'Unsprung Spring-----'
The forecast for hereabouts - the eco micro-holding (small smallholding) in the UK midlands - at mid-March is for another few nights of frost, giving an unparalleled virtual three weeks of frost in March, putting everything on the growing front well behind. Only a few shallots for pickling onions and about 20% of the onion sets (i.e. 'baby' onions) have been got in due to the cold weather, which came on top of a pretty cold February, and the early plum tree, normally laden with pure white blossom by now, has struggled to get no more than a handful of blooms on show to date. The flocks of woodpigeons are still at their winter regime, plundering the adjacent fields here of their clover; the wild birds here are still ravenous for their food rations on the feeders and on the ground, and to all intents and purposes the countryside looks and feels as though it's in deep mid-winter. The only real change has been the frequent and surprisingly loud sound of a woodpecker hammering wood - wonder whether that's an exclusively spring activity - ?
'Nature', as Prince Charles referred to on the 'Countryfile' TV programme last week, 'remains a sight more powerful than man'.
'Battling business----'
One 'freerange' activity that doesn't seem to lessen, is coping with the mores and ways of 'big business', seemingly an ever 'David v Goliath' saga. The latest skirmishes here have been trying to persuade a big public utility company that it owed one of its tiny users money - the attitude from it was pretty recalcitrant and 'awkward', hoping maybe that this wee pesky pest would go away. Got there in the end, but what a struggle, that shouldn't have had to have happened, truth to tell. Another irksome problem area was a major bank seemingly unaccepting or unable to cope with a change of payment system for home insurance from monthly direct debit to one-off annual payment, causing considerable confusion and concern via on-going postal communications - sometimes it can seem almost as if this is their game----?? The new top man of this particular institution recently stated that his bank had had the wrong approach in being over self-orientated and under socially orientated, and yet just the other day the bank got panned in the paper for handing out mega money to the top brass. Maybe he's not quite with the saying 'actions speak louder than words', or maybe he thinks people aren't too sharp and can easily be hoodwinked----??
Yet another 'corporate skirmish' concerned a car insurance firm, which via the internet appeared to give a pretty economic quote, although not with too much peripheral info. Fortunately there was a phone number to contact, to then learn that there was quite a considerable further charge to pay if the insurance was then transferred to another car. Such policy admin work used to be part of their job in administering their business - presumably though these days it's a good ruse to squeeze (quite a bit) more dosh out of people. Still, it clearly signals the type of firm it is - one to avoid. In the end the car insurance conundrum was pretty satisfactorily solved by visiting the local office of an insurance broker and dealing face-to-face with pleasant and helpful people -a lot better 'humanised' outcome all round.
'Freerange, independent spirit----'
The 'battling freerange spirit' had been somewhat uplifted on reading an obituary of a French writer (name escapes), who, a few years ago at the grand age of 93, had published a booklet entitled 'Indignez-vous!', which then apparently sold in its millions. His theme was that though the individual was miniscule small in the face of the large business concerns, she/he should not be over-intimidated when such firms used their size and power in 'predictable' overpowering fashion, and if so treated should rouse their sense of self-righteous indignation and 'strike back'. Britishers, though, have a bit of a reputation for 'reserve' and 'manners' (from 'class conscious times - ?) which might have inhibited such 'strike back' possibilities, and some of the large business outfits are reportedly using their power to thwart organised 'strike back' by reportedly being hostile to collectivity of individuals. It has to be said that for the relatively powerless individual's point of view, to take on large concerns is quite a task, something of a 'David v, Goliath' type of event. Quite rewarding though, to see the giant ever so slightly stumble now and again.
'I don't believe it-----!'
Business influences too seem to have proliferated in recent times, with quite a 'businessisation' trend occurring, with government for instance, seemingly embracing it wholeheartedly. Whether or not this was/is good is perhaps open to debate - the 'target' culture's limitations seem currently to be more in focus, for instance. When the business concept of 'performance related pay', for instance, was introduced into the Higher Education sector in the UK, staff were somewhat crestfallen to find that the parameters and criteria used were so simplistic and banal, which presumably could then not have done a lot in general for staff morale and motivation - ? The other angle, of course, was that such a move could have been in fact anti-motivationary in the first place, as working to targets and bonuses was a 'control' system, reducing individual motivation and responsibility, and individual professionalism.
'Would there be wood-----'
Whilst of course the micro-holding life here is 'miniscule' and pretty insignificant when viewed in 'global power' terms (!), it is pretty significant to those leading their own unique, semi self-reliant lives, which can surprisingly be quite rewarding. Little achievements are still relevant - this year's winter wood collecting, for instance (whilst walking with good mate Scots Border Collie Hipster Pipster) has been quite productive, with probably over half a tonne collected over this last winter. One useful collecting area is a local common ground area, which handily also includes a wood. A lot of the fallen timber is quite rotted and of more use to nature than to humans, but there is still quite a bit of useful wood for collection. Other happy hunting grounds yield usable wood in the form of, for instance, redundant fence posts and suchlike. Small beer, of course, but still giving the 'positive glow' of the 'freerange' self-reliance feeling, and the pyhsical glow of the comforting woodstove. No push buttons here - the job today has been to bring in extra wood supplies due to the snow forecast for tomorrow, which could help bring home the 'elemental awareness' factor a bit more---- ? 
Still. the 'countryside combing' season's now at an end, and it feels like time now to go 'a-sowing and a-planting', if only the darn weather would let up a bit.
Comments
0 responses