Eek! As I write Mia is on stage in the opening night of Scrooge the Musical in Kentisbeare Village Hall. To be honest I have been a bit bah humbug about Christmas before now. I didn’t really see the point – the blatant commercialisation of it seemed offensive, as an atheist it doesn’t hold any religious significance for me, and maybe it just lost its magic as I grew out of the naivety of childhood. This year though, like...

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One of the joys of moving to a new place has been the gradual discovery of our new environment. Since March we’ve witnessed a multitude of plants emerge, grow, flower and fruit with the changing seasons. We’ve delighted in the summer swallows sitting chattering to one another on the telephone wire, the green woodpecker with its lilting flight from tree to tree along the drive, the cries of buzzards and, more recently, hoots of owls in the...

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Six months in and we’re still here! It’s been a busy summer with fabulous weather and cottages and yurts full of happy holiday-makers. We’re now looking forward to a “quieter” few months getting on top of the admin and maintenance! The six-month milestone and some recent conversations with guests about the history of Halsbeer has made me spend a bit of time looking into the past. In particular I was keen to see...

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First published on 4 July 2016. When we took over Halsbeer Farm and Blackdown Yurts from Peter and Jasmine earlier this year one of their pieces of advice was to get “woofers” in to help. OK, I thought, but what are dogs going to do to assist in the running of a glamping business? It transpired that WWOOFers are actually volunteers who wish to work on organic farms in return for board and lodging. WWOOF stands for ‘World Wide Opportunities...

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First published on 24 June 2016. Two months ago I drafted a blog about our first month at Halsbeer Farm but I didn’t post it anywhere. I was uncertain whether it hit the right tone, whether it would be well received and whether anyone would actually be interested in reading it at all. My uncertainty turned into procrastination and that blog has languished in the virtual back office of my website ever since, not doing anything, my thoughts...

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