There might have only been 4 (then 5 - ooh the excitement) TV channels when I was a child, but the television programmes were good. It was a golden era for telly. You had proper children’s tv on a Saturday: Going Live and then later SMTV. Then there were the gentle sitcoms like Only Fools and Horses. I used to love The Good Life reruns that had originally aired in the 70s. I loved the characters of Felicity Kendal and Richard Briars. I blame my lifelong obsession with dungarees on Felicity Kendal. However, I haven’t been able to find a dungaree that doesn’t look like I have escaped from a white padded cell or that doesn’t make me look like a tightly trussed sausage. One day I will find the perfect dungaree. I digress, it has recently occurred to me that I might have actually woken up in my very own version of The Good Life.
7 Reasons Why I am Now Living The Good Life.
I am At One With Ducks
I thought we lived in the countryside before, that wasn’t the country, we could see other houses there. Now I look out of our window and all I can see are fields and a tiny slither of the sea. We now live in the proper countryside. There is a pond next to our house. Let’s not talk about the nightmares I have about our children escaping and somehow falling into that pond. Nevertheless, it is a very pretty pond and it attracts a fair share of ducks. The other day I was driving out of our road and a duck decided to saunter out and sit in front of the car. It was literally a “sitting duck”. I became very agitated as we were running late for school and I was at a loss at what to do. Was it polite to beep a sitting duck or would the neighbours think I was insane for beeping a duck? In the end I tottered after the duck shouting “shoo shoo little duck, shoo shoo” I could have been the snooty neighbour Margo (without the Conservative beliefs), completely inept and ill-equipped for dealing with the animals.
Peapod Wine (almost)
Our neighbours have very kindly told us to help ourselves to their sloes and damsons and I am already planning a bit of home-brewing. The only problem is that I don’t actually have a clue what sloes or damsons look like. Again, hopeless when it comes to living The Good Life.
We Have Our Own Chickens And Pigs
Technically not true but they are on the farm next door and I can hear them clucking, and my youngest is obsessed with the pigs, she has even named one Boris, so I am claiming those animals as my own 😉
Clearly not at one with farm animals, not quite The Good Life.
I Am Turning Our Back Garden Into An Animal Haven
I am well aware that it is summer and not the time of year for putting out birdseed but I have become a little obsessed with tempting the birds into our garden. Also, I have noticed that next door has two red squirrels that visit their garden. I have not stood at the garden fence rattling my nuts to try and tempt them over (I may have rattled my nuts in their direction a little).
Clearly losing the plot when it comes to squirrels. Again, not very Good Life.
Vegetable Patch
The girls think that they have green-fingers and I have promised them a little patch of land for growing their vegetables. The only problem is that I keep clearing plants to find more plants underneath and behind. It’s like a jungle out there. I’ve also discovered a patio, a grave and a whole holly bush, as well as an oak tree. However, I too do have dreams of growing a vegetable patch. My neighbour has already established a mighty fine patch - would it be wrong to claim his patch as my own too?
Not sure that The Good Life would approve of my Peter Rabbit ways. Must not take vegetables from the neighbours’ patch.
I’m Baking
Nothing new but baking does make me feel all sort of good. I feel like I am nurturing the family, and nourishing the soul. We won’t talk about the amount of sugar and butter that goes into a cake, not so much nurturing now…
I’m taking this as proof that I am living The Good Life. Mary Berry is clearly living The Good Life and she would be impressed with my Victoria Sponge Cake.
We Aren’t On Mains Water
That’s right, our water comes out of a borehole and we also have a well too. That can make watering the garden tricky as we don’t have enough water pressure to push the water through the hose at a decent rate. See, I’m talking about gardening very The Good Life. We are planning on collecting rain water in a water butt and using that to water the garden. I guess you could say that makes us a little self-sufficient (words I never thought I would utter). Next, I will be pickling my marrows.
Not Really The Good Life
Obviously we aren’t really living The Good Life. If anything I would say that we are living a better life than Tom and Barbara, and we are very lucky too! They lived in Surbiton, London: we live in Jersey. They lived next door to the terribly snooty Margot and Jerry. Our neighbours are not snooty, they are really lovely and down to earth. In the first episode of The Good Life Tom has just turned 40 and, as a result, has a bit of a midlife crisis. Nowhere near 40 here, and no midlife crisis (ahem, might be lying a teeny bit there, on both counts). When The Good Life was filmed, Maggie Thatcher was making her presence known. I was also going to say that we don’t have Maggie Thatcher looming on the horizon but actually it’s not much better now because now we have Brexit, and other such monstrosities.
We might not actually have a smallholding but I do feel like we are living our own version of The Good Life, admittedly I seem to be living it vicariously through my neighbours but who knows one day I might be Felicity Kendal or should that be Barbara? I already have my Tom 😉 .
Now I just need to find a pair of dungarees that actually suit and fit me. Eating less ice-cream would help.
