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Document 1: I recall clearly how the nightmare started. Martin, my husband, sat me in the car, and announced: “I have a surprise.” He then proceeded to drive three hours from our flat in Notting Hill to Herefordshire. Rolling hills, sheep, picturesque farmhouses: Herefordshire’s Golden Valley is a bucolic vision.
Document 1: I recall clearly how the nightmare started. Martin, my husband, sat me in the car, and announced: “I have a surprise.” He then proceeded to drive three hours from our flat in Notting Hill to Herefordshire. Rolling hills, sheep, picturesque farmhouses: Herefordshire’s Golden Valley is a bucolic vision. Martin stopped the car at the top of a drive: “This,” he 5 announced, “ is Great Brampton House.” At the end of the drive stood a large Regency residence. The sun gilded its charming, if slightly run-down façade; “It’s beautiful!” I trilled, enchanted; “I was hoping you’d say that,” Martin had a twinkle in his eye: “I’ve just bought it.” He really had. Martin is –– among other things –– an antique dealer, a hotelier and a distiller, 10 and he enthused about the great deal he’d struck, the vision he had (we’d renovate the house, turn it into a hotel and build a 7,000sq ft contemporary gallery), and most of all about the prospect of our moving to the countryside to enjoy a quieter, more meaningful and healthier life. I, the city girl, would find happiness in Arcadia. Two years on, Martin has realised his dream. But I’ve realised that living in the country is like 15 forcing myself to take a nine year-old to Alton Towers1: very nice in theory, but in practice–– get me out of here! I am surrounded by sheep, cows and chickens, but for human contact I have to learn Polish to chat to the workmen, drive half an hour to our nearest neighbour, or wait until the vet comes by to check the hens. The cinema is seven miles away. When I sought a bit of culture, a 20 neighbour suggested that I go to the Hereford cattle market on Wednesdays. The notable exception is of course the Hay Festival, although that comes but once a year. From www.telegraph.co.uk 1 Alton Towers: amusement park 15ANTEV2ME1 Page : 2/6 Document 2: Gary and Irene are on an isolated island in Alaska where a cabin is being built. It's really small, Irene said. Yeah, he said. Nothing wasteful. Just a cabin. Only what we need. I think we need more. If you want me to live out here, actually live out here, we need space for a bed, a kitchen, a bathroom, and maybe just a little bit of space to walk around. 5