It's a dog's life.

The Industrial Revolution created urban markets for lamb, mutton, and wool; but how could the vast hills of unfenced land in the Borders of Scotland and northern England be put to raising sheep? Hardworking sheepdogs were the key, helping shepherds turn this inhospitable land into sheep-raising country.

The modern sheep-herding collie was improved in the nineteenth century, and the genetic refinement of its working skills occupies thoughtful livestock producers on several continents to this day. Breeders try to balance a dozen heritable working traits to produce the best dog for their purposes, factoring in climate, terrain, livestock type, and the kind of dog they get along with.

Guided by a skilled trainer, a talented dog develops remarkable mastery over livestock. The true Border Collie is known by how it works sheep and cattle, and by no other standard….

Except that is with exceptional skill and cunning Copernicus has somehow managed to learn how to sneak quietly downstairs into the larder and open the refrigerator door. Not only does he manage this without opposable thumbs, he also manages to select the most expensive joint of beef to devour. Leaving no trace, except the empty dinner plate on the floor, he sneaks back to his bed on his stomach, in the pitch black, like a Royal Marine Commando.

Unfortunately, last night he was captured on his second nocturnal mission. Rather than banish him to the kennel and secure dog run in the garden, which is the canine equivalent of Parkhurst. I joined him in a 1.45am ‘midnight snack’ and marvelled at his ingenuity.

If only tenants (most of whom have opposable thumbs) could be as astute as my long haired black and white friend. I received a telephone call today – the type I tend to get at least once every couple of months – ‘The main energy saving bulb has gone in the lounge and the bulb in the outside light went last week…..’.

I wonder whom these tenants will turn to in such circumstances, if they were ever to become homeowners. How do they cope in the modern world ? Let’s hope they never have a ‘real’ emergency like a blocked sink !

I am sending Copernicus around this afternoon to sort it out……

Yours, a 'hounded' Mr Jackson.

This old house.....

I took a trek out onto the moorland this week, my knee (an old war wound, as regular readers will know), held out well over the rough ground.

What brought me to this beautiful rural spot, between Dallas & Knockando was a property – if you can call it that. It hadn’t been lived in for at least 20 years, at least not by human inhabitants, though there were plenty signs that sheep, pigeons and rodents had made this their pied-a-terre over the last few years.

It sits prominently in a South facing position on the hilltop, in a large plot overlooking a stream to the front and pine woodland to the rear. It has 3 large rooms downstairs and upstairs boasts 2 very sizeable bedrooms. The outer walls are approximately 3 feet thick and it had a decent roof, covered in lovely Welsh slate. Those are the good points.

The not-so-good points being, it has no electricity, gas, water or telephone supply. Nor does it have any windows, or a bathroom. It does have a floor, of sorts, which can catch you unaware, as it did my surveyor, who went through it in the dining room. He now also walks with a limp.

I negotiated a private bargain with the farmer and access to the property via an overgrown private track, which connects with the ‘B’ road, some 3.5 miles away. We concluded my most unusual purchase with a wee dram and a handshake outside the property. Even Copernicus, my Border Collie looked bemused with my action.

Now, for the unusual part. I have already secured a tenant for the property on a long term lease. The tenant will pay a peppercorn rent for 10 years, in return, he will renovate the property and landscape the ground to an agreed standard. After the initial 10 year term, once the renovation is completed, the tenant will have the option to stay in the property, at the full market rent, or give notice to leave.

This arrangement works well for both the tenant and the landlord. The tenant can secure a long term tenancy and stay virtually rent free in the property for 10 years (provided the work is carried out on time and to an agreed standard). The landlord has his investment property protected and renovated at little cost to himself.

A win-win situation, how often does that happen in the property world ?

It is certainly worth bearing this in mind should you wish to invest with small capital outlay. Or indeed rent and secure yourself a long term tenancy.

I am taking Mrs Jackson to view the latest investment this evening. She will no doubt be less than impressed with the muddy scramble to get there and the foot deep sheep droppings in the lounge. However like all property investors I will endeavour to get her to see the potential.

Like she saw in this old ruin, 48 years ago on Thursday. I think we will celebrate together with a mail order cake from Betty’s in Harrogate and a pot of Rington’s. I still know how to spoil her !

Kind Regards,

Mr Jackson.

It can be grim down south...

Well the new knee joint appears to be working ok. I now have a small scar on my knee which will come in handy when my grandchildren ask me to tell them about being injured in the war.

My post this week is dedicated to "Rentergirl" and her unique insights of being a tenant - Not in Moray - but in the inner City depths of London. For anyone who's ever lived in a modern utilitarian apartment - I'm sure you will sympathise !

"I moved to Dovecot Towers during a housing panic. It’s far from perfect here and frequently a nightmare. If I was to move, it would be to a similar development with the same troubles, albeit in another part of town. I’d have to pack and find somewhere else, enduring the whole reference/deposit dance.

The flat itself would more than likely be identical. And so, trying to be rational and scientific, I have written a list of pros and cons to weight up what I should do. I now have graphs, pie charts, venn diagrams and very white knuckles.

Pros: being near the city. Bars are within lurching distance, and visitors can pop round, casually. It’s like being in Austin Powers, so trendy, hip and happening is it.

Con: being near the city. No community, no neighbourhood, drunken scallies and yobbish, wealthy ‘young professionals’ who vomit on the pavement as they pass my home. Imagining you are being followed home by a ranting drunk to realise it’s actually your neighbour (who’s ranting and drunk).

Pro: being a brownfield development. Dovecot Towers uses derelict waste land instead of paving over rare orchids. Sited on demolished Georgian slums, I am reasonably certain that no dormice were relocated to satisfy my housing needs.

Con: being a brownfield development. Stretched out before me is a magnificent, cascading vista of elegant and majestic building sites, with cranes, obscured by hazy cement dust.

Pro: I never see my neighbours. I wouldn’t enjoy that village mentality, where you can’t buy haemorrhoid cream without everyone knowing, then having nodding acquaintances enquiring after your piles.

Con: I never see my neighbours. If I should die, pigeons could chew the face off my rotting corpse to feed their young, and even then, nobody would know.

Pro: Everything is so close. I don’t need car, and I can walk everywhere, no queues for taxis, or surly bus drivers, no saving change for the ticket machine, or investing in season tickets.

Con: I am always soaking wet, and my shoes are threadbare. I visit suburban friends with a tent and Kendall Mint Cake, just in case (am I over-cautious?) And if I did own a car, there’d be nowhere to park it.

Pro: I don’t have to bother with fitting out my home, as most white goods, a shower etc are already provided.

Con: The goods provided are second rate, and break down if I have so much as one negative thought about the brand.

Pro: Shops are close by. Luxury goods are within shooting range of my debit card. I can find designer clothes, fashionable accessories, and there’s that chi-chi Farmers Market.

Con: Balenciaga is within easy reach, but value beans elude me. Should I put my life in a tailspin? All that turmoil, for more of the same? Life in the city is an acquired taste, but one I have acquired. I can’t imagine living in the suburbs: all that commuting, no Café Nero etc. So here I am, choosing between the rock and the hard place, the frying pan and the fire. "

Aren't you glad you live 'Up North' ?

See you next week.

Mr Jackson.