Ungrateful

People living in the countryside do not experience so many of the benefits enjoyed by those who live in the towns and cities.

Living where some would describe as ‘the back of beyond’ can involve a round trip of 10 miles or more to get to the nearest shop, post office or pub which means that having access to your own transport is essential, including travelling to work and comes at a cost.

The kids have to be transported to and from some of the schools, to have music lessons, attend scouts, sports training or even the Sunday school not least because of narrow rural roads and the large sizes of so many lorries, coaches and tractors using these roads, often at excessive speeds.

Mindful of all this, and especially during the run up to the recent general election, so many found it intensely annoying to hear people complaining of all manner of things when, if they only stopped to realise something, they’ve never had it so good.

Employment at a national high with most people seem to take foreign holidays, have an excess of mod cons, wall to wall carpets, luxury kitchens and house fittings, wide screen TVs, laptops and tablets, mobile ’phones for everyone, costly tattoos and body piercing, etc and still they want more!

There was also an outcry for more affordable homes. With scores of new build houses around this county unsold several years after completion, first-time buyers are now paying an average of £15,000 more for a starter home than last year, according to latest figures.

However, the average age of a first-time buyer is 33, and a report out last week found that 21 to 24-year-olds were the group least ‘ranking highest in negative sentiment’ about the market, believing that it was a ‘bad time to buy.’

An agent says: “It’s difficult for first-time buyers because it’s all about raising the deposit. Once you can do it, interest rates are at their lowest level, mortgages are increasingly competitive. So it’s actually cheaper now to be a homeowner than it has been for some time.”

Are you struggling to buy a home, even though you could afford to pay a mortgage? You may be eligible to buy an ‘affordable home’ - homes sold by developers below the open market value to those on average incomes for the area.

Affordable homes (seemingly anything up to £230,000) are aimed at people who can get a mortgage and earn an average income, but cannot afford to buy a suitable home at open market prices. They’re usually sold on a shared equity basis - this means that you would buy a percentage share of the home, and a Housing Association will own the remaining share of the home (up to the market value).

To be eligible, you must live or work full time, in the county*, or have a long standing local connection, such as immediate family within the area and your income before tax should be a minimum of £15,000 a year. This figure can include benefits, other than Housing Benefit, with priority given to council and housing association tenants.

*I’m advised that there can be real problems for those who live in one county and work in another!

Documentary

Commenting on the impact which modern living has had on agriculture, Hill farmer Gareth Wyn Jones suggests that in a world where consumer culture has taken precedent in most aspects of life, farming has attempted to follow suit in order to keep up with modern day demands.

He says that the pressure of producing low-cost produce, at mass consumption levels, has left some in the agricultural industry feeling disconnected with both the land they work on and the animals they tend on a daily basis.

Gareth will be taking part in a BBC2 series which will take three families back to a time where farming was simple. ‘The Family Farm’ set to be filmed over the coming months will challenge the participants to make a profit from produce they farm and Gareth will be providing his expert feedback.

The documentary will test the families on four key farming elements: sheep and wool, beef and dairy, poultry and eggs and, finally, pigs and pork. It will aim to take a step back from the demands of modern day agricultural life and highlight some of the many issues farmers face every day.

The ‘good’ life!

Hard as though it may be for some to understand it is only in the past sixty years or so that living conditions have improved for many people living in our countryside.

Living was really tough with most homes having no electricity, running water, telephones - the toilet (or ty bach) was located at the bottom of the garden, bathrooms were unheard of and many large families were sleeping in just two bedrooms.

With no ‘fridge or deep freezer, shopping was usually done once a week - to coincide with a visit to the cattle mart - and to quote a common phrase today everyone was ‘just about managing’ to survive for the rest of the time on what could be got from the garden.

Kids had to walk (sometimes across many fields) or cycle several miles to school but yet many will recall these as ‘happy times’ - you had very little but you learned to enjoy what little you had.

Going further back, there were many young people from West Wales who chose to emigrate and although they knew that living for these pioneers was going to be fraught with problems Canada was a popular target at that time.

In ways great and small, we learn to live, laugh, and persevere through the example of those who inspire us and the following is a letter to a mother in Alberta from a very grateful daughter which has recently come to light.

“Dear mom,

I am so proud to say that my strength of character comes from you.

It must have been so overwhelming to lose your own mother at an early age. I know you worked hard at university, only to leave your profession once you married a farmer. From the city you moved to rural Alberta. You did not have a driver’s licence as you did not need one in town. You did not have a bank account as it was the norm of the day for the man to control financial affairs. You did not have an indoor bathroom or friends who you knew. The trip to church every Sunday was surely not only for your soul, but for your sanity so that you could enjoy the company of others.

A family quickly followed and the burden must have been great for you. But I recall that you said you made that effort to obtain a driver’s licence and enjoy some independence. And while in town one day opened your own bank account, breaking all social norms. That account built an indoor bathroom and eventually a beautiful home, and we all benefited from it. You recognised the importance of keeping personal savings and farm accounts in two very different places. Your encouragement to other women to take control of their financial destiny was courageous - and it made a difference.

Your great love was for your mother-in-law, grandma (originally from Wales) who was lovely and kind and helped you navigate the new community in which you lived. She understood the culture and customs, and shared them with you. Her laugh was contagious and she brought you through the tough times with grace and dignity.

Between the two of you, I had the best of encouragement and inspiration, for grandma was quite at ease at breaking social norms herself. If there was a skill or trade that she was interested in, she just simply did it. She sang beautifully and loved to dance and while you did not have the time to do all those wonderful things, you did sew beautiful garments and learn the financial skills that every man or woman needs to run a functional and very large farm.

Your commitment to your family never faltered and we counted on you. The extraordinary garden you grew out of necessity was a curse at harvest but certainly we enjoyed the best of everything. You often felt bad about not knowing how to play. But don’t feel bad, Mom - you never had the time.

I know that I can count on you always. Besides, in real life, it is our mother we call for when facing the darkest moments. Lest you forget, you also jointly raised my children and to my little family, you are a star.

Your home was also the nucleus in the farming community with a revolving door and rafts of guests who visit and enjoy your coffee, baking, and quick wit. Never one to back down in the conversation - especially on values, religion, or politics - friends sat at your table to converse and share their lives.

There are also children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who passed through that welcoming door. And for everyone, you continue to stand, preparing at the sink and at the stove the harvest of your soil so they may replenish their body and spirit. Even today as you celebrate your 83rd year, you remain committed to your 59-year marriage and continue to serve your family, church, and community.

I am writing this note to you from university, mom. I will graduate at 60 years of age. It somehow just feels natural because I have never seen age, gender, trial, or circumstance stop you from embracing your day.

As a new bride, you experienced farm life and made the best of it. As a great-grandmother you continue to embrace life and change, and are modern, stylish, and smart. And you continue to live on the farm hosting the multitude of guests and family who are always hanging around. As a friend of ours said to me, ‘I always find your mother so joyous.’ And indeed you are with your welcoming greeting and callout to ‘come again.’

What you have done, mom, is show us all that our lives are scripts and we get to participate in writing them, even when we start in rural Alberta with a quarter section of the unknown.

Some folks fear becoming their parents and young girls loathe becoming their mothers - but I don’t. If I can be half as resilient and courageous or have an ounce of your leadership strength and commitment, then I shall have more than enough.

Thank you mom, for the strength of character you have fostered in me, for your trust, for your values, for your firmness, and for your love.”

Larry again

Larry watched, fascinated, as his mother smoothed cold cream on her face.

‘Why do you do that, mum?’ he asked.

‘To make myself beautiful,’ said his mother, who then began removing the cream with a tissue.

‘What’s the matter, asked Larry ‘are you giving up?’