A very 2019 take on the Good Life: High-speed broadband and Waitrose deliveries while Margo and Jerry are glamping in the garden
The Sunday Times ran a fascinating feature at the weekend about a family who 'quit the rat race to travel the world, then set up an eco campsite in the wild Welsh countryside.'
Ali and Ian Paice quit their jobs and went travelling when they both had early-onset mid-life crises in their early 30s. On returning to Britain, they sold their home in London, and bought a property in the Llyn Peninsula.
Now, they run it as a going concern — but it's less goats in the garden shed and rotavators chewing up the front lawn, and more about selling camping countryside breaks to frazzled metropolitan visitors who want to get away while still being able to watch Killing Eve on iPlayer while eating a Gü dessert. Their campsite also offers yoga classes, an art gallery and a spa tent — but 'don’t call it glamping', apparently.
'Adjusting hasn’t been all smooth. It took them several weeks — and ruined cakes — to learn how to use an Aga,' the paper's Hugh Graham explains.
'It takes Ian a whole day to mow and strim the lawns. They’ve had to educate themselves about tractors. Ian taught himself how to chop wood and use a chainsaw by watching YouTube videos, and googled how to use Yorkshire boarding to keep the rain out of the barn.
'He also had to look up how to kill a chicken. "It wasn’t a pleasant experience. There is a truth behind the saying of the headless chicken running around. I couldn’t face eating it."'
Full story (The Times - subscription required)
The goldfish that grew to the size of a small dog
Remember the time you came back from the funfair having won a goldfish playing darts? No doubt your mother went as mad as ours did. If she then flushed it down the toilet to offer it a new life, here's what happened:
https://www.facebook.com/BNWaterkeeper/photos/a.95430307146/10157452539187147/?type=3&theater
It's not the size of a spaniel, or even a dachshund — we're talking more chihuahua or a shit tzu. But still, this little whopper — a 14-inch goldfish — is certainly impressive. And there's plenty more where it came from: naturalists claim that America's Great Lakes have 'tens of millions' of them.
The wettest June ever about to turn into the hottest
Yes, it's that time again: after spending the last three weeks grumbling about rain, you'll now be grumbling about sunshine.
Send this to someone you know who's going to a festival
With Glastonbury taking place later this week, the summer music festival season has officially kicked into high gear. If you're going to one, or you know someone who is, point them in the direction of this piece in The Guardian about the impact these events can have on the environment. Considering the demographics and environmental-awareness of the average festival-goer, it's nothing short of horrendous.
The greatest shame is probably the tens of thousands of tents left behind at every festival, every year. A few make their way to refugee camps via charities, some can be recycled — but the sad truth is that most end up in an incinerator.
'They are a bane for most festivals,' says Ian Fielder of the Green Man Festival. 'The waste is extraordinary.'
And finally... why women will colonise space while men will be left behind
The answer, it turns out, is all about frozen sperm.
Credit: Horsecombe Farm - Greenslade Taylor-Hunt
A chance to own a huge chunk of Exmoor, including a lovely five-bedroom farmhouse
Horsecombe Farm in Somerset offers a huge expanse of Exmoor with all sorts of options for a new owner seeking
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The campsite where you can go glamping in a helicopter
Why sleep under canvas when you can sleep under a 56ft rotor blade?
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Game, set, match: 12 of the world’s most beautiful tennis courtsFrom Italy to Indonesia, when it comes to hotel amenities, a picturesque tennis court will always trump a 24-hour gym. So, before you book your next holiday, take a look at our pick of the 12 best.
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The brilliant tractor tribute to the NHS from a group of Warwickshire farmersPeople around Britain have been paying tribute to the efforts of our NHS workers at the time of the coronavirus pandemic — but few have been as creative and clever as this one.
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London's iconic red bus at risk and 6,000 year old chewing gum gives clues into our DNA historyCuts to industry subsidies and an increase in fares has left bus use at its lowest point ever, while DNA extracted from ancient 'chewing gum' allows scientists to decipher the genetic code of a Stone Age woman.
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90-million-year-old 'swimming dinosaur' skeleton found by dogs out walking in Somerset, and the nonchalant moths who don't bother fleeing enemiesA superbly intact dinosaur skeleton — described as being 'museum quality' — has been discovered on a beach in Somerset.
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Battle to ban 4x4s from the idyllic Lake District spot bequeathed by Beatrix Potter, eagle fights octopus and the 'snail's pace' climate talksThis morning we look at Little Langdale's fight for peace, reflect on the climate change talks in Madrid and discover the soundtrack for Brexit.
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Country Life Today: How Greta Thunberg shifted the dial on climate change — and the backlash shows just how muchThis morning we ponder whether Greta Thunberg is the Joan of Arc for the environmental movement, look at a key election — one from 19 years ago — and ponder the marvel of 'dad tidying'.
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Country Life Today: Great news for those who love our great country pubs — the years of decline are overThere is a great sign of health in the pub industry, we look back at Edward VIII's abdication message and fret about Greenland's melting ice.
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Country Life Today: Spain accused of being 'a deplorable choice' for UN climate conferenceA no-holds-barred assault on the Spanish fishing industry, Banksy raising awareness of the homeless and the woes of the Christmas jumper are in today's news round-up.
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Country Life Today: 'This is perhaps the ultimate wake-up call from the uncontrolled experiment humanity is unleashing on the world’s oceans'In today's round up, we examine why oxygen loss is putting oceans at risk, discover that action to cut air pollution brings almost immediate benefits to human health and find out which bird's arrival marks the start of winter in Gloucestershire.
