I have said before, Ireland is not just “England with a funny accent” (though the accent isn’t funny. In fact it is rather lyrical after a while). Ireland is a very different country and even after more than four years we are still living on a learning curve. It is not just moving from a town – albeit a small town like Saltburn – into the countryside. There are many differences that impact on everyday life and they demand time and attention if life is to be possible, let alone comfortable.

Coming to a new country with few neighbours to guide us, and a long Covid lockdown in place, we didn’t know how many things worked. There were sources of information around us, and some helpful people who were quite happy to answer questions and show us what to do. The problem was we didn’t know what questions to ask, sometimes until it was too late.This looming learning curve became apparent initially through the water supply. All our lives we had lived in homes supplied by water companies. Relying on a private well is a very different thing. On one hand we have much more control over water quality – potentially at least. On the other, we are responsible for the hardness, cleanliness, the power to pump the water and keeping it free of bacteria.

We had to tackle this almost at once as our kettle and pans furred up within a week. This bit of the learning curve meant I had to find a kit for checking the hardness, learn how to use it and then search for a remedy. Growing up with a well I guess you know about water softening units and salt. It never occurred to us until we’d almost trashed our boiler as well as the kettles.

Some things we found we could control fairly easily but others were a mystery and outside our hands for a long time. The major problem with the water is bacterial infection. Once more the raw reading has come back showing e-coli. Our full cleansing system now keeps this at bay but we had no idea it was a potential danger for several years.During that time we used the water, not realising it was contaminated and blaming our fatigue and poor health on long covid and the stress of the last few years. Once we found a company to do a full test following a full slurry right up to 2 metres from the well we checked our septic tank to ensure it wasn’t our fault and took measures to protect ourselves. A steep learning curve, and one we navigated a bit too late.

Other differences we have to navigate include the fragile electricity supply, distances to any shops or facilities, the lack of any mains drainage and a gas network limited to larger towns. We have only just got a telephone land line following the roll-out of fibre broadband cables across the county, though a sizeable chunk of this was cut almost at once during the storms in the winter.

We did some heavy research and now have solar panels to keep the water flowing, a gas camping stove, a solar radio/torch/power pack, 3 power packs for phones and tablets and 12 battery lanterns (with a shipping order of batteries). Our trusty wood burner gives us at least one warm room during bad storms and we can heat water and soup on the top. This has been a very steep learning curve, moving from sitting in the cold and dark with only sandwiches, to relative comfort during power outages. These can be quite lengthy when the Atlantic storms sweep in. Yes, life is very different here but there are many good differences too.

The land attached to the house takes a lot of looking after, both by us and a number of excellent and knowledgeable workmen. It is a struggle keeping much of it clear, especially in the spring though the mower (something else we had to learn to use) makes a huge difference. We’ve had some unseasonably stormy weather recently but I am happy to report the polytunnel is still firmly in place.

Jacqui has spent some time assembling the shelving and the interior is starting to take shape. Yesterday she sowed the first seeds in little pots, two of our favourite tomato types. She now has the space and the means to set up a whole salad garden, plans for peas and beans outside and more exotic vegetables in the almost finished raised bed. Along with the fruit that is coming along nicely we may have our own harvest this year.

The wood, as always, is a delight. The new trees are flourishing and once we can strim some of the rougher ground we can clear it ready for a winter planting. Meanwhile we have some new visitors. We now have two cats visiting, a very bold tuxedo boy who likes to sit on the gate pillars. This, understandably, drives the dogs wild! We also have a lovely girl we have christened Miss Calico who walks along the wood fence. She has now started to come around the back and look through the windows. As we have some less welcome neighbours (rats) round there, she is most welcome. One of the trail cameras has captured a couple of larger mammals recently. I am struggling to identify this one. It looks like a rather leggy fox but seems to be the wrong colour. Can anyone help?

So, there we are. Travelling hopefully along our learning curve but with some bright spots along the way.

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you again in a few weeks.

Jennie.