To want to know how all these people earn a living titting about all day?

[Pipbin]

Seriously, there is a guy on countryfile right now who is an expert on foraging, and there was another guy who was a free diver. Not to mention the two women who were artists.

I want these jobs. I want to spend all day just titting about and somehow still earn a living.

Ha ha Noddingoff. One of the tittersabout I mentioned upthread (employed but does as little as possible) 'owns' a house that was featured on Escape to the Country.

Lots of the tax dodges mentioned on this thread have been involved in it's purchase and development as on paper it is owned by her DH's company and it is supposed to be his business premises, but in reality he probably has a home office there and maybe keeps some equipment in an outbuilding, it's not like a working farm or anything like that.

It won't necessarily work out happily ever after though as it is all on an interest only mortgage and they have been trying and failing to sell it for the last five years for a very optimistic price.

Unless her DH sells his business for a lot of money they will either have to work until they drop or, even worse sell it for whatever they can get and rent a normal 3 bed semi in the suburbs. .

Don't feel sorry for them though, in the 20+ years that I have known this woman, almost every sentence that is emitted from her mouth is some proclamation about how much better she is than everyone else.

Totally agree re Escape to the Country! How is it that these people, with their huge budgets, seem incapable of finding a house despite having eleventy million to spend, and need a TV programme to do it for them? Surely they would just sign up to the same estate agents as the TV company and get the same property updates?!

My dd has just expressed a desire to be a TA, either interior design or stylist. (On the basis of her midden of a room and her artful way with the best primarni has to offer)

Good for her! I have done both those jobs and have had a great time and its been pretty lucrative

So - how does one become a stylist? Apart from shopping at Primarni of course

I was working as a receptionist in a cool hairdresser in London and someone asked me!

What - just like that?? Come on, there's a bit more to that story, isn't there?!

And so after a complete stranger asked you to style them you got other people asking you to style them too? We're talking about people with a lot of money on their hands, aren't we?!

Oh it wasn't a person asking me to style them it was for a mag The salon did a lot of that sort of thing. i did about 5 or 6 sessions. It wasn't really my thing but was part of the circles I was mixing in at the time. I think that is key with that sort of work

This thread has strengthened my resolve....... I have a fancy to make my own jewellery out of sea glass. I had been kind of looking at jewellery making courses, and now will pursue with intent.

Beats freelance project proposal development and part time MBA study hands down.

I am sure it has all been said too, but the Kitchen table talent part in Country Living magazine always gets me- firstly how creative so many people are, and secondly but how do they make a living!!!!!

I think you have to be seriously confident of your product and just hellbent on working for yourself. Being in the right place blah blah and doing a bit of self promotion. I think that confidence of youth is what helped me I offered to do certain things for free and if someone needed something done in their house I would offer! I would never have the nerve now confidence definitely wains

Love sea glass Cornchips - good luck with that, and please keep me posted if you ever go into business?

I think you're right Noddy - right place, right time, right connections with the right money etc. I got numerous contracts (for very boring work, sadly..) through having one connection that kept me going for a long time.

I didn't have any extra money more than others but you have to be in London i think young and full of energy.

Excellent [rubs hands] my first customer.

Now has to go make some. And find some.

I love it too.

I have been in the folk in a box shed- its fantastic. I also like gong baths. I don't know. I'd love one of those jobs and know lots of people in that line (ive been in3 if the sheds in that programme!). But I am a 9 to 5ver and I have to accept it. I kind of view those titting about jobs as essential glue people, allowing me to dream about titting about- im such a conventionalist it's almost a bloody public service to have those kind of people around (just as I am also needed in the grand scheme of things)

Sadly, I was being ironic about dd. She is wise enough to know that it's a nice dream, but contacts are all.

As for lots of festival lentil weaver types they baffle me how they live.

They live in caravans in fields, mostly. And work in cheese factories in the winter. HTH

You can make money by appearing to tit about. I know someone like this. She makes bunting for a living, and her company's FB pages are full of lovely updates exclaiming over lovely flowers and coconut shies. In conversation, however, she is all SEOs, market share, business models, marketing plans etc. etc. Do not be fooled.

Definitely your first customer

No, meant your connections have to have the right kind of money. My contact at the time had oodles of cash - now budgets have been cut right back the work for contractors has been scaled right back. The bastards

I feel very excited. :)

Your stuff had better be good, mind

Um..... I'll get back to you

There is a woman on Mastermind who claims her occupation is titting about beach combing.

Darn I missed that - brilliant titteraboutery - beach-combing! looks at stuff collected at beaches; I was too busy gathering seeds from my wildflowers to watch it.

I used to work for a famous Lifestyle clothing brand that promoted extreme sports.

We had a motivational talk one afternoon, there was a kite/windsurfer that the company supported, and he spent the afternoon showing slides of the best places in South Africa (his latest trip) to catch the wind and waves and how you spent the whole day travelling from beach to beach to do this.

He had never had a job, left Uni and was supported by his parents until he gained sponsorship from our company. This allowed him to never have to do a day job, just travel from beach to beach.

This was very motivational for me, a mother of DS 1 at the time, working 10 hour days due to workload piled on by cheapskate budgeting, with a husband away in the army for months and a 70 mile round commute.

Oh I left a bit out, the motivational talk was him telling us how hard it was to be him, overcoming the challenges of the sea, the constant travelling, salt water/sand/sun damage to his skin, living in a campervan some days...

Hell on earth for him apparently. But making us proud kept him going.

I was biting my whole fist at the back....