Released October 2019 by Nick Albert. Narrated by Andy Stevenson.
Also available in paperback and ebook formats.
Read February 2020.
Having been told by his doctor that he needs considerably less stress in his life, Nick Albert knows that he needs to make some big changes. Fortunately his wife, Lesley, is up for a taste of the quiet life too.
After Nick takes redundancy and their beloved home goes on the market, all that remains is to decide where their next home will be. After some discussion, Nick and Lesley eventually decide that rural Ireland is just the spot they are looking for - even though they have never even visited there.
And so Nick and Lesley embark on their new adventure - negotiating the bewildering process that is finding and buying a suitable property in the wilds of Ireland, and fathoming out the strange ways of the people that will become their new neighbours.
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Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds: Living the Life in Rural Ireland is the first part in Nick and Lesley's adventure to find the perfect quiet, country life, away from the stresses and strains of modern Britain - taking us from when they made their decision to completely change their lives, through to the early days in their new home.
Nick and Lesley's story is well narrated by Andy Stevenson, who handles the different voices and accents beautifully, and skillfully draws you into their trials and tribulations, just as if you were sitting there on Nick's shoulder.
The early chapters do go along a bit haltingly at first, with the timeline going back and forth a bit confusingly, but Nick Albert soon gets into his stride and the story flows wonderfully from then on.
There is so much humour here, stemming from the absurd situations Nick and Lesley experienced and the crazy characters they meet, that I found myself laughing out loud a lot with this audio book. But there is plenty of deep emotion too, as our couple struggle with the stress of the move and the sorrows and joys that come with everyday life. I also learned a whole lot about rural Ireland that was pretty eye-opening!
By the time I got to the end of the audio book, I almost felt that Nick and Lesley were old friends and I was leaving their story too soon.
I can't wait to read the next installment of Nick and Lesley's life in Ireland in Book Two: Still Living the Dream in Rural Ireland: Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds.
Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds: Living the Life in Rural Ireland is available now from your favourite book retailer, or using the links below:
Thank you to Nick Albert for providing me with a copy of this audio book in return for an honest review, and to Rachel Gilbey of Rachel's Random Resources Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
From the cover of the book:
Nick and Lesley Albert yearn to leave the noise, stress and pollution of modern Britain and move to
the countryside, where the living is good, the air sweet, with space for their dogs to run free.
Suddenly out of work and soon to be homeless, they set off in search of a new life in Ireland, a
country they had never visited.
As their adventure began to unfold, not everything went according to
plan. If finding their dream house was difficult, buying it seemed almost impossible.
How would they
cope with banks that didn’t want customers, builders who didn’t need work, or the complex issue of
where to buy some chickens?
About the author:
Nick Albert was born in England and raised in a Royal Air Force family. After leaving College he worked in retail management for several years before moving into financial services where he quickly progressed through the ranks to become a training consultant.
As a very passionate and reasonably talented sportsman, Nick had always wanted to use his training skills towards creating a parallel career, so in the mid 1980's he qualified and began coaching sport professionally.
After a health scare in 2003 and in search of a simpler life, he and his wife Lesley, cashed in their investments, sold their home and bought a rundown farmhouse in the rural west of Ireland - a country they had never before even visited.
With little money or experience and armed only with a do-it-yourself manual, they set about renovating their new home, where they now live happily alongside a flock of chickens, two ducks and several unruly, but delightful dogs.
In 2017 Nick was signed to Ant Press to write a series of humorous memoirs about his life in rural Ireland. Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds (book one) was published in September 2017 and soon became an Amazon bestseller. Book two in the series was published on 1st June 2018 and book 3 in August 2019. Book four is due out in early 2020.
Nick is also the author of the twisty thriller, Wrecking Crew, the first in a series of books featuring reluctant hero Eric Stone.
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