In the hustle and bustle of London life I often yearn for a simpler, less complicated life.

I suggested to Aileen the other evening that we could create a fantasy of rural living by pitching a tent in our back garden and moving in there.

But Hugh Sawyer has gone much, much further.

As the Observer recently reported, Sawyer is attempting to live in a ditch in an Oxfordshire forest for a year -- and is blogging the experience.

And while today may be the warmest October 27th on record, Winter is still setting in and life's getting tougher for the hardy Ditch Monkey.

"Will my resolve last? Will I come to love getting up in the dark to a cold wet world, putting on cold wet clothes and trudging to work?" he asked in a recent posting.

Stay strong, Ditch Monkey!