Slightly earlier than planned, retirement knocked at our front door due to some bad luck with health. So it seemed prudent to down tools and realise that time is much more important than money.
For the past two years, we have been masters of our own destiny (and slave to the vegetables in our allotment, sadly now surrendered). So much time, but so much to do - how did we ever manage to fit work in ? When we hosted a couple of intrepid cyclists from Argentina on their worldwide adventure through another 'sharing' website dedicated to touring cyclists, warmshowers, they told us about Trusted House Sitters, and the rest is history, as they say.
Rather than restrict ourselves to our own animal, we suddenly discovered a whole world of them we could spend time with, usually for all the best bits. We could enjoy their company but not be tied to the needs of our own pet. Add to that the opportunity to travel to new places, meet new people and have a few adventures along the way
. . . . sign me up Scotty, to paraphrase those who have boldly gone.
We live on the Somerset Levels - an area that used to be sea, and then drained in the middle ages for agriculture. Now it is a centre for wildlife, especially of the flying variety with a number of nature reserves, reed beds, lagoons and waterways. We have easy access to Wells (England's smallest cathedral city), the mystical town of Glastonbury ( famous for its annual music festival), the outlet shopping centre in Street and are within an hour of Bristol, Bath and the coast. It is great for cycling too, although the local topography does not prepare one for the slightly more arduous slopes of most of the rest of the UK !