A Bit About Us

Before we get on to the exciting stuff, let me introduce ourselves and some of the animals we already have.  That way everyone knows who I am talking about in later posts.

First let me introduce myself, Alex Feltwell.  I am 32 years old and have worked for over 10 years as a consultant in the financial services industry.  I initially started out as an actuarial trainee, but as family came along, studying became too much to balance.  For the last 5 years I have owned my own company Analysis 21 Limited who provided independent consultancy services.  Last year Analysis 21 launched its own website content management system CMS21, primarily with the aim to allow me to spend more time at home with my family.

With my roots in Norfolk (my Father's family herald from Southery which is not far from our family named village of Feltwell (most of the residents seem to look like my Dad!), I have always been drawn to farming and livestock and in 2009 we managed to achieve that aim by moving to our current home, Champions Gate, a smallholding in Thornton Curtis, North Lincolnshire.  Last year was very much a year of settling in and now as a family we now feel ready to embark on an attempt to become self-sufficient.

Next is my long suffering wife, Lara.  Lara is 35 years old and we have been married over 10 years.  She is a full time stay at home mum, who does not get the credit or recognition she deserves for running our household.  She is one of the best managers I have ever come across and without her support we would not have achieved a quarter of what we have to date.  Lara is currently pregnant with our sixth child.  Although less attracted to the farming side of things, Lara is attracted by the cooking, baking and crafts aspects of adopting a self-sufficient lifestyle.

Our five children Xanthe (9), Nikolas (8), Gregory (6), Dennis (4) and Hebe (1) all help out to varying degrees.  They are particularly helpful when it comes to collecting eggs and bottle feeding though strangely are often nowhere to be found when the animals need cleaning out.

We already have a few animals on the smallholding: our imaginatively named goats (Nanny, Nancy and Billy); our Kune Kune pigs (Pepper, Princess and Bernie) along with a couple of chickens and ducks.  Inside the house is madder still with our 9 dogs, 6 cats, 3 guinea pigs, fish, hamsters, rats and gerbils.

As you can see it is a bit of mad house, but life would be a bit dull otherwise!