First (Human) Visitors
Dave and I felt like Christmas had come early - hand delivered by our friends Neil, Danni and little Indi.
First let me explain - Neil and Danni also used to work at GSK, before they left they bought a small holding in ... yep.. Wales. When Dave and I were here on holiday last year we went to visit them and got talking about the 'Good Life' and well, the rest is history and the act of giving up the corporate life and moving to a small holding is now known at GSK as "Doing a Hambo." (Neil's surname).
So the three musketeers arrived late morning with their 4x4 stuffed with presents for us - for anyone (in the UK) old enough to remember - here is our very own Generation Game conveyor belt: a collection of seeds, 2 x crab nets, a fuscia, a bottle of home made (alcoholic) ginger beer, willow saplings, 2 x animal feed bags, 2 bones for the dogs (Dexter ate his and then buried Tallie's), a small Christmas tree, a bag of home made chocolate brownies (there is only half a bag now), a dozen eggs, baler twine, a golden raspberry plant, selection of small holder magazines, couple of books, ear warmers, slug skewers, a jute shopping bag, picture frame (with embarrassing photo), a 'things to think about' and a 'hints and tips' list, an aloe plant AND a bale of straw!
OMG - absolutely blown away by their generosity and thoughtfulness!
Well... it would have been rude not to feed them after all that! Dave's first attempt at floury baps (cannot believe that I've had to add 'baps' to the dictionary) baked in the aga were a lovely accompaniment to some home made French onion soup. Duly fed up we embarked on a tour of the land, tested out the automatic watering system in the poly tunnel (that is going to be so damn handy), inspected the fencing and discussed our plans to fence round the orchard for chickens. We then repaired to the barn for the lesson du jour - basic chicken anatomy and handling. Neil had very kindly brought a couple of his chickens with him and gave us some very useful information which should help us when we go to buy our first chickens - at the very least we will be able to handle a chicken without looking like the completely clueless people we really are :)
Duly educated we retired to the kitchen for a cup of tea and a slice of cake.
Before we knew it it was time for them to leave - not a tearful farewell as we are off to their small holding tomorrow (by way of the Lampeter Farmers Market to stock up on some Mangalitza pork products) and Dave can continue his fencing education :)
Just before they left though the first egg was laid on our land... courtesy of Neil's chicken - might just be boiled egg and soldiers for breakfast tomorrow!
