The Couple Who Swore They'd Never Move To The Country

  Let’s start with the bad news. Despite readers contacting me in their – OK, in their twos – begging me to attend the “Meet The Village” morning and report back, I’m afraid we will be in London (London!) that weekend. The village will just have to lose out. Meanwhile, following the sudden feeling of being Settled In I reported on last time, life has become a kind of “Welcome to Country Living” induction programme.  Module One: trying to get rid of cardboard. We had amassed a garage full of the stuff, a mixture of flattened packing boxes and unflattenable cartons that once contained sofas and coffee tables. Immune to the regular cries of “when are you going to go to the dump?” I was determined to find a local tradesperson who would take it off our hands. Meanwhile, I continued to fill the empty boxes with old curtains and expanded polystyrene till we had our own grade one fire hazard right on our doorstep. To find the appropriately qualified individual, I did what every genuine village

  After three years, 28 blogs and much activity, last week I realised something had clicked. This is not an age-related issue; just as I woke up three years ago with an urge to relocate to a rural area, last week I suddenly felt completely at home here.  Even a hardened city dweller would have little trouble imagining the list of positive criteria that would make one glad to live in the country. You’ve probably already assembled the list before I can write it down: - Slower pace of life - Beautiful countryside - Community spirit Basically a Thomas Hardy novel without the tragic deaths and grinding poverty. Well, my list is not exactly different, but it’s nuanced. Let me start with community spirit. Those who know me will attest I have never been champing at the bit to fill my house with the warmth and and tinkling laughter of manifold visitors. So I approached a little nervously the Londoner’s image of a world where everyone pops in and out of your dwelling. Happily, having chosen a ho