Today Joan, Tina, Ruth and I went along to the As Sustainably As Possible ‘Picnic on the Hill’ event on the front lawns of Parliament Buildings. The idea of the event, organised by Shirley Lewis, aka ‘Baglady’. I’m not entirely sure who...
At last! The solar panels have arrived. Admittedly on the darkest wettest day of the year, but we managed to get them fitted onto their frame (part of a scaffold tower, courtesy of Tina and Joan), and during a lull in the rain, hoisted the whole lot up onto the truck...
With the help of some great beech logs, we now have some steps up onto the lorry ramp, which is sitting on its newly installed legs. The result – a lovely patio area that catches the sun all afternoon and evening. Just hoping that the sun stays out for a couple...
Although Solar PV would seem to many to be the ideal ‘free’ source of energy, one of the main arguments against it has been that the manufacture of the panels comes at significant environmental cost, in terms of extracting and processing the minerals and...
Finally, some blue sky! Even if it doesn’t last it is very welcome. As the moment when we get our solar panels hooked up comes closer, we’re taking an ever greater interest in just how much sunlight we’re actually seeing. It’ll be a few weeks...
Had a good trek round the farm this evening after dinner, finishing up in the woods. The light as the sun sets is always amazing, and I was there just in time to get some great pictures. It is certainly a relief to be living back in the country, without neighbours,...
One of the hardest things to get used to is that the truck has a very finite supply of electricity, currently one fairly knackered old battery. I’m so used to being able to simply switch on whatever I like, and the power will flow. Despite having pretty much...
Well, at last here I am – if not entirely off-grid then pretty substantially off grid. Today has been a mixture of the good bits – looking after the animals, gathering eggs, salad leaves, coriander, and some strawberries for dinner, sitting in the warm, in...
This is Sherafey, who was unwanted after finishing her flat racing career at the tender age of 4. Like many racehorses who fail to live up to expectations, her owners couldn’t justify continuing to spend money on her and so were happy to give her away to a good...
The fan attached to its ply mounting The truck has a woodburner in the living room, but I was worried that while it might be tropical down there, the other end of the wagon might be baltic. The solution is what has become known as the WaftOMatic, which does what it...
First day in the truck, and I’ve been very aware of all the new noises. It’s rather like being in an old house as things move around in the wind. The occasional chugging of the water pump; the ticking noises as the water heater fires up; odd groans as the...
