TURNER'S TORQUE

Well, that was a rubbish January, wasn’t it?

So much for my winter green laning and camping plans!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, we all have to live with the same restrictions, and do our part to help ease the pressure on the NHS, but I’m scratching at the walls to go out on a proper 4x4 adventure!

Judging by social media, a lot of folk had quite a lot of fun in the snow last month, lucky them, as they trundled through snowdrifts on the way to ASDA. Muddy Towers, on the other hand, only saw an inch, and just after I took this photo of Deux Smurf, it started to rain.

After finishing my part of the magazine earlier than normal due to lockdown, I had a bit of free time at Muddy Towers, so I decided to have a stock check of all the gear I’ve been sent to review over the years.

As Muddy Madam will grumpily attest to, our 2 up 2 down terraced house is busting at the seams with BBQs, tents, tools and other 4x4 stuff that I haven’t been able to use for a while.

I may be heading towards being a hoarder, as I do like to keep things around for those 'unforeseen circumstances'. For example, I have 14 multitools scattered around the house and in cars. I don’t really need 14 multitools (shhh, don't tell Muddy Madam I said that) as my two go-to multitools are my Leatherman Wave and Victorinox Spirit XC. That said, my Gerber Centre-Drive is really handy, and so is my Gerber Steady, and my… don’t even get me started on stoves and BBQs!

On another subject, have you subscribed to our Youtube channel yet? - www.youtube.com/themudlifemagazine

You haven’t? Really? Then you should.

Granted, there may not be a huge amount on it at the moment, but there's more coming, Muddy Madam and I have plans, we just have to get out of this bl**dy lockdown first!

Muddy Madam's Moment

Import taxes, who wants 'em?

Back in late 2020, when I was trying to decide on a partner to print our Live The Mud Life apparel, I got the choice down to a couple of businesses - one in the UK, one based in Europe.

I realised then, with us rapidly heading towards Brexit, that things may not go so good between the UK and Europe/the rest of the world when it came to customs, and seeing as the majority of our readers are based in the UK, leaning towards a British based company seemed to be the more sensible option.

Unfortunately I have been proved right, and in the last month some people have been getting walloped with huge bills. I read about one woman who ordered an £80 coat from a Scandinavian website, only to be presented with a £210 bill for delivery, customs and payment collection fees!

That better be a bloody good coat!

Not only was a UK based business better because of importing issues, it also meant we could get clothing made out of 100% organic material, from a sustainable and transparent creation process, and we also get recyclable packaging to boot.

So you get exclusive designs made by me, printed in the UK on quality organic clothes, and all without scary hidden costs. What more could you want?

Just headover to livethemudlife.co.uk and get ordering!