In many respects, Woodstock sums it up: a desire to reconnect with nature, and a collective and optimistic hope and yearning for something deeper; for a better world: a true alternative.
Oh we still live by John Seymour on our eco-micro-farm here in Brittany, 'back in the garden'. However, some of his work now has been extended by people like Charles Hervé Gruyer on his Bec Hellouin farm in Normandy – very inspiring books (eg 'Miraculous Abundance').
Lots to think about here and perfectly summed up at the end - that we can look for a slower living alternative. Wonderful permission to let go of the striving of a dream that is so hard to fully create in our modern world. ( I did love Margo though - she made me laugh out loud😊) 🍃🌱Thank you for such a deep look into what I believe so many of us crave.
Thanks so much for this cover of Woodstock - I hadn't heard it before. And for the mention. And yes, it's a messy old journey - sometimes bringing in the modern and using it to connect with like-minded souls so we feel less alone on this journey and also re-learning the wisdom of the old alongside listening to the natural world around us. We are stardust, we are golden. x
That book sits in my bookshelf upstairs. I bought it about fifteen years ago. It may need dusting off!
I sat doing some work last week with The Good Life playing in the background. I absolutely love that programme. It was made several years before I was born but I can remember watching it when I was a child and wanting to plant vegetables in the garden just so I could be like Barbara Good and now I have a garden with raised beds and a conservatory full of seedlings ready to plant out into them!!
Thanks for the mention! Part of the whole movement is learning how not to live according to the “norm” of society. Living outside of the prescribed expectations and working creatively with what we are given. Thanks for writing about it!
A great piece of writing as always David, thank you for sharing 🙏😊.
I think my parents have a copy of the John Seymour book hidden in their collection somewhere. When we moved into our childhood home in the mid 1970's (my parents are still there), part of the garden was turned over to growing vegetables. I remember so well the runner bean canes and the potatoes. I remember there was also a massive patch of mint too. I don't think they realised the invasive nature of mint back then!
There is a sense of wanting to return back to nature, to become more self reliant and self sufficient. Allotment sites have waiting lists and more and more families are turning over part of their gardens to growing fruit and vegetables. We are in the process of doing the same. When we gave up our plot last year, we always planned to make space in our garden to grow our vegetables. We have now cleared space to do just that.
Oh we still live by John Seymour on our eco-micro-farm here in Brittany, 'back in the garden'. However, some of his work now has been extended by people like Charles Hervé Gruyer on his Bec Hellouin farm in Normandy – very inspiring books (eg 'Miraculous Abundance').
Great post! I still have my copy of John Seymour's Self-Sufficiency from the seventies, much thumbed now. My husband and I, how we dreamed of those four acres to live on, and off.
Great post David! You are right about John Seymour being a visionary - he was born in 1914 and probably owed some of his philosophy to the utopian ideals around in the 20s and 30s but it was the sixties when he came into his own. I bought his book in the late 70s when I got married and took on a neglected walled garden in Yorkshire. There are two things he said I’ll never forget “Leaves are a tree’s defence against grass’ and “Chickens like having sex as much as people”
His story is so interesting! His comment about trees and grass made me laugh, as our neighbours (who hate the garden) replaced their grass with plastic grass, and now moan incessantly that it gets dirty and covered with leaves. They have to have a special leaf hoover 🙄😂 Thank you for reading 🙏🌿
Great post David and very timely.
Just started watching The Good Life as it's finally on iPlayer!
Your words ring so deep and true.
Thank you 🙏🌿 Such a fun, but deeply meaningful series ✨
Oh we still live by John Seymour on our eco-micro-farm here in Brittany, 'back in the garden'. However, some of his work now has been extended by people like Charles Hervé Gruyer on his Bec Hellouin farm in Normandy – very inspiring books (eg 'Miraculous Abundance').
Thanks for this post.
Lots to think about here and perfectly summed up at the end - that we can look for a slower living alternative. Wonderful permission to let go of the striving of a dream that is so hard to fully create in our modern world. ( I did love Margo though - she made me laugh out loud😊) 🍃🌱Thank you for such a deep look into what I believe so many of us crave.
Thank you so much for reading, and let’s keep seeking the alternative! ✨🌿
Thanks so much for this cover of Woodstock - I hadn't heard it before. And for the mention. And yes, it's a messy old journey - sometimes bringing in the modern and using it to connect with like-minded souls so we feel less alone on this journey and also re-learning the wisdom of the old alongside listening to the natural world around us. We are stardust, we are golden. x
That book sits in my bookshelf upstairs. I bought it about fifteen years ago. It may need dusting off!
I sat doing some work last week with The Good Life playing in the background. I absolutely love that programme. It was made several years before I was born but I can remember watching it when I was a child and wanting to plant vegetables in the garden just so I could be like Barbara Good and now I have a garden with raised beds and a conservatory full of seedlings ready to plant out into them!!
Loved reading this post. Thank you. 😊
Thanks for the mention! Part of the whole movement is learning how not to live according to the “norm” of society. Living outside of the prescribed expectations and working creatively with what we are given. Thanks for writing about it!
It’s a timeless philosophy 🌱 Thank you for reading 🙏🌿
A great piece of writing as always David, thank you for sharing 🙏😊.
I think my parents have a copy of the John Seymour book hidden in their collection somewhere. When we moved into our childhood home in the mid 1970's (my parents are still there), part of the garden was turned over to growing vegetables. I remember so well the runner bean canes and the potatoes. I remember there was also a massive patch of mint too. I don't think they realised the invasive nature of mint back then!
There is a sense of wanting to return back to nature, to become more self reliant and self sufficient. Allotment sites have waiting lists and more and more families are turning over part of their gardens to growing fruit and vegetables. We are in the process of doing the same. When we gave up our plot last year, we always planned to make space in our garden to grow our vegetables. We have now cleared space to do just that.
It’s so good to see that his legacy has endured through the generations - what was craved then, we still crave now 🌱 Thank you for reading 🙏✨
Oh we still live by John Seymour on our eco-micro-farm here in Brittany, 'back in the garden'. However, some of his work now has been extended by people like Charles Hervé Gruyer on his Bec Hellouin farm in Normandy – very inspiring books (eg 'Miraculous Abundance').
Thanks for this post.
Isn’t it wonderful that his legacy lives on and has endured through the generations 🙌🌿 Thank you so much for reading ✨🌸
Great post! I still have my copy of John Seymour's Self-Sufficiency from the seventies, much thumbed now. My husband and I, how we dreamed of those four acres to live on, and off.
And the dream seems to have endured to the next generation too! ✨ Thank you so much for reading 🙏🌿
Great post David! You are right about John Seymour being a visionary - he was born in 1914 and probably owed some of his philosophy to the utopian ideals around in the 20s and 30s but it was the sixties when he came into his own. I bought his book in the late 70s when I got married and took on a neglected walled garden in Yorkshire. There are two things he said I’ll never forget “Leaves are a tree’s defence against grass’ and “Chickens like having sex as much as people”
Happy Easter.
His story is so interesting! His comment about trees and grass made me laugh, as our neighbours (who hate the garden) replaced their grass with plastic grass, and now moan incessantly that it gets dirty and covered with leaves. They have to have a special leaf hoover 🙄😂 Thank you for reading 🙏🌿