A bit of good news - my daughter has got a new job and will start in 4-6 weeks time. Her place is closing down as there are three sites in Britain (American owned firm) and they want to downsize to two. A few jobs will transfer to the other sites but most will be made redundant. So she is a happy bunny!

My husband found a small place with just 1 1/4 acres last week and we went to see it on Saturday. The price was right but it is close to the junction of a motorway and a big dual carriageway and the noise is horrendous. My daughter lived close to the M5 for a couple of years and never managed to shut out the noise and I don't think I could either. The place is being sold as a building opportunity to knock down what is there and start again as there is outline planning permission for a new dwelling. Really, I'd like a little bit more land too. By the time you take the space for a house/shed/car space/veg garden out of that area of land, there is not a huge area left for animals. It would be very limiting.

If I write a list of pros and cons of staying here versus moving to a place with a bit of land, I find that there are a lot of good arguments on both sides. I'm all of a dither.