I don’t think we are quite out of the transitional phase but we certainly have made some new beginnings. One small but significant effort on my part was to make sure that we actually had at least a small summer holiday. Our family has spent every summer for the last four years either being homeless and moving from long suffering friend to friend…or moving house. Yes, we still did the latter this summer too… BUT we also had a summer holiday in Cornwall. Here are Tam and I braving our beachside Cornish ‘cold tub’!

Also we have now unpacked at our new home, The Vicarage and are gradually settling into a new beginning here. I still haven’t got over the excitement of being able to walk and cycle everywhere… from the excellent Barn Cinema at Dartington to the health food shop in Totnes. It’s saving a fortune in fuel as I hardly use the car and my eco conscience is much clearer. Living in the wilderness, as we did for many years in the Highlands and on Dartmoor, has many beauties but the excessive amounts of driving required just to survive is not one of them.

Our property sale in Scotland and purchase of the Linhay at nearby Rattery are in their final stages. As we’ve had a rocky road thus far, it may yet all go pear shaped… but in order to sleep at night, I’m engaging in some ‘positive reality creation’ and trusting that all will be well ( while being prepared that it may well not be well in the form of my preferred outcome! )

Given that we hope to be starting on site in a couple of weeks, there’s much work going into planning our eco build… more details in due course for those who are interested. Meanwhile, do check out our updated website, which now features a page about The Linhay and which can be accessed directly from our new blog by clicking on the Linhay sign at the right side of this page.