Anniversary Blog

Today, the 15th May 2011, is the first anniversary of my WWOOFing adventure! I would like to share a few highlights of the last year with you, if you can bear with me. Obviously, those of you who have read my blog from the start will be familiar with some of these!

• To date I have stayed at fifteen different hosts (albeit one of them was only for 22 hours!) and three of them I have been back to at least twice.
• I have been to seven different counties: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Oxfordshire, Devon, Cornwall and Lancashire.
• I have stayed in many different types of accommodation: Semi-derelict cottage, Georgian manor house, Grade II listed thatched farmhouse, old mill houses, barn conversions, damp mobile home, country cottage and narrowboat.
• I have weeded many vegetable and flower beds
• I have helped make jams, jellies, wines and cordials
• I have collected some lovely recipes from some of my hosts: a bread recipe that really works, a breakfast granola, a very superior apple tart, several soft cheese recipes, to name but a few
• I have looked after calves, pigs, sheep and poultry
• I have been instrumental in saving the lives of three piglets, five lambs, one goldfish and (most recently) a chick, using such unconventional tools as the clear outer case of a Biro, a sports water bottle and.....my cleavage!
• I have eaten great food, good food and some cooked by myself!
• I have experienced all of the seasons in whatever weather they chose to throw at me
• I have made new friends, who will be friends forever, no matter where I end up.
• I have visited places that I would never have got to see otherwise
• I have seen some of the most breathtaking scenery that Britain has to offer such as Snowdonia National Park, the Yorkshire Dales, beautiful parts of Shropshire near Clun, the Forest of Dean and the lovely area around Launceston in Cornwall.

And

MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL – I have enjoyed myself immensely. OK there have been times when I have wept for things that are past, I’ve worried (but only a little bit, surprisingly) about the future, and I have worried about my children and how they are doing. But, for the most part, this last year has been like one long, self-indulgent, working holiday.

And another thing:

I don’t foresee giving up this nomadic lifestyle any time soon – there is still so much to see and do. The Scottish Leg is almost planned completely now – I just have one more week to fill or perhaps Jeni and I will allow ourselves a holiday? Jeni is going to continue WWOOFing with me until at least the end of August, when I go off to the Shrewsbury Folk Festival with my sister and her husband.

Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to take the first monumental step this time last year, and especially to my Mum, who by allowing me to use her home as ‘base camp’ between hosts, really freed me up to take off and discover who I really am.