I can't really believe that this is still going on but I have retreated to the Auchrannie once more to ensure I can post this blog. I understand from facebook that the power is now back on the village so I look forward to returning to a warm house in a while. Yesterday power was more off than on and that, in itself, is a challenge. I have had a couple of emails from people saying they dream of living off grid and going back to basics. It reminded me of a book I once read about a historian who had spent a year living back in the 18th century. The book is called 'The Garden Cottage Diaries' and the historian was Fiona J. Houston. It is a fascinating account of a challenging year spent in a century that dictated a completely different lifestyle.
Fiona writes well as she not only charts the way her time is spent but how it makes her feel. She researched the project first and assumed the role of a teacher's wife to ensure that she lived a life she could adjust to. That said, I am not sure anything could really prepare Fiona for the year that lay ahead. The preparations were important as she set up a cottage to replicate how it would have been back in the 18th century. You are struck by the authenticity of the project as every detail is considered with reference to records from the time. I am quite sure that many people would pull the plug on the project at the research stage. Fiona is made of strong stuff though and she began her year with her head in a good place.
Chapter three is entitled 'The Business of Living' and I believe that is at the heart of the project. You quickly realise that the business of living takes the entire day! There lies the link with our experiences on Arran. When things don't work with a flick of a switch the challenges begin to keep warm, cook food, create light and the rest.....
Fiona works with the light provided by Mother Nature to work her way through the chores of the day. Nothing can begin until the stove is lit and that can be a slow and tiresome process. Once lit she can put her oats onto cook for breakfast while she washes in cold water. Once breakfast is out of the way the day moves up a gear as she tends to various animals and her ever dutiful vegetable patch. You would think that this would only serve her in the summer months and you would be wrong. The book is an introduction to how to grow food all year and, importantly, how to forage for wild food.
One of the early conclusions is that every resource is precious and there is simply no waste. How different from the 21st century and how humbling. It would be enough just to focus on feeding yourself in this year but Fiona entertains friends on several occasions and this really challenges her resources and she, once again, rises to the challenge. Her planning skills become a central part of daily life as she can't afford to run out of things. She gets some provisions from a village which is a lengthy walk away and she must do this regardless of the weather. Fiona quickly learns how to use a single resource in more than one way and tease everything out to its absolute limits. She struggles in the winter months with the short days and gets very frustrated trying to sew by candle light. We have had candle light the past 6 evenings and have just about managed to play cards or board games but sewing would be a step too far for me.
Fiona stays true to the project with only a couple of exceptions. Her pet dog needs a walk everyday and her heavy skirts wouldn't dry out well enough to cope with this daily excursion so the jeans come on then. You can allow for this because back in the 18th century dogs weren't pets so dog walking wasn't part of the day. The other notable excpetion is when Fiona has a new grandchild and she wants to visit the new baby. She feels that travelling in the 21st century in 18th century attire would be a bit too much for people to understand and so she 'visits' the 21st century for a few days.
Fiona's year began on 1st January and ended on 31st December and you can see how testing December is for her through the words she writes. She can see the end but can't quite touch it and I think this plays games with her mind and a bit of 'cheating' starts to break out. As a reader you can't help but feel a bit disappointed with her at this stage. That is, until you remind yourself that you wouldn't have lasted a week on this challenge. So you cut her some slack and read onto the end.
The book is a delight as it reconnects you with seasons and the wider natural world. But it also offers an insight into the human mind as it makes a massive adjustment on so many levels. The book is full of recipes, growing tips and practical projects that you can visit time and time again. Had we had time to prepare for our loss of power I would like to think we would have coped better. We are quite a self sufficient family for the 21st century but the sudden loss has put us into a bit of a spin. I feel that we are just marking time until normality is restored and that is a shame. We may have missed opportunities along the way. We live in an instant world now where everything moves so fast and I can't help feeling we have taken a wrong turn in history at some point. We have forgotten what really makes the world go around as we have replaced a key relationship with technology. That key relationship is with Mother Nature. Everything is too easy and over processed. We 'grow our own' and we make our own candles but we could do so much more. So I am revisiting Fiona's book to see what I can take from the 18th century and move into our lives now. I can feel you all thinking 'here we go, she is off again!' I did once threaten to have a go at the very challenge that Fiona set herself and I am constantly planning to set up in a Yurt on Hazelbank. Right now my place is with my children as 'Mum' is still needed on a daily basis but watch out for that to change. Yurt, hobbit house, boat.....anything is possible in Fionaland.
Until tomorrow. xx
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