Uncommoners still

We had a call from the Crofters Commission yesterday afternoon. Bless their cotton socks and all.

The formal consultation period for our application for a share in the common grazing has passed and no one has objected. Yay!

Well, no one that is except the Crofters Commission themselves who reckon we aren't allowed to put goats on common grazings. Eh? Where did that come from? We've spoken to the Clerks of Grazings and they seemed happy enough (everything is relative of course) so where exactly has this new rule sprung from? We know not. Anyway El Crofters Commission is 'calling in' our application. We're not sure what this means - but the helpful lady who called suggested we might need to consider 'apportionment' - whereby we fence off part of the grazing which then becomes for our exclusive use (and exclusive responsibility). We are sufficiently paranoid to know that there are nuances around such options that we can't even begin to imagine. There may also be benefits - but these will undoubtably be over-shadowed by mountains of paperwork and general crap.

Crap, we know only too well, features high in the hierarchy of crofting. No self respecting crofting crap would settle for corporal or able seaman - no crofting crap is a general, or admiral or given its propensity to fly around a lot, wing commander.

Hey ho.