Need a change of lifestyle

[Flo]

I seem to be living on the allotments (2) or freezing produce or washing dirty gardening gear and catching up with the housework. In the winter it's a case of planning for next year and budgeting for new gardening gear.

Am I doing something wrong?

[Green Aura]

Sounds pretty good to me, Flo, but as I'm in a similar treadmill (renovate rather than garden/clean up after renovation/ plan next project) anything that might get me outside sounds good.

Having said that the new section of decking, complete with newly oiled table and chairs is getting a bit of a hammering on the odd day of sunshine.

[Odsox]

Am I doing something wrong?

Nope.

I'm the same, I spend all winter planning what I'm going to grow, then spend all spring sowing and weeding, then spend all summer planning what I'm going to grow next year and then spend all autumn harvesting, drying, bottling and preserving.

So if you're doing something wrong Flo, then so am I.

As a political aside, there seems to be a lot of press coverage at the moment about impending food shortages after Brexit, so maybe not a bad idea to have an allotment full of fruit and veg.

[Green Aura]

As a political aside, there seems to be a lot of press coverage at the moment about impending food shortages after Brexit, so maybe not a bad idea to have an allotment full of fruit and veg.

Will you get chucked out if it all gets handled as badly as it appears likely?

[Flo]

Yeah perhaps you are all right. Just that this morning I was clearing down various online photo albums from the past 10 years or so and wondered why I suddenly don't seem to have days to take off on photography projects. It's either the rickety knees slowing me down on the allotment or having two allotments.

[Odsox]

Will you get chucked out if it all gets handled as badly as it appears likely?

Do you mean me personally or the country?
Personally, we moved here when you still had to get official permission to buy a house here, so they probably couldn't chuck me out. But if there were to be serious mutterings about sending the foreigners back home we would certainly apply for Irish citizenship, I'm definitely not moving back to Blighty.
As a country, however much they don't want the reintroduction of any sort of north/south border, they most certainly don't want to leave the EU. They/we are not THAT stupid.

[Weedo]

I'm looking forward to shifting closer to a Flo / Odsox lifestyle! Much much better than dealing with budgets, politics, legisaltion, policy, procedures, prima-donna executives, penny pinching accounts clerks, stuffed up flight schedules, eight hour drives and eating whatever rubbish happens the be available when and where I have time.

Flo - I now carry a small shockproof, waterproof digital camera most places - it is not a great device for creative pics (much better than a 'phone) but it does work reasonably well and is far easier than carrying the SLR kit. Reasonable software for manipulating images is worthwhile also.

[Flo]

Be careful what you wish for Weedo. You may find that the lifestyle Odsox and I have is just as much of a treadmill (but of a different sort).

[ina]

But if there were to be serious mutterings about sending the foreigners back home we would certainly apply for Irish citizenship, I'm definitely not moving back to Blighty.

I think I'm more likely to be chucked out of the UK - after all, I can't even get permanent residency here after 20 years in Scotland (and earlier in my life 4 years in London)... Why? Because during the past 5 years I went back to uni full time for a while and didn't know I had to be privately insured. Nobody knew - but ignorance doesn't equal innocence.

Actually, I don't think they'll chuck anybody out; they'll just make it impossible to live here for the likes of us. If I was 10 years younger, or had anybody to do it with, I'd emigrate immediately. A friend of mine - British, but lived in Austria and Germany for many years, is already leaving the sinking ship. Doesn't want to live in what's become of this country any more.

[Green Aura]

I think it must be a very worrying time for many folk, ina.

In my village there are many individuals not born in the UK, who have been here a lot longer than I have, raised their kids here, own their homes, have small businesses and roots in the wider community. The only one who can now be certain to be OK is a South African born person who got British citizenship because they didn't feel as secure as their EU born partner!

Crazy, scary times.

Tony, I feel the same way as you about moving back. I can't see myself living in England ever again.

[Flo]

The prospect of a forced change of lifestyle is not good and I suspect that a lot of it comes of ignorance. A listener phoned in the Jeremy Vine show last week and was under the impression we would not be able to fly over Europe when we left the EU. Shows the level of misinformation that there is around. No don't normally listen to Jeremy Vine but it was on the radio on a long drive to a wedding down a the far corner of Norfolk. Long way from Northumberland.

[Odsox]

A listener phoned in the Jeremy Vine show last week and was under the impression we would not be able to fly over Europe when we left the EU. Shows the level of misinformation that there is around.

Not necessarily "misinformation", just not bandied about in the UK media for some reason. In the event of a "no deal" on Brexit he could well be right.
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/tra ... -1.3028783

[Flo]

It's a thought that our government hasn't appeared to get this far down the list of things to do then. The airlines may well be the ones who know this.

[Weedo]

Guys

Sorry to hear of the BREXIT generated uncertainty you have to get through; makes my issues paltry in comparison - I can only hope that sanity will prevail and a reasonable solution is forthcoming.

[Green Aura]

Thanks for that, Weedo, but that's the main problem. Sanity and reason seem to be in very short supply at the moment.