As Christmas becomes a distant memory all that remains now is actually paying for it! It’s so easy to just ‘put it on the card’ but unfortunately all those last
minute must haves, all add up, and is it worth being burdened with all that debt?

The biggest expense we generally have is a mortgage or rent and unfortunately there are no signs of either of those coming down any time soon. It’s easier, with the New Year’s resolutions, to lose weight, stop smoking and drink less, and to help encourage you I’ve worked out that if you stopped smoking a packet of cigarettes a day you could save almost £400 a month, and giving up a couple of beers every day or a bottle of wine could save you around £300 a month. If you
stopped smoking and drinking you could be around £8,000 a year better off, making it even more worthwhile.

My New Year’s resolution is generally to try and lose weight, but I’m told if you say lose weight then eventually you will find it later on. I’ve been on a diet for over 10 years now and have put on about three stones! I always say that with these somewhat troubled times if you are heavier, you are harder to kidnap! You very rarely see overweight wild animals, as perhaps they haven’t got access to as much chocolate than us, but they always seem to be in great condition.

The weather has been fairly mild apart from a mini freeze at the beginning of December with temperatures reaching minus 4 in some parts. At writing we are a
week before Christmas and I’m almost certain it will not be a white one. It’s amazing that most Christmas cards portray a snowy scene which rarely occurs. It’s generally in the early months of the year where we see colder weather and as January 13th is the feast of St Hilary which normally brings a cold patch, but with current conditions, it’s more likely to be mild and wet.

If the trend continues into this year then expect colder, warmer, wetter and dryer periods with further record breaking temperatures, but as the olde Bucks saying says, ‘He who is weather wise is a fall otherwise’!

I’m not going to mention pot holes and traffic lights as this article is supposed to be about the countryside and I’m sure everyone is fed up with that topic too.
I noticed with the mild winter so far, the leaves stayed on the trees longer than usual. I wish I could say that this predicts a lovely summer but I haven’t heard of any olde folk laws saying so.

Lots of vegetable farmers suffered with wet weather harvesting their vegetables especially potatoes and you will see increased prices this year especially closer to
Easter when the main crops start running out. Maybe a good year to start growing some. Very easy, just use potatoes that are starting to sprout and plant them in a pot in a warm place away from the frost and they should grow in about three months.

I wonder, now that the Edinburgh Zoo’s pandas have been sent back to China, how long it will be before they start taking back their Chinese Water Deer. These good looking animals are thriving all over our county and I see several every day whilst walking our dog. The bucks have two fangs that stick out of their mouths rather than antlers and their fur is very hard wirey hair. Someone once said to me they overheard a Bucks lady asking for two panda sausages!

Don’t forget St Valentine’s Day on 14th February, a day to secretly send a card to a special loved one and this year is a leap year so we have 29 days too. The last one was 2020 so let’s hope this one doesn’t get spoiled by another pandemic. Don’t forget that 29th February is also the only day that ladies can actually propose to their guys. (Sorry about not being woke and inclusive on this issue). 20th March is the beginning of Spring which brings new growth as the dead wood has
been pruned and the new little green shoots will one day thrive to become that great mighty oak, replacing the ones that HS2 have cut down!

The Countryman