Where is everyone?New post section perhaps?

[Gra]

Yes this the first time I've looked into the forum for a longtime. It was regular daily reading and posting when I was working and took (very frequent) tea breaks but I went and retired and now I'm too busy to take tea breaks, well really I don't take my iPad to my allotments, and with some 50 poles to attend to, on top of part-time work, I'm busy.

[bonniethomas06]

Gosh didn't realise three were so many Wiltshire ishers still. I missed the last ishy meet up, but if there is another or you spot a good beer fest and fancy meeting up, let me know! Must be something about this ancient farming landscape that brings out the 'ish in folk.

[baldybloke]

Hi Baldy bloke,I live in Devizes now.Are you still living here?Havent seen you on here for ages,sorry to here about your back?

Hi. Happyhippy.

Yes I'm still here in town. Been living here all my life, so its going to take a rocket to shift me now.

Its been a strange year or two for me, what with work and the back issues, but there have been some positive stuff happening as well. Time being the important commodity that it is has been in fairly short supply, so I've been trying to get practical projects completed instead of spending time on the computer. It been working up to a point.
Last I heard you were thinking of moving back to Australia. Has there been a change of plan?

[happyhippy]

Nice to hear from you BB!Yeah abit of a change of plan.I'm going back to Oz on Monday (9th June 2014)for 3 mths (career break)and will check things out whilst there!I do love Devizes (I have an allotment here too which is nice!).

[Carltonian Man]

Still here but I don't use the internet nearly as much now. Mrs CM was made redundant some time back and since then we slowed our pace of life (even further) and are having more fun together than ever; out and about in a low cost way. Our 520 sq metre allotment helps to fill gaps in the food basket, takes up a fair portion of our time and most of the socialising we do is down on the plot. Nice to hear what other ishers are up to.

[Thomzo]

Sorry, have been sadly absent. Got lured into taking a permanent job which just takes up too much of my time. But without the job I can't afford to keep the garden so work it is.

[baldybloke]

It's a sign of the times. It's seems we are all working harder these days. I have less disposable time than ever.

[Flo]

I think I'm even less self sufficient than when I was a child. My life was only a generation and a half or so from when a farm would have been totally self sufficient in food, when wool would have been from sheep to clothes on the farm, when the pig really did provide tallow for the candles and so on as a child. But things had moved on - electricity was the norm, a telly was fairly common, the early supermarkets were appearing, a car was more common than not by the time I was early teens, clothes came from the shops even if they were repaired to within an inch of their lives before replacement, entertainment was not family made with the advent of the cinema, rock and roll, pirate radio ....

I don't think we know what self sufficient is now. How many of us could take on a small holding and do everything? Nope I think that a properly self sufficient life style, off grid, provide everything for yourself in a family or even a village situation is well and truly history in the UK. Some gardening, some making our own clothes with stuff from the shop, walking as far as possible, cooking from scratch are really things that are left overs from our great grandparents. They would be shocked at how little we do for ourselves.

We'd not be prepared to do the hard graft now methinks. Don't think I'd want to go back to even childhood ways - have lost too many of the skills that I did have then because it's easier to go to the shop.

[MKG]

Yes this the first time I've looked into the forum for a longtime. It was regular daily reading and posting when I was working and took (very frequent) tea breaks but I went and retired and now I'm too busy to take tea breaks, well really I don't take my iPad to my allotments, and with some 50 poles to attend to, on top of part-time work, I'm busy.

I'm fascinated. You're looking after 50 poles? My mind is running overtime trying to imagine what, in this context, a pole is. You're a telegraph pole museum curator? In charge of 25 planets? Or is that as in pole, rod or perch?

Mike

[vancheese]

My problem connecting here is when there are too many posts - at one point there were 200+ messages a day and I couldn't connect into the conversations.
I've been dipping in and out and when a discussion look interesting, I get stuck in. I'm grateful for all the cool advice I've received here and just starting to return some back to the community

[Gert]

I've just had an email nudging me back after a few years away. Hello to all I don't know and Hi to anyone who can remember me.

I'm also in Wiltshire. but in the South. We were outside Salisbury, but have moved this year to just outside Warminster. Still have sheep and a few hens, and growing fruit and veg.

[ina]

After that email about SSish's 10th birthday I would have expected a few more oldies to return... I can't even remember when I last posted - ages ago - I've had a lot of ups and downs in that time. Still gardening, though.

So, anyway, gratulations, SSish!

[Bonniegirl]

I've not been here for ages either. I had to scale down on the time spent on the internet, it wasn't a reflection on this site by any means. Received and email about the 10 yrs of SSish so popped in to say hi again! :D

[MKG]

After that email about SSish's 10th birthday I would have expected a few more oldies to return... I can't even remember when I last posted - ages ago - I've had a lot of ups and downs in that time. Still gardening, though.

So, anyway, gratulations, SSish!

Ina!!!!

It's ages since I last saw your name. How's things? Where've you been? Watcha doing? Millions of questions

Mike

[MKG]

Gert too!!



Mike