Rain and a Review

Rain and a Review

It’s raining today, so I thought I would do something slightly different – apart from number crunching to ensure all the measurements are correct for the greenhouse window frame. So, I decided that once a month, or more often if I feel like it, I will do a review of the blogs I have on my blog roll. It is one thing to have them listed there, but quite another to know the content and say whether or not they are worth visiting. Otherwise, you could be forgiven for thinking I just added them for show!

Down the Lane

So, today, I’d like to introduce you to Richard. I have never met him face to face, but I feel like I have known him for years, which in a way I have. I first came across him in about 2004 when I happened upon a website/blog called ‘Down the Lane’. I was thinking of growing my own veggies and downshifting/the good life and this site came up in the search.

From the start, I was interested in what he had to say. He had chickens and a veg patch and had downshifted – out of the rat race, to a more relaxed way of life, if you can call it that – seems he is busier now than he ever was before he gave up his day job! He also had several ideas about how to make additional income to pay the bills, while not actually having to go to a 9-5 + commuting time job. And he had personal hands-on experience of living a frugal, but not boring, lifestyle.

Richard includes the story of how ‘Down the Lane’ (affectionately known as DTL for short) was born: he had decided to start a gardening business to make ends meet. The local pub landlord asked him to mow his grass. From there, he got referrals from the landlord, who said ‘I know a chap Down the Lane who might be able to help you’. And so ‘Down the Lane’ became a bit of a buzzword and eventually the name for Richard’s website.

Many people equate being ‘frugal’ with being a skinflint, or a Scrooge. They cannot see there being any fun in having to scrimp and save. But the reality is, frugal living is not all about worrying where the money is going to come from to pay the next essential bill. No, rather it is a diverse and interesting lifestyle that makes good use of your creativity and yet allows you to be master of your own time.

The DTL site gives excellent information on a wide range of topics – frugal living, chickens, JOGLE…

JOGLE? Oh yes, didn’t I say? Richard cycled from John O’Groats to Lands End at the young age of 64! And then blogged about it too, so others can enjoy the experience vicariously.

Anyway, back to the list of what the site offers: earning extra money is right up there, with several articles on different methods (he doesn’t mention knitting, or quilting for some reason!!); vegetable growing month by month; Kent County Cricket Club; and growing up in the 50s and 60s; visiting Nepal (twice). Like I say – diverse!

Do I recommend the site? Oh yes! There are over 1000 pages on the web site now and each one not only gives useful information, but shows Richard’s own personal view and you can see that he has actual experience of what he writes about.

So, you want to visit the site? You can find it Down the Lane

And there is also a related Facebook page: 

Great people, lots of answers to your questions about frugal living, chickens, vegetable growing etc. Worth a visit any day J