howie Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Square eyed from watching all that sport on the telly yesterday and we'll give that a miss, so how about 'Monty Halls Great escape ( BBC 2 9pm. Biologist Monty, together with his dog Reuben, sets up home in a abandoned cowshed on the beautiful west coast of Scotland, together with remote beach and idyllic surroundings Looks really interesting, and comes highly recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 howie - 2009-03-01 11:30 AM Square eyed from watching all that sport on the telly yesterday and we'll give that a miss, so how about 'Monty Halls Great escape ( BBC 2 9pm. Biologist Monty, together with his dog Reuben, sets up home in a abandoned cowshed on the beautiful west coast of Scotland, together with remote beach and idyllic surroundings Looks really interesting, and comes highly recommended. Sounds just like wild camping on the Outer Hebrides. ( Except for the cowshed bit ) ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 malc d - 2009-03-01 11:53 AM Sounds just like wild camping on the Outer Hebrides. ( Except for the cowshed bit ) ;-) Why? is that because the cowshed is more up market? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Well whatever it is I thought it would appeal to all you motorhomers and tuggers out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Syd - 2009-03-01 11:55 AM malc d - 2009-03-01 11:53 AM Sounds just like wild camping on the Outer Hebrides. ( Except for the cowshed bit ) ;-) Why? is that because the cowshed is more up market? Not in my case Syd, but I can't speak for others. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohgrandma Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Howie, I for one will be watching the programme, anything vaguely connected with Scotland I love, Thanks for the info, Ria. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Watched it. Beautiful scenery, but disappointed that the 'star' was so useless. Throughout the whole programme he barely lifted a finger, while friendly ( and practical ) locals , did all the work. His catch phrase was " I thought it best to keep out of the way of the experts".....and he did that very well. Mind you, he did make some bacon sandwiches at one point. Nevertheless, I will no doubt watch again, purely for the scenery. It was a very good advert for Scotland, but a very bad advert for city dwellers. ;-) p.s. Hopefully, it can only get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted March 2, 2009 Author Share Posted March 2, 2009 Agree Malc. this program was crying out for someone who would really throw himself heart and soul into rebuilding and stocking this old crofters cottage, but as so often happens with the BBC we ended up with that 'awfully nice biology chap'. Hopefully he will become more involved as the series moves on. Hi Ria. I hope you did enjoy this show. Magnificent scenery, and getting away to enjoy all that natural beauty and solitude is something i,m sure we would all have dream't of at one time or another. What I did enjoy was how 'Reubon' the dog took to his new suroundings. Once adopted a dog from the homes and remember how she reacted to her first taste of the great outdoors. Behaved just like Reubon, and the many hours of pleasure watching her discover a life she had never previously known has left us with some truly wonderful memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohgrandma Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Hi Howie, Yes, I certainly did enjoy the programme. Must agree the scenery is spectacular, oh, to live there. I thought Reubon was so amusing and he certainly enjoyed himself. I loved the way he sniffed about in the snow, and then jumped for joy, I hope in future the "dweller" will be more hands on, as Malc says he did make 2 bacon sandwiches,and the dog stole one of them, (lol) I will be watching again, Ria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Ever since I was a teenager, my ambition was always to be a crofter in the Outer Hebrides - heaven only knows why. After watching this programme, I am seriously considering it! How lovely to live such an uncomplicated lifestyle in the heart of a friendly community, the base of which is the local pub. Count me in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 J9withdogs - 2009-03-02 9:54 AM Ever since I was a teenager, my ambition was always to be a crofter in the Outer Hebrides - heaven only knows why. After watching this programme, I am seriously considering it! How lovely to live such an uncomplicated lifestyle in the heart of a friendly community, the base of which is the local pub. Count me in! Well if you do Janine, please film your experiences and put them on YouTube for us. But remember; the weather is not always that idyllic ! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I don't really care about the weather - I'm quite happy cosying up in front of a log-burner making quilts & rugs. I was looking at the log cabins at the NEC last week and dreaming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted March 2, 2009 Author Share Posted March 2, 2009 Dream on Janine, but that last mention of the 'local pub' gave the game away. ;-) . As Malc suggested, reality is far removed from what we saw last night. Must have been filmed late spring/early summer and getting through those long winter months would be more survival than enjoying the good life. Most of these dwellings were abandoned when the the crofters became aware that that life was so much easier elsewhere and interesting to hear so many English accents on the show. This has been the case for quite a while now, and if you can handle the hardships and solitude then why not, but for myself, a few weeks touring is more than enough to satisfy my need to 'get back to nature'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkmoy Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Watched it. Beautiful scenery, but disappointed that the 'star' was so useless. On the face of it you are correct, but who knows what really happened? I noticed that at one point the 'star', when talking about the locals helping, mentioned that they weren't doing it for nothing. Yet a great deal of play was made about the community rallying to help each other. They were being paid for goodness sake, the same as I pay a plumber, a tiler, a carpenter or any other tradesman. I'm not decrying the community there, it may well be a good one, but I don't see how you measure their spirit by the numbers who turn up for paid work. I have just been reading elsewhere an account of the making of a 7/8 min piece on geocaching for Countryfile. It took 9 hours! The supposed 'geologist' who was interviewed was a BBC employee drafted in because they couldn't get a real one at short notice. Everything took so long that they didn't have time to actually walk to and look for, two of the caches hidden by the geocacher so two 'fake' ones had to be hidden nearby and 'found' by Michaela. Not everything is as it seems (lol) I enjoyed the programme though and the scenery was brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Parkmoy I think I just felt a bit 'let down' because in the Radio Times it said that he " heads for the west coast of Scotland, setting up a smallholding....etc" so I expected a 'hands on' outdoor type labouring away to fulfil a 'dream'. Maybe I just read it wrong. It turned out that he just turned up, had everything done by other people, then settled back admiring the sunset and saying how wonderful it all was. Too true. (I also read that he was at one time a Royal Marine. Makes me wonder if he ever carried his own kit). Still, I will no doubt admire the scenery again next week, but maybe just turn off the sound. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Usinmyknaus Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 My kind of place to live but I married a city girl! Monty did come across as a management consultant drafted in to be an ideas man in a public sector make-work-for the local-yokels project but his wide-eyed, innocent delight in the scenery and nature had a certain charm. The Appledore Scots appeared pretty much as one would expect from a community well used to suffering visiting fools and incompetents gladly, kindly and with warmth of heart (provided their's a "wee dram" in it of course). The sort of folk we can rely on when we get a large motorhome well and truly stuck in their manor! Personally, I can't wait to be able to spend several months in the MH on that coast of Scotland but it will have to wait a few years. Meanwhile I'll keep watching the programme for the scenery at least. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkmoy Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 One thing's for sure, there will always be a camera crew with him so he'll not experience a lot of solitude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mendipman Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 :-D :-D :-D Dramatic Ben Fogle wanders the world making cringing statements ,how dangerous it is ,will we ever survive,etc.. B-) B-) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 mendipman - 2009-03-03 10:53 AM :-D :-D :-D Dramatic Ben Fogle wanders the world making cringing statements ,how dangerous it is ,will we ever survive,etc.. B-) B-) B-) That's a relief, I thought it was only me who thought that ! I've tried watching a couple of times, (for the scenery) but have had to give up after about ten minutes. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelvynT Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Wonder how all these "experts" would get on if they were actually left alone. Solitary living is not for the faint hearted, you need to be able to turn your hands to anything and usually in any weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Has anyone read the books by Lillian Beckwith? She lived in a crofters cottage and the hardship she endured was pretty gruelling but she wrote a very entertaining account of it. LINK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 J9withdogs - 2009-03-03 1:21 PM Has anyone read the books by Lillian Beckwith? She lived in a crofters cottage and the hardship she endured was pretty gruelling but she wrote a very entertaining account of it. LINK No, I haven't read her books Janine. I'll just wait, ...........and read yours. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 malc d - 2009-03-03 1:36 PM No, I haven't read her books Janine. I'll just wait, ...........and read yours. ;-) They're in my bedroom 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 J9withdogs - 2009-03-03 1:43 PM malc d - 2009-03-03 1:36 PM No, I haven't read her books Janine. I'll just wait, ...........and read yours. ;-) They're in my bedroom 8-) Behave yourself ! I was referring to your "teenage ambition to be a crofter". It's your book of those experiences that I will wait for. I've even thought of a title for it: " Black country wench - unrestrained !" ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 malc d - 2009-03-03 2:32 PM " Black country wench - unrestrained !" ;-) Are you sure we haven't met, Malc? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.