Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds

Living the Dream in Rural Ireland

By: Nick Albert

Narrated by: Andy Stevenson

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

Nick and Lesley Albert yearn to leave the noise, stress, and pollution of modern Britain and move to the countryside, where the living is good, the air sweet, with space for their dogs to run free. Suddenly out of work and soon to be homeless, they set off in search of a new life in Ireland, a country they had never visited. As their adventure began to unfold, not everything went according to plan. If finding their dream house was difficult, buying it seemed almost impossible. How would they cope with banks that didn’t want customers, builders who didn’t need work, or the complex issue of where to buy some chickens?

©Two Ant Press (P)2019 Nick Albert

Relaxing and Entertaining

A relaxing , entertaining and amusing tale. Can't wait to hear part 2. I had listened to a dogs tail and thought this was a continuation but it is actually a more indepth version. I'm glad I bought it too.

Delightful!

Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds is a delightful story looking at the vicissitudes of life through the lens of an English couple, Lesley and Nick, as they decide to leave behind city life and move to rural Ireland.

As the story opens, Nick’s doctor is giving him the grave news that if he doesn’t change his life and reduce his stress level he’ll be dead soon. Nick gives notice at his stressful job and he and his wife Lesley start looking for a rural farmhouse in Ireland that they can fix up and make their own. After looking at several possible houses, none of which seem right to them, they finally find the one they want - an isolated farmhouse, musty, dusty, and full of woodworm, that they fall in love with. It takes some doing to get everything in place to actually buy the property and the sale is uncertain until almost the last minute. Once they own the property, they realize they’re in a little deeper than expected since there’s more that needs to be done to the house than they had envisioned, and there are no workmen available that they can hire to do the work.

Nick’s writing style is chatty and engaging. In listening to this audiobook I was able to visualize every scene, often with a grin on my face, as Nick describes the ups and downs of their hunt for, and eventual possession of, their desired house.

The narrator was wonderful as well. Some narrators will take me out of the story because of odd pauses, strange pronunciations, or an unpleasant voice quality. Andy Stevenson’s narration does none of that, but instead makes an already enjoyable story even better. His pacing is just right, his voice his pleasant to listen to, and as an American, I love his accent.

I loved this story so much that as soon as I found out there was a sequel I jumped on the chance to get it, too. I’ve started listening to Still Living the Dream in Rural Ireland: Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds, Book 2, and I’m enjoying it just as much. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Humorous and entertaining

This is a humorous, entertaining memoir. It might be more interesting to readers that are familiar with the geography and place locations mentioned in the narrative. My knowledge of this region is totally lacking, but I enjoyed the story anyway.

Andy Stevenson performs well. I didn't recognize his Irish accent as such, but he probably knows an Irish accent better than I, and his American accent was accurate. This is a pleasant listen indeed.

NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great story!

I ended up listening to book 2 of this series first. I loved it! Although books 1 and 2 are similar in that they're really funny with the sarcasm and jokes and I found both interesting when it came to searching for and/or fixing up their house, book 1 was much more slow-going than book 2.

The narrator did a great job as with book 2. I couldn't help but notice that when he said "sloth" it was pronounced as "slowth" and "installation" was "inchalation." I'd never heard either word pronounced that way before. In the end, I think his voice/accent fit the story perfectly.

Part one

This is the first part of Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds. It does have an introductory feel and in fact includes a lot of travelogue type information as a prelude to the move. Perhaps the house renovation is covered in part 2, only hinted at in this volume.

A delightful Irish story

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, bringing me back to familiar parts of Ireland. Nick Albert does an entertaining l job of relating his experiences.

Great Book!

I really enjoyed this book and will listen again and again! This is Nick and Lesley’s memoir about relocating in rural Ireland from England. They have made a change of life decision - a quieter but more satisfying life. The stories of the house hunt, their dogs, and lifes trials and tribulations are quite enjoyable. The book reminds me of the Bilbury series by Vernon Coleman also The Mitford series and Miss Read. I look forward to the rest of the series. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Fresh Eggs

This was fun to listen to.A man is made redundant by his firm and decides life could be better in Ireland.It is like a 'Vacation' movie,the things they go through! Andy Stevenson was a fine narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'

Super cute

Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds by Nick Albert is a fun and quirky book. I listened to this book on audio, and the narrator did a great job of bringing the story to life. Certain parts of the book are a little slow (I know nothing about the intricacies of real estate or what it takes to purchase land in any country, nonetheless a foreign one) but the narrator’s lively manner of speaking kept me engaged and made me want to keep reading.

The majority of this book focuses on the challenges that one couple face on their quest to purchase their dream home in Ireland. They experience many shenanigans and encounter a cast of colorful characters. It was a delightful story, and I am interested in reading the sequel. I would like to hear more about the adventures that this lovable family experience in their new home.

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a free copy of this book on Audible in exchange for an honest review.

Stressful Life? Move to Ireland!

When Nick is advised by his physician to remove stress from his life to avoid an early demise, he and his wife, Lesley, make the decision to move from the rat-race of urban England to rural Ireland. Therein the humorous adventure begins.

As soon as a listened to the sample for this audiobook, I knew I wanted to request a free review copy of it. My request was granted and I am now leaving a voluntary review.

I have always loved reading memoirs and biographies, so it was a no-brainer I would want to listen to this as well. I'm so glad I did. Nick Albert has written a wonderful story. With plenty of humor, some frustration and a bit of poignancy, we journey with him and his wife on their life-changing adventure. Through house hunting, exploring surrounding villages and idiosyncratic customs and laws, Nick helps us experience what makes western Ireland beautiful and unique. His tales have certainly made me want to visit there someday.

Andy Stevenson's narration could not be more perfect. His conversational style had me believing he could be sitting with me in my living room telling me the story personally.

I can hardly wait to listen to the second book. I want to know more about the characters and characteristics of Nick and Lesley's adopted home. Highly recommended.

Lovely, relaxing listen!

My usual genre is crime fiction. Sometimes I need a palette cleanser. This is perfect for that time when we just need a nice, well written book with nothing unpleasant in the story. It is often funny, sometimes moving and generally one of those comfort reads/listens. The narrator has the perfect voice and upbeat style for the story. He couldn’t produce a decent Irish accent to save his life, but somehow, this doesn’t detract too much.

I was given a copy of this audiobook by the author, via Bookboom, in exchange for an honest review. A second Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds is in the pipe line. I am looking forward to it.

Wonderful Story and Great Narration

This is such a well-written story and totally engaging. It has the “feel-good” factor, which I found refreshing. I was apprehensive at first as this was my first Audiobook, but I enjoyed being read to as I could multi-task! I listened at every opportunity as I was eager to know what happened next.
Through the excellent narration (very entertaining - so many different voices) I really feel that I know Nick and Lesley and have a clear picture in my mind of their daughter, dogs, chickens, house and surroundings; as well as the countryside. I’ve never been to Ireland, but I want to go and see for myself - it sounds idyllic.
Now I’ve finished; what happens in the next book? I hope volume 2 will be released soon - I can’t wait.

True life easy listening

Very relatable story , keeping it real , humerus at times, narrated well
Gives good imagery for creating a picture in your mind

Instant Feelgood

This is my first experience of this format and it has highly exceeded my expectations. For me, "easy listening" would normally be a derogatory term for music I don't like, but this is easy to listen to in a brilliant way.

It's a heartwarming, feel-good, stirring, easy to follow and inspiring story. Fantastic narration and amazing that one person can bring different characters to life in many different ways.

I highly recommend this audio book - I'm now on the lookout for other books with this same narrator!

Ireland here I come

What a fabulous account of re starting life in what is obviously God's own country. So enjoyable to hear the journey to a fabulous life.
Just what I would like to do.
So easy to listen too

"Green, clean and wonderfully quiet."

Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds might not capture the same taste of the exotic as the wonderful move to Andalusia described by Chris Stewart in Walking Over Lemons, but Nick Albert's tale of his and wife Lesley's, move to rural Ireland is charming, sometimes funny and a sheer pleasure to hear.Told by his doctor that stress was killing him, Nick applied for redundancy and started the search for somewhere they could live, debt and mortgage free, without the usual pressures of urban life. This book recounts the trials and tribulations discovered in their search for that new home and some pleasures encountered also; a second volume which follows will no doubt tell the reAders how well.they fared.

Narration is by Andy Stevenson, his use of intonation and pacing ensuring this as a pleasure to hear. A slightly suspect Irish accent on occasion but all character voicing are distinctive.: very good. I was fortunate in being freely gifted with a complimentary copy of Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds, at my request, from the rights holder via Audiobook Boom. Thank you. A very pleasant, enjoyable read and I look forward to book two.

now I want to live in Ireland;-)

I really enjoyed the journey from wanting to change to the selection of their idol

The big move to Ireland

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Andy Stevenson does a great job of narrating, bringing to life the characters and adventures of Nick and his wife as they make a life changing decision to move to Ireland. I have a strong picture in my mind’s eye of where they now live and the dogs that share their rural home.
I can’t wait to hear more.

disappointing

Disappointing story, won’t be purchasing other stories in the series. Not so much a story of the ‘good life’ as a rich executive escaping the rat race with a golden handshake

Waffle

After reading reviews, I was looking forward to listening to this.
There were a few interesting and fun parts, but overall there was far too much waffle!
Also, the author’s description of the Irish is borderline insulting!!
I shan’t be listening to book 2