4 posts tagged “skye”

*blows dust off the site*

Whoops, rather let this slip into the shadows over the last half year haven't I?  Nonetheless, The Plan continues apace, with further developments and ponderings on the how-to-make-a-living-once-living-on-Skye issue especially.  Let's look at what's been happening...

Plans for the second half of this year - particularly taking Gaelic lessons - were knocked out of orbit when we had to move house in late August, the second time in six months.  Brought about by insufferable neighbour noise, the final, straw ironically came on our journey back from a June holiday in Skye when we realised just how miserable we were to go back to that flat.  Thankfully we're now in a much nicer, quieter place further out from the city centre with gardens and parks on either side.  We're thoroughly content here, and reckon it's as good as you can realistically hope for within Edinburgh (and within our budget).  Nonetheless, the Skye plan remains as certain as ever, with the last few months bringing certain aspects into a little more focus.

Tigh An Dochais

For one thing, we've finally had the chance to not only see but live - albeit for a few days - in a Dualchas-designed building, the architects behind Hebridean Contemporary Homes.  We stayed at Tigh an Dochais, a superb contemporary bed and breakfast that I'd recommend to anyone with a soul.  Based in Broadford, the building makes stunning use of the view out over the bay with floor-to-ceiling windows, a feature that seems to be part of Dualchas' signature style.  The use of wooden flooring combined with underfloor heating was both attractive and very comfortable, giving every room a cosy feel.  While it's clearly a larger building than we're after - not to mention bespoke rather than pre-planned - it was still fascinating to see a Dualchas building in the flesh (so to speak) and get a feel for how such designs work, especially with regards to windows, space and heating.  Compared to the tedious mock-Tudor new-builds that seem to crop up across the country like a rash, the deceptively simple exterior of Tigh an Dochais is a relief, echoing traditional centuries-old rural designs yet unmistakably modern.  Our stay there affirmed our belief that HCH should be the first port of call when it comes to building our home - to be fair, there are other environmentally-conscious kit-home suppliers out there (particularly in continental Europe) and we'll be checking their own designs out over the next few years and see how they compare.  All the same, it sounds somewhat perverse to get a kit-home shipped over to Skye from Sweden when HCH are just down the proverbial road.

Back in January I wrote quite a long post considering employment opportunities over on Skye, and it's never really been far from my mind all year.  While I've made a few quid in the last 12 months from selling artwork, it's clear that I couldn't rely on that for any kind of serious income.  I'm certainly not going to let go the hope of making some pennies from drawing and painting, and in the next few weeks I plan to completely replace www.jonnagl.com with a far more updated online portfolio, hopefully integrating Google Checkout so sales can be done directly with me rather than through an intermediary site like Etsy (which, in all honesty, feels like a victim of its own success these days as selling there becoming increasingly futile and frustrating).  There'll be more of a focus next year on animal and landscape artwork, rather than the nudes that make up the majority of my recent work, and I hope those will be quite popular.  All the same, unless I can be sure of bringing in £1400 a month in art sales - and that's not going to happen - I need to figure out how to pay my way once Skyewards.

New careers have been pondered, most seriously those based around sustainable rural development, but the cost of taking such courses isn't something that can be shrugged off, especially when I've still got existing debts to pay off.  My earlier post rather dismissed my current occupation as being a likely solution - however, things have changed a little there.  For one thing, I've been temporarily promoted (thanks to maternity leave) giving me greater responsibilities and experience which could help lead the way to a more permanent promotion in the future.  Obviously the increase in pay is nice, but so is the sense of being more involved in the government agency I work in.  From that perspective, the idea of leaving all that behind and coming in green (and inevitably lower-paid) at a new non-creative career isn't so appealing.  But is there any way I could continue the work I'm doing now, remain on the same pay-scale and still move far away from Edinburgh?

Well, things are looking up on that prospect.  The agency I work for recently launched a project on 'agile working', described in this (unrelated) document as "[enabling] people to choose between a variety of workplace options and locations, utilising hot desking, home working, hotelling and mobile working."  The key words for muggins here being, of course, home working.  Now, I'm not expecting anything to happen any time soon - we're talking about years, not months - but the indications are good.  Viewed in tandem with the general direction the agency is taking towards dematerialisation, video conferencing and working entirely from digital files, I reckon that as things stand the most realistic plan for moving to Skye is to continue working for the agency from home via the internet.  While it may not be the most stimulating of occupations - obviously I'd much rather be painting - it's certainly not objectionable, nor does the agency I work for bring with it any ethical dilemmas (unlike, say, a career with Qinetiq) and it's a subject that I'm now pretty well versed in.

And that in turn leads to the rethink I've had on further education.  Rather than study something brand new, in the hope of using it to start a new career, surely it's wiser to study a subject connected with what I'm currently doing, especially given the positive potential of agile working.  So, what subject would that be?  Erm...

LLB (HONS) LAW P/T
In this course, students are expected to gain a comprehensive legal education which promotes active and autonomous learning and develops the core generic skills sought by employers, namely: study skills, information skills, communication skills (both oral and written), information technology skills, and legal research skills.
Accredited by the Law Society of Scotland, the part-time LLB is comprised of core, option and elective modules. Listed below is a typical study programme. The year is split into two semesters, with students normally studying two modules per semester. Students wanting to complete the course in less than the six year duration may have the opportunity to take either three modules per semester or study during `semester three- (June to September). This is dependant on the availability of modules during this time and student demand.
Stage 1: Scottish Legal System, Contract Law, Consumer Law, Constitutional Law 1
Stage 2: Criminal Law 1, Delict 1, European Law, Criminal Law 2 (optional)
Stage 3: Employment Law 1, Introduction to Property Law (optional), Fundamentals of Taxation (optional), Business Law (optional)
Stage 4: Legal Research Methods, Company Law A (optional), Constitutional Law 2 (optional), Property Conveyancing and Trusts (optional)
Stage 5: Family Law 1, Jurisprudence, Law of Evidence (optional), Law of Succession (optional)
Stage 6: 4 other option or elective modules from the University Catalogue.

Why law?  Well, it's very much connected with my job and gaining such a qualification could help improve my promotion chances at the agency, plus the knowledge gained from it would certainly be of use in the section I work in.  Indeed, the fact it'll be to the agency's benefit means I've a good chance of getting help with a significant chunk of the course fees, which is a pretty big deal.  The 'six years' figure is sobering - if started next year, it wouldn't be complete until mid-2014, a looooong way off, and even squeezing in a third semester brings it in at 2012 - but there's the chance that during this time distance-learning could become feasible (not that I've anything to base that hope on, but it's possible!) and, well, moving to Skye is for keeps.  If being able to have a secure income once living there means putting the move off for a few more years in order to complete such a course in Edinburgh, I'd say it's worthwhile for the eventual result.  Of course, I wouldn't be making such a decision alone, and the Lass's opinion is paramount and decisive.  Anyway, applications wouldn't be made until summer 2008 so we'll see how things appear then - for example, if the agile working project at work decides against home working, those sustainable development courses will become much more appealing.  I've got to admit, the thought of studying for a law degree is somewhat mind-boggling, even with the on-the-job experience I've had.  If anyone had told me 10, even 5 years ago that I'd be considering taking such a course, I'd have assumed they were off their head on sherbet.  After all, animation to law isn't the most natural of career progressions.  Still, until a few years back I never would have imagined a life on Skye - funny how things turn out.

It's been a bit quiet round here, hasn't it?  I'm glad to say this is entirely down to life going particularly nuts over the last few months, rather than any kind of climbdown from The Plan.  Central to the nutsness has been moving flat, caused by our old landlord selling up.  As time goes by I can feel the city sickness getting worse - but we'll save that ramble for another post.  Still, while there's been no great leaps forward since January, there's a few wee points worth noting...

• The Open University, of which I wibbled about in the previous post, have an open content section filled with written resources for their courses, accessible to anyone online.  Called OpenLearn, it's apparently been going since October last year but I only heard about it via the Moneysaving Expert newsletter a few weeks back.  There's all sorts of interesting stuff to browse around, but of particular interest to muggins here is Working with our environment - an introduction, Why sustainable energy matters, an Introduction to sustainable energy and Health and Environment.  Basically course textbooks in digital format, they all look like good introductions to subjects that could lead onto actual study at the OU, and costing precisely zilch it's a good gentle dip into educational waters.  Good tea-break reading, if nothing else.
• I received a couple of books on how to speak Scots Gaelic from local chum Croila for my 30th back in February.  Haven't really delved into them so far, the plan being to get into them as we get closer to taking evening classes on the language this Autumn, at which point I expect them to become immensely useful.  Likewise, the excellent range of online BBC resources, including a weekly MP3 podcast, Letter to Gaelic Learners.  Looking through the vacancies listed in the West Highland Free Press each week, there's usually at least one that's only written in Gaelic, more often than not with a higher salary than the others listed.  Right now it's frustrating, but once on the right side of the language it'll be a blessing and a huge plus in finding work over yonder.
• Talking of work, for the first time this week I had a look at the Civil Service Careers site on behalf of a chum who can do so much better than his current job and knows it.  While there is a public section on the site, there's also an existing-civil-servants-only section that's out of sight for Joe Public.  It was while looking through there that I found a job vacancy at a SEERAD office in Skye, Portree.  I may have involuntarily shrieked at the sight.  A quick read of the position made it pretty clear I could do it, no problem... however, it would also require a paycut of around £4K.  What with me still carrying a fair amount of debt with no mortgage to speak of, this just isn't an option.  On top of that, what with us both having just moved to a new flat in Edinburgh, we're locked into a lease for at least the next 4 months.  So I didn't apply, though that didn't stop me wistfully daydreaming about doing so for a few hours last week.  As things stand, in my financial condition, it would be utterly impractical and really far too soon.  As I've written before, with a move & a plan this major, it's worth taking the time to get it right, with all the pre-planning and work it requires.  Still, I'll be keeping an eye on those internal vacancies - just in case...

The profile of sustainable design is on the rise. People are taking more responsibility for reducing their own carbon footprints, and implementing more environmentally friendly lifestyles. The Six Cities Design Festival in Inverness explores:
• new technologies and building methods
• the use of new (and not so new) materials
• the importance of reducing and recycling waste
• renewable energy
• power micro-generation

New Complete Self-sufficiency: The Classic Guide for Realists and Dreamers

Ever since 2006 tumbled away into the ether, I've been brooding about what exactly I'll be bringing to Skye in terms of skills and practicality, especially with regards to making a living - we'll have to pay that plot-and-build mortgage with something.  While I may currently make my living in the middle echelons of the Scottish Civil Service, there's no guarantee that I'll still be able to work for that particular agency when the time comes to  move away from Edinburgh and into the Green.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed, eyes open and dropping hints into every high-powered ear I can get hold of that there'll be a working-from-home option enabled in the next few years via the internet - or, failing that, satellite branches of the agency opened in Highland and Island locations.  But... that may not happen - and even if it does, without another career or ability to fall back on I could feel worryingly insecure.  Far better to know that there'd be other ways to make my living over there, rather than having to scamper back to the cities because the only thing I knew was the workings of bureaucracy.  So, what to do?

On page 291 of his essential-for-this-sort-of-thing book (right), John Seymour writes

...do not despair if you cannot see how this will happen - life has a strange way of filling spaces.

Remember there are nothing like enough good craftsmen in the world - plumbing, electrics, mechanics, carpentry, basket making and so on are all things you can learn.  But many city folk do have skills that find use in the countryside - computer use, accounts, marketing, nursing, and teaching for example.

Okay, what about that civil service experience?  There's a few potentials there, most notably branches of the Highland Council, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and the Forestry Commission, though I suspect Skye-based vacancies at any of these would be pretty damn rare (hence the irregular checking of their sites... just in case).  More promising would be Qinetiq, with their BUTEC base near Kyle of Lochalsh, though it's worth bearing in mind this would, in a roundabout way, mean becoming one tiny part of the military-industrial complex.  Is this something I could be comfortable with, if it meant I could afford to live in Skye?  I honestly can't say right now.  After all, from what I've seen, there's a fair few positions there I could fill quite easily, and I suspect it pays jolly well.

If not that, well... there's always my previous experience in shops and warehouses, but do I really want to go back to that sort of thing?  The public, in particular, can be bloody annoying to deal with, though with the relatively small population of Skye this might not be such a bother...   Then there's dream employers like the Isle of Skye Brewery and the Talisker Distillery, though I don't have an ounce of knowledge relevant to either beyond the fact that their products taste very very nice indeed.  While I'd be very happy to learn the ways of brewing or distilling, I doubt either institution would have any desire to take in a total n00b.

At which point I start to run out of options with my present experience and qualifications.  The answer?  Get some new ones!  Skye is home to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the only 100% Gaelic college in the world, with all the employment opportunities that entails, administrative or otherwise.  If I can really get to grips with the Gaelic in the next few years - beginning this September with Gaelic for Beginners at Broughton High and helped along by practice with my Lass, other speakers and websites like the BBC's bonkers Colin and Cumberland and rather more restrained Beag air Bheag - this could be close to ideal.

What else?  Just one back-up plan is never enough, so here's the second and more substantial.  One of the driving interests I have about moving to Skye is to lead a far more sustainable, environmentally-friendly existence, from using renewable energy to growing our own carrots to building a passivhaus.  This article on environmental careers from the Guardian back in November last year makes inspiring reading, particularly

"If you choose to work in an area like environmental planning, you'll never be out of work, and they'll always be a lot of diverse options open to you" says recruitment expert Ben Humphreys of Eden Brown, who specialise in public sector careers in the environment. "There are lots of other roles too. You could be out enforcing environmental policy, working in arboriculture taking care of trees, or getting involved in regeneration projects."

Checking planning permission, and visiting premises to check that legislation hasn't been contravened is all in a day's work for many planning officers.  Even public-sector roles not directly related to the environment can also have plenty of scope for saving the planet. Many councils are now training staff to effectively implement environmentally friendly procedures, even if this is not their primary remit. Taking an NVQ in environmental management, for example, has become an option for public sector managers looking to expand their skills and manage the ecological impact of their department. "A lot of councils want to implement environmental policies," explains NVQ tutor Sarah Eyre of training company Enviro Focus. "Awareness is definitely increasing, as are the number of companies looking to certify their staff in this area."

Open University: Environment
Possibly Working for our Environment: Technology for a Sustainable Future (Level 1)
Definitely Environment (Level 2)

I had hoped to also ramble about desires to learn woodwork, electrics, more hands-on skills that would be of practical - rather than administrative - use on Skye, but that can happily wait for another time.  Instead, your reward for making it this far is a lovely cover of a Carpenters song by the very good Engineers.  I chose it because, now and then, it's easy to daydream how much easier things moving to Skye would be if I just made my living from chairs, tables and cupboards.  I'm sure it wouldn't, but you know how daydreams are.

If I Were A Carpenter

Well, here we are, first post time on a new website.  Hello.  This is Over The Hills And Far Away and it's going to run alongside Falling Sky for the foreseeable future.  But why the deuce have I set up a second blog when I have enough trouble keeping the existing one interesting?  Well, see, there's a purpose to this one.  Really.

See, it's about a plan.  Plans are good.  This one's great.  At the end of it, the Lass & I will be living on the Isle of Skye in a newly-built eco-house.  We'll have a good, reliable source of income.  We'll be growing vegetables in the garden.  There'll be a cat or three prowling around the land, maybe a beehive and some chickens.  Solar panels on the roof and heat from deep in the ground will warm our water.  A windmill will catch the wind that blows over & around the island, sending power back into the Grid.  We'll be able to speak and write in Gaelic.  There'll be a car, but it won't be used all that much.  I'll be producing paintings and prints on a regular basis, selling to both buyers online and in person.  Our home will be filled with books, records, CDs, artworks and photographs.  Some nights it'll be full of people, eating, talking, laughing, drinking.  Others it'll seem almost silent, a little outpost of light and warmth, a refuge from a disintegrating world.  Always, it'll be ours.

Good plan, innit?  But how in green gables do we make it happen?  That's where this site comes in.  It'll be a bit like a del.icio.us page, a repository for links, books, information, anything that may be of use.  But it'll also be a record of the various paths it'll take to get there, from learning a new language to learning to drive, job-hunting to plot-hunting, the building of a house and the development of a garden.  That's a hell of a lot to think about, especially here, right at the beginning.  It'll probably be years before substantial moves are made, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to do right now.  The first practical step is to learn Gaelic, which I intend to start in 2007, so you'll be hearing about that one way or another.  In the background I'll slowly be paying off debts and learning to be a better, more prosperous artist - any major developments will be hollered about here, no doubt about that.  And any useful books or texts relating to all of the above will be covered here, partly to make sure I don't forget anything important, partly so anyone wishing to do anything similar will be able to see what books are worth a read.  And, through it all, I'll try to keep things interesting and enjoyable, rather than cold and dull, so even if you don't give a hoot about the road to self-sufficiency, hopefully it'll still make a good read.

Will it succeed?  Will we succeed?  Stick around and, over time, this is where you'll find out.