JUST because he’s not trying to coax articles for Reconnect before a deadline anymore, doesn’t mean Foster isn’t still contributing. Here he is with his first update on living the simple life….
I N the months leading up to my handing over to Scott, my stock reply to the question ‘So what will you do next?’ was “less”. In fact, the fuller (and slightly less smartarse) answer was that I wanted a little extra time in my life: the adrenalin-fuelled process of publishing has been enormously exciting and rewarding but when a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do, he needs some time in which to do it… Selling the magazine was just part of a broader lifestyle shift and the process of change, the transition from one way of living to the next, actually made me busier than ever. Since this time last year, my wife Jenny and I have sold the business (well done, Scott, this first issue looks great) but we have also sold our house and massively downsized, selling and giving away many of our possessions, to live in a small, off-grid mobile home on a community smallholding. Those of you who’ve regularly read my ramblings over the years (bless you all – a little therapy might help you now) will know I have long advocated a low- impact, low-consumption lifestyle and did what I could to live it. We were, however, still living in an end-of-terrace house on an estate, driving to the woodland where we kept our poultry and with no space for growing… this latest move has completed the circle. And it’s a move that seems to capture the interest and imagination of almost everyone we meet so I thought I might use this column over future months to explore various aspects of simpler, off-grid living (be warned – compost loos will feature). So, you can look forward (I’m making a big assumption there) to talk of food growing, rainwater harvesting, animal husbandry, beekeeping, goat milking, egg pickling and lots, lots more. Including that compost loo. But first, a less obvious consequence of our lifestyle change: I’m talking more. Or to be more precise, Jenny and I are talking more. To each other. Over our first cuppa, after lighting the stove, we talk about the day to come, about the weather (a big determining factor in planning our day’s work), about the news (Radio 4 is our link to the outside world now we don’t have a TV – more of that in a bit) and about the practicalities of living off-grid. I’ve written so much in Reconnect about living more consciously and now, finally, we are able to do it. We no longer take any aspect of life for granted – we have to make it happen. But it’s the evenings that have really opened up – and it’s not having a TV that has played a big part in that. We’ve never watched a lot of TV but if it’s there in the corner of the room, there’s always the temptation to just crash out in front of it to ‘relax’. In fact, we’re finding talking, listening to music and just gently pottering about is far more relaxing. For the first few weeks here we didn’t have any electricity at all, so we lived by candlelight, listening to a radio powered by batteries we recharged at friends (we’d drop in with a bottle and a plug-in charger). Now though we have a solar system up and running beautifully (thank you, Beco – more on that in a future issue too) so we have lights at the flick of a switch. No longer taken for granted. Another big day was when we went online, thanks to the black box mysteries of portable internet. That meant access to online music streaming using the free Spotify service and even the occasional episode of our current favourite series on our laptop if the mood takes us. Well, ok, not a completely TV-free zone – but only when it’s invited.
With Foster now enjoying the good life, though it’s rather unlikely his
neighbours are like Jerry and Margo, Reconnect’s new proprietor Scott
Williams would like to thank him.
Scott said: “As the new editor and owner of Reconnect I’d like to repeat
my personal thanks to Martin and his family in the huge amount of
time they’ve given over to me to ensure the transition of the magazine
happened smoothly, especially with so much else going on in their lives
at the same time. I am indebted to you all and send all of you best wishes
for the future.”
Foster will continue the narrative of his alternate lifestyle in future issues.