Kate Humble - Twice the Life for Half the Price.

Yes, merlotgran, there was nothing in last night's episode other than a house move which really had nothing to do with the title of the series. A more expensive property, an increased mortgage, an unrealistic expectation that the holiday home would bring in a substantial amount of money, (have you ever been to Shebbear?!!), and very little evidence they were self sufficient. Added to this the amount of travelling from Devon to Brighton each week, for both of them separately, was ironic seeing that the good life should be all about cutting one's carbon footprint!
I agree they both looked shattered and overwhelmed. Their lifestyle was far more frenetic than before.
By the way, the beach they went to for some relaxation would have been about half an hour away, not on the doorstep like Worthing.

My husband likes this programme. I don't. She gets right up my nose!

Thanks for the info about the location, Elianne I did wonder how far they were from the beach.

My nephew lives in Worthing and loves it!

I forgot to watch it last night but I saw the episode when the couple moved to a place in deepest darkest Wales.

They were hopeless. They had ideas of setting up a glamping business on a few of their fields but neither of them had ever been camping so they were at a loss. They had £100,000 to tide them over for a year but the farmhouse was very dilapidated and needed gutting really, and they had no income. They didn't seem to finish a single job without having another idea and starting something else. They had a toddler so it was difficult for them. He wanted to do most of the work himself. Then they decided to get 3 puppies when the house was still almost uninhabitable. Then she got pregnant!

And finally she fell in love with some pigs, so he had to stay up half the night making a pig pen and accommodation, and they had never kept animals so had no idea of the needs of pigs.

I got so frustrated with them being stupid that it wasn't relaxing.

I saw one episode a while ago where the family moved from Exeter to a remote spot in the Shetland Islands.

I think they had no mortgage and a larger house, but all their ideas were a bit wishy washy, and I don't think they did much at all. They said they would convert the horsebox to rent as a holiday home, but on the return visit that had not been done. Nothing like the people Ben Fogle has visited.

www.hiddenvalleypigs.co.uk/

This is how to do it!

I've read Simon Dawson's really funny books about their 'escape to the country' and follow them on facebook. They are having a hard time at the moment because they've had to cancel all their courses. I hope things pick up for them soon.

I avoid anything with this woman's name attached to it. I would imagine even the lovely Ben gets well and truely pissed off with her camera look at me and the gushing.

Here we go again! Another episode with a couple escaping 500 miles away to Scotland so they could have a bigger shed for their furry bunnies! The husband continued to work at his computer full time while the wife pretended to look after a bit of land.

There are far easier ways to have a simpler life on your own doorstep generally without moving miles away from everything you've ever known. Few of these people ever think about how long the winter is in Britain. You can often move to the edge of your own town or city and find somewhere cheaper with a larger garden. Years ago a TV newsreader (can't remember who) bought a smallholding in Wales and I remember reading about his experiences and how he was glad to move back to London.

I'm glad I am not the only one who finds her intensely annoying. I refuse to watch anything she appears in for that reason. She's like an over enthusiastic toddler and seems to have no idea that she is annoying.

A property with lots of potential in a stunning location but they didn't seem to have any sense of purpose. It's up to them of course as it's their home but what a waste!

All the people on this series seem to be a bit useless - well the three I have watched. They have a pipe dream, they make the move happen, but then don't follow through with their initial plans.

I would like her to go back 5 years later and see what's happened. The trouble is, once you've moved to a very cheap area, it's hard to move back unless you've managed to save lots (unlikely).

I never minded Kate before, but agree she's very annoying on this, flicking her hair everywhere and looking enthusiastic over a tatty shed.

merlot I am sending you a pm

Ahem, Ellianne I actually live in Shebbear!

phoenix

Lucky you.

I've never seen this programme but that made me laugh merlot (apart from the poor woman's cancer diagnosis that is).

Devon is a lovely county but if I had to commute back to Brighton every week I would call it twice the aggro.

It reminded me of that comedy series with Jack Dee and Kerry Godliman - Bad Move - where they did something similar. I rather enjoyed the humour of it but I can see why another series wasn't commissioned - because once the comedy of the situation was exhausted, you just wished they would sell up and move back to a town.

Oh! Thank goodness I am not the only soul who finds that hysterical toddler Kate Humble a nightmare to watch on her latest output. I find myself cringing at her commentary & delivery and her incessant praise & hugging/air kissing. Kate comes from a brave and distinguished background but oh my goodness, her inane "enthusiasm" drives me mad. I'm sure she's a lovely kind friend to all but she's over the top in this show. Good luck to her but sadly she's a turn off.

Very interesting post, my DH said he thought she was false and so gushing and not genuine and we had a big of a disagreement about it to be honest and he didn't want to watch it any more as thought not good viewing. Having read all the above perhaps DH has a point. I personally found Carol Klein from Gardeners World so over the top and gushing and cooing that I gave up watching it and thinking to myself "What on earth is this woman on?" But of course don't wish any of these ladies any harm, perhaps they just need to tone down a bit for television. And of course we are all different and entitled to our own views!

Ahem,EllianneI actuallylivein Shebbear! - phoenix

Sorry, nothing against Shebbear, we had friends who lived in a nice house there. My point was it is hardly top of the holiday destination list when booking a cottage. That couple were spending a heck of a lot of money and time to convert an outbuilding just to bring in around £10k a year.