The saltiest bacon known to mankind
Bergy's gift to us from Wales was a lovely hamper of bacon, eggs, cheese (which I re-gifted to Andy) and chutney. How sweet! But look closely at the photo above - do you see any meat on these strips of heart attack bacon? I think he was trying to raise our blood pressure as this was the saltiest thing ever; it was almost inedible. Juicy was the only one who may have eaten a whole piece.

Bergy, next time you can skip the bacon and keep the chutney, cheese (for re-gifting), duck, guinea fowl and regular chicks' eggs in our gift hamper! And you should've given me a warning as cracking the guinea fowl eggs was probably the toughest thing I did this week! Those little browny eggs are so tough. I didn't really know what guinea fowls were but Berg sent the eggs and said we could eat them and he is the farmer, so I trust the expert. A pic below for those who do not know what a GF looks like :) All the various coloured eggs in their different shapes and sizes were delicious!

Bara BrithBara brith, also known as 'speckled bread' (the literal meaning of the original Welsh-language name), or Welsh cake, is a yeasty doughy type bread stuffed with dried fruit. It is traditionally made with raisins, currants and candied peel.

We bought a loaf in the town of Cardigan in Wales, but it traveled back to London with us. I still haven't tried it as I think there are too many raisins and dried fruits in it for me. Will wait 'til it hardens to a brick-like state and throw it at the neighbours when their TV is too loud! (which is almost every night, but when it gets warmer and they keep their windows open it sounds like open air cinema at the NFT - that speckled bread might scare them into turning it down, only if they hear the wallop when it hits their window?!)

I keep wanting to call it B'nai B'rith which is the oldest operating Jewish organisation in the world. Back home in Toronto, I used to drive by a B'nai B'rith sign every day around the very Jewish neighbourhood, Bathrust and Lawrence, which I lived on the border of.

The others enjoyed the bread/cake and the bakery, Y Popty, was busy selling many loaves of it, I love that bakery's name! You have to visit Wales once in your life or if you live in the UK, once a year to gaze at the signs and listen to the language.

Weekend in WalesSome pics from the weekend at Bergy's farm in Wales! There was lots of:

• Free range chickens - eat your heart out Jamie Oliver, Bergy knows how to raise the loudest and funniest chickens in the UK, they have the best life and seem to love being there prancing around all day
• Sheep and little lambs - Bergy saved one caught in a fence and they are in the 3 fields surrounding the house
• Horses, tractors, vintage cars & donkeys - all at the parade held in Cardigan - it was a sight!
• Laughs - if you know Berg and Princess K - need I say more?
• Funny Welsh signs and speaking - could it be German with a lisp? It could be anything as I couldn't understand a word!
• Big country, big blue skies, gorgeous sunshine and fresh air - which tired us city gals out for some strange reason?! We walked to the top of this hill.

• Naughty animals - Dylan jumped on the turkey when I was giving it too much attention and while collecting eggs in the barn a cock pounced on my bucket full of eggs as it thought it was feed - the spilling of the bucket made a few eggs crack - Berg wasn't too pleased, but it was his errant bird's fault!
• Big breakfasts - using the eggs I collected, Bun even had a blue goose egg!
• Antagonizing the turkeys so they could make the funniest sounds - they loved it and so did we!
• Hot flashes - the Aga replacement makes the house soo warm - is that what menopause would feel like? You could walk around naked comfortably.
  

• Oohing and aahing - at the amazing renovation to the farm - we loved the enormous upstairs bathroom with standalone tub looking out over the fields. The renovator in pic below.
• Oohing and aahing 2 - a little chick hatched out of the incubator and it was the cutest little thing to hold - all wet and scared, the next day it was a little bigger and a little fluffier. The pen with the day old chicks is the sweetest thing to look at

• Welsh tea cakes - like little pancakes but you can bring them with you in a little bag and you don't need syrup they are sweet enough

• Funny animal movements - from the peacocks jumping on the roof, cats sleeping in the trees, ducks waddling in a funny manner to escape being too close to us, turkeys strutting past a mirror thinking it was a potential new mate, cocks fighting, chickens sunbathing and Dylan finding furry treasures in the fields - the animals entertain all day with their quirks and behaviors
  

Funny ducks & gobbling turkeys!

Is farming cool?

I only ever heard one person our age say that the only thing he ever wanted to do was farm. Does anyone else our age feel this way?

I would love to try farming but does our generation even know how? And what does farming entail as a lifestyle/profession? It's really pretty from the inside of a car driving along but once you stop and get out the reality of the smell and hard work may discourage many.

My friend Bergy inherited a farm in Wales from an elderly couple and he is loving life away from the city but also admitted to feeling removed from everyone else. You can see my previous post on my visit there and his cute mug here.

I wonder if any of us could go to an opposite life and thrive? Would we miss our hectic lifestyle or delve into country life and fall in love with it. My desire would be to have a lavender farm but not sure where to start. My current professor has one and I just think it would be ideal to work / write from a lovely piece of land where your lavender was flourishing outside your window. Well am adding that to the list to look into.

The pic is Ammo's take on cool farming fashion! We love these wellies which have been worn to posh places around London and to music festivals. Going to Wales again to see Bergy so will give you another update on how his farming adventures are going. Will have to pack these lovely red boots if Rexi is not wearing them to her anniversary dinner. Will bring some free range eggs home!

Bergy's chicks
Our good friend, Mr. Andrew Bergmanski (Bergy), once a city dweller is now farmer extraordinaire. His property in Wales is dreamlike with a long bumpy lane that you need you need to traverse before you reach his home which looks out over rolling hills. His dog Dillon, greets you happily with lots of kisses and paws everywhere.


His old house is under a major reno so it is quite an adventure manovering around but am sure when it is done it will be splendid -last time I was there I had a bath in a bathroom that looked like it belonged in a thriller movie and which Princess Kshama would not be able to brush her teeth in. Berg told me that he is having lead flashes at the moment; I thought it sounded dangerous but he said it is something to do with his leaky chimney.

Well, if you are looking for free range eggs or hatching eggs Bergy's farm is that place to find them. He delivers to us city dwellers and the hatching eggs to other farmers but if you are ever near Clunderwen, Wales look him up for a cup of tea. His chicks are treated well, he lets them out in the morning to peck at the apples and drink from the pond and run around amongst the ducks and the dog and then he rounds them up in the evening and locks them snugly away in their little homes.

Free range eggs are much better than farmed ones where the chickens do not move from a tiny confined space so if you are concerned about animal welfare then choose free range. More info on Bergy's eggsporting to follow!

Mr.Bergy