A busy week and all talk is on the election in the office – first time in years that everybody seems to be taking more of an active role. Paul and I will do our usual Election Night routine – up all night. We’ve already warned Rachel and Oscar in the office that we will be a little jaded tomorrow.

Ordering our chicken house today. After years of being so absorped in setting up and running The Good Life Press/Home Farmer this year we pledged we would make the time to dabble in ‘living a bit of the good life’ rather than just proof reading and setting books about it. So our ark arrives next week and chickens the week after the Smallholder Show – that gives us time to get them settled in before we leave them in the care of Gwen so we can go to The Royal Cornwall Show.

I am declaring war tonight on a weapon of mass destruction that is eating my young carrots. Opened up our small wall greenhouse to find my newly transferred pickings were picked and chomped!! Not happy.

In the office Rachel is busy setting Urban Beekeeping which is taking shape very nicely – it’s going to be a great book. Oscar is bringing us up to speed with these blogs and is busy liaising with authors so that their blogs are on our site.

I’ve also been in a bit of a mild panic about the new Home Farmer Training courses. We now have our Build a Clay Oven day sorted but it is a baptism of fire for us. Luckerly both the trainer and the landlord are supportive so I’m sure it will all go smoothly.

Meanwhile we are making preparations for the Smallholder and Garden festival next weekend. Love this show! But this year we are holding the Home Farmer teXt factor auditions. Winner gets a series published in Home Farmer magazine and possibly a book. It will be interesting to see what comes up. There have already been one or two interesting submissions.