Country Life's 39 steps to a better life. How accomplished are you?

[HipposGoBeserk]

Link here.

I wish I could do most of them. I'll pass on the shooting, skinning, plucking and gutting though.

I can do 15.

10. I def move in the wrong circles!

23. Am reasonably pleased with that TBH, given the fact that I went to a v rough comprehensive school (was the only person in my year to make it to Uni, although I think a few went as adults) and have never done the riding/shooting thing.

Does it mean that if you can do, say, 35 you get to marry an earl? Presumably Kate Middleton can do all 39.
Camilla almost certainly can.

1,3,4,5,7,8,9,12,13,14,15,18,19,20,23,25,27,28,30,31,32,33,34,35,38,39. Not bad - shame most of them are of no use at all.

16 and a half (i can arrange a bunch of flowers, but not the rest of that one!)

many more I am sure I could do if I put my mind to them, (like gutting a fish, for example) I just haven't done them.

Quite a useless little list, isn't it?

23ish. Can joint a rabbit and make a v good conejo con cebollas but have never needed to take the skin off. Tbh, i'm not sure how many of them would be at all useful to me.

I can deliver a lmab, live and in one piece, dead and in bits and skin one too.

28. But I'd like to know how to deliver a lamb and skin a rabbit

4 and a half!

1. Cook three different dinner party menus

Taste the difference between a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay and know how to mix a mojito or margarita (this is my half; can only mix mojito and margarita but who gives a hoot about Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay anyway? 13. Write a memorable thank-you letter 30. Uncork and pour a bottle of Champagne 38. Complain effectively but politely in a restaurant

Don't care that I am a failure when it comes to skinning, plucking and other fucking toff country activities, but I DO feel extremely uncultured now confronted with my lack of ability to talk about music or literature.

Well I can probably do 12 at a push (the 12 most important ones obviously! ), however I have an issue with:

15. Put up a shelf and change a plug

I can (and have done) both and as far as the shelves are concerned, well you can never have too many right? But change a plug! Is this really a skill that will improve your life? Or even a skill that anyone needs now in everyday life?

I ask because I teach fitting a plug at school (don't really need to but it adds a bit of practical interest to the lesson I do it in) and every year I am seriously relieved that appliances come with fitted plugs and my pupils will (hopefully) never have cause to fit a plug as they are outrageously useless at it!

27ish. Including skinning rabbits, tying fishing flies and delivering a lamb.

dh had to change a plug once when I accidentally ran the lawnmower over its cable.
(why didn't I do it myself? I know how! )

19. Errrrrm.

Loads of poncy tosh

One of the teacher's I work with also had to replace the lawnmower plug after mowing the cable! I think he was just trying to make his point about how orange cables aren't so easy to spot on the lawn when you're red-green colour blind.

what a pile of wank

I like that list. Some of it like the shooting and lambing can be overlooked for the young people living in North London but stuff like talking about 5 works of literature, entertaining small children for an hour, being able to make a speech, telling the difference between styles of architecture - all good stuff IMO. (I can't do very much of that list incidentally!)

18 well and bits of another 3 or 4.

Would most like to be able to the languages one, the classical music one and know how to install techno gadgets.

I'm torn between thinking this list is actually surprisingly good (ie. sew buttons, entertain kids, manage a bank account) and rather class specific?

26. The list is very country life. I wonder what a similar list would be for city dwellers.

I can do 22 - the drinking, reading, music and sailing type ones. I can't ride, deliver animals (other than by posting), or fish. I tried fishing once and caught a motorbike so have reluctantly struck that from the list of life skills...

I think 'dressing appropriately' should be on there and would tie in well with MrsdeVere's list...

21 at a push 22

I thought it was a surprisingly dull list. Couldn't be botherred keeping count, but I suspect my number wouldn't be that high.

skaen, you made me laugh! Caught a motorbike? deliver animals by post? . Do you do that regularly?

Why is skinning and plucking considered toff country activities?