Rhoi gwaed

At the risk of being controversial...

Just got back from giving blood.  This is something I have been doing on a regular basis for a long time.  Now the main purpose in giving blood is to help other people to live.  I also happen to believe that many of the problems facing the world today are ultimately due to the exponential population growth the world has experienced and that in the long run (if not the short run as well) the world would be a better place with many fewer people.  So should I keep giving blood?

Bara, rhan dau

Well, the bread was sort of a succcessful failure...  The crumb, as you can seen in the above photo, is lovely, and the texture is lovely, and the flavour (sorry, no photo of that) is lovely, but the dough was way too wet, and I couldn't really shape it properly for the final proof (not to mention that it was oozing off the edge of the counter before that) and when I finally did give up and chuck it in the oven, something odd happened to the bottom crust -- see next picture...

 

Yes, that's the bottom crust as it was when I took it out of the oven.  No, I didn't slice it in half.  So one of two things: Either too much water -- I have never worked with a dough this wet before -- or, I didn't knead it enough to start with.  When I first started kneading, it wasn't really even kneading.  I had this gloopy mess on the counter, and I sort of scooped up handfuls and folded them back into the gloop...  After about 25 minutes, it had developed some sort of tension, and was sticking to my hands less, so I decided it was ready to rise.  Perhaps I stopped kneading too soon?  Anybody have any experience they want to share?  For the record, the recipe is from Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley...  But it was delicious, so if I can just make it a bit more handleable and sort that bottom crust, I'll be all sorted...

Bara

So one of my many jobs at the moment is working up on a farm by Llyn y Fan Fach, and the farmer's wife runs a cafe in the farmyard.  She's after baps for making filled rolls, so I offered to make her some.  Made her some lovely rolls last week, and she said she loved them, but they were too much like the rolls she makes, and she wants something "lighter" -- in texture, not colour.  What she means is she wants something that tastes more commercial, without having to actually buy commercial rolls.  I am now trying a new recipe for ciabatta-type rolls, so I'll let you know tomorrow how it works out (sponge above) but it raises the question about how we have to adapt/modify what we eat to what we can make without resort to flour treatment agent, enzymes, etc...

I don't think I have a deprived diet at all -- I eat lots of fresh vegetables, local (delicious) cheeses, local meat produced by farmers I know, homemade bread -- but I do think about food in a different way than one does if one just goes into the supermarket and picks things off the shelf.  I have to think about what time of year it is -- in the summer I eat more salads and in the winter I eat mainly stews.  If you currently eat a supermarket ready-meal diet, it's not possible to simply switch to making things from scratch and have the end result be the same.  Personally, I think the end result is better, but I think that the farmer's wife is concerned that her customers want the bread to taste the way they are used to -- and I can see her rationale, and this is what stops me from opening my own restaurant -- because I would be too stubborn and I would lose customers -- but ultimately we do need to change the way we eat.  Is there an easier way to get there?

Dw i wedi dod yn ol...

After much deliberation, I've decided to start blogging again...  Several reasons:  1.  A neighbour said to me last week that I was the greenest person he know -- I don't particularly think my life is that extraordinary, but if he does, maybe it is?  2.  By complete chance, I met a couple of people last weekend who I'd never met in real life before but who had been regular readers of my blog and found it very useful -- so perhaps I do have something to say?  3.  One comment/criticism I used to receive a lot was that it was great that I was doing all this, but not everybody has four acres, etc.  Well, now I live in a very small house on the edge of a small village with a very small garden, so perhaps more people will be able to find that there could be a similarity between my life and theirs now?

In any case, as always, I'm going to start with food.  The above photo is a lovely bowl of chicken soup I made with a chicken kindly given to me in exchange for helping my friend Gerry learn how to slaughter his own chickens yesterday.  The carrots and greens are from my veg box delivery (I have no garden this year as it's presently a building site!).  So that's a whole bowl of soup that's never seen the inside of a supermarket, and it was delicious!

More to come -- watch this space -- I'm not really sure how long it will take people to discover that the blog is live again...  But your thoughts and suggestions for future posts are always welcome.

Diwedd y blog

Tried to post the other day and my browser won't work. Came to the general conclusion that modern computers require a nearly constant Internet connection to keep updating themselves, and I don't have that any more. I could take my computer round somebody else's house and update it, but the same thing would undoubtedly happen again before long, so have just decided I can't be bothered.

I am now going to produce a paper newsletter monthly with news from Heol Cennen and thoughts regarding sustainability. If you would like to receive this, please send a stamped addressed envelope to 60 Heol Cennen, Ffairfach, Llandeilo, SA19 6UH, United Kingdom.

I am going to leave this blog here for posterity and as a point of reference but I will not be posting or reading comments any more.

Thanks to everybody for reading it over the years and for all your support.

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...

Mae hiraeth arna i...

Still in America. Didn't make it to the fibre festival yesterday due to the incredible unhelpfulness of the folks at Avis yesterday, so don't have much to say now as I was planning on writing about that, so sorry I didn't get to meet up with you Cyndy...

Back to Wales on Thursday -- can't wait! Cymru am byth!!!

Dw i'n teithio...

Apologies for having missed the last two Sundays. I'm currently travelling around America for a few weeks, so am writing this from my friend Noah's house in Richmond. Was going to try to post last Sunday before I left but was busy ripping out the last of my kitchen so didn't get a chance.

The upshot of this is that I have no kitchen at the moment. Handily, as I'm not there, it doesn't really matter, and, fingers crossed, my Rayburn will be installed while I'm away.

I've also been talking to some people about the image uploading thing so hopefully I'll sort that when I get back as well.

More news to follow after 3 September...

Gwaith tŷ

Well, can't seem to manage to upload photos for some reason, so...

Just been trying to get things sorted out in the house. I'm putting a Rayburn in the kitchen, but there's no cooker there at the moment, so am using a gas camping stove that Angela & David have kindly leant me.

Also working on getting the damp in the bedroom sorted -- we've discovered that there's no flashing on the chimney, so O is putting that up and hopefully that will solve it.

Got my new chest freezer delivered -- the old one was too big for the world's smallest house -- so am back to eating my own lambs again.

Not much else really -- just realising that I haven't got rid of enough stuff as there's no place to put it all! How did I come to own so many things and do I really need them all???

Dw i wedi symud!

The move is all done, I no longer own Bwlchyrhyd... Everything all still in boxes and chaos, but will post more soon...

Dw i'n symud!!!

The long awaited exciting news is finally here -- we have found a buyer for Bwlchyrhyd and I am moving!!! As you will see, the name of the blog has changed, but the URL will stay the same.

In a way, this will be even more of an exciting challenge than Bwlchyrhyd was -- it's one thing to live on a smallholding in the countryside and say you're going to be self-sufficient -- it's another to say you're going to do the same thing on the edge of a small town. I do realise that not everybody is lucky enough to have the opportunity to live somewhere like Bwlchyrhyd, but my new house is probably a lot more similar to more people's living situations -- so hopefully this can be a useful and educational experience/experiment.

Am posting this from a friend's house as I am literally mid-move right now, but will try to blog as regularly as I can, so watch this space!

Newyddion Banc Olive

This post is mainly stuff Bridget could be posting herself, but her computer's not working and I don't have much news of my own at the moment, so...

Bridget has had lots and lots of chicks this summer -- this one is a Sablepoot. If I remember correctly, there are four of them, and they are tiny -- this one is already three weeks old!

These are Light Sussex chicks from my hens (but sadly not my cockerel as he proved to be infertile and then later got eaten by a fox...)

The ducklings are still doing well and growing much more rapidly than chicks do:

And finally some photos of my own -- these were taken at 6 am the other morning on my way up to Cilwr:

Hwlffordd

Sorry, no pictures this week. Just to let you all know, I will be at Haverfordwest Farmers Market this coming Friday, 10th July, representing Cothi Valley Goats, so if you are in the area, pop down and say hello!

Hwyaid eto

The good news is, the ducklings are all growing rapidly and are all doing very well. The sad news is, Del died last Sunday. Of what, we don't know...

Hwyaid!

Lookit -- Del had little ducklings! This was actually the other week, so they are older now, but these pictures were taken the day after they hatched -- so cute!!! And swimming already!

In other news, Angela brought me back this lovely looking flour from Worksop -- can't wait to make bread with it!

I know I have been bad about posting regularly, but I am going to try to post something every Sunday -- perhaps if I have a bit of structure it will help...

Egni/Carbon/ac ati...

Here's a question for all you number crunchers out there:

Say you're designing the heating/hot water/cooking system for a small 1 bedroom house, not a new build. Which of the following is the most efficient/has smallest carbon emissions?

1. Heat (and hot water in winter) provided by wood burner with back boiler connected to hot water cylinder & radiators. Hot water in summer provided by solar thermal panels, backed up by an electric immersion heater powered by either PV panels or wind turbine backed up by connection to green electricity supplier. Cooking to be done on electric cooker.

2. Heat provided by wood burner in lounge & wood burning Rayburn in kitchen/diner. Hot water provided by back boiler on Rayburn. Cooking to be done on Rayburn. Either PV panels or wind turbine to provide for electricity needs (lighting, etc.)

3. Is there something else out there that I haven't thought of yet?

All answers greatly welcomed...

Banc Olive

Tuesday night I stayed up at Banc Olive and looked after Bridget's animals -- it was a lovely night, one night after the new moon.

Recognise these?

Thomas the calf, less than 24 hours old:

And, of course, Jessica engaging in her favourite activity -- bottle-feeding little April!