Trydan

Jon the plumber is working as I type, and he assures me that he expects me to be able to use the Rayburn by the end of the week -- yippee!

In other news, earlier in the week, my friend Andy was making fun of me for having my electricity generated by wind, but really this a very simple thing that anybody can have, regardless of where you live. Good Energy provides 100% renewable electricity -- I think their mix is something like 99% wind and 1% solar, and if you are generating your own electricity, they will buy that back off you as well. Lots of other electricity companies offer so-called green tariffs, but they are more green-wash than actual green.

When I first moved into this house, the electricity was supplied by Scottish Power. I had to keep them as my electricity supplier for a few weeks until I could get switched over to Good Energy, and this process of course generated the obligatory phone call from somebody at Scottish Power trying to convince me not to switch. He started going on about some new competitive rate they were going to offer me and I explained that I wasn't switching to save money but because I wanted to be on a green tariff. He replied that Scottish Power was a green electricity supplier but when I asked him to send me details about where their electricity comes from he ended the call and I haven't heard from them since. If you're on a green tariff from somebody other than Good Energy, ask them what their electricity mix actually comprises -- you'll be surprised. Also, bear in mind that even if they are supplying you with 100% renewable electricity, they are still selling non-renewables to other customers. Really, you have no reason not to switch now.

Y gegin

Rayburn flue has now been fitted, and am just waiting for Jon to finish making hay so he can come install the new hot water cylinder, etc. Still won't have kitchen units for a while as I haven't even ordered them yet (although I might do that tomorrow) but have got thoroughly fed up with eating out all the time and am so desperate to be able to cook again that I think I am going to try to rearrange the boxes in my dining room so that I can get at the table and use David & Angela's gas camping stove again...

Work has been very busy this week -- was up at Aberystwyth Food & Drink Festival on Saturday and it was mad -- I didn't stop to breathe at all between about 9:30 and 1:30! A good day, but hopefully this week will be a bit less insane. Also, I know I should have written about this before rather than after the fact, but you should still be able to see it on iPlayer or something -- the goat farm was featured on Hairy Bikers on BBC2 last Friday evening, so check it out and you can see where I work!

Also had an interesting conversation with the people at Dŵr Cymru. At Bwlchyrhyd, we had spring water and a septic tank, so didn't have to deal with water rates, but now that I'm here in town, I do. A lot of people (myself included) mistakenly think that if you have a water meter installed, that's it, and you can't ever go back, which makes them reluctant to take the chance in case it ends up costing more. The good news is, that's not true. You've got 12 months to change your mind about the meter, which is more than enough time to see if it's saving you money (or if you should be reducing your water usage!) Give it a try -- if you are conserving water like you should be, odds are it will save you money as well. I have filled in my application form and will keep you posted when I discover how much water I am actually using (I suspect it's quite minimal...)

Marchnad

Still no luck uploading photos, and at this point, I don't think there's going to be -- was speaking to a friend last night who said that she'd never succeeded in uploading photos on a dial-up connection either, so sorry folks, but I think this may become a text-based blog. If you want to see photos of anything I write about, send me a letter at 60 Heol Cennen, Ffairfach, Llandeilo, SA19 6UH with photos of what you're up to, and I'll send you one back.

Not much news to report really -- no new progress on the Rayburn so I will have to ring Down Home tomorrow morning and see what is going on there. Have been working full-time at Cothi Valley Goats so that is occupying most of my time at the moment.

If you're in Aberystwyth next Saturday, pop by the market and say hello!

Cymru am byth!

Back home and very happy to be here!

Rayburn has been installed but flue not fitted yet so I am still in the land of not cooking...

Also, still can't upload photos. Has anybody else out there succeeded in uploading photos on a dial-up connection? Have tried making the images smaller and doing them one at a time to no avail...