The good life

I've always thought of Dad as a bit of a Tom Good from 80s sitcom 'The good life' - growing his own vegetables, recycling old car parts and building whole new rooms through dismantling chimneys. But he has now been trumped by my Ukrainian relatives - who still live on the small-holding where my grandad grew up. 

Ivan (my Grandad's nephew) and his wife Natala and their beautiful children Volodia, Yulia and Romchek were not only the most hospitable and attentive hosts but an absolute inspiration to my self-sufficient lifestyle dreams. They grow every vegetable you can think of on their strip of land running from the river valley to the far-off forest, from essential potatoes, carrots and beans to more exotic pumpkins, buckwheat and giant courgettes (abit like the oversized ones Dad used to harvest after long summer holidays). There are also strawberries and apple trees on their land and beautiful meadows that are of no use to them but certainly add to the charm of the place. To add to their culinary options they keep a cow (milked 3 times a day and for about 3 seconds by me), a very chilled pig and a whole variety of chickens. Their little black dog 'Barks' serves as a guard dog though he was far more interested in having a belly rub than barking at me. 

As well as looking after their livestock and crops, and the daily cooking, cleaning and maintenance jobs, both Natala and Ivan have jobs: as a primary school teacher in the village school and as a builder across the border in Poland respectively. My Grandad's sister Anna, or 'Babu' to the family, is also extremely well taken care of with her own little house where the bustling kitchen is still used by the whole family. I was honoured to be invited in to help prepare a few of the breakfast dishes: deep fried cauliflower and perfect pancakes - a skill only those ready to be a wife possess apparently. The rest of the family now live next door in 'the house that Ivan built' as it is fondly referred to by my own family. Built on a fairly grand scale by British standards, but the norm in rural Ukraine judging by the surrounding houses, it has 2 floors, a wooden staircase and landing not quite finished, a large bathroom (without a sink but who needs one when you have a bath) and brightly painted rooms. My teenage years of dedicated grand designs viewing allowed me to appreciate what a huge achievement building your own house is, especially with such limited funds. My hat goes off to Ivan and no doubt his helper Volodia - and Natala for keeping them all fed in the process. 

I know that, however idyllic their lifestyle may seem and however much I didn't want to leave, it's not all a bed of roses. Living off the land and building your own house leaves little opportunity for travels abroad, and the remote location probably isn't great for dance work, or work of any kind really. The country's political and economic state is also a huge burden to its people - living in fear of both their own and the Russian government. The Maidan protest shootings of 2014 are commemorated, not only on independence square in Kyiv where it took place but even in the church of Voroblachyn, as a reminder of the turbulent recent history you might otherwise forget whilst wandering through the pleasant streets. This and the war in Crimea have destabilised an otherwise beautiful country with an abundance of incredible architecture and natural resources, not to mention fantastically cheap prices for foreign visitors (15p metro tickets, £3 3 course meals, £5 beds for the night - I highly encourage you to visit if you haven't already). But despite all of these hardships Ivan and Natala keep smiling and their hard-working, caring nature, surely passed down through the generations, has blessed them with a wonderful tight-knit family worth more than anything money could ever buy.