My Coffee Hell

There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning and yearning.

(Christopher Morley, 1957)

Do you remember the classic 1970s British sitcom 'The Good Life'? It starred Richard Briars and Felicity Kendal as a radical couple who decide to live off the land - except in their case, their land was the back-garden of their suburban semi-detached house. The comedy was pretty exposition-type and often predictable, but there was a certain charm in the characters' perseverance to grow their own food, find fun and excitement in frugal means and shun the typical monetary trappings personified by their snobby next-door neighbours.

I've always been drawn to The Good Life - more so for its sentiment than it's comedy appeal - and have realised that it's because it demonstrated the values I'd like to aspire to (well, sort of): a comfortable life, eco-friendly without having to live in a mud-hut, eating good, unprocessed food and having a generally idealistic outlook on life. I've always struggled with the contradiction of enjoying a modern, progressive life yet being environmentally-friendly, but was sure there are ways to improve my own quality of life and equally the quality of the immediate environment around me.

The intention for this blog is to track my progress as I embark on my own baby-steps towards The Good Life. I won't be giving up my day job for the moment (unless my earning potential dramatically changes), but expect to be learning a lot and undoubtedly yearning for newer ideas and things to try out - hopefully to be assisted with comments from readers here. I expect it will be fun!