On reflection
Living on the farm in central Portugal has given me a lot of time to reflect on what I want and don’t want in life. I don’t know that I’ve had a huge amount of insight though, as yet! One thing ... Read More
Why Gardening is a Great Way to Stay Active
Getting enough exercise and living a healthy life can seem easy for some, but for most of us, it can be more challenging. Exercise programmes like DDP Yoga are hugely helpful when it comes to losing w... Read More
Trains, planes and automobiles
It’s been a good few weeks since I last wrote a blog post, so apologies … I travelled back to the UK on 1st May – just for a week, to see the family, celebrate my daughter’s 25th birthday and ... Read More
Life is but a day
“Stop and consider! Life is but a day; A fragile dew-drop on its perilous way From a tree’s summit.” John Keats I’m currently sitting at Lisbon airport, waiting for a flight to the UK. Don... Read More
The Sad Tale of Missy the Pig
As this is a working farm with animals raised for meat, I was (kind of) prepared to be involved with slaughtering at some stage, though I have to admit I was very apprehensive about the idea. But, sad... Read More
Things I’ve learned during my first two months in rural Portugal
I don’t need a lot of space – or a lot of stuff. If I had cooking facilities I could very happily live in the caravan. I’m truly wondering what all that “stuff” is I̵... Read More
Little Miss Clumsy
I’ve always been a bit accident prone – or perhaps clumsy. I’ve got a very poor sense of balance (possibly because of being deaf in one ear) and my son tells me I have absolutely no ... Read More
Meet the animals, part 1: feathered friends
Being a Londoner through and through, I never had much to do with animals as a kid, not least farm animals. In fact, to me farmers were characters out of Topsy and Tim books, so you can imagine my sur... Read More
What’s for dinner?
I promised a blog post about food, so here it is! Though I doubt it will be the last time I talk about food here. Now - I am a planner, when it comes to cooking. I go through my recipe books, choose... Read More
“Carnaval” and animal tales
Hands up how many of you back home were eating pancakes last Tuesday? It was Shrove Tuesday in the UK, but here in Portugal they celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of Lent with Carnaval –... Read More
Settling into a New Routine
Can you believe I’ve been here nearly a month already? I can’t! It feels like time moves more slowly here – I can be down in the fields collecting bedding for what seems like ages but check ... Read More
My Portugal Adventure: Roughing It!
When I announced that I’d decided to up sticks and move to Portugal for a few months, I was inundated with messages from people wishing me luck. However, the one that made me smile the most said, ... Read More
My Portugal Adventure: One Week In
Can you believe I’ve been in Portugal for a whole week already? The time has flown. At the moment I think I’m mostly in holiday mode though I have been making a big effort to throw myself into lif... Read More