48% of Brits want to Emigrate Overseas

My granddad used to speak of delivering milk as a young boy with his horse named Blackie and a cart. He loved that horse. He always wanted to be a farmer but his mother would not let him. 

I remember spending all day outside riding my bike, doing chores, playing in the dirt with my brother building roads and hills for the matchbox and hot wheels cars. My dad even hung a very small, short clothesline for me to hang my babydoll clothes on after I had hand washed them. Then there were the chores indoors. I always got stuck cleaning the bathroom. Mom said I did it best! The best chores was when I got to help my mom iron, cook, craft and sew. Most kids nowadays wouldn't know how to do any of it. I think they prefer a robot to take their orders!

I hope one day I can have my own little garden and grow things like my dad did. He grew greenbeans, lettuce, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, peppers, etc. My mom canned it all. We had stewed tomatoes, tomatoes for spaghetti sauce, fresh canned green beans and squash, and she made her own relish, ketcup, yellow tomatoe preserves, apple butter, etc. And in the Fall we canned applesauce made from scratch and made apple pies and put them in the freezer.

My great uncle had a 100 acre farm that is still in the family. It was a dairy farm when I was growing up. He also had chickens and honey bees. Whenever we used to visit we would come home with honey combs, eggs, apples from their trees, etc. I sure was lucky to have had all the fresh food we did growing up. 

I do remember complaining a lot as a child about some of the chores like cleaning the bathroom and weeding the garden but since my late 20's I have come to appreciate all of those things and just how much my parents taught me. Also for the discipline we received. Life was so much slower then. No rushing about here and there. I wish we could bring those days back. Somehow I wonder if we are headed that way with the economy slump we are in. It just does not seem to be getting any better. 

I love reading all these nostalgic posts, thank you everyone.

I was born in the mid sixties so most of our food was bought from the local shops, the butchers, bakers, greengrocers and grocers.  None of this supermarket malarkey.  I miss those types of shops and if I can will buy from there rather than visit the supermarkets.  We have a couple of farm shops that we visit, but they are at least a 40min drive away, so there is lacking that convenience, but you can't beat the food.

I like to grow a lot of my own stuff, but only have a small pocket handkerchief garden, but I do have a rhubarb plant, raspberry bush, blackcurrent bush, strawberry tubs, and a crab apple tree.  We also grow runner beans, peas and tomatoes. But only limited amounts as we don't have the space.

I like to cook and bake and as I work as a dinner lady I have plenty of time to do this in the afternoon. All our food is homecooked, cakes are only homebaked, jams are homemade,etc.  I love that kind of stuff.

I do agree with those that mention the children of today and their incessant exposure to high technology. It is a devils job to keep their use to a minimum and to find the right balance. There is a lot of peer pressure out there.  I have two girls, of 13 and 11.  My eldest is computer mad.  In some ways thats good, as her knowledge is way beyond her years, she can already do basic programming and is self taught. I have to seriously restrict her usage and we have major fallouts over it.  She is autistic though, and this is the one talent that she is amazing at. It also helps with communication, as she does not have the ability to communicate well in person, but finds communication by forums, email and dare I say it Facebook much easier.

My youngest is more creative, can produce amazing pieces of artwork, enjoys painting, making up stories and writing poems.

Both  my children know how to iron, help with the cooking at the weekend, bake cakes with me, tend the garden with me.

We go for bike rides as a family when the weather allows, we are in the countryside in 5mins on our bikes. We often pack a picnic and go off somewhere for the day.

I don't disapprove of all the technology out there.  Heck, I use it daily as well.  Providing there is a balance and that other activities are part of their daily lives then I think all is good.

Well it is in my world.  

Every year, 7,000 people who have emigrated to Australia pack up and return to the British Isles permanently..

The British are lucky.If they want to visit Europe ,it's only a short plane flight or a short trip by train. Australians have to pay for a very long flight.

Most Australians don't have central heating and our houses can be very cold at night and in the morning during winter.Temperatures can very high during summer.

"Most Australians don't have central heating and our houses can be very cold at night and in the morning during winter.Temperatures can very high during summer."

Sounds just like South Africa!!  

I'm really looking forward to Spring - we have gone back to freezing overnight temperatures this week!! 

talking to syd on Thursday he says it was snowing very heavy.

hi cath  nice to see you --you ok?

Hi there James!

I saw snowflakes in the air last Tuesday - the first time in more than 40 years since we came here!!  And it has been really cold since then.  Fortunately the snow is very unusual here - not like they get in other parts of South Africa - including Johannesburg which is only about 40 miles away!!

The Telegraph 06 August 2012

Nigel Green,CEO of the deVere Group,said:"Against a backdrop of increasing taxes, a perceived social disorder, and yes, the weather, we’ve seen that high-net-worth individuals are increasingly likely to consider moving abroad and it is a trend which we fully expect to continue through 2012 and beyond.”

I like to watch "House Hunters International" on Hgtv over here and they have been showing considerable British families looking for second homes...mostly around Lakes, or  high above an valley from northern Italy to southern Germany for the most part. But there are an few now going into the area of Belize off the eastern side of South America and Central America these days also...they like themore common "vacation" home. I wonder if they take into consideration the hurrican patterns while looking. I find this show interesting because they are often not going for the expensive move in type of houses...as they are those they can fix up themselves. Sometimes even house boats on an river or lake somewhere. Butnot to much are they going for the grand mansion and the "new" modern houses. I am also seeing older people with maybe one to two kids in the early teenage years..perhaps second marriages? They also aren't giving up the orignal house they lived in either.