The Good Life – Kerry Lambie answers more countryside questions.

Holly Hardiman chatted to Kerry Lambie about her smallholding for the first issue of Archive.

Kerry helps to further elaborate on the demands of living the Good Life and what living in the countryside really entails…

Can you describe what you consider to be a smallholding?
I consider a small holding to be, well I will let you in to a secret; did you ever watch ‘Down To Earth’ on TV? the programme with Pauline quirk in? That’s my idea of a small holding, near the coast, a plot of land that we could grow fruit and veg on, have our animals, ad also run a small holiday letting scheme, crazy I know but I think it’s really important that children learn where things come from. My son is lucky he has grown up with this; he thinks nothing of helping his dad skin rabbits or gut a trout, that’s my little dream!

What is your opinion of supermarkets after having been self-sufficient?
The supermarket really does have many people by the little finger, so they can charge what they like for most items. I’m not a supermarket hater, we still shop there occasionally, I will never buy meat there though, only really basic things, I try to make my own bread, but I don’t always have the time so occasionally we have to suffer a loaf of Hovis!

I think that supermarkets are doing their bit, to encourage meat to be raised in a humane way, I know the Co-op only sell happy hens, they’re free to roam round the fields which is a thousand times better than the battery hens that make up most of Tesco’s cheap range. But they’re still force fed in order to make them big enough to sell at a certain age, it’s all very complicated and not something that I am willing to deal with, but I understand why people buy this cheap meat. I just wish that everyone could afford to shop at farm shops etc, where you know where the meat has come from usually across the farm yard, but I really do understand that it’s not an option for many people.

Are you shocked by the price of certain grocery items in the supermarket?
I probably spend about £35 a week on food that we haven’t grown or produced ourselves and most of this is toiletries, tinned stuff and treats for pack up.

Is it a harder way of life compared to the ease of supermarket ready meals?
It’s definitely harder cooking a meal from scratch rather than the microwave meals, I’m not saying that I have never used a ready meal, who hasn’t? And I am pretty sure that they will be telling porkies if they say they haven’t, but it is so much more satisfying to make a meal yourself. My son helps me cook almost every day, and he loves it! We need to get back the family dinner times, we always eat together, when we can and its great, we catch up on the day’s news and have a nice time as a family.

Would you like to see a shift back towards a more town/village led way of life?
I would love to see a shift back to people using local shops, this is why many towns and villages are dying…people use the supermarkets as they feel it’s easier, but we all stand at the checkout and moan that were having to wait, that there is no tills open that we have to use the self service check outs, what a load of rubbish! I go shopping in Rasen at least once a week, I know the local butcher, I know that If I ask for a perfect cut of meat I will get it, the local grocers, is fantastic for herbs and spices, and a cup of tea! What more could you ask for from the shop keepers? I just wish more people could see that this is a fantastic way of life.

Have you lived in the country your whole life?
I have lived in the country my whole life, even when I moved out of Lincolnshire, I lived in rural Cornwall, right next to a milking farm, so I never really lost the smell of manure!
 
Are you involved in country pursuits? Game shooting, ferreting etc.
My other half is heavily involved in country pursuits, shooting ferreting etc…I can’t say I have ever been with him, but I did the whole bush beating thing when I was a teenager. It’s part of my life, so I don’t see anything wrong with it, we’re all willing to eat this fantastic meat yet people moan about how we get it. I’m not saying that were out every week hunting, I don’t go for the whole fox hunting thing, but we have friends who do and I feel each to their own, it’s all way to political…

Do you think we’re too squeamish about food and preparing food these days?
I completely agree that people are too squeamish with regards to preparing meat and trying new things. If we blindfolded you and gave you chicken and rabbit, you probably would not know the difference; we should all know what our meat looks like before it’s packed up and ready to sell in Tesco. You can cook and use pretty much all the meat from any animal in some form or other, even if it’s just boiling the carcass to make stock.

Is it hard to see your animals slaughtered? Have you ever done it yourself?
We don’t tend to slaughter our own animals although we do neck the chickens if we need to, say if their ill or if we are going to eat them.
 
Does this lifestyle impact on your social life?
Social life? What social life! We don’t really have time to go out …We do all the game shows etc that’s as much as we do.
 
Do you sell surplus veg to make a profit?
We sell everything that we don’t use, we make a small profit but by no means enough to make us rich.

What is your opinion of television programmes such as Channel 4’s “Food: Know what’s in your basket” and the recent BBC series “Giles and Sue Live the Good Life”?
Giles and sue do the good life is fantastic,  I think programmes like this are a really good way to make people see that they can do this too, not only that but they’re great to watch!

What is your opinion of celebrities retiring from the limelight in order to grow their own veg, make cheese etc?
Celebrities that retire to live the good life I think have got the right idea…the guy from Blur makes his own cheese, I think that’s fab! I mean he is already famous so he makes money from writing about his cheese making.

Do you think this has created a feeling of self-sufficiency as ‘fashionable’?
Self sufficiency is very fashionable at the minute, in part due to these celebs and TV programmes. It’s great that they are showing this life in a good way…but it’s really hard and people need to be aware of that.

What’s your favourite veg?
My favourite veg would have to be squash, cooked anyway you can think of, also parsnips too.

And your favourite meat?
My favourite meat funnily enough is beef.