Sarah Todd: Sixteen days stuck indoors brings on attack of cabin fever

A FORTNIGHT ago, before the children broke up from school, it would have been my idea of heaven to go nowhere. But now, it's seriously starting to get on my nerves. The problem is that the Husband's car is useless in the snow and can't even negotiate its way out of our lane. So he's taken mine and our wings have been well and truly clipped.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Jan 2010, 17:23 BST
Updated 1st Jan 2010, 17:23 BST

When it finally happens, something as mundane as a trip around the supermarket will, there's no doubt, be a real tonic.

Get up, do outside jobs and then rustle something up to eat from the quickly-disappearing contents of the freezer. The routine of it all is boring. My moans, of course, pale into insignificance when compared to the lot of "proper farmers" like my brother. He seems barely to get all the cattle fed, watered and bedded-up before it's time to go out and start all over again.

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Our isolation (16 days without a car now) has made me reflect on the many people living in the countryside with no transport. Sporadic though they are, bus services really must be lifelines.

One of the few things to ease the cabin fever has been watching Victorian Farm Christmas. Settling down in front of the fire to see Ruth, Alex and Peter was like slipping into a comfy old pair of slippers. As the team prepared for Christmas, it was as if we'd never been away from the Acton Scott Estate.

It struck me that one of the things that make this programme so special is that the role of the farmer

is respected.

Proving, for us, that television can be a bit of a turkey over the festive season was the film Chicken Run. Jobs had been rushed so as not to miss the start but, on reflection, mucking out would have been more appealing.

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The featured farmers were, surprise surprise, the most terrible baddies. Not a very real portrayal of the agricultural species. It's very rare – as already touched on – to find people working in farming who don't put their animals' needs ahead of their own. Not that the youngsters who watch seemingly anything with a farmer involved get that impression.

The only other viewing hit in our household was the series by Top Gear presenter James May. Our children sat mesmerised as he did things like build a house out of Lego. Our six year-old got down from his chair after it had finished determined to design a tree house.

Pity we can't get burly Peter from Victorian Farm in to help make it. There'd be no need to go anywhere if he was coming around.

Whatever readers' 2010 wishes, here's hoping they come true…