The White Island

I've started reading a great book by Stephen Armstrong called 'The White Island'. Did you know the name 'White Island' comes not from the drug but from the mineral salt? Ibiza, at one time, was the largest salt producer in the whole of the Mediterranean. As trade and exports increased between empires, a way of feeding the thousands of sailors was required, and thus the method of salting fish became the most popular way of preserving the fish. From our farm you can see the salt flats in Salines, and for many centuries Ibiza made vast amounts of income from the precious mineral.


The book also traces Ibiza's history right back to The Phoenicians. It unpacks the reasons why the Island has always had such a magical pull to such a vast array of bohemians, hippies and pleasure-seekers.

I've just started reading it but hope to learn as much as i can about the Island that i live on.

'River Cottage' in Ibiza

Brian, Tracy, Ellis and Dan gave me my Christmas pressie today. I can't tell you how excited i was to find out it was a cookbook, and nothing other than Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 'River Cottage Cookbook'. How lovely of them!

I nearly wet myself. It looks amazing, and its main idea is to cook your own-grown vegetables and animals. How cool is that? And what with our new farm, i am already dreaming of great home-grown, home-cooked food.

Bring on the celebrations. I'm sure this book will be the first of many 'cook your own...', 'grow your own...', and 'build your own...' books. I'm not sure about the latter one, but the former two - bring it on!

Legs of Lamb

Reading a book at the moment about my mate Gary Lamb's adventure of prayer walking the whole way around the coast of Britain. How great does that sound?! It's called 'Legs of Lamb', and it's his story of his whole trek around Britain. I am blown away! It's such a good read, detailing his highs and lows, the amazing people who helped him along the way and the conversations and meetings that he had with the most surreal people. Yet out of this seemingly crazy idea came such goodness, and I'm at present reading of divine moments he had with complete strangers, who let him into their home, feed him, talked with him, listened to him and opened up to him.

I'm totally sure that many people do amazing things like this simply to say they've done it, and move on to the next adventure. Yet Gary's reasons are not what you'd expect. He sensed that it was God leading him to do this, and i love that even though there was great doubt (like anyone would...'come again, God!'), he got on and did it. And God, time and time again, revealed himself to people through this. Awesome!