I'm not going to lie, my life is pretty good. I live in a nice house close to some spectacular countryside. I have hobbies which are both fun and rewarding, good friends and a lovely girlfriend. OK I could do with a job sooner rather than later and I wouldn't object to another car (even if it's not one of the ones on my previous list). There are things I would change given the opportunity but, on the whole, I've got a pretty good lot.
All that said, I have a huge case of lifestyle envy. I wrote a while ago about a demonstration of gundogs and gundog training that I saw at an agricultural show. A massive pack of absolutely stunning labradors and spaniels of all ages, all of whom were impeccably behaved. They obeyed every command with interest and almost before it was issued. Amazing animals. They were owned and trained by a husband and wife team in Scotland.
A few months later and my dad paid them a visit with his next-door neighbour. The neighbours are thinking of getting a dog and dad went up because they are willing (hoping) to look after it from time to time - especially when the neighbours are at work since dad is retired. I suggested these guys because, as well as breeding the dogs and training them as working dogs, they sell dogs of various ages and various levels of training. This would be ideal for them as they have two young kids so a pre-trained dog would remove a lot of the stress of the initial phases as well as coming with a guarantee that they are good with kids (then again when are labradors ever not?)
Dad reported back the results of the trip today. First and foremost, the dogs are as amazing as I remember. he was most disappointed that he couldn't take all of them back with him (so was I come to that). The dogs apparently live the life of Riley in the highlands being doted on and running over the hills and glens. Apart from the dogs, the house sounds wonderful. I'm not usually awfully fussed by housey stuff but the idea of a sprawling farmhouse in the middle of nowhere (no other building could be seen in any direction) surrounded by hills, glens and lochs sounds idyllic - although I might have to change the aga. In addition to it being picturesque, it gives justification to owning the two landrovers in the drive. So to recap, idyllic home in the Scottish countryside with two fantastic landrovers and the day job involves spending most of your time marching over the hills with some magnificent dogs. Oh and just to cap it off, the wife of the owner is absolutely stunning and a trained chef to boot.
I'm sure after reading this, you can understand why I have a degree of lifestyle envy. Do you blame me? Part of me really wants to start a business like this myself but I lack a) the startup capital, b) the requisite knowledge of dog training (although I'm working on remedying this) and c) the contacts in the country sports world needed to make the business a viable proposition.
Ah well, it's nice to have dreams none the less. Perhaps one day!
JR
All that said, I have a huge case of lifestyle envy. I wrote a while ago about a demonstration of gundogs and gundog training that I saw at an agricultural show. A massive pack of absolutely stunning labradors and spaniels of all ages, all of whom were impeccably behaved. They obeyed every command with interest and almost before it was issued. Amazing animals. They were owned and trained by a husband and wife team in Scotland.
A few months later and my dad paid them a visit with his next-door neighbour. The neighbours are thinking of getting a dog and dad went up because they are willing (hoping) to look after it from time to time - especially when the neighbours are at work since dad is retired. I suggested these guys because, as well as breeding the dogs and training them as working dogs, they sell dogs of various ages and various levels of training. This would be ideal for them as they have two young kids so a pre-trained dog would remove a lot of the stress of the initial phases as well as coming with a guarantee that they are good with kids (then again when are labradors ever not?)
Dad reported back the results of the trip today. First and foremost, the dogs are as amazing as I remember. he was most disappointed that he couldn't take all of them back with him (so was I come to that). The dogs apparently live the life of Riley in the highlands being doted on and running over the hills and glens. Apart from the dogs, the house sounds wonderful. I'm not usually awfully fussed by housey stuff but the idea of a sprawling farmhouse in the middle of nowhere (no other building could be seen in any direction) surrounded by hills, glens and lochs sounds idyllic - although I might have to change the aga. In addition to it being picturesque, it gives justification to owning the two landrovers in the drive. So to recap, idyllic home in the Scottish countryside with two fantastic landrovers and the day job involves spending most of your time marching over the hills with some magnificent dogs. Oh and just to cap it off, the wife of the owner is absolutely stunning and a trained chef to boot.
I'm sure after reading this, you can understand why I have a degree of lifestyle envy. Do you blame me? Part of me really wants to start a business like this myself but I lack a) the startup capital, b) the requisite knowledge of dog training (although I'm working on remedying this) and c) the contacts in the country sports world needed to make the business a viable proposition.
Ah well, it's nice to have dreams none the less. Perhaps one day!
JR
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