Hi De Hi

What I've been thinking about this week:

1. Holidays
2. To do lists

I'm really lucky that my workplace closes down for two weeks over the festivities. It had been pretty non-stop in the run-up so I was glad to close down my emails and switch off my work phone on the 22nd and not think about it too much until about now. 

I'm also really lucky that I enjoy my job so I don't have that back to work dread that many people experience at this time of year. A glance at my Facebook memories reminds me that this hasn't always been the case, although I still stand by my status update from 2011:

"...the first week back at work after Christmas should be like the first week of primary school: in till lunchtime then home for a nap and a change into playing clothes."

I had great plans over the holidays with quite an extensive to do list on the go. So far, all I've managed is washing my walking boots and doing a review of my year. (To be fair, I did try phoning HMRC about my tax bill but gave up after 25 minutes on hold, suspecting that my call wasn't quite as important to them as they would have me believe.)

I still find it tricky sometimes that Ivie doesn't have a traditional 9-5 with free weekends, especially when I've got all this time off and we're hurtling towards lambing time. He might be awake in body from time to time but he won't be 100% conscious and engaged or able to hold a conversation beyond lambing stats - number left to lamb, number of triplets, when he last had a full night's sleep, you know the kind of thing.

Luckily, there's a solution to my need for quality time with my significant other away from the ranch. Meet the campervan that we now co-own with our next door neighbours!

We had our first night in it parked up at Sandhead last night. We had a very rock n roll evening, eating home made curry, watching the dog run herself daft on the beach and playing Scrabble. Scrabble is my 'sport' and Ivie plays me once or twice a year to balance out the actual sport he's tried to get me involved in over the years (none successfully, you'll be surprised to hear).

If Old McDonald played Scrabble

I'm looking forward to more mini breaks, getting to know this corner of the world more. Moving to the Spittal just before the first lockdown got in the way of that a bit, although this week alone we've managed a trip to Cruggleton and getting lost at Kirroughtree. I'm just wondering where else we can squeeze in before lambing 2023 gets underway.... (suggestions welcome!). Now that's a to-do list I can get behind. 

Tales of Wigtownshire and Beyond

What I’ve been thinking about this week:

1. My weak will. 
2. Not telling tales. 

Last week, Ivie and I were in Glasgow for a couple of nights. He’s just turned 28 (I know, I’m such a cradle snatcher) so we had a wee jaunt with some very vague plans, mostly revolving around food. 

We had booked a Japanese restaurant for Friday night where we had to reign in our enthusiasm and not order one of everything. We were fairly smug about our chopsticks technique, even under the influence and went back to our hotel merry and with full stomachs.

Teppanyaki drama

 Our plan for Saturday was to pop into Kelvingrove on the way to watching Newton Stewart play Glasgow Accies then head for Thai food in the evening. 

• Kelvingrove – yep, walked in just as an organ recital was beginning, which included some Very Serious Music. And Star Wars. 
• Rugby – yep, although we got stuck in the bar before the match as the after-lunch speaker was blocking the doorway WHILE SLAGGING OFF SELKIRK WOMEN! 
• Thai food – not a chance. 

It turns out I’m very easily led. By which I mean, the conversation at kick-off (and every conversation thereafter) went something like this:

Lorna/Jo/Lorraine/Ivie/Russell/everyone else: “Would you like a drink?”

Me: “No thanks, I’m a lightweight.”

“One won’t do you any harm.”

“Oh, go on then.”

Evil

The wine and conversation both flowed pretty well and there was a wee chat about my blog. It’s always nice to get a compliment (thank you) and I did my best to reassure the travelling support that I won’t share everything they say or do. The blog mainly exists to take the mick out of Ivie and me, to be fair, and I’m not into throwing anyone else under the bus. Unless they’ve slagged off Selkirk women, obviously. 

Turns out John McNeillie wasn’t quite as concerned about throwing people under the bus. Or Clydesdale. I’ve just finished reading his book, Wigtown Ploughman, which upset folk in the Machars when it was published in the 30s. He didn’t shy away from the harsh realities of rural life or concern himself with changing the names of the farms or the families that ran them. No-one escapes the violent temper of the main character and there was little heed of the notion of consent, although it did lead to changes in the law to protect agricultural labourers. So, not all bad then….

Bit of light reading

Thankfully, my own modern(ish) ploughman has very little in common with Andy Walker, except perhaps his love of the land and satisfaction in a job well done. 

And I doubt I’ll have 40 books under my belt unless I do nothing else but write from now until eternity. But at least most folk in the Machars will still be talking to me. 

On the Road Again

What I've been thinking about this week:

• Time off
• Technology (again)

As you'll probably remember, I work part-time. It's a privileged existence, having the option to choose time over money and being able to do pretty much what I please most of the time. 

This is in stark contrast to Ivie who, given the choice, works every day he's at home. Sometimes it can be difficult to feel that I fit in with someone who can't sit still when I manage that pretty well, thanks very much. 

Covid has had an impact on our ability to have days out, weekends away and proper holidays over the past 18 months or so. But November is a quieter time on the farm so it's easier to lure Ivie away. I like to think that I'm an alluring siren on the rocks rather than a harpie stamping her feet but you'd have to ask Ivie. On second thoughts.... 

Last week we headed away for a few days. We had a mix of AirBnBs in the middle of nowhere and drinking bottles of wine, and visiting a couple of friends and drinking bottles of wine.

Blue skies in Norfolk

It was a really relaxing break but it reminded me of all the little things that we miss out on doing together that I'd normally have taken for granted. (Getting up at 8am at weekends is considered a lie-in for goodness' sake.)

• Having a cuppa in bed and reading the paper (Ivie's first cuppa is after he's fed beasts). 
• Sitting around in your pyjamas and easing into the day (no chance). 
• Having uninterrupted time together that isn't puncuated by something giving birth, dying, being in the wrong field (or all of the above).

It sounds like I'm moaning but it actually made me appreciate our time away even more. There was a lot of driving involved so I put my big girl pants on and took a turn in the driver's seat.  

What you should know about Ivie's car:

• My car would fit in the boot. 
• It is far too fancy for its own good. 
• I secretly like it (heated seats, anyone?).

I won't bore you with all the things it can do at the touch of a button but suffice to say my luddite tendencies have been getting quite a workout recently. 

I'm making a concerted effort to practise driving it, though, so that I don't become one of those people that expects to be chauffeur driven everywhere and then forgets how to work windscreen wipers. 

It's so much more comfortable than my own car that I'm in danger of becoming like a teenager who has just passed their test and wants to drive everyone everywhere. It might cut down on those bottles of wine, mind you. 

A Break from the Norm

What you should know:

1. I didn't really mean it.
2. I'd last approximately three days. 

I've really enjoyed my Christmas break. I'm lucky to work somewhere that shuts down completely for two weeks. Because I work part-time and Monday is a bank holiday in Scotland, I'll have had almost three weeks away from my desk. 

I was going to write that I think everyone has probably daydreamed about not working for a living at some point in their lives. Except farmers. You know those people who say that if they won the lottery they'd still work? I bet most farmers would be in that category. 

Ivie and Rudi going off to work

Steering clear of the economics and politics of farming (my blog is more concerned with the comedy of farming, to be honest), it's in the blood of those who do it. While I often don't understand the conversations I overhear, I recognise the passion and pride and the drive to do things well. 

This morning over breakfast, we were chatting about the routines we've got into over the festive period and I wondered aloud about being a 'kept' woman. I could do more of the things I've enjoyed over the festivities like reading, walking and sitting in my shed, dispensing with pesky work that just gets in the way. It was met with a characteristic, "Oh aye?" from Ivie and he carried on drinking his coffee. 

Shed Life

Rationally, I know that I wouldn't last very long at it. Work is important to me for lots of reasons, not just financial independence. That's not to dismiss anyone that doesn't work outside the home. I know lots of people who put in far more hours than I do caring for others, supporting family businesses and being the lynch-pin of a household. Somehow it's not considered 'work' in the traditional sense but that's probably a debate for another day. 

In the meantime, I'll keep daydreaming about doing more of the things I enjoy, as well as daydreaming about a bit more normality in 2021. 

They're all going on a summer holiday

Things I've learned

1. Farmers are adept at diversification. 
2. I like salted caramel ice cream. I was pretty sure of that already but it's always good to check these things. 

I've been thinking a lot about holidays this week. It's partly the weather - which has been scorchio - and partly the increase in traffic on the roads. 

Dumfries and Galloway is a region that relies heavily on tourism. According to Visit Scotland, British travellers alone made over 750,000 overnight trips to the region in 2018, spending 2.5 million nights and £141 million. 

Of course, this is a mixed blessing. It means that when we have visitors ourselves, there are plenty of places and events to take them to. But we've also all come across drivers either braking for every bend (or puddle, which was my particular favourite) or going far too fast on single track roads and overtaking on blind corners on the A75. 

It's not quite the onslaught that Edinburgh usually has every year. When I lived there, I really enjoyed the fact that I passed Edinburgh Castle on my morning bus route and that I could walk to some of the best art galleries in the world but it made going about my day to day life in August absolute hell. It's certainly experiencing a quieter summer this year due to covid cancellations and, although that has a massive impact on businesses that rely on festival audiences, I'm sure there are many that are breathing a sigh of relief and enjoying the quieter streets. 

Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh

Which brings me back to D&G and the farm. Before I lived here, the tourism sector was something I only really thought about in a work setting. Having worked for Spring Fling and the Wigtown Book Festival in the past, I've been involved in a lot of audience surveys, reports to funders and the like but it all felt a bit more abstract. 

Spittal Sunset
Photo by Ivie

Now the view from my bedroom window includes the two holiday cottages on the farm and if I'm sitting outside I can hear people on the cycle path and the gates opening and closing. 

I really like it. I love living somewhere that other people want to come and visit and it stops me taking these glorious views for granted. A friend of mine came to visit last week from Wiltshire and stayed in a nearby AirBnB (Spittal Cottages were both booked!). Her and her children arrived one drizzly, overcast afternoon and woke up the next day surrounded by the Galloway Hills and Galloway Forest Park. They were all captivated by the views, the wildlife and the peace and quiet. It was great to see the place through their eyes and it made me fall in love with D&G a little bit more, if that's possible. 

Photo by Julia

While they were here, we went to Cream o' Galloway on a sunny Saturday. It was my first major trip into the outside world since mid-March so it was all slightly strange. But as numbers were limited to enable social distancing it meant that it was quiet, we barely had to queue for ice cream (salted caramel since you ask) and the kids could explore the adventure playground and go karts till their heart's content. 

It reminded us of a previous visit around six years ago when they'd come to Auchencairn to stay with me. As we waited for the tractor ride (little did I know I'd be able to do that every day if I wanted in a few year's time), the chap said, "now remember that we'll be driving through a working farm. There will be machinery and equipment lying around." We thought he meant from a health and safety point of view and keeping the children safe. "We've had complaints from visitors that the place looks untidy." I'm not often speechless...