It’s 7am on a Sunday morning and I am currently sat in a courtyard garden in Sunny Bridgend, West Wales, in an Airbnb just round the corner from the local prison (they missed that bit off the listing!) I am sat quietly, coffee in hand with no TV blaring in the background, nobody needing an urgent pooh and, most importantly no phone! I’ve disappeared off the farm for the weekend and left Mr O & A in charge, I am away celebrating one of my very best friends special birthdays and, in true Jade style, I have packed the weekend so full of activities that everyone is still fast asleep, shattered from the previous days program! Roll on day two! Finally, I can sit down and write a proper update to where we are back on the farm and what the last few weeks have been like. To sum up the last few weeks in a nutshell, I would say, rocky. All started off well allbeit I was flying by the seat of my pants somewhat in terms of being organised and ready to take delivery of birds. A huge thanks needs to be extended to the incredibly helpful staff…

December and Christmas are a busy time at Out and About, the house is bursting at the seams with people. Food is being prepared and served left right and centre, turkey everywhere and there is just a lovely shiny sparkly glow to everything, The New Year arrives and the house is suddenly quiet! The barns are silent, the house empties and the children go back to school. That first morning of getting back to normality is bliss, I sit and drink a hot coffee in peace, do a little work and catch up with the housework. Then January drags on, the longest month of the year with its cold and its grey skies and writers block well and truly sets in! Not this year however, not this January! Now there are two ways to ignite my writing spark, ply me with alcohol or make me angry. I’ve been dry for two weeks now so its the other that has got the keyboard fired up this time. So what has fired me up on this dark January evening, what has made my blood boil to the point that I felt compelled to pick up my laptop at 11:15pm at night! The…

The Oxford dictionary states that Integrity is “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles”. The day I realised my time working for a corporate company needed to end was the day that I realised they had no integrity and I was beginning to question whether I had any left. You may have read the back story to Out and About and you may be aware that I previously worked in financial services for a large corporate company. What I have never discussed is some of the decisions I took in order to leave this world and what drove those decisions. I have received numerous emails from followers telling me that they would love to quit the rat race and the corporate world and move to a simpler and more wholesome life, asking me how I achieved this. I have answered many of these email and passed on information and details but at the same time I don’t think I truly conveyed how I felt at the time and what forced my hand to finally ask for my P45. The beginning of the end for me, was my return from maternity leave and the changes that had taken…

As a seasonal business, it’s all about Christmas in this house. But when is it really early to start talking about the big day? For me this is never and at Out and About we love Christmas! For my friends and family though, I think I may have become a bit of a Christmas/turkey bore! I always try to switch off from the chaos of Christmas in January but inevitably, the T word does get mentioned every now and then. Here at Out and About Christmas begins in February when I start confirming orders with butchers and restaurants that I supply to. I like to get feedback from the customers and businesses who have brought turkeys and geese the previous year as I am always trying to improve my product. From my days in the corporate world I was always told Feedback is a gift, now I am running a small business, I totally understand what having feedback means. Once we get to March it is time to confirm the bird orders with the hatchery. Family and friends have become very interested with the question, How many are you doing this year? April is holiday time and I take the…