable protein sources is continuing to be piqued (see cobnut reference above - huzzah!)
I've also been getting more committed to investigating forest gardening as an approach to food production, over planting annuals, year on year. But more than that, the aspiration for self-sustainability is a fascinating one, given the "creature comforts" and level of diverse interests and possibilities that the developed world current offers. And if truth be told, I'm not sure I'd want to be a full time market gardener, even if it was only to produce my own food. The scale of food production is rather different with this host as they're a larger family unit than solo me (plus they have a LOT of WWOOFers to feed thoughout the year) but even so, planting and tending and harvesting the same veg year on year doesn't appeal. Whereas tending perennials, and bushes and trees really does. All part of the mix!
But for now, I'm tucked up nice and warm in the old granary (which is a twin room for WWOOFers - and given there are only 2 of us on site at the moment, I've got it all to myself) and looking forward to a good night's rest.
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