Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds 3 by Nick Albert

 

Last night I finished Nick Albert’s lovely Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds 3 and I’m already looking forward to the next one. What a wonderful series! It contains everything I love: dogs, chickens, DIY challenges, history and fun. I laughed a lot and teared up a few times and I’m in awe of Nick’s DIY courage and achievements. Just a gorgeous read.

Nick and Lesley have moved from the home counties in England to a remote farmhouse in county Clare in Ireland. This book picks up where the last one left off, and the story begins when they are part of the way through the renovations on their old house. I  learned quite a bit about building projects and even more about how not to do things through Nick Albert’s endearing and self deprecating humour. Being a DIY enthusiast myself, I found the descriptions of his progress fascinating and could even have done with more of them, but I understand that for a memoir, the DIY had to be balanced with the rest of the story.

What surprised me was how much ‘weather’ they have in western Ireland. From raging storms to heavy snow and runaway fires, life in County Clare sounds just as exciting as it was in my old South African home. There is even the odd tornado, and even worse for me, the danger of sinking into a bog. Awful to contemplate.

The animal stories were of course a delight. The dogs the couple gather along the way show what great animal lovers they are, and as for the chickens and ducks, I howled with laughter over their antics. One day I’ll have chickens too, simply for entertainment value…the eggs would just be a bonus.

Thank you, Nick Albert. This book was just what I needed and I’m very much looking forward to number 4.

The link to the book is here

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