Product Description

Amusing, affecting and endearing account of one woman upping sticks and heading North to live the 'Good Life' on her very own farm...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32850 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Synopsis
How often have you thought you might like to chuck it all in, leave the steaming metropolis and its noise and dirt behind and make for pastures new, to begin your life again? We often talk about it but people rarely do it. Jackie Moffat is one of those who did. In 1982 she and her family - armed with a bucketload of optimism, stout boots and a highly developed sense of the ridiculous - upped sticks from London (where she'd lived all her life) and went North, to Cumbria. Their destination was the Eden Valley, and a small stock-rearing and dairy farm called Rowfoot, and there they have spent the past twenty years getting to grips with the practice of running a working farm, keeping sheep, cattle, pigs and horses, becoming part of the (often eccentric) community, coping with the ups and downs (Foot and Mouth devastated them) of farming life. For the past ten years, the author's written a regular column for the Cumbria and Lake District Life magazine, and it was this that inspired her to write about her rural life, her wacky take on it and the trials, tribulations and pleasures of running a farm.

From the Back Cover
We often talk about leaving the bustle of metropolitan life behind and going in search of pastures new but rarely do so. Jackie Moffat is one of those who did.

It was in 1982 that she and her family, armed with a bucketload of optimism, stout boots and a highly developed sense of the ridiculous, bade farewell to the London suburbs and headed north up the M6 to Cumbria. Their destination was Rowfoot, a small, dairy and stockrearing farm (although mice seemed to be the only stock in evidence on their arrival) nestling in the idyllic Eden Valley. Their intention was to start leading 'The Good Life' and get to grips with the reality of running a working farm. After over twenty years of learning the rural ropes - and especially the vagaries of the farm's four-legged residents: the sheep, cattle, pigs, horses, dogs, not forgetting Millie the goat - Jackie and her farm are each going strong, concentrating on rearing Manx Loghtans, a rare breed of sheep originating from the Isle of Man.

Inspired by her column in the Cumbria and Lake District Life magazine, The Funny Farm is Jackie Moffat's funny, wise, heart-warming and at times moving account of the day-to-day trials, tribulations and triumphs she's experienced - the story of a woman at one with her life even if, on occasions, she feels completely at odds with the rest of the world!

About the Author
Jackie Moffat:
Jackie Moffat is a Londoner, born and bred, but in 1982 moved to the Eden Valley in Cumbria, where she still lives and farms. As well as breeding Manx Loghtans (a rare breed of sheep, originating from the Isle of Man), she also writes a column for Cumbria and Lake District Life magazine.

Customer Reviews

Great Read About Life On The Farm
The subtitle of the book sums it up, really. The laughter and tears of one woman's farm in Cumbria.

This is a very entertaining book, written by a lady with a very entertaining style. There are a lot of laughs all the way through this book, which is chock-a-blck with tales of the people and animals around the farm. The animals steal the show though, as usual, and the author's easy style makes you feel you know these little, and not so little, characters. It comes through very plainly that she is also very fond of her animals. The sad bits of farming are not glossed over, and my heart bled for her as I read the account of the foot and mouth disease debacle, and the loss of her beloved Milly Goat (Yes, that's an "M" not a "B" !). The sad bits, however, are heavily outweighed by the fun bits, so it is not at all morbid. For lovers of the countryside this is a book well worth a read. You'll enjoy it.

very disappointing
to call this a book i found very misleading, its a mish mash of the authors articles from her newspaper column, and not even apparently arranged in the order in which they happened chronologically, and with no link from one chapter to the next. one of the most disjointed books i have read, which is a shame because the material would appear to be there if only it had be properly re written as a book.

Laughter through tears.
This is one of those books you cannot put down. As someone who has pets, including a manxie & a horse, I identified with every chapter. This is perhaps the only book that has moved me to tears as I read about the foot & mouth outbreak. You can share her anger at the MAFF & how it was handled. But her fighting spirit gets her through it. A fantastic book. This is a perfect gift for anyone who has animals of any kind. When's the next one due?