Caz counts it down

EssexHebridean

Even better plan!

eco_farmer

hmmm ! unless bartering is involved your time would be better spent on your current occupations! unless you like being asset rich cash poor.

cazmanian_minx

I'm fully prepared, I've read the Daily Gael article (which I've had to do as a hyperlink because the link contains a swear word!). The bit about growing malformed carrots in a bog with a fence around it is so true that it made me cry with laughter!

The plan is, hopefully in 5-10 years, to have all my income coming from holiday lets, buy-to-lets, Mr RPC, NEL and the journalists. Keeping sheep and making hay are going to be hobbies that might, if I'm very lucky, just about cover their costs. The single farm payment that comes with the crofts will help enormously in that respect!

cazmanian_minx

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

I'm fully prepared, I've read the Daily Gael article (which I've had to do as a hyperlink because the link contains a swear word!). The bit about growing malformed carrots in a bog with a fence around it is so true that it made me cry with laughter!

Nope, it edits out the word in the hyperlink as well! Since it's only short:

Breaking research has discovered that Crofting is simply farming but rubbish (Caz edit!)
Crofting incorporates all the negatives of farming such as working outside and smelling like poo without any of the established financial benefits.
Colin MacManus a spokesman for Scotland’s agricultural college stated that “Crofting is like trying to shave your balls with a stone. It takes a huge amount of effort and ruins your life.”
“I have really struggled to feed my family of five on this year’s turnip” says Skye crofter Dòmhnall MacIvor.”
“Sometimes at night I dream I am on the BBC’s Countryfile surrounded by dairy cows amongst fertile Shropshire fields then I wake up and remember that I am trapped in this nightmare growing malformed carrots in a bog with a fence round it. ”
We asked Donald why he perseveres with the lifestyle:
“I thought about sticking a wee holiday cottage on the land the land but it will only be full of caravan drivers for 3 weeks and get blown away mid Autumn. One of my border collies just left the just other day. He says there is no future in this. I think he is working in a call centre now.”
“The only thing growing here is my sense of despair”.

cazmanian_minx

Anyway, what else have I been up to today? I switched my laptop on at 6.15 this morning to find an email sent at 11.41 the night before from Journalist #2 - any chance I could type up the attached file for 11am? Thought I'd better load it in and see how long it was before replying with a 'no way, sorry' and found it was under 5 minutes, so ripped through it after Mr Minx had gone to work and promptly got another four back. All red carpet vox pops with celebs from last night's theatre awards in London, fun

Then it was horses, eBay orders and lots for Mr RPC. NEL got in touch mid-afternoon to ask if I could do two hours for her this week and Journalist #3 emailed to say that the file she'd been hoping to send me tonight was now going to come tomorrow instead and was that okay? Finished off the day with a business team file coming in at 5.15pm, which I have just sent back, and am now going to stagger up the stairs to bed.

eco_farmer

lol the last line from Donald is a thing of beauty!

EssexHebridean

LOVE that article Caz! Just brilliant! :rotfl:

brizzledfw

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

Nope, it edits out the word in the hyperlink as well! Since it's only short:

Breaking research has discovered that Crofting is simply farming but rubbish (Caz edit!)
Crofting incorporates all the negatives of farming such as working outside and smelling like poo without any of the established financial benefits.
Colin MacManus a spokesman for Scotland’s agricultural college stated that “Crofting is like trying to shave your balls with a stone. It takes a huge amount of effort and ruins your life.”
“I have really struggled to feed my family of five on this year’s turnip” says Skye crofter Dòmhnall MacIvor.”
“Sometimes at night I dream I am on the BBC’s Countryfile surrounded by dairy cows amongst fertile Shropshire fields then I wake up and remember that I am trapped in this nightmare growing malformed carrots in a bog with a fence round it. ”
We asked Donald why he perseveres with the lifestyle:
“I thought about sticking a wee holiday cottage on the land the land but it will only be full of caravan drivers for 3 weeks and get blown away mid Autumn. One of my border collies just left the just other day. He says there is no future in this. I think he is working in a call centre now.”
“The only thing growing here is my sense of despair”.

Loved this! The dog just *issing off is so true..ts a hard life doncha know..

brizzledfw

PS.. any regrets about giving up the beads? Or was it getting too hard for the return?

cazmanian_minx

brizzledfw wrote: »

PS.. any regrets about giving up the beads? Or was it getting too hard for the return?

I still haven't quite given it up, I've got loads of stock and still go to the post office every day! Having said I was going to get it all marked down once I stopped doing the early shift, I haven't had time to do it yet and the pre-Christmas sale window is rapidly closing. Next week, maybe...

I'm not quite sure where this week has gone. I am just about clinging on to being on top of things by my fingernails - I started at 7.20am after Mr Minx went to work by typing up 20 minutes of Journalist #3's file that had come in overnight, went and fed the boys and shut them on the hardstanding so they'd have dry feet for the farrier at lunchtime, did a load of work for Mr RPC, packed my eBay orders, held the boys for the farrier (who surpassed himself by not only charging me half price but also leaving me his copy of Farm Machinery Locator magazine for Mr Minx to drool at tractors!), had lunch, took the eBay orders to the post office, called in at the farm on the way back with a quick question for the farmer, did some more work for Mr RPC, fed the horses and sheep, downloaded and typed the first 30 minutes of the business team file I'd been assigned, welcomed Mr Minx home, lit the woodburner, finished the business team file, dished up supper while Mr Minx was on the phone (he'd cooked it!), ate, cleared away in the kitchen and then typed 20 minutes of NEL's file, finishing about 9.30pm.

Tomorrow, on top of the usual feed horses, walk dog, pack eBay orders, I have to:

- finish NEL's file
- ideally finish Journalist #3's file, although she does know it may be Saturday morning
- catch up with the educational project files
- do some analysis for Mr RPC along with whatever else he throws at me
- accounts for me
- accounts for Mr RPC
- laundry
- massive ironing pile
- clean house
- attempt to shampoo dried mud out of dog's feathers
- catch up on the mucking out

Actually, scratch doing that tomorrow, if I manage to do it by the end of the weekend I'll be happy!

The solicitors have cashed my cheque, so I no longer have six figures offset against the mortgage Will need to update my sig tomorrow.