Moving to a more rural area has meant that we no longer have some of the utilities that are standard in UK cities. For instance, we have oil fired central heating rather than gas, so we have to keep an eye on the oil levels and order more in when we’re running low.

Another service that we’ve left behind is mains drainage, which means that we have a cess pit where all our water and sewage is emptied into. As we were not sure how long it was since the cess pit had been emptied, we decided to get to get it cleared last week. And were we glad we did; it was full! Now it’s been emptied, it shouldn’t need doing again for another 3 or 4 years. Our neighbour Mrs Owen was relieved we’d had it emptied too as the cess pit is on her land, across the road from us.

More Cedfryn cess pit news soon. Well, maybe in 2011 or 2012……..

We’d like to introduce you to some new members of the team: we now have Mary, Dilly, Yvette, Annie and Sian.

Yes, we now have 5 chickens! We got them almost 3 weeks ago from a local battery farm which was closing and we’re so glad we did. They were actually in quite a good condition compared to some photos which we’ve seen from other farms, but their personalities are really starting to shine now. Mary and Dilly are the bosses, with Yvette and Annie next in line. Poor Sian was being bullied quite badly, so we separated her about a week ago and we’re having to treat her quite gently.

The lawn in our back garden is being pecked and scratched to bits, but it’s been great watching them develop over the last few days. And we still get very excited when we find an egg! We’re averaging 2 a day now.

Don’t worry, the chooks aren’t destined for the dinner table; they’re here to stay, so we’ll keep you posted on their antics.

Back in April, the Eco-a-go-go team relocated from Leicester to Mid-Wales. There were various reasons for this, but biggest reason was that we wanted a better quality of life.

 And so far, so good! We’re now just a 10 minute walk from the sea, but also a stones throw from the Snowdonia National Park, with loads of hiking and cycling routes.

 Yes, Wales does have some rain, but where we are in Borth (just north of Aberystwyth), it seems to have its own weather system and the worst of the weather seems to blow over a lot of the time.

We’ve only been in our new place 2 months, so it’s still early days, but so far we can fully recommend it :0)

It’s Leicester Beer Festival weekend and we’ve had a great couple of nights trying out the various real ales. There’s a really nice mix of people, young and old, men and women which gives it a nice atmosphere. Plus there’s the traditional curry which always helps the beer go down well!

 Thursday night we bumped into 2 of our neighbours and last night we met up with a big gang of friends and so we’re a bit fluffy headed this morning :0) We’re off there again at lunchtime to meet a couple of friends and then back home to watch the final matches of this years 6 nations rugby, so a nice easy day after a hard week at work. Lovely!

It’s a great sunny morning here in Leicester and looking at the cluster of daffodils which you can see from our kitchen window really put a smile on my face :0) They really help to brighten the place up at this time of year.

Aren’t daffodils brilliant?!!!

Happy New Year!

We’re already 2 weeks into the new year, so it’s a bit belated, but we hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year.

Our blog has been re-designed and should be all singing and dancing now, so we’ll be regularly posting new blog’s about all things Eco-a-go-go, plus life in general. We hope you like it :0)