Well, here we are!

My husband Robert and I moved to Curry Rivel just over a year ago. We moved from Buckinghamshire, so it was quite an uprooting. We had been looking for properties in various parts of the South and South West. Our daughter was very keen for us to move near to her in Dorset but we didn't see anything that grabbed us. We looked at many properties in Dorset, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Somerset, but nothing ticked enough boxes. Then we came to Curry Rivel. We did a recce of the property before the official viewing and that was it – we were in love! As we were still in lockdown, the whole process took much longer than expected but we finally moved in – hurrah!

We love living in Curry Rivel; everyone is really friendly and the pace of life is a little slower. It is also amazing to be able to just walk 100 yards down the road for fresh eggs. I can't claim that there aren't any downsides to completely changing the area where you live. Our daughter and her family live 1½ hours drive away and our other family members are 2+. With the price of petrol being literally highway robbery, we can't visit nearly as often as we would like.

I miss my friends and, having moved at a very difficult time, I have often been quite lonely. At the suggestion of our fantastic Village Agent, I started helping out at the local Food Bank and have made some very lovely friends. It has certainly helped me to get to know the area a little better and is always good fun.

While we were in Bucks, we successfully fought numerous development proposals. Many were by unscrupulous multi-millionaire developers, some trying to tempt residents by offering "affordable housing", "community enrichment" and "jobs for locals", all the normal mumbo-jumbo for making a profit at the expense of our open spaces. We have chosen to live in a beautiful area and hope that we don't have to fight to retain it yet again.

What we have managed to do so far, is to do extensive research into local Somerset cider and cheeses. Our verdict is – we like them a lot !!! We will of course continue researching all the local artisan products. Next cider please .

Jennie Browning

(You sound like a woman after my own heart Jennie Browning, we too love this area and after nine years are not yet tired of it – or the cider! Ed)


Dont forget ladies and gents, if you want to tell us about your life in Curry Rivel or the journey that brought you here, we are all ears. email editor@curryrivel.org.uk