A Simple Life of Luxury

Tales from a down-shifted family
- Making the most of modest means

A Simple Life of Luxury | Weblog

Our Garden 0

Beekeeping

Freebies – Free Bees

We lost a few colonies of bees over the winter. Not only did we lose two small colonies at home, but the bees in our out-apiary at Laura’s house also succumbed. We never had particularly high hopes for them as they were already struggling and then got blown over several times during the autumn and...

Fog on the Golf Course 0

General

Sunsets and Fogs

After a glorious sunset whilst Anna was playing in the bandstand in Aberystwyth on Tuesday evening, we had some weird misty fog on the golf course last night. I reckon playing golf in that would have added the challenge!

Pollock 1

Lifestyle / Wales

A Night at The Checkers, Montgomery

Our anniversary has become a good excuse to try somewhere a little special, and this year we’d booked a night at The Checkers in Montgomery. It was somewhere I’d had my eye on for a while and, with a ten-course tasting menu waiting for us on Friday evening, it wasn’t exactly a difficult date to...

New Shed with kit ready to go. 1

General

Prepped and Ready to Go – Bring on the summer!

The last few weeks have largely been about getting things in order for the summer ahead. That has meant a mix of early starts, time outside in the sun and wind, and a steady run of practical jobs: washing kit down, moving gear around, clearing shelves, and trying to get everything back into a sensible...

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Gardening

Garden Colours

The garden has suddenly sprung into colour.

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Surf Ski, Kayaking and Canoeing

The Surf Skis Live to Paddle Another Day

It’s been a case of ‘so far, so good’ with the surf skis. I’ve had them both on the water for a few short paddles, as well as a paddle to Aberdyfi and back last night. They both seem to be watertight, and the repairs have held up well. Time will tell how long they’ll...

Crack sealed 1

Surf Ski, Kayaking and Canoeing

Bringing Two Surf Skis Back from the Dead (Maybe)

For the last few years I’ve been the proud owner of not one, but two damaged surf skis: a Knysna Genius BLU and a Think Evo II. I essentially snapped the tail off the former back in 2019 and it’s been sitting under my lean-to ever since. No longer seaworthy, it was eventually superseded by...

Wildlife Pond 1

Gardening / Nature

The Pond Overfloweth

It’s lovely having a small wildlife pond tucked away amongst the plants in the garden. It’s nothing grand, certainly not one of those landscaped affairs with waterfalls, lighting systems and ornamental fish, but it punches well above its weight when it comes to attracting wildlife. With nettles and weeds behind it, and plenty of slightly...

Food at Kwizinn 1

Beekeeping / Family / Gardening / Recipes & Cooking / Windsurfing

A Long Weekend in West Wales

West Wales isn’t a bad place to spend a long weekend at home. Both Anna and I were off on Friday, so after an early-ish run around the dunes for me, we headed into town for brunch. We decided to try somewhere new and ended up at Kwizinn, which serves Caribbean-inspired food. It was excellent...

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Camping / Hiking / The Welsh Nuttalls / Wales

Bagging Nuttalls in the Sunshine

With the settled weather due to break at the weekend, I decided to make the most of it and head into the hills to bag a few more Nuttalls. Most of the local ones are already ticked off now, so it meant a longer drive, but the Black Mountains and Bannau Brycheiniog still had plenty...