Making the news today....

[Big J]

12 minutes ago, devon TWiG said:

Bloody hell J you are a miserable git !! you hate Devon yet the house prices are so high because so many people wish to live here because it is so lovely ...says more about you than Devon  , why do you wish to believe that the sea and rivers are so polluted ?  I have spent a HUGE amount of time enjoying the sea with no problems .  My perception of Sweden is a very boring place , and you have alluded in previous posts how you suffer from sadness ...what will it be like in a machine by yourself all day in a monotonous conifer plantation in the dark ?   You are also "cherry picking" the EU , most countries are poorer than the UK and why has Sweden not adopted the Euro ??  they have had to restrict alcohol sales due to abuse which is state control not freedom !!   

 

Yep, I'm a grumpy bastard. I know that and I'm perfectly happy to be grumpy.

 

But what exactly is so great about Devon? Within the context of the rest of England, it's perhaps a bit more scenic, but most of the nicer areas you scarcely see because you're confined to the roofless tunnels that are the roads. And then you struggle to access the land because it's all private, mostly farmland, has a limited number of footpaths and 8 months a year is muddy as hell. Personally, I love lakes and forest. Devon has very little of either.

 

Or is it the insane traffic you prefer? Like a customer of mine who had to sit for a full 20 minutes at the junction to cross the A30 to get to Chard. Or the 1hr 10 min I lost the other day on a 40 minute journey due to the Devon show. Do you enjoy reversing long distances on every journey because the road isn't wide enough to pass, or losing wing mirrors? Or having massive issues moving any machine almost anywhere, because lorry access is generally terrible. 

 

Or is it the people? The people that square up to your harvester driver when they arrive on site because for some reason they believe that no tree should ever be felled. Or that report you to the EA when you clear a drain and the stream runs cloudy for a short while? Or is it being reported to the Forestry Commission for felling stone dead ash, despite the leader of that particular parish council being given my contact details and encouraged to speak to me. Or the endless grief you get for simply trying to do your job, providing local timber for local markets.

 

Or being crashed into (well technically, rolled into) by some idiot in a Polo on a blind corner on a tiny lane? I was stationary as he mounted the bank and rolled into my van.

 

I particularly enjoy the flippant nature of landowners who change their minds without so much as a thought to how that might affect us as a company. Like the guy last year who cancelled a three month job 10 days from the start (after 7 months of planning) because he decided at the 11th hour to go with a major harvesting company. Who left him high and dry with the job only partly completed. That nearly sunk us last year actually - middle of covid and lockdown and it didn't just f*ck me up, but a lot of subcontractors too. 

 

So forgive me for being a little bit miserable about Devon. Many people hold it up to be this Utopian paradise, but the reality is that it's just as shit as anywhere else with the added complication of terrible roads, terrible weather and literally millions of tourists.

 

Do you really think Sweden is a dark place? Did you know that Stockholm gets 40% more sunshine hours in a year than Plymouth? Sitting in a conifer plantation, listening to R4, comedy or podcasts is my idea of heaven. Knowing that I have a lifetime of work ahead of me, that I don't have to work my nuts off, that my children have lifelong free education and the certainty of being trilingual, that I won't have to fork out £750k (25 years of payments for a 4 bed family house here) for a mortgage and that I can go swimming and fishing whenever, and wherever I want. Well that makes me happy. And knowing that this is as much traffic as I'll ever see

 

[trigger_andy]

9 minutes ago, Big J said:

 

Yep, I'm a grumpy bastard. I know that and I'm perfectly happy to be grumpy.

 

But what exactly is so great about Devon? Within the context of the rest of England, it's perhaps a bit more scenic, but most of the nicer areas you scarcely see because you're confined to the roofless tunnels that are the roads. And then you struggle to access the land because it's all private, mostly farmland, has a limited number of footpaths and 8 months a year is muddy as hell. Personally, I love lakes and forest. Devon has very little of either.

 

Or is it the insane traffic you prefer? Like a customer of mine who had to sit for a full 20 minutes at the junction to cross the A30 to get to Chard. Or the 1hr 10 min I lost the other day on a 40 minute journey due to the Devon show. Do you enjoy reversing long distances on every journey because the road isn't wide enough to pass, or losing wing mirrors? Or having massive issues moving any machine almost anywhere, because lorry access is generally terrible. 

 

Or is it the people? The people that square up to your harvester driver when they arrive on site because for some reason they believe that no tree should ever be felled. Or that report you to the EA when you clear a drain and the stream runs cloudy for a short while? Or is it being reported to the Forestry Commission for felling stone dead ash, despite the leader of that particular parish council being given my contact details and encouraged to speak to me. Or the endless grief you get for simply trying to do your job, providing local timber for local markets.

 

Or being crashed into (well technically, rolled into) by some idiot in a Polo on a blind corner on a tiny lane? I was stationary as he mounted the bank and rolled into my van.

 

I particularly enjoy the flippant nature of landowners who change their minds without so much as a thought to how that might affect us as a company. Like the guy last year who cancelled a three month job 10 days from the start (after 7 months of planning) because he decided at the 11th hour to go with a major harvesting company. Who left him high and dry with the job only partly completed. That nearly sunk us last year actually - middle of covid and lockdown and it didn't just f*ck me up, but a lot of subcontractors too. 

 

So forgive me for being a little bit miserable about Devon. Many people hold it up to be this Utopian paradise, but the reality is that it's just as shit as anywhere else with the added complication of terrible roads, terrible weather and literally millions of tourists.

 

Do you really think Sweden is a dark place? Did you know that Stockholm gets 40% more sunshine hours in a year than Plymouth? Sitting in a conifer plantation, listening to R4, comedy or podcasts is my idea of heaven. Knowing that I have a lifetime of work ahead of me, that I don't have to work my nuts off, that my children have lifelong free education and the certainty of being trilingual, that I won't have to fork out £750k (25 years of payments for a 4 bed family house here) for a mortgage and that I can go swimming and fishing whenever, and wherever I want. Well that makes me happy. And knowing that this is as much traffic as I'll ever see

 

Some fair points J. It’s just the delivery you need to work on. 😗😝

 

I remember the euphoria of leaving Scotland to move to Norway and the daily feeling of amazement at how much better Norway was than Scotland, but as the years worn on it just became life and home was home, more for the missus mind. I do miss Norway but I love Scotland. I’ll most likely retreat into the Highlands more and more as I get older for much the same reasons you mention. 
 

Sure looks like you took that pic whilst driving a LHD car. 🤣

[Matthew Storrs]

I’ll stick up a bit for J. As I feel I can relate to a lot of what he says. I love Dartmoor and feel very lucky to live here- there are some other parts of Devon which are nice too. But have to say i feel it’s become too crowded for its own good (and yes I know we’re all part of the problem.) it’s pretty land locked by agriculture really,we recently drove to East Devon near where J lives to see a friend, on the way we thought we’d go for a nice walk somewhere, i can honestly say that after leaving Dartmoor we really struggled to find anywhere in the hour of driving that wasn’t skirting around a field of corn only to be met by another road- I just don’t find the countryside easily accessible or inspiring outside of the national parks. 

went to the beach the other day- was lucky to get parking and that was before 9am! Yes it’s a lot quieter in the winter but then who really wants to go to the beach much in winter aside from a quick bracing walk. Yesterday we went to Newton Abbot- the amount of house building going on there is shocking so I can only see the situation getting worse. 
Friends of ours in Sweden have recently purchased a decent plot of land and are currently building there own  good sized house, they have the equivalent jobs me and my wife have, yet there is no way we’d be able to achieve what they have done over there on our income here.

I know that all sounds very negative and I’m all for looking at people that are far worse of them ourselves and feeling gratefull for that but have to say I can see the angle he is coming from.

[Big J]

11 minutes ago, trigger_andy said:

Some fair points J. It’s just the delivery you need to work on. 😗😝

 

I remember the euphoria of leaving Scotland to move to Norway and the daily feeling of amazement at how much better Norway was than Scotland, but as the years worn on it just became life and home was home, more for the missus mind. I do miss Norway but I love Scotland. I’ll most likely retreat into the Highlands more and more as I get older for much the same reasons you mention. 
 

Sure looks like you took that pic whilst driving a LHD car. 🤣

 

Dash cam mate 😎 

 

Because we moved around a bit when I was a kid, I don't feel that I have a tie to anywhere. That's probably not a good thing, but I'm very unlikely to get homesick. 

 

I do miss the Highlands, but I fear that it's being ruined by all the Weegies overrunning the place since Covid. Parts of Scotland are genuinely absolutely stunning (my favourite bit is the bit between Ullapool and Lochinver) but are sadly being tarnished by a significant minority that don't respect it. I remember reading that during the relaxation last summer after the first lockdown, that the path up to the Hidden Valley at Glencoe had all the handrails ripped off and cut up for firewood by neds. Leaving a 50ft drop down to the river. I just can't understand the mentality to be as partriotic as so many of the Scots are and then to destroy your natural landscape.

 

11 minutes ago, Matthew Storrs said:

I’ll stick up a bit for J. As I feel I can relate to a lot of what he says. I love Dartmoor and feel very lucky to live here- there are some other parts of Devon which are nice too. But have to say i feel it’s become too crowded for its own good (and yes I know we’re all part of the problem.) it’s pretty land locked by agriculture really,we recently drove to East Devon near where J lives to see a friend, on the way we thought we’d go for a nice walk somewhere, i can honestly say that after leaving Dartmoor we really struggled to find anywhere in the hour of driving that wasn’t skirting around a field of corn only to be met by another road- I just don’t find the countryside easily accessible or inspiring outside of the national parks. 

went to the beach the other day- was lucky to get parking and that was before 9am! Yes it’s a lot quieter in the winter but then who really wants to go to the beach much in winter aside from a quick bracing walk. Yesterday we went to Newton Abbot- the amount of house building going on there is shocking so I can only see the situation getting worse. 
Friends of ours in Sweden have recently purchased a decent plot of land and are currently building there own  good sized house, they have the equivalent jobs me and my wife have, yet there is no way we’d be able to achieve what they have done over there on our income here.

I know that all sounds very negative and I’m all for looking at people that are far worse of them ourselves and feeling gratefull for that but have to say I can see the angle he is coming from.

 

You have the best of living in the West Country Matt. Within Dartmoor, you've loads of open access land at your doorstep. Ok, the roads are a ballache, but at least it's pretty and accessible. 

 

I'm hoping to work at Hembury Woods on the edge of Dartmoor again over winter and I'm genuinely looking forward to it. Beautiful oak woodland with the river tumbling down the valley below. It's very pretty. 
 

I agree with everything else you said. 

[sime42]

Poor old Devon seems to be getting a bit of a bashing here! I don't particularly disagree with any of the complaints raised, they're all true unfortunately. The thing is this sorry state of affairs is pretty much the case in any picturesque and rural county in England. Think of Cornwall or Cumbria or Dorset or Pembrokeshire, (Wales I know).
Personally I don't see how many or even any of these issues will be sorted by Brexit. The cause of the malaise is far more complicated than just being due to immigration and the EU.

[Matthew Storrs]

5 minutes ago, sime42 said:

Poor old Devon seems to be getting a bit of a bashing here! I don't particularly disagree with any of the complaints raised, they're all true unfortunately. The thing is this sorry state of affairs is pretty much the case in any picturesque and rural county in England. Think of Cornwall or Cumbria or Dorset or Pembrokeshire, (Wales I know).
Personally I don't see how many or even any of these issues will be sorted by Brexit. The cause of the malaise is far more complicated than just being due to immigration and the EU.

 

We live in a small island with a massive population. It’s not surprising that any area with a level of natural beauty is going to get the life squeezed out of it. It’s not Devons fault, I’d have loved to have seen it 100+ years ago. Just reckon there’s too many of us here.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Matthew Storrs

[Big J]

Just now, Matthew Storrs said:

We live in a small island with a massive population. It’s not surprising that any area with a level of natural beauty is going to get the life squeezed out of it. It’s not Devons fault, I’d have loved to have seen it 100+ years ago. Just reckon there’s too many of us here.

 

I agree. 

 

But I'd add the caveat that the region could comfortably accommodate many more tourists if the infrastructure was properly upgraded. I cannot see that ever happening though, so the inevitable Friday and Saturday M5 car parks will continue every summer ad infinitum

[trigger_andy]

1 minute ago, Big J said:

 

I agree. 

 

But I'd add the caveat that the region could comfortably accommodate many more tourists if the infrastructure was properly upgraded. I cannot see that ever happening though, so the inevitable Friday and Saturday M5 car parks will continue every summer ad infinitum

I’ll try and time my trip for a Sunday to Thursday 😁

[sime42]

@Big J
You've not mentioned the legion little black or blue dog shit bags yet. Sure to be found in any nice green natural space. Lovely! What on earth makes these knobs think that it's an acceptable practice? They often even go as far as to carefully hang them up on trees and bushes.

[sime42]

 
I agree. 
 
But I'd add the caveat that the region could comfortably accommodate many more tourists if the infrastructure was properly upgraded. I cannot see that ever happening though, so the inevitable Friday and Saturday M5 car parks will continue every summer ad infinitum

Used to be even worse in the 60/70s apparently, before the A30 and A38 were made into dual-carriageways. You'd have to queue for hours and hours to get off the M5 at Exeter.