a smallholder
This lovely coastal land that we all call home provides us with all that we need to sustain a lifestyle that makes us happy and feel good. We’re a bunch of creatives, idealist and much much more. Patrick is one of us who followed his dream from an early age and found himself in this lovely land doing something he’s utterly passionate about - Here’s his story and where we find him today.
Patrick’s earliest memories of what would perhaps seed his future, came from an early memory as a 6 year old child from his grandmother, asking him to help weed her very overgrown garden. These family influences can often play a pivotal role in how our lives might pan out and that seems to have been the case for Patrick.
It would be fair to say that Patrick is somewhat of an academic by his own admission with a masters degree in French and German. After his studies and at that stage of his life, he was still uncertain as to the direction he wished to take but the outdoors had to be factored in at some point. So, it was off to a fruit farm to work for a year. Social and peer pressure followed Patrick soon after that to “get a real job” as it was often put in those days, so he entered the world of travel, working for a German airline on the passenger handling aspect of the business and utilised his languages.
His future in the travel industry seemed somewhat planned out then as he spent the next 15 years or so working for the likes of American Express as a fares expert. He moved to the US, came back and then started doing some volunteering work with the National Trust - Now you can see where this is heading, National Trust, outside. I think you know what I mean. In and around that time, Patrick secured himself a travel related position which allowed him to work from home, moved to Cornwall and that’s where we find him today in this glorious land. Loving every minute of it.
Today, Patricks love for the outdoors has now manifested itself into his own smallholding business where he’s finally achieved that goal in life. His smallholding is like no other, growing stuff that he was told “you cant grow that here”. From Lemons, limes, curry tree, banana leaves, cape gooseberry, saffron, yuzu, prickly pear and much much more. His attitude and personality is infectious and he’s totally focused on delivering the finest produce he can to local markets, Michelin star Cornish restaurants and he still finds time to donate some of his produce to worthy local causes as well as spreading that smallholding Cornish love.
Thanks for my educational visit Patrick, it was enlightening and enjoyable with that added flower/leaf tasting lesson that went down so well….RD
