Category Archives: Country Sense

All the fun of the fair

Oooh I love a country fair!

Jerry and I decided that amidst the moving mania, we ought to make time to experience a few country pursuits before the packers and boxes descend on us (also because I am known for my ‘last minute Larry’ attitude towards such things and the move feels like ages away)! So we packed ourselves off (sorry couldn’t resist the pun) to Highclere aka Downton Abbey for the day and set about enjoying all the sights and sounds of the Highclere Countryman fair! Country fairs, dear Reader, are the summer staple for countryside lovers and a bit of a firm favourite with Jerry and I, bringing back memories of the county shows of our childhoods.

Well, it really didn’t disappoint, the whole day was UTTERLY brilliant. Falconry displays, jousting knights, a food festival tent and hundreds of country stalls from the sublimely satisfactory amount of tweed to the hilarious including a wonderful double take moment when I spied a ‘I’m a NOB’ badge. Yes…dear Reader…a badge for members of the National Organisation of Beaters and Pickers Up. Bet you didn’t know they were using that acronym! I was also astonished by the sheer volume of countryside gear on offer. Just how many camouflage jackets and boiler suits does one need in the countryside? Thank goodness, I had read all the helpful country fashion advice put together by the lovely Bea at Life After London (with help from Out of the City) otherwise I might have come away with some outfits that would really turn heads in our new village!

Primrose has not stopped talking about the real knights jousting!

Perhaps the best thing of all was the fact that we could take Monty too! Child AND dog friendly…! One can see immediately, dear Reader, why such events are universally popular! Monty was adored by many a passer-by with ooohs and aaahs of “Is he is a Springer? He looks just like…” and was thoroughly chuffed with the overwhelming number of opportunities for hoovering up leftover lunches! He was also glued to the Gundog Field Trials and loved watching all the dogs retrieving and jumping over bales! I wondered if he was sizing up the competition for next year’s Countryman fair! Jerry and I (well I say Jerry but it was mostly me) got thoroughly carried away with all the ‘doggy’ stands and we came away with yet another lead for the Montster. That would be lead number 3….. I just can’t help myself!

After 4 hours or so of carrying Poppy, Jerry and I called time on the fair, especially as Poppy was considerably heavier after demolishing a hog roast sandwich with all the trimmings and poor old Jerry was developing every parent’s worst nightmare, “Backpack Back”. With sleepy children and a pooped puppy, we headed back to town and vowed that we would go again next year. Leaving Highclere, Jerry even managed to have the girls spotting ‘Lannies’ (his Land Rover obsession has reached fever pitch now the move is looming closer). It would seem that every journey is now to be accompanied by the excited whoops of ‘LANNY’ from Poppy and Primrose….so the sooner Jerry has one, the better, dear Reader!

LANNNNNNYYYY!

Waste not, want not!

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Who knew rubbish could look so fabulous?! Thanks to Garden Trading.

Last week, I received a rather wonderful countryside accessory from the lovely people at Garden Trading – a compost bucket. Not just any compost bucket but a beautiful specimen in the perfect colour to match my new country kitchen. Never one to shy away from a challenge, this started a whole lot of kitchen and garden thinking in the Margot household! We have never had the space, time or inclination to think about creating our own compost heap but, coincidentally, it turns out that our ramshackle garden at the new cottage has not one but two compost heaps. So, it would seem that the compost bucket has arrived at just the right time!

Composting is, of course, the most environmentally friendly way of recycling your kitchen and garden waste, not to mention the best way to get wonderfully enriched soil for the garden. Although most won’t have the space for a compost heap of their own, it would appear that kitchen waste recycling is on the up in the Big Smoke as its inhabitants try to do their little bit for the planet. With the likes of Zac Goldsmith championing the ‘Go Green’ mantra, it would seem that recycling has become terribly fashionable dear Reader! Even here in our little corner of suburbia, I was surprised to find out that the local council provides a caddy which one can use to deposit kitchen waste and it is collected alongside the ordinary rubbish – incredibly simple even for the laziest amongst us and cuts down the number of full to bursting black bags each week. Guaranteed to earn one a place at Zac’s supper party table! With that in mind, I thought old Margot should give it a go and make a start with a little bit of recycling – rubber gloves at the ready!

Visions of raking through the bin trying to pick out the bits that could be composted, have always put me off doing this in the past. I hadn’t a clue of where to start with the whole composting lark! According to the garden gurus, the first job is to know what can go into a compost bin (apparently wayward children and bitey puppies cannot be composted…). So, just for you, dear Reader, here is what can be thrown on the heap!

Kitchen waste – coffee grounds, tea leaves, tea bags (cut into them to help break them down), vegetable and fruit peelings/scraps. NO meat, cooked veg or dairy products.

A peep at the peelings!

Green garden waste – grass clippings, prunings, fallen leaves (that sort of thing). You can add stinging nettles to your heap to add extra nutrients apparently.

Some top tips for getting started on Garden Trading’s blog and the Recycle Now website has a great step by step guide to the perfect heap here. Not ready for that quite yet but I am pleased to report, dear Reader, that I have been dutifully using my new bucket to recycle our kitchen waste. I added a bit of newspaper to the inner removable liner so that the sludgier peelings and leftover scraps wouldn’t have me scrubbing out the bucket every time I emptied it out. Newspaper is compostable too so this will just add to the perfect heap. Scented candles are already working overtime on preventing the house smelling of dog so the air tight seal on the lid is a godsend when it comes to preventing any unwanted whiffs emanating from the bucket! So far so good, our bin bags have been considerably lighter and we intend to keep it up once we move and have our own compost mountains to maintain. Although, saying that, Jerry is already mithering about how my fruit and veg compostable compote will no doubt spoil the perfect bacteria equilibrium for his grass clippings heap! He also mentioned watching out for rodents. Surely he can’t mean…..RATS…..dear Reader? Rats in Margot’s perfect bit of countryside? I should jolly well hope not!

A little wobble

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A wibbly wobbly mess…..

Making a mad dash from London to Hampshire for a meeting at Primrose’s new school one evening last week, I had one precious hour in the car to contemplate life, the universe and new kitchens. Having sold our house in the Big Smoke, we are waiting for solicitors to let us know when all is set with the new ‘cottage’. Moving is tantalisingly close now yet still we are in limbo. Patience I know, dear Reader, is required…. However, I am ready to get packing and start carving up kitchen cabinets and fitting an Everhot! Bombing down the M3 with music blaring, I was lost in these very thoughts as I passed field upon field of glorious oil seed rape all sunshine and dayglow yellow in the evening light.

Turning off the motorway, driving through windy lanes and then up the long school driveway, I wondered what Primrose’s new school might have in store for me that evening. Stepping into a room filled with exceptionally well turned out mummies, I quickly breathed a sigh of relief that I had decided to leave my Barbour in the car. Thank goodness I had also dusted the cobwebs off my Portobello Market ‘Mulberry‘ handbag. Where were the ladies in wellies and tweed? This was, after all, a countryside school. A sea of double barrelled surnames rather than shotguns….I felt cheated, dear Reader. Talk turned to our relocation, choice of village and profession and I felt instantly sidelined – a ‘townie’ in their midst. What was I doing? I was never going to fit in in the countryside if these über-mums were anything to go by. Everyone seemed to live within ten minutes of the school and they all knew each other in that rather annoying “Do you remember when little Johnny did such and such at the May day fair?“. It was like being on the set of Mean Girls. Where was the industrial sized gin when I needed it?! Suddenly I could see that our school run of 25mins each way would probably result in no one wanting to come and play with Primrose after school. Too late to do anything about it now though…..as we were about to exchange on our new house and Jerry was set on living a 15 minute drive away from the best commuter station. I drove back to London and went straight to bed, convinced that moving to the countryside was all a massive mistake.

‘Walking is Man’s best medicine’ – Hippocrates

To make matters worse, Primrose had her own wobble the following morning and decided that she wasn’t going to move. Tears and wailing ensued and cries of “You and Daddy are very mean taking me from all my friends…” Our usual morning chit-chat was replaced with sniffs and blowing of noses as I tried gallantly to save the situation and talk up the advantages of having a bigger garden. Neither of us were convinced to be honest, dear Reader. Nursery drop off completed (tears at the door for the first time), I armed myself with strong coffee and the advice of some very sweet friends and headed off to the park with Poppy and the pup. Woodpeckers, bluebells, a serene herd of deer, giggly toddler and a happy hound…..amazing how a good walk and the sights and sounds of nature at its best can restore a troubled soul. Just enjoying moments looking, listening and being able to marvel at all the things which somehow the hustle and bustle doesn’t allow time for. The countryside makes you want to slow down, take stock and enjoy the simpler things in life, like a good walk. With that mantra firmly in hand, I decided that I was not going to let a little wobble about moving stand in our way, nor the cast of Mean Schoolmums either! Turned out that Primrose had had a change of heart too as she skipped out of the nursery doors with a drawing of our new house in Hampshire in her hand………and despite our little wobbles, we are both smiling about our new life in the countryside.

A little glimpse of how Primrose sees our future.

Primrose’s little glimpse into our future in the countryside!

That was the week that was

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My amazing birthday barbecue courtesy of Jerry and the girls

Birthday celebrations (mine and Jerry’s), bank holiday, toddler getting up at 5am every day (east facing bedroom curse), Monty’s first puppy class, launch of his (and my) new monthly blog on NFU Countryside and a guest blog post for the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging award for Fresh Voice….that was the week that was. Dear Reader, to be honest, I am still reeling from it all. To add to the list of fab, fantastic and in the case of the 5am starts, downright frightful, I made a fatal error and did not put my brand new pair of shoes on the very top of the bookcase and they were instantly eaten by the Monster before he could be stopped. I can report that in just one week, the wardrobe casualties are stacking up: 2 tunics, a chiffon dress, 1 pair of shoes and a beloved cardigan which now has pinholes in it. Puppy teething?! Pah! We seem to have acquired a pup with the chewing skills of a beaver. Nothing is safe! I know, I know, how could I possibly be cross with this sweet little face…..?!

Here he is…the little shoe eating Monster.

So passing on my TOP TEN tips for the first weeks of owning a furry toddler could not have been a more apt post for my Britmums Fresh Voice voting plea! Between the children, dog and turning another year older, I found myself nearly at the bottom of the beautifully packaged bottle of Hendricks gin which my dear Papa so kindly gave me for my birthday!

Here are my handy hints if you missed them:

1) Reacquaint yourself with lack of SLEEP – coffee and Jerry’s dressing gown are my new best friends. No sooner did Poppy start sleeping through, my nightly toddler escapades have now been replaced with standing in the garden in pyjamas, praying the neighbours can’t see me.

2) Explain to both toddler and dog that sharing is lovely but perhaps not when it comes to teething toys.

3) Do not buy any new shoes – dog will chew ONLY the new ones. (I am still mourning the loss of my floral pumps….)

Oh…….(she says weeping)

4) Buy a dog guard for the car – emergency stops on the A4 due to dog jumping from boot to back seats are best avoided!

5) Do not let husband to allow dog to sit on sofa. (My days of wearing black are over……..)

6) Try not to attempt to house train pup and potty train toddler at the same time. Poppy now thinks a piddle outside (a la pooch) is an acceptable practice.

7) Hone your Mummy sixth sense in order to catch sneaky 4 year old feeding the dog at mealtimes. Otherwise, you may find that dog enjoys mushrooms from Coq au Vin as well as puppy kibbles.

8) Remember children and dogs often suffer from temporary deafness……although that may just be in our household! You may find the investment of a whistle worthwhile…worked for Mary Poppins.

Taking the training seriously!

9) Do NOT leave your gin unattended at any point. Following that thought, definitely don’t forget to wash out a glass that puppy has found and licked, before serving your guest another drink from said glass! (Luckily my dear Papa has a very good sense of humour!)

10) And lastly….have your camera ready and drop everything to capture children and dog enjoying the simpler things in life together. Running through the long grass, chasing butterflies and setting up tea parties NEVER seemed as much fun before Monty came into our lives! After all, as Gerald Durrell, author of My Family and Other Animals, knew so well “A house is not a home until it has a dog.”

The full Britmums post can be read here. Tonight at midnight marks the end of the voting for the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging awards and I can honestly say that I am still surprised I even made it this far. Thank you again because when I started writing the blog in October, I truly believed that I would be writing posts that would drift off into ether and no one (except my Mamma and Jerry) would read them. I am grateful to you, dear Reader so thank you thank you thank you for the follows, the comments, the encouragement and for the precious votes. Gin and kisses to you all! I promise ‘normal’ Margot capers shall resume next week! Jerry has been badgering me to get on with crossing off some of the items on my to do list….

Oh and if you do fancy following Monty’s adventures on NFU Countryside, then look no further…..you can find his little paws here.

Surprise Surprise!

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I had such a ‘whoooah there, hang on’ moment this week that I half expected Cilla Black to pop out from behind the curtains in a leopard print number singing ‘Surprise Surprise’, falsies and all, dear Reader! Monty, our new pup, certainly did not appreciate the sound barrier breaking shriek that accompanied my surprise and sadly, gin o’clock was too far away to contemplate immediate celebration….although it was rather tempting.

Mmmm…if only!

Turns out that Margot, ‘little old (soon to be even older) me’ has been nominated in the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging awards – a complete surprise that I made the list at all (must thank my dear Mamma for casting all the votes) and I am honoured to be considered amongst some really witty, endearing, inspiring and truly well-written blogs. Just being nominated for the ‘Fresh Voice’ and ‘Lifestyle’ categories alongside such good quality writers is humbling – do have a look and read as many nominees as you can Britmum BiBs nominees. I have some real favourites on the list!

When I began writing Margot Tries the Good Life in October last year, I never thought people (other than Jerry and my Ma) would actually read it, let alone follow it and write lovely post comments and tweets about my capers. I have never really been one for blowing my own trumpet (where writing is concerned at least) but as a fellow nominee said to me…..BACK YOUR BLOG! So, dear Reader, if you are so inclined and you really enjoy Margot, then please do cast a precious vote for me http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/B82J3SN The deadline for votes is 12th May. Do like Margot on Facebook here or tweet me @Margotgoodlife too!

There, enough said.