I decided I needed a good, solid hat. Something cosy and warm and still a little stylish. After all, I'm sure I could wrap my head in Styrofoam, but even the sheep might take a second glance. The only problem is there are literally thousands of different hats on the market and dozens of different materials. I needed to find one that worked for me. But what is the best hiking hat for winter?

When visiting the vet earlier today, a visit we really didn’t want to have to make, she said something to us that is so true, yet it is not something many of us ever talk about. “Where there is life, there is death”. The circle of life is of course something we all understand and accept. It’s only when things happen before their natural conclusion, we feel we have been robbed, such is the level of unfairness. Adrian was 18 months old and so very special to us. She was a real light in our lives and brought us joy every single day…

Over the last few months we’ve been asked some really interesting questions about sheep and Scotland. So this is the first blog post in which we’ll try to answer the first of many questions. I’m Anita, nice to meet you and this is my first WELAN blog post.

If you are anything like me and can’t help but go all doe-eyed around sheep, Scotland is a country you never have to look far to see one or two sheep. In fact, it would seem sheep outnumber Scotland’s human population by over a million according to National Records of Scotland and the Scottish Government’s statistics on agriculture.

Tired of a life chasing corporate stuff, with not a moment to ourselves, we set off to find a new home in a remote part of Scotland. That new home was found on the Isle of Tiree, after a long search throughout Scotland. One day, we found ourselves saying yes to the offer of taking in an orphan lamb. One lamb turned to seven, and seven turned to 13. That is how we ended up on a tiny island with a flock of sheep…

We are in our second winter as I write this and it’s blowing a hoolie. Storm Dennis is raging outside with 70+ mph winds, having followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Ciara, who visited us only a few days earlier. And the week before we were introduced to Brendon. So you may well be asking yourself: how do you survive winter on a tiny remote Scottish island?

18 months ago we were at that a point in life where we kept thinking “surely we can change our life and find a way to feel more fulfilled, a way to step off the treadmill and a way to kick corporate life out the door ”