Hello and welcome to The Compost Bin. I'm Compostwoman and I live with my family in rural Herefordshire. We have nearly four acres of garden and woodland, all managed organically and to Permaculture principles, which we share with Chickens, Cats and assorted wildlife. We also grow a lot of our own food, run courses in all sorts of things and make a lot of compost!

I am a Master Composter and have spent more than a decade as a volunteer Community Compost adviser with Garden Organic and my local Council.
I'm a self employed Environmental Educator so I also run workshops and events where I talk about compost, veg growing, chicken keeping, cooking, preserving and sustainable living. I also run crafts workshops and Forest School/outdoor play sessions in our wood

We try to live a more self sufficient lifestyle here, as best we can, while still having a comfortable life and lots of fun.

To learn more about us click on the About Compostwoman tab and remember to click on the photos to make them full size!

Sunday, 17 May 2020

Feeling very unwell.

This article, from The Guardian newspaper, describes exactly how I've been, since mid April, after having had what I was told was COVID-19.

I was really poorly( but not hospialised) and was assured after "a couple of weeks" I'd start to feel better.

Its now nearly seven weeks since I first felt ill, I'm getting slightly less unwell now, but I still feel very poorly.

As regular readers of my blog may remember, I have had ME since 2001, after I developed an unusual autoimmune condition overnight, due to an antibiotic reaction in hospital.

I was severely incapacitated for many years but it has been mostly "managable" since I cut out gluten and lactose back in 2014.

What I feel like now is like I'm back in the very worst part of the time 20 years ago.

I hope I feel better, soon.

Weird as hell’: the Covid-19 patients who have symptoms for months

Researchers keen to work out why some people are suffering from ‘long tail’ form of the virus

Thursday, 9 April 2020

100 days sober

Really pleased that I have done this, I feel so much better now I am not drinking (even with the current, highly stressful situation we all find ourselves in!)

Having had what I think was coronavirus over the last 10 days, I dread to think how much worse I might have been with an even more depressed immune system due to alcohol consumption, on top of the autoimmune issues I have.

Monday, 6 April 2020

Sitting on the patio, just breathing in the air.

It is truly lovely here. I have been quite unwell this last week, been in bed and have struggled to breathe sometimes, so to sit outside in the sunshine, breath the sweet air and listen to birdsong is a joy and a gift.